Shade City (19 page)

The man quietly studied me for a few moments. Eladio stood by the door and grumbled a bit while his twin just watched idly, tuned out of the conversation. The black man looked to the other two, then back to me, and then picked up the pocket watch. "This is a railroad piece," he said, opening the cover and studying the timing mechanism. "An antique in nice condition. Did you know that, Dante?" I just watched him. His statement wasn't all that revelatory. My fear was that he knew more about the watch than he was letting on. "I've always liked railroad men. They are a direct breed. They lack the time for anything else." He stepped back to the table and placed the Hamilton down gently. I tried not to show my relief. "Railroad men say what they do and do what they say."

The man sat down in the chair across from me and just waited. It was clear he didn't believe my story. Hell, it was clear that Eladio hadn't bought it. The truth was, I had no idea what to say to the man. I had been looking for Soren, nothing more. I didn't know if I had expected to find these men in the middle of a pagan ritual sacrifice, with Soren tied down to a stone altar, or what. But now I felt ridiculous. Woefully unprepared. I had wasted all week looking into Violet when the obvious threat was here. The invisible enemy may be more dangerous than the apparent one, but you still need to watch them both. I had failed to give proper attention to Red Hat.

If I was going to give him what he wanted, maybe I could make it a trade.

"Can I at least get my stuff back?"

After a brief thought, the man nodded curtly. I stood up and the strongmen flinched. They were ready for trouble. I took the watch back first, then put my other belongings in my pockets, including swiping my phone from the hands of Emilio.

That was confirmation enough. I hadn't touched the man yet, but I would have been surprised if he wasn't a Royal. Perhaps even the owner of Red Hat Events.

"I was curious," I admitted aloud. "About different things. About Red Hat. I wanted to see how you did things. But I'm mostly here to watch over Soren... shit. I don't know his last name."

The lack of information didn't prevent the man's eyes from lighting up as soon as I had mentioned the name. It was clear I immediately captured his interest. "I know Soren. The last name isn't important. How do centuries of history reflect upon the individual? I'm sure a butcher who doesn't like the sight of blood would agree. I'm of the opinion that men should always know each other by their first names. Matters are more personable that way."

"Yet I still don't know yours."

He flashed his teeth in a smile, but said nothing. The man nodded and signaled to the door. "Excuse us." I wasn't sure what he meant but the security detail exited the room as quickly as their bulky frames allowed. When they closed the door, the man in the vest turned to me again. "Thank you for being truthful. That explains how you got an invite. Where is Soren?"

I started. "I was planning on meeting him here."

"Dante, don't squander what goodwill you've earned by lying again."

"It's the truth. I got tired of waiting for his set to start so I tried looking around. Are you saying he hasn't shown up yet?"

The man shot his jaw forward as he mulled over my question. "I'm saying that he missed his slot completely. I had to fit in someone to replace him. He hasn't returned my calls. I didn't know there was anyone else at the party who knew him."

"Isn't that the way you wanted it?" I asked. I wasn't sure why. I still didn't know how much I wanted to reveal to the mysterious man. His expression did not betray his feelings.

If he was telling the truth, why hadn't Soren showed? Had he learned the truth about Red Hat? That was almost impossible. Something else had to cause him to forgo his dream of being a DJ. Maybe Pam had finally won out.

"Look, I can find him. I'll just take off and let him know that you're asking for him."

"Would you now?" he asked. He was suspicious, obviously, but he wasn't in a position to say why. He knew what Red Hat's secret was. So did I. But he couldn't broach the subject without giving it away. "And would you also pay for the chandelier?"

I choked on my answer for a second. Any repairs to this place had to be expensive.

"Don't worry about it," he cut in. "My insurance will cover it. But we still have the problem with Soren to deal with. We had a contract, he and I. Reneging on agreements is distasteful."

"Can you blame him? You don't exactly have his best interests in mind."

The man looked at me intently. There was no doubt he wondered exactly what I knew. "There are two types of people in this world, Dante. Those that
know
, and those that don't." He eyed me carefully as he spoke, searching for any acknowledgement of the subtext. I didn't reward him with a response. Still, instead of appearing weak, he opted to remain composed and in control of the situation. "Soren is my employee until I hear otherwise. That means he is under my watch for the time being. I'll tell you what. I'll let you work off the damage you caused. Find Soren, talk to him, and come by the Hollywood office. I take it you've been there?"

My eyes lowered to the ground unintentionally. I blinked and met his gaze. Trying to appear normal but fearing I failed. "Sure."

"Bring him there and ask for me. No tricks. I just want to talk. You can sit with us, if you like. To ease your mind."

"And what will the three of us talk about?"

He smiled casually. "The conditions of his employment. Full disclosure. Then the choice is his. And yours."

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't know what he meant by full disclosure. He wasn't planning on copping to possession, was he? It didn't matter. I was cornered and I wanted to get outside into the crisp air again. I nodded in agreement.

He looked to the door. "Emilio," he called out. The door opened and the uninjured strongman grunted. "See to it that Dante is escorted off the grounds."

I'd felt trapped in the room. I wasn't sure if I was going to get out. Hearing this order, I stood up anxiously, swinging the watch on its chain. "I'll let you know," I said weakly, inferring I would look into Soren for him. I didn't give the man another glance. I just rushed by the large Mexican and started down the hall. To my surprise, the black man followed me out.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Dante?"

I turned and saw the man in the cream-colored outfit extend his hand. It stopped me. Surprised me.

As much as I wanted to continue exiting the observatory, I forced myself to backtrack down the hall.

"A handshake to seal our deal."

I met the man's solid grip with mine. Immediately, I saw the second shadow. But it was deeper than that. The presence coursed through me. Stronger than anything I'd ever felt. And different. It was foreboding, uninvited, and magnificent. I recoiled at his touch.

