Page 1 of Expose Me

Chapter1

As the bartender slid my drink over, the petite vampire at the dark end of the bar slid her teeth into her date’s neck. Even in heels, she had to stretch to reach him, but he held her close and hunched down as she drank.

These things usually took place in private, but this fine establishment was in No Man’s Land, and no one cared. They were being more discreet than the couples sloppily grinding on each other on the dance floor. I took a sip of my French martini and scanned the space casually. No one had come in since I’d ordered. My client was late.

I was giving him until I reached the bottom of my glass before I left. Despite the less than stellar setting, the cocktail was actually pretty good. It would be a shame to waste it.

The bar was just off a main street in the north of Melbourne—not hidden away enough to only attract regulars, but not so busy that it was hard to keep an eye on the door. Perfect for conducting business.

The door opened, but I was distracted from seeing who came through it by the inebriated human who sidled up next to me, leaning way too heavily on the bar.

“Hey there—”

“No.” I cut off his slurring and sipped my drink. Thankfully—for him—he decided I was more effort than I was worth, and he stumbled away just as a man in a suit made his way through the crowd.

We’d never met, but I was the only one in the place with magenta hair. Not exactly hard to miss.

He wasn’t hard to miss either. He was the only one in a suit and tie when everyone else was in some combination of denim and leather.

I slid off my barstool, drink in hand, and stood straight as he reached me.

“Uh, hi, are you Jen?” he asked, looking a bit nervous. Jen wasn’t my real name. What I was doing wasn’t exactly forbidden, but my regular employer wouldn’t take kindly to knowing I was doing it on the side.

“Who wants to know?” I asked, watching him over the rim of my glass.

“I’m Robbie. We spoke on the phone about ...” he trailed off as he glanced around.

“Let’s talk over here.” I turned and led the way to a small table on the opposite side of the room to the dance floor. The two tub chairs put our backs to the wall as we sat.

“So, how’s your evening?” Robbie asked, crossing his legs, then uncrossing them. “Can I get you a—”

“Do you have the photos?” I cut him off, holding my hand out. He leaned back in his seat and reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

“Right to business then. OK. Good,” he muttered to himself as he pulled out two photos.

I took them and studied the first one. It was very old and featured a young woman with an updo and wearing an old-fashioned dress. I didn’t pay much attention to her features, focusing instead on the necklace she wore.

“That’s my great grandmother,” Robbie supplied unhelpfully and started babbling about the history of his family. I tuned him out and looked at the second photo. Another woman, with similar features to the first, was pictured next to a man that looked a bit like Robbie. It was a wedding photo, and she wore the same necklace.

Robbie had moved on to telling me how the necklace had been passed down and worn by his mother on her wedding day, andblah blah blah. I studied the jewelry in the two images. The necklace was platinum, twenty diamonds set into it—ten on either side of the brilliant teardrop sapphire at the center.

“How long ago was it stolen?” I asked, cutting off whatever he’d been babbling about.

“Uh, maybe six months ago now,” he said. “The investigator from my House couldn’t find any leads, and I’m pretty sure they’ve given up now. It was taken right out of my parents’ home. Lucky they weren’t there! They took a few other things too, but this is the one that’s really valuable. Not to mention that it has huge sentimental value for my family.”

“Yes, you said as much on the phone.” I nodded. He was repeating everything he’d already told me. I hated wasting time, and he was getting on my nerves. “And as I said, I require payment up front.”

“So, you can find it then?” His eyes lit up.

I narrowed my own. “Like I said, I make no guarantees.” Again—all things we’d already discussed. “But I have enough to look.”

For once, he kept his mouth shut and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a pouch and placed it on the table between us, the contents clinking together. At least he could follow instructions. I tucked the pouch—containing three vials of shifter blood—into my coat pocket and leaned back in the chair.

With one last look at the photos, I closed my eyes and searched.

Had I held the necklace previously, remembered what its weight felt like in my hand, what its energy was like, I could’ve summoned it—made it appear in my grip. I had to have touched an item to be able to summon it, or one identical to it. I mean, all bananas were pretty much the same—energetically speaking. Same with mass-produced things. But unique or personal items that someone had emotional attachment to were a whole other ballgame.

As it was, all I had to go off were the pictures. The old one proved his family’s ownership; I didn’t use my power to steal, much as others wished I did, orsuspectedI did. The newer image strengthened the proof of ownership and confirmed the client’s connection to the item. It would’ve been easier if I’d been able to meet with the mother—her connection to the necklace was stronger as she’d worn it, owned it. But he’d refused. Didn’t want to get her hopes up. Whatever. My fee was the same regardless.

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