The Quest (14 page)

Billy brought the blade close to my face. “I’m going to enjoy slicing you and hearing you beg for mercy.”

My heart worked overtime, pumping furiously along with the throb in my head, but the lack of oxygen pained me far worse. I clawed Billy’s arm, raking my nails deep into his flesh. I could’ve sworn his lips twitched as if he enjoyed it.

The cold metal blade touched my cheek. I held still, refusing to flinch, whine or panic. The demon wouldn’t take my spirit. I’d fight to my death no matter how painful.

A shadow moved behind him, drawing my attention. Two seconds later, Billy’s arm went up and his body flew across the canal. He hit the wall of the concrete bridge with a deep thud, creating ripples in the water. Amazingly, he landed on his feet instead of the ground.

I sat back on my ankles, taking in gulping breaths while I stared at the man standing next to me. It was the vampire who’d visited Lizzy earlier. He slid a gun from his blazer and pointed it at Billy. A loud pop blasted. Billy vanished, and the bullet chipped the concrete.

“Fuck.” The vampire lowered his gun.

Police sirens drew near. The vampire shifted his gaze to me.

“Who are you?” My voice sounded hoarse.

He chuckled. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

I gave a small shake of my head. The sirens stopped. The fast patter of steps indicated police officers were quickly approaching.

He slid the gun back inside his blazer. “Good.”

Good? What did that mean?

He took a step to pass me. I reached out and caught his leg. “Wait. Tell me who you are.” I needed to know. Why did he save my life? Who was he? Why was he leaving me?

He jerked his leg free from my grasp. “You don’t want to know.”

“Yes I do!”

A slight grin formed on his face. “I’m the one who keeps saving your life.”

Realization dawned on me. My gut tightened, and I suddenly felt nauseous. He was the vampire responsible for wiping out my memories.

Chapter 10

My jaw hung open as the vampire ran off, leaving me on my knees near my semiconscious friend. Numbness claimed hold of my body. The vamp that took my memories and left me alive at the dump had saved my life again. Why? Why save me? Why take my memories? Why appear and disappear? Why any of this?

Jonas moaned, interrupting my train of questions. “Shelley?”

I crawled over to him. The scent of his blood revived my hunger along with the ache in my head. His weak heartbeat remained steady. The touch of vampire blood in him would help him heal and stay alive, but he was still mostly human and needed medical care soon. Without treatment, he could die.

I pressed my hand over his cool cheek. “I’m here. Stay with me.”

“Billy?”

Taps of shoes on the concrete drew near.

“Shh. He’s gone. Don’t say anything. The cops are here, and you need medical attention.”

He carefully moved his arm. “Take my keys.”

“Don’t move.” I reached into his pocket and grabbed his keys.

“Leave,” he said. “Don’t go back.”

The cops arrived and yelled, “Hands in the air, now.”

Slowly, I lifted my arms. My eyes stayed on Jonas. “I’ll call Boss and we’ll come get you from the hospital. Hang in there for me.”

“Move away from the body, miss,” said an officer.

Jonas blinked and when he swallowed, the lump in his throat bobbled. Nodding to him, I rose with my hands still above my head.

“Step away,” the officer said.

Obeying the cop’s command, I stepped past Jonas and faced them. Three uniformed men faced me with their weapons aimed for my chest. “My friend needs help. He’s been stabbed or shot.”

One of the men holstered his gun, then dropped to his knees next to Jonas. He pressed his fingers to Jonas’s neck. Seconds later, he touched the device on his shoulder and requested an ambulance.

More uniformed officers appeared behind the ones holding guns pointed at me.

“You can lower your weapons,” said a familiar voice, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I know this woman.” Jackson stepped around the officers.

I lowered my arms as Jackson approached. His timing was impeccable.

“Are you all right?” he asked, reaching for my face. His navy-blue uniform fit snuggly on him and a white t-shirt peeked out near his neck where he’d left the top unbuttoned. I grinned mentally upon viewing his handsome, muscular body.

“I came to meet Jonas for my dinner break and found him on the ground. Not even a minute later, four guys came at me.”

