The Eldritch Conspiracy

6

“Have fun tonight,” Emma teased as I climbed out of the SUV near La Cocina. I was going to retrieve my car and head for Bruno’s, and Emma was going back to the office. She hadn’t bothered to pull into the restaurant’s parking lot—it was practically bumper-to-bumper in there and there was no reason for her to waste time to get me a few feet closer to my car.

“Oh, I fully intend to.” My answering grin was probably a little bit wicked. I was really looking forward to an evening with Bruno. And if that went well, I was looking forward to an excellent night with Bruno. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

I opened my parasol as I got out of the car, then slammed the door and went around the front of the vehicle to cross the street. I had been well trained in my youth; now I looked both ways, then took advantage of a break in traffic to start across the busy street.

I heard an engine revving and the squeal of tires, and smelled rubber burning against hot asphalt. Even though I couldn’t see the car’s grille past the parasol that kept the sun from scorching my skin, thankfully my vampire reflexes had kicked in at the first growl of the motor. I dove for the far curb with everything I had. Normally that would be enough, since I can jump really fast and far with my enhanced muscles and most drivers steer away from people in the middle of the street.

But this guy corrected, making it very clear it was intentional. My body was still airborne when the car hit me—probably the only reason I wasn’t badly hurt. I landed on the hood and rolled off past the driver’s side window, catching a glimpse of the man at the wheel before falling to the street. The vehicle sped off.

Ironically, I landed facedown on the white pedestrian stick figure in the crosswalk. Everything hurt. A lot. And I was pissed off.

Because I knew who had hit me.

“Oh my God! Celia, are you all right?” Emma jumped out of the SUV and rushed up as other cars swerved around me. No one stopped, of course.

“I’m okay,” I assured her as I pulled myself slowly to my feet, surveying the damage. Thankfully, I didn’t seem to have any broken bones. A quick tongue survey of my mouth revealed I’d managed not to lose any teeth, although one fang had cut the inside of my lip.

Blood brings out the vampire in me quicker than almost anything. The smell, unmistakable copper and salt; the taste. Both my rage and my newfound hunger made me want to ignore my human nature and rip into the woman standing beside me. I could hear the rapid beat of her heart, smell the sweat of her fear. Emma is my friend. She is not food. And I am not a fucking bat.

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into flesh. My exposed skin was starting to singe—I could smell it burning. I embraced the pain, using it to home in on my humanity. My voice was still a little rough when I asked, “Did you get the plate number?”

I opened my eyes to see her blushing furiously. I guess not. “It was so fast.” Digging the cell phone from her oversized bag, she said, “I’ll call nine-one-one.”

I stopped her with a hand on her wrist. “Don’t.”

Overhead, seagulls were swooping and cawing, obviously upset. I tried to think calming vibes at them. It didn’t work.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t’?” Emma stepped back, angry and offended. She looked a little like an avenging angel, given her air of righteous indignation and her cloud of dark golden hair blowing in the breeze. “It was a deliberate hit-and-run. Whoever that was tried to kill you. We have to call the police.”

When I trusted myself to sound calm I answered her, lying smoothly so she didn’t go ballistic. “Emma, it won’t do any good. He’s long gone. I can’t describe the car or the driver. You don’t have the plate number.” I shrugged. “The last thing I need is more trouble with the police. Please, just let it go.”

I could tell she didn’t want to listen. But she put her phone away, lips pressed into a thin line of disapproval, then strode over to where I’d dropped my purse, her sensible heels clicking sharply against the concrete sidewalk.

“You realize you’re insane?” she said as she returned and handed me my bag.

“Emma—.” My voice held a note of warning. I love Emma, I really do. But I was stressed, I was angry, and the last thing I needed was a lecture.

She gave me a long look through narrowed eyes before lifting a hand in a gesture of reluctant surrender. “Fine, but don’t expect me to like it.” She would like it less if she knew I was lying a little. I’d gotten a good look at the driver. Emma added, “Let’s get inside. You need food. You’re starting to glow.”

Well, hell. That wasn’t good. I’ve gotten a lot more control of my inner bat recently, but stress and physical exertion aren’t helpful. I should probably eat something. Not too much; I didn’t want to ruin my appetite for dinner. Maybe just one of the special Sunset Smoothies La Cocina makes just for me. “I thought you needed to get back to the office and grade papers?”

“Screw it. They can wait another day. This is important. Go see if you can get us a table while I park the car.”

There weren’t any tables. In fact, the press of people was such that I had to take refuge on the patio and order my Sunset Smoothie to go. Better to leave, before people started looking like bloodsicles. Besides, I wanted a long hot bath and plenty of time to primp for my date with Bruno. I texted Emma and told her not to bother coming in. She replied, “You okay?” I assured her I was, and wasn’t staying long. A minute or so later I saw her SUV pull away.

Thinking about Bruno while I waited for my smoothie helped me relax a little. It had been a long time since we’d had an actual date-date. He’d been busy with his studies; I’d been on a job. And while they may work for other people, I think long distance relationships suck. E-mails, calls, and texts are just not the same as face-to-face, skin-to-skin communication. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder. It makes it grow lonely. At least in my case.

Juan paused as he crossed the patio, carrying a tray laden with food that smelled like heaven, to hand me my drink, already in a to-go cup. I forced myself to look away and took a long pull of my Sunset Smoothie, a concoction whipped up specifically for me and only available at La Cocina, where I’ve been a regular since my first week of college. When Barbara and her husband found out I’d never again be able to eat solid food, they took it as a challenge and created something that I could actually drink, digest, and enjoy. When I first heard what was in it, I was a little freaked. I mean, cow’s blood? Seriously? But it tastes great and I always feel better after I’ve had one.

I can try to deny it, but the vampire part of me has different nutritional needs than the human and siren parts. It’s a bad idea to ignore them. Control is about knowing your limits and working within them, not pretending they don’t exist.

I plunged back into the crowded restaurant, heading for the cash register line to pay the tab. It was a long line, so, rather than waste time being bored, I decided to call Dawna and check in.

“Are you coming back to the office?” She had to shout so that I could hear her over the restaurant noise.

“I hadn’t planned on it.”

“Crap.”

“What’s up?”

“There’s an Agent Baker here from the Serenity Secret Service. She says she has the packet you requested and needs to brief you before you start your assignment tomorrow.”

Shit. I looked at the clock. I didn’t have time to go back to the office for a briefing and still get ready for my date tonight. I just didn’t. And while most times I’m all about the work, today I wasn’t. I needed a night off.

“See if she can meet me at the office tomorrow morning early, say eight o’clock? I doubt Adriana gets out of bed that early.”

Dawna put me on hold; I’d moved up to the second spot in line by the time she got back to me. “She has another appointment at nine o’clock, so eight won’t work. But she can do six thirty or seven.”

Six thirty? Really? There must be a lot of information to cover. I did some quick calculations in my head, considering travel time from either my house or Bruno’s, and made a decision. “Tell her seven o’clock is as early as I can do.”

“I’ll let her know.”

We hung up without saying good-bye and I paid my tab, then headed out the door, still sucking on my smoothie. But I was especially careful crossing the parking lot and I used the little button a friend in the FBI had given me to make sure nobody had tampered with my car.

It’s not paranoia if they’re actually trying to kill you.