Page 35 of Countdown to Murder
Assuming we made it to the beach house, which wasn’t a given. We had a few obstacles to clear before we made it to the beach.
Chapter Eighteen
Mira
Panda seemed to breathe out in relief when we passed a line saying we were in another county. He flipped the turn signal on, slowed, and steered the SUV into a restaurant promising they had the best burgers in the county.
He turned the music so loud it was almost painful, leaned forward, and put his primary carry weapon in the pocket of the door. “No guns. No throwing knives. You can keep the one on your back if you want, but it’ll probably be better to leave it behind as well.”
I stared at him, and he shrugged. “If we need weapons in there, we’re fucked. I’m good, and so are you, but in a room packed with Slayers? They’d slaughter us. We have a better chance of making this happen if we walk in without weapons. We’re asking for help, and it’s a big ask.It’ll go over better if we show we trust them by not going in armed. We have safe passage so long as we don’t do or say anything threatening.”
“And since, armed or not, they’ll easily kill us if they choose to, we may as well use the trust card as a game piece?” I asked.
He smiled, happy I understood. I sighed and removed my weapons. The throwing knives went into the glove compartment. My two handguns went under the seat, along with the knife at my back, and all of the extra magazines. I kept the folding knife in my pocket.
We walked inside, a hostess looked at us with suspicion, sniffed, and pointed towards a dark corner. “Ryan’s waiting for you.”
The man we walked to looked completely forgettable. Nothing about him stood out. Normal nose, normal haircut, boring eyebrows. He was attractive without being gorgeous. He was neither interesting nor boring. I looked around the room and noted that most of the people in the room fit the same bill.
I tested the air with my Jacobson’s organ and tasted somethingoff. It set my snake on edge.
“We have safe passage. No worries,” Panda reminded me. He spoke softly, but I had a feeling everyone in the room heard him.
Ryan motioned for us to have a seat. His back was to the wall, but Panda and I wouldn’t have that luxury. Pandasat without appearing concerned, so I did the same. I angled my water glass so I’d see a shadow of a reflection if anyone came up behind me. It was the best I could do.
“I allowed the beach house reservation to go through,” Ryan told Panda. “Doesn’t mean you’ll make it past the diner, but it means I’ll hear you out.”
“What do you know of my companion?”
“Made it my business to know everything about her when she was brought to Chattanooga. If she goes to Alaska with Kendra, Abbott will have to figure out how to keep her. If she stays, it’ll be up to Marcus whether to fight for her or let them take her back.”
“Fawn isn’t going to let her go back without a fight, and I’m not of a mind to, either.”
“Fawndoesseem to have dug her heels in, and it appears you’re doing the same. I hope I can congratulate you a year from now, and not offer condolences.”
“A year?” Panda asked.
Ryan shrugged. “Less. She goes back on the summer solstice.”
I looked back and forth between the two men. “What are the two of you talking about? Abbott took possession of me when he...” I shook my head. “I’m not going back to the Concilio. That isn’t an option.”
Panda looked to the slayer and then to me. “This is Ryan. He’s a slayer who owes me a big favor. I’m hopinghe’ll explain to you what Apollonius forbid me from telling you.”
Ryan shook his head. “Motherfucker.” He sounded frustrated, but he smiled. I had no idea what that meant. The slayer was hard to read.
“You were leased, not sold. The Concilio wanted you to kill someone who is an associate of the Master Vampire. We still don’t know who, only that it’s an order you won’t know about until you meet him face-to-face. I’m assuming it isn’t me or Panda. Probably not Nathan or Aaron Drake, or Abbott. We aren’t even sure it’s a male.”
I leaned back in my seat. Floored. I didn’t allow my heart rate or breathing to change. I believed him because a few things now made sense — especially Apollonius acting as if he were somehow Master over me. In his eyes, he was. Is.Fuck.
“What’s to keep Apollonius from getting us here?” I asked.
“You’re on slayer territory,” Ryan told me. “Concilio personnel need a written invitation to come onto our land. We don’t usually get involved in this kind of thing, but I can see why Panda is intrigued with you, and I’d kind of like to see if you can be humanized. We usually kill people with your background who don’t have an overseer to take responsibility for them. Fawn and Kendra intend to set you free, and I’ve been watching their progress — your progress — with interest. I know you just took Andreasonout. I like the idea of you fighting on our side, keeping humans and vulnerable supernaturals safe.”
Ryan looked to Panda, thoughtful. “If Apollonius goes too far over my head, I won’t be able to give you the whole week. I’m pretty sure I can give you two days, and probably a twelve-hour warning before things go to shit, but maybe not.”
“I’ll appreciate whatever you can work out.”
“As will I,” I told him.