With his hand on my chin, he tilted my head and surveyed each side.

“How do I look?”

“No marks that I can see, but I smell blood.”

One of the cops stopped next to Jackson. “We need to get a statement.”

“Stanley, can you give the young lady a few minutes? Four men attacked her. I think she needs a moment to breathe.”

“We have three dead bodies. Where is the fourth?” Stanley asked.

“He got away,” I replied.

“We’ll need a description–”

“Give the lady a chance to breathe, Stanley,” Jackson repeated.

Stanley looked at me. “Sure, I understand. Do you need medical attention, miss?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I just need a little time before I give you my statement.”

Jackson looked past me. “Let’s go sit on the bench over there.” He extended his arm.

Hesitating to leave Jonas, I leaned to the side and looked past Jackson at my injured friend.

“Paramedics will be here soon. There’s nothing more you can do for him.” Jackson moved closer, hinting for me to go. “Come on. Let’s talk for a moment.”

I headed for the black bench with Jackson walking at my side. The wind picked up and felt pleasingly good against my bare arms. As I collapsed on the metal seat, I glanced at the scene. Cops stood around the bodies, talking and writing notes.

Jackson sat next to me. “Tell me what happened so I can help get your statement straight with the others.” His voice was soft, strong and supportive.

“It was Billy and his goons.” I told him the truth from start to finish and included the mysterious vampire who’d saved my life, then disappeared. Jackson listened intently the entire time, asking a few questions for clarification.

“Jonas’s gun is in the canal?” he asked when I finished.

“Yes.” I brushed my hands over my knees, skirt and boots, clearing away any dirt.

“Tell them everything except about the vampire. For your safety, I recommend you don’t mention Billy. Just tell them the stranger ran off after the sirens started.”

My first reaction was one of surprise. “You don’t want me to say it was Billy?” If I said he had a knife to my face, they could pick him up and detain him. One less enemy I’d have to deal with.

“No. It wouldn’t do much good. Billy has power and influence. He can get out of jail and find a way to escape charges. If by some chance you were able to keep him in jail, he’d find a way to get you through his connections. Right now, you’re safer knowing who your enemy is than not knowing.”

While I disliked the idea of Billy getting away, one thing I knew for sure is he wanted me dead and he would be the one to make it happen, not his goons. Sure, he’d use their help, but ultimately, he wanted the pleasure of my death.

Stanley approached. “Are you feeling well enough to give us a statement, miss?”

I looked from Jackson to Stanley and nodded. “I’m ready.”

Stanley pulled out a pen and small notebook from his pocket. Hearing more voices, including Jonas’s, I leaned forward, peering around Jackson. Jonas lay on a gurney surrounded by EMTs. They secured him, then rolled him away.

“Will you find out where they are taking him?” I asked Jackson.

“Sure.” He stood. “Be right back.”

While Jackson spoke to the medics, I gave my statement to Stanley. Jackson returned minutes later, stood next to Stanley with his arms crossed and listened again as I recounted the events. Stanley asked a few questions, which I answered, and wanted details on the man who got away. Using the night and the fact my attacker hit me on the head, I told him I couldn’t see the person clearly. Stanley frowned as he finished writing, then gave me his card and asked me to contact him when I was ready to sign a printed version of my statement.

Jackson and I headed for the cafeteria while the other officers continued investigating the scene.

“Do you have to get back to work?” I asked.

He opened the door for me. “No, I’m off for a few hours. I came to do a little research. When I heard the report of shots fired, I stopped here first.”

We passed through the dark cafeteria, side by side. “I’m glad you did, and thanks for your help.”

“Shelley, I’m going to give you advice, and I want you to seriously consider it.”

I inhaled a deep breath and held it. As if I didn’t have enough people telling me to be careful, now I had a werewolf wanting me to consider his advice.

“You need protection. One vampire can’t offer the kind of protection you need.”

Slowly, I let the air out of my lungs. Jackson had a point. With Billy and his goons and now Anubis on the way, I did need help. “What are you offering?”

“I can talk to my pack and make sure you are guarded at all times.”

