Page 117 of Delinquents Turned Fugitives
My bruises had faded quite a bit after that rapid little session. I’d had to go take a pseudo-shower in the nasty employee bathroom in order to clean up, but also to cool myself down because one round with Andros had just made me want another. And we didn’t have time—we needed to get everything together before the vampires woke from their sleep inside the Wacky Shack. We needed to have everything ready so we could hit the Institute tonight. With Muller disabled, it was the best shot we had at getting in and out without the possibility of pinheads on our tail. They wouldn’t have a new person spearheading the case immediately, and we needed to strike while the iron was hot.
When I walked back to the picnic area, attempting to hide how bow-legged I was after getting fucked good and hard, I found all the guys tinkering with different aspects of the job.
Malcolm was checking up on the media. He was listening to the police scanners for us. But he was also just so fascinated by the public outrage over the attack that he was scrolling through the social media accounts of each person who’d been at the funeral.
The entire funeral party had been drawn over by Teddy’s screams and the scene. Hundreds of people had witnessed it and were now eager to share their version of the story.
I heard one guy say, “That detective man, he was something else. He wouldn’t listen to reason. It was like he was possessed.”
He didn’t mean it literally, but all of us around the table laughed.
I got an extra chuckle out of it as I recalled what I’d whispered up at Muller, just before two beefy guys had used their Icefire magic to completely freeze the rogue detective. I’d whispered, “Thanks, Claude.”
His ghostly fury, when Claude had realized I’d used him somehow, and he’d emerged from Muller’s body, had been delicious. It had been so beautifully gorgeous that I hadn’t even noticed the people around me at first. Not until Claude had faded away, his eyes promising murder.
I yawned. I needed coffee. After the chaos, and the official statement I gave to the pinheads, I was exhausted.
Evan led me over to a pale blue sleeping bag he’d put out on the grass. “Sleep for a little bit, Hailstorm. We’ll wake you up if we need you.”
I slept until the sun went down.
I woke when the vampires arrived, as if my body somehow knew predators had entered the vicinity. I shot up on the sleeping bag, my sun-warmed skin suddenly overheated. The sun was nearly down, the last ribbons of color fading from the sky as Callum and his followers arrived underneath the picnic awning.
I shoved aside my rats-nest hair and stood, walking over to nod at my ally. “Good evening.”
Callum cringed. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth while we … eat breakfast. Reconvene in half an hour?”
I nodded, trying not to grimace at the thought of their breakfast.
The vampires were gone in the blink of an eye and I yawned and stretched before blearily realizing that Evan was next to me, holding out a comb and a toothbrush. “You really needed that nap.”
I shrugged. But he was probably right. The day had been crazy. The night was going to be even more so. I ran down to the bathroom and fixed up my hair and teeth, changing into my clothes for tonight’s break in—clothing similar to what we’d worn for the Pinnacle, but with Kevlar instead of fireproof material this time. The hope was that it might slow a vampire’s fangs or claws a little bit.
When I came out of the bathroom, my eyes sliding naturally over to the spot where Andros had fucked me, a voice stopped me mid-step.
“Oh no, you don’t, little lady. You and I are gonna have that third date right here, right now, before you can get that pretty ass of yours in any more danger.”
