Page 9 of Luna & Andres

"Because you had that same determined look on your face, the one that's gotten us into this mess," he explained.

I looked ahead and sighed. "Maybe I am being an idiot, but I-" The glare from a pair of headlights caught my attention. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Ten minutes after midnight. "Duck!"

We slid down our seats and were hidden by the dashboard as the car drove by. I peeked over the edge and caught sight of two people in an old station wagon. Matilda was at the wheel.

I sat up and started the car. "Time to go see what they know."

I followed the station wagon at a safe distance. They led us to the dingy section of the suburbs where sat the first houses that were swallowed by the city expansion a couple of decades before I was born. The white paint had pealed off their siding when I was ten, and the roofs needed replacing five years after that. The white picket fences were long gone, replaced with tall weeds and cars torn apart to their shells.

Our targets parked in the driveway of one of the better-kept homes. The windows were all in one piece and there was even some grass between the old siding and the cracked sidewalk. A large window to the right of the front door dominated the front of the house. The weak light of a single lamp shone through the thick curtains that covered the window.

The man and woman stepped out of the car. The woman slammed her door shut and hurried around the car. She spoke a few words to her husband and they both hurried inside. More lights flicked on. The two shadowy forms of our pursued stepped into the window frame from the left. A third shadow joined them from the right.

"Bingo," I whispered. I grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. "You stay here and be the watch. I'll see what's up."

"Do you know how insane this is?" he asked me.

"Yep," I quipped as I scuttled out the mouth of the alley. I ducked behind the garbage can, and Red appeared beside me. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed.

"Like I'm going to be left behind while you get yourself killed," he replied.

I narrowed my eyes. "He's not going to kill me."

Red studied me. His voice was soft but tense. "How can you be so sure? Or are you just blinded by some weird infatuation for him?"

I turned my face away from his prying eyes. "He's not going to kill me because I'm not going to give him the chance."

Red snorted. "You're doing a damn good job of giving him a chance."

I scooted around the edge of the garbage can. "Then stay here if you want. I'm going in."

I hurried across the sidewalk and lawn. Red followed close behind me. We covered the grass and slipped onto the small, square step that stood in front of the door. Voices floated through the door. My heart jumped when I thought I recognized Mortale' familiar muttering. We stood straight, and I knocked loudly on the door.

The voices stopped. The faint sound of footsteps approached the door. I could imagine them looking through the peephole in the door. There was some hushed whispering. Footsteps retreated deeper into the house. The deadbolt was unlocked and the door opened to reveal the woman from the diner. She frowned at both of us.

"Didn't I tell you two to-" I pushed past her and into the large living room.

I swept the room for any signs of him. He was gone. I turned to the woman as her husband stepped up beside her. "We know he's here. Where are you hiding him?"

She crossed her arms over her ample chest and glared at us. "That's none of your business, now get out before we call the cops."

"You wouldn't want to do that. Not when you're harboring him," I warned her.

The woman's scowl deepened. She pointed a finger at the door. "Get out right now or-" A soft, mumbling voice interrupted her.

"It's all right."

A opening to a hallway stood to our left and divided the house down the middle. Mortale stepped out from the shadows. His head hung down and he stared at the floor.

Matilda walked over to Mortale and put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't owe these people nothing. From what you told us they're practically strangers."

"He owes me an explanation," I spoke up. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the broken necklace. "This was torn from the neck of the thing that killed those guys last night. Was it you who did it?"

Mortale cringed and shook his head. "I didn't kill anyone."

"Then what did you do? Give them a love tap that was a little too hard?" I quipped.

"I didn't do anything! I wasn't there!" he insisted.

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