All times? Boss wouldn’t be pleased. “I appreciate your concern, but–”

Jackson gripped my arm and brought me to a halt. “Every minute you are away from your home, you are in danger. If you insist on coming here, then you need more protection. Your vampire can only offer you security at night, and one man alone is not enough to fight the people who want to see you dead.”

His strong words actually infused a touch of fear within me. Billy had reached me twice. Maybe the next time he’d succeed in killing someone close to me. I couldn’t risk the chance.

“Let me talk with Boss first before we make any plans. But I agree–I need help. Billy won’t stop until I’m dead, and neither will the Senator.”

Jackson’s chest expanded as he breathed deeply. “I’m glad you agree with me.”

“My dinner hour is up. I need to get back to work.”

I kept my head low as he escorted me to the cage.

“Don’t worry about Jonas. He’ll probably be in intensive care for a while. If you’re concerned about his safety, I can contact a couple brothers from the pack and ask them to stand guard.”

I nodded in acceptance of his offer. “Thank you.”

Before we reached the subbasement, I updated Jackson on my findings in the warehouse.

“I’ve never heard about a Project E. Any ideas what the E stands for?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“And the same initials appeared on all the meeting notes?”

“Yes.” We stopped in front of a pair of elevators. Jackson pressed the button, and we waited.

“That’s interesting. That would indicate the same people were involved with the project. I’d like to see those documents and look at those initials. I might be able to recognize some.”

“Tom is going to research and see if he can find out more,” I said as we stepped into the elevator.

“He’s a great detective and really good with research.” He hit the button for the lower level.

“Since I searched through the documents up to 1992, where will you begin?”

“Your mother died when Galluzzi was the Attorney General, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll start with 2004, when she became Senator, and see what I can find.”

“I’ll continue searching through the records when she was AG. Maybe something will be noted about my mother’s death.”

The elevator doors opened following a ding. I stepped out, onto the concrete floor. “You can go ahead. I’m going to stop in the ladies room first.”

Jackson nodded, then headed down the hall toward the cage while I detoured to the bathroom. I entered the dimly lit facility and stood in front of the mirror. Holding my hair back from my face, I searched for gashes. Jackson had said he smelled blood, but I couldn’t find any visible signs of a wound. I touched a sore spot where the demon had hit me. My hair felt clumpy, but not wet. Thankfully, my dark hair concealed the dried blood. I’d clean it out later.

After I washed my hands, I returned to work a few minutes late. Lizzy complained about my tardiness. I considered telling her about the ordeal I’d been through, but decided against it. If she was a spy for Galluzzi, I didn’t want her to relay the information to the bitch. Then again, Billy would probably give the Senator an earful. Surrounded by enemies, I decided the best course of option was to stay mute so they wouldn’t see they were getting under my skin.

Jackson stood at the counter, across from Lizzy. I heard them briefly talk about a document in the werewolf records from 2004. While she assisted him, I tossed Jonas’s keys into my purse and snatched my phone. I had a quick opportunity to call Boss and update him about Jonas, and I intended to take it. I bypassed stepping into the break or bathroom, fearing both places had bugs to listen in on conversations, and strolled deep into the heart of the warehouse. With a quick scan using my supernatural hearing, I found myself alone, except for the heartbeats at the front. I dialed for Boss and waited as I leaned against a shelf.

“Do you know where Jonas is?” Boss asked, sounding angry. “He’s not returning my calls.”

“He’s in an ambulance heading to a hospital, here downtown.”

“Why? What happened?”

“He asked me to meet him at the canal. I arrived a few minutes late and found him on the ground. Billy and a couple of his friends showed up. I think one of them stabbed or shot Jonas.”

“Fuck!”

I held the phone away from my ear for a few seconds, waiting for more heated words to spill out of him. When he said nothing more, I brought the phone closer. “There’s more.”

“Are you all right?” His voice sounded deep with concern.

“I’m fine. My head is a bit tender in one area, and I have dried blood clinging to my hair.”

“So, you were injured?”

“Well, yeah, and someone saved me.”

“Saved you?”

“The vampire that took my memories and left me at the dump made an appearance.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m coming down there.”