"My name is Marquis," he said coolly.

The man looked at me in puzzlement. I struggled to maintain eye contact. I wasn't sure what I had just felt. It was pure power. He was definitely a Royal.

"I don't like to be crossed, Dante. Five minutes ago, you and I had never spoken to each other. We had no agreements. Maybe we didn't see eye to eye. Maybe we were positioned to be at odds. I can't blame you for your previous thoughts, however ignorant. But now, you and I have come to an understanding. We've shaken hands. We know each other by name. Now I will place all blame on you if you fail to follow through."

I backed away. "Got it." Spinning around, I made for the door. The hallway felt too long, but I marched without looking back.

Halfway there, the door opened. Eladio rushed in from outside. "Boss," he called out. "Christian is gone."

The big man was ahead of me, and as I approached him to pass, he spread his wide arms to cover the hallway. Behind me, the others hurried to catch up.

"Yeah," I said, turning to Emilio and Marquis. "That's how I got in. I saw some guy wander away so I just came inside." I said it nonchalantly, wondering if I could make a run for the door.

"No," stressed the big man, rubbing his head where the laptop had hit him. "I mean, he's standing out there, but he's
gone
. He doesn't remember anything."

Understanding registered on the Royal's face. Large hands clamped down on my shoulders from behind. They knew I was aware of their secret.

"Hold on—" I said hastily. Eladio shoved me towards his brother. I braced myself against the wall and put my other hand up, showing that I didn't want to fight. Two of them were too many. Three would not have ended well. I cowered under the strongmen as Marquis pressed close.

"How do you know about us?" he asked. "
What
is it that you know?"

I squeezed my back into the wall. "I know that you're not you. I know that Red Hat is a network of shades."

The black man looked from one of his guards to the other and chuckled. "What? Don't be so dramatic." He motioned for the men to give me some space. They backed away only a few feet, standing on each of my flanks. "So, you are the type of person that
knows
. You're one of us. I suspected as much."

"I'm nothing like you."

"Save it. I don't need to hear your reasons. We all have them. Is it our place to justify our knowledge? If we're not meant to inhabit others, then why can we do it?"

Marquis didn't get it. He thought I was a shade. It made sense, I suppose. How else would I know about them unless I was one? How else would I truly believe?

But he didn't know my secret. No one else could sense the second shadow as I could. Probably not even the Royals. It was just something I could always do. It made the hunt natural for me. As Marquis had said, if I wasn't meant to root out shades, then why was I so good at it?

"Whatever," I said. "I didn't lie about Soren. I was making sure he wasn't in your particular kind of trouble."

"There's truth to that, I suppose, but deception as well. Why go through so much for a man whose last name you don't know? No," he said, pacing away from me. "There's something else."

"You're wrong," I said through gritted teeth. "I'm just concerned for Soren."

Marquis flashed his expressive eyes at me in disappointment. There was something he didn't tell me. Something he had wanted me to say. Did he really want Soren so much that he would let me go this easily?

"It's lucky for you that I didn't like Christian very much. He was idle. And simple. But he did serve a purpose. Red Hat is less without him than with."

"Just think of it as a practical lesson."

"There is a lesson here for both of us, Dante. We are not even. Accounts need to be settled. Now, I don't care if it is Soren or not, but you owe me a soldier. And reneging on agreements is distasteful."

I looked at him in disbelief. "So you don't care that I know about Red Hat? The shades?"

"You're forgetting about the two types of people, Dante. The only ones who would listen are the ones who already know. That information has no power over me."

"And how can I trust you?"

The Royal softened his stare. "We are men, not savages. We must do right by each other. If I make a deal with you, I will honor it. Find Soren. Full disclosure. It's his choice."

I didn't try to hide the scowl on my face. "If he knew what he was getting into, why would he choose Red Hat?"

For the first time, Marquis looked stumped. It was a brief moment, but he didn't understand why I didn't understand. Before I could puzzle it out, his face relaxed. "Full disclosure," he repeated. He turned and told the others to take me outside.

"Let's go," said Emilio, placing his hand on my shoulder and pushing me through the door.

"Wait. I got it," said Eladio. He waved his brother off and escorted me towards the crowd. The cut on his head started bleeding again, and his eyes burned with mischief.

* * *

Getting kicked out of parties was always embarrassing. "You really don't need to walk me out," I said in protest. As I was shamefully escorted past the crowd, I scanned for Soren. Just one last check. Once again, I couldn't find him anywhere. But I did see John the drug dealer smirking at me. "F U," I mouthed to him.

"Keep moving, little man," said Eladio.

As we passed the security line in the parking lot, I turned around. "Well, it's been fun—"

The bloodied man shoved me. "Move."

I put my hands up, aware that we were in public now and other people could be watching or recording this. I walked backwards for a moment, then spun around, disquieted by the fact that the strongman was still on my tail. It was possible he just wanted to make sure I left. It was also possible he had more sinister intentions.

"You know, Eladio, the chandelier thing... It was all very heat of the moment."

"You better stop talking about the chandelier, bro."

"In my defense, you did pull a machete."

"You mean this one?"

That's when I noticed the knife was already in the Mexican's hand. As I descended the sloping street, I considered making a run to my car. It was still a good five minutes down. Maybe I could lose him and get out of here.

"Dante," we heard from behind. The click-clack of heels echoed on the street as Eva ran to catch up to us. She had never looked so good. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, just trading mustache tips with my luchador friend here."

Eladio protested as she slipped by and hugged me. "Luchadors wear masks, asshole."

"Might be a better look for you." Eladio grumbled and tightened his grip on his blade.

"Get out of here, Eladio," said Eva, slapping the man's gut softly.

"I got him," he said.