Annie Nicholas - Hunting Colby

Out on the sidewalks, I kneeled close to the ground but still couldn’t pick up any hints of Alcide’s trail. We had canvassed blocks in all directions from where we’d lost the vampire’s scent last night in hopes to find it again.

My legs ached from the hard pace Colby set, my boots soaked from the puddles, and shivers tore through my body from the cold front following the storm. I loved it. This was how I was meant to live. Not confined in mansions doing security checks.

Colby squatted next to me. “So?”

“Nothing.”

“Damn it. I’m not getting anything either.” He rose. The wind whipped his hair and hid his eyes from me. “I’m not sure where to look next.” He pulled out his cell phone, checking for texts. His crew had been combing the city for information on either Alcide or Red all day and evening. “One of my men might have a hit. He’s in Brooklyn. We’ll grab a cab.” He scanned the street to hail one.

“Wait.” I grabbed his arm before he could wave it. “We’re avoiding the obvious solution. Why not ask Cesio about Red? He might intervene on his behalf. Vampire society still follows the rule-by-a-fist philosophy. Whoever took Red might fear Cesio more than you.”

“You think the Overlord of Manhattan will aid slayers?” From his tone, Colby obviously didn’t believe he would.

“It can’t hurt to ask.”

“Too dangerous.” He shook his head.

“Why?”

“Have you met Cesio?”

I sighed, sticking my half-frozen fingers in my pockets. “No.” It wasn’t a total truth. I’d spoken to him on the phone when Colby had been unconscious. He hadn’t given me the best impression.

“Gwen, this isn’t Tane’s court. Cesio barely tolerates humans. He follows the laws the Nosferatu laid down out of fear, not belief. Slayers are even lower in his opinion.”

A bad feeling settled in my gut. “Do you think Red’s still alive?”

Colby’s face hardened. “We don’t leave people behind. Dead or alive.” He met my stare, something like worry peeking out. “Red could have abandoned me in Budapest. He had every right to. He and my team risked everything to free me. I won’t give up on him.”

“Okay.” I lifted my hand to hail the cab turning our way. “You go see this possible lead. I’ll go to Cesio.”

Colby snatched my hand, but the cab was already stopping by the curb. “No, that’s not the plan.”

“You said it yourself. Cesio might kill you on sight, but he won’t touch me. I still hold my position in Tane’s court.” I opened the back door, yanking my hand from his grasp before slipping inside. “I’ll call you if I find anything and I expect you to do the same. Oh, and don’t kill Alcide if you catch him. Mutt would like a word with him first.”

Colby blocked the door from closing. He leaned inside. “Be careful.” His frown grew deeper, but he didn’t say anything else even though I could tell he had a monologue going on in his head.

I gave him a reassuring smile and basked in his concern. “I can handle myself.” A person only worried about people he cared about. “But I could use some cash. I left my wallet at my hotel.”

He gave me some money. Closing the short distance between us, he pressed his lips to mine. The small kiss made all the wet and cold of the evening worth it. He strode away, waving for another cab.

I hadn’t met Cesio in person, but I did know where he kept his court. What kind of security specialist would I be if I didn’t? Protocol stated I should have presented myself to the Overlord upon arrival to the city, but since I worked for the Nosferatu as Mutt’s sitter, I had some leeway. I somehow doubted Cesio would think the same.

The cabby took me to the Upper East Side. I paid with cash and exited to stand in front of a towering white marble building. The two doormen smelled of vampire flesh and age. The old ones were always strong.

Glancing at my reflection in the glass door, I flinched. Maybe I should have gone to my hotel and changed first. I didn’t look like the head of security of the Nosferatu king. More like a shifter down on her luck. I gave my coat a tug, raised my chin, and strode to the door. My master had told me once that attitude was part of my image. I’d have to bank on that.

As I drew near, a guard blocked my path. “State your business.”

“I am Gwen Fatima Brizido of the Divorar pack, alpha to Master’s Tane personal security. I have to speak with Lord Cesio.” I made sure to thicken my Brazilian accent. It helped soften some males to my will.

The vampire guard’s frown deepened. “I can’t let you in on just your name, Ms. Brizido. You could be anyone off these streets. Do you have a letter of introduction from your master?”

“ Our master.” The response came automatically. It never hurt to remind the regular vampire population that the Nosferatu still watched.

He swallowed visibly. “Ours, of course.”

“No, not on me.” It sat in my suitcase, gathering dust. I gestured to my damp and muddy clothes. “This is an emergency, not a courtesy call. Make the request to your lord.” I barked the last sentence with the authority I’d been trained to wield.

The guard’s spine snapped straighter. He must have been from a military background. “Yes, ma’am.” Pressing on his ear piece, he passed on my request. After a moment he made eye contact with me. “Lord Cesio has already left the building. We’ll pass on the request for an audience when he returns. Is there a way he can contact you?”

“How come you didn’t know of his whereabouts when I arrived?” Poor security habits.

A scowl was my only answer.

I pulled out my business card from an inside pocket of my jacket. It only had my cell phone number on it. “Give this to him and don’t make me wait too long. I’ll be forced to go over his head if I am.” I lied. The Nosferatu would only be interested in Red if his body turned up, and calling my master would trigger a reaction on such a scale that I doubt Colby would ever forgive me.

Spinning on my heel, I strolled along the sidewalk, taking the first turn so I’d be out of their view and hearing before dialing my cell phone.

“Gwen, where the fuck are you?” Mutt just about blew out my eardrum.

“Thanks for abandoning me in the subway tunnels.” I paused by an alley. Something triggered my shifter senses—a familiar smell? I glanced around but couldn’t see movement.

“No problem. I told you I wasn’t going to get in the middle of your shifter…thing. Did you find Alcide?”

“No, he hit the surface before dawn. Then it rained. I couldn’t find anything fresh in the area. I assume he’s still not answering his cell?”

“That’s a negative. This isn’t like him. Most of my friends took off when the Nosferatu changed me. Al stuck around, even during the worst of it. He kept me from killing and losing my mind.” Mutt confirmed my suspicions that the change from regular vampire to Nosferatu could be brutal. Poor kid.

“The slayers want him too.” I sighed. “I can’t promise to keep him alive if he’s been breaking vampire laws, but I’ll do my best.”

“Fuck. Where are you? Let me help.”

“I’m in Manhattan, and you can’t come where I’m going.”

“Where’s that?”

“Do you know where Cesio likes to spend time? He’s not in his nest tonight. Does he have a favorite lover or club?”

Mutt groaned. There was no love lost between these two. Cesio was older than Mutt by centuries, but he knew one day soon the pup would outmatch him. They didn’t cross paths on purpose. “There’s still a lot of conflict between the burrows. He stays close to home. Most of the time you can find him at Fangshui. It’s a private club. Vampire clientele mostly.”