“How?” Cormac said. Not offended, like I was. More like with a tone of professional curiosity.
“Silver handcuffs.” Cormac nodded thoughtfully. I almost growled at him.
Ben said, “I told you to stay away from her—”
“She didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s Leo, he’s working with Flemming and Duke.” Which meant Alette was in trouble. But she was several hundred years old and could easily take care of herself, right? They didn’t get to be that old unless they could take care of themselves.
Leo had left the festivities in Flemming’s lab in a hurry. And with backup, though why he needed backup was anyone’s guess. She wouldn’t be looking for danger from him.
I had to get to Alette’s.
“I have a hard time believing Duke, Flemming, and some vampire minion are all in bed together,” Ben said.
“Duke didn’t know about Leo. Flemming’s been talking to him. But Duke and Flemming, they both want government attention—just for different reasons. I think they both think they can one-up the other when the time comes. It’s like they’re all playing chess, but each of them only sees a third of the board—a different third.”
“What does the vampire get out of this?” Cormac said.
“Contacts? Influence in the government?” Leo wasn’t interested in those things, not like Alette was. He wanted pure, simple power. He wanted to play games with it. Maybe he wanted to start his own games. “He can go over Alette’s head, for control of the city. Alette’s got the cops, but if Leo got the military—”
We approached D.C. proper again. Cormac was taking us to the hotel. Get some sleep, Ben had said. Not likely. I’d be climbing up the walls.
“Stop the car. Let me out here.”
Cormac kept driving, like I hadn’t even said anything.
“Cormac, stop the car!”
He looked at Ben for a sign.
Ben said, “If he’s got military backing, there’s no way you can go up against him.”
“Ben!” That did come out more like a growl. I’d shifted once tonight; didn’t mean it couldn’t happen again. I’d never
done it twice this close together. It would hurt. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I had to keep human eyes. Keep it together.
“Kitty,” Ben said, looking at me across the backseat. I had to hand it to him, standing up to a werewolf like this. I didn’t know if he trusted me not to shape-shift. He only sounded a little anxious. “You can’t do anything about it right now. Get some sleep, wait until morning. It’s much safer going against vampires in daylight, trust me.”
He was telling me what to do. Bossing me around. I might as well be in a pack again.
I wasn’t going to put up with that.
We were at the hotel. Cormac slowed down to turn into the parking garage. I scooted closer to the door. Then, I pulled the handle, popped open the door, and rolled out. The car was still moving, jerking me over the pavement. I had to stumble to keep my feet, but I managed to stay standing. I launched into a run.
The tires screeched as Cormac braked, but I didn’t look back. I didn’t look to see if they followed me.
I must have run for three blocks before I got my bearings. By then, I was thinking I shouldn’t have done it. They were only trying to help. Looking out for me, like friends should, no strings attached. Except I was paying Ben.
But what would I have done if they hadn’t come to pick me up? Waited until morning and taken the Metro? Gone back for a ride from Flemming?
I had a couple of miles to get to Alette’s. I could run that far, but I didn’t want to go there, not right away. I put my head down, sucked in night air, and ran. A wolf on the open plains couldn’t have gone much faster.
I arrived at the Crescent, pounded down the stairs and stopped at the door to catch my breath. It was closed. Hesitating, I tested it. Ahmed was true to his word. He kept the place unlocked, even on a full moon night. There probably wasn’t anyone around, but I had to check.
No lights were on, but my eyesight worked fine in the dark. I saw the bar, moved quietly around tables, didn’t see anyone. Let my nose work, taking in scents. The place wasn’t empty. Someone was here. Something was here.
I continued on, and movement caught my eye. Past the front of the bar, where cushions on the floor replaced tables and chairs, a gliding shape drifted forward. Sleek, feline, huge. My heart pounded hard for a moment. I’d never seen a cat that big without a nice set of solid bars between us.
His face was stout, angular, more intimidating than any house cat’s. His fur was tawny, and circular black smudges covered his coat.