Whiteout (Aurora Sky (18 page)

I emptied my glass and set it on a side table. “Let us hope money is enough to buy more than a senator,” I said. “I am ready to get on base and get
on with this.”

“Yes, yes, but first I must eat,” Alfonso said.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

Alfonso's head lifted with his lip
s. “Ah, my breakfast has come.”

While Alfonso played pick
-
and
-
choose off silver platters arranged with fruits, meats, and pastries, I went to my room and suited up. Alfonso leaned
o
n the
doorframe
, sipping from a porcelain coffee cup as I buttoned my jacket.

“I have a pink tie that looks s
triking
with that particular
piece,” my cousin said, cradling the cup's matching saucer.

“I don't wear pink
,
and I don't wear ties,” I said, smoothing out the jacket's sleeves.

Alfonso tossed the coffee back and set the cup and saucer on the dresser, looking me over. “At least try
some of my cologne,” he said. “It works magic on everyone around you.”

“You do realize we're going onto an air force base, don't you?” I asked, trying not to s
mile
too much.

“All the more reason to make an impression,” Alfonso said.

I joined my cousin in f
ront of the dresser and peered at my reflection in the mirror mounted above the surface. Funny how a suit made a man look like a million bucks.

I turned to Alfonso and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“
Mio cugino
,” I said fondly, teeth showing as I grinned.
“We will make an impression. No doubt about it.”

“
Si
,” Alfonso agreed. “I will get changed.” He placed his hand on top of mine and gave it a squeeze before turning on his heel and heading from my room to his.

While Alfonso got dressed, I rinsed my glass an
d left it by the sink
,
then
I
brushed my teeth. Speaking of impressions, it probably wouldn't go over so well to walk into a secret vampire hunting agency with
bloodstained
teeth. I smirked as I worked the paste in
to a foamy lather
.

Alfonso used every last
second leading to departure to groom himself. I wasn't the only one opting out of a tie
;
Alfonso skipped the neck choker, though he wore a pink dress shirt beneath a navy blazer.

Senator Davis had arranged for Lieutenant Vince Pearlman to meet us at the g
ate at nine o'clock.

The senator was wise not to keep me waiting all morning for the meeting.

“Ready to storm the castle,
cuz
?” I called into Alfonso's room a little before eight thirty.

Alfonso
walked
out with the same confident strides as a runway model
. A length of blue, gold
,
and white fabric draped over his arm. It looked like a tapestry. Alfonso shook it out and slipped first one arm, then his second inside the cloth. No, not a tapestry
—
a long
,
gaudy coat.

“
Fortuna i forti aiuta, e i timidi rifiuta
,”
Alfonso responded in Italian, which translated
to
“Fortune favors the bold.”

The bold and the beautiful apparently. We'd look quite the pair on the Anchorage base. Whatever it took to bring Joss home and find Aurora.

 

    
     

 

Alfonso's driver, Benito, picked us up in front of the hotel lobby. He too wore a suit—slate with a matching bow tie.

On the short drive through town, I drummed my fingers against my leg.

“Are you nervous, Francesco
?
” Alfonso asked.

“Impatient,” I answered.

“Ah,” he said in und
erstanding.

The Donados were a friendly, boisterous bunch, but our patience and tempers were easily provoked. Mine had been pushed to the limits, starting with Valerie Ward and her violent tantrums. Every headache
during
the past year originated from th
e a
gency and the man running it, especially in regards to the wench he'd sent after me. If only I'd trusted my instincts when the redhead first began pursuing me at Denali High School rather than give in to curiosity and boredom.

We drove past the cemetery
,
f
ollowed by Merrill Field Airport and Northway Mall before a brief drive on the Glenn Highway.

Benito got off and took the first left, crossing a bridge over the highway. It led straight toward the entrance of the base. Wood beams formed a triangular arc
above the manned gate. It didn't look that intimidating compared to the fortifications I'd seen in past centuries. Then again, today's weapons and technology were much more impressive. Who needed stone walls and turrets when they had machine guns and drone
s?

As we pulled up to the booth, Benito rolled down his window. A young military man gave him a measured stare before asking that he roll
down
the back window. Benito complied.

“
Ciao
,” Alfonso said
with a grin
as his window came down.

The guard gave
Alfonso the same measured stare before moving over him to look at me. I offered no greeting or smile, same as the military man. I'd never cared much for authority, even assumed authority.

The guard looked back to Benito. “What is your purpose here today?”

“My employer, Alfonso Donado, and his cousin Francesco, have an appointment with Lieutenant Pearlman.”

“And you are?”

“Benito Lombardi,
Signor
Donado's pilot and driver.”

“I'll need to check all your IDs,” the guard said.

“
Si
, of course,” Benito said. He t
urned away from the guard, broa
d shoulders twisting to face
Alfonso and me.

Alfonso handed him a thin leather wallet. I reached inside the suit jacket pocket and pulled out my skull
-
and
-
crossbones wallet
,
studded around the
edges. The billfold was
badass
,
or
sick
as my friend Zeke once said
. Alfonso wasn't the only one who appreciated statement pieces.

My cousin's lips twitched in amusement when I set my wallet on top of his.

Benito handed them to the guard, along with his. A
n
amused
smile of my own tugged
at my lips as the guard went to work opening each wallet to dig out our IDs.

He looked at them quickly, almost as a formality, before handing the wallets and IDs back to Benito.

“Do you have any weapons on your persons or in the vehicle?”

“No,” Benito answ
ered.

The guard looked through the back window at Alfonso and me. “Do either of you?”

“No,” Alfonso and I answered in unison.

I half expected the guard to order us out of the vehicle to have us searched
.
I
nstead he said, “Lieutenant Pearlman is waiting for
you in the visitor's parking.”

“
Grazie
,” Benito said as he set our windows into motion rolling up.

The gate lifted and we went through, taking an immediate right into a long parking lot leading
to the
visitor's center. Benito parked halfway in. A man in
a navy blue
dress
uniform
approached the car. He had dark hair cropped close to his head, dark eyebrows that seemed to fade at the ends, and eyes shaped like sideways tears. He was the type of man who aged well. He could have been in his mid-forties or fif
ties. It was tough to tell.

I stepped out of the car, knowing this must be
Lieutenant Pearlman. The man's smile was pleasant as he walked up. As he approached, I could see from the
medals
attached to
his suit jacket that he was highly decorated. And if the
re'd been any question as to who he was before, there certainly wasn't now. A long, narrow name
badge
had PEARLMAN engraved into it above his right chest pocket.