Annie Nicholas: Hunting Colby

“You have any roommates I don’t know about?” I released the safety on the gun and crept forward, scanning the dark corners. Discarded clothes lay on the floor by the bathroom door, and a faint, familiar scent reached my nose.

“No, the only person who knows how to get in without keys is—”

“Alcide.” I set the safety and returned my gun to its holster, then opened the bathroom door. Steam poured out, and I could barely make out his form behind the shower stall glass.

He sang. I couldn’t understand, since it was in Italian, but it sounded sad. He paused as my heels clicked on the tile. “Hello?”

I opened the shower door. “Half the city is looking for you.”

He blinked the water from his eyes as he assessed me from head to toe. Then a smile grew on his face. “And the other half wants me dead.” His smile wasn’t the only thing that grew.

Reaching around him, I turned the dial to ice-cold and slammed the door.

His screeches trailed behind me as I exited.

Mutt sat in his favorite chair. It was so old it had molded to his shape. “You have this way of leaving a lasting impression on everyone you meet. I need to learn how to do this.” He grinned as I shot him a look.

“I’m stealing clothes.”

“ Mi casa es su casa .” He watched the bathroom doorway with interest.

Scavenging through Mutt’s bureau, I found a pair of yoga pants that might fit. I held them up.

“Oh, someone must have forgotten those.” He gave me a smug wink.

“Yeah, but are they clean?” I didn’t have a problem wearing old girlfriend clothes.

“If they’re in the drawer, they’re clean.”

Alcide strode out into the living space with a towel around his waist. “Who is that?” He pointed at me as I pulled on the yoga pants. My dress was now a long shirt; too bad half my cleavage still hung out.

“Never mind her. Where the fuck have you been, man? I’ve—we’ve been combing the streets for your body.” Mutt crossed his long leg over his knee. “And why are slayers after you?”

Alcide seemed to deflate before us. He puddled onto the couch next to Mutt and flung his arm over his eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I raised my eyebrow at Mutt, who rolled his eyes. Inching closer, I stayed on my feet behind Mutt’s chair with my gun in the palm of my hand. The bullets wouldn’t kill but would hurt. Alcide was Mutt’s friend, not mine. “You’d better explain soon before Mutt’s big brothers take an interest.”

Alcide jerked. “I want them to! I thought you couldn’t call them.”

“I can’t, but she can.” Mutt leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “Is that why you asked a few weeks ago?”

His friend sat up to face us, hands clasped together tight. “I think Cesio is breaking the breeding laws.”

A cold chill ran over my skin. The vampire nation had strict rules on creating new citizens. It all came down to supply and demand. Too many vampires meant more mouths to feed, which led to more humans being food and finding out about vampire existence.

“What proof do you have?” Setting my hand on the back of the chair, I took in Alcide’s scent to help judge if he spoke the truth.

“Proof? If I had that, then the Nosferatu would be in the city and Cesio would be dust. All I have are small pieces to a puzzle.” He hung his head, running his fingers through his wet hair. The gesture reminded me of Colby. “I fed what I knew to the slayer group that works for Master Tane in hopes they could inform him or find more evidence.”

“What?” My surprised question passed my lips before his words truly registered in my head. “You were working with the slayers?”

He nodded. “I was supposed to meet with my contact, one of their leaders, a few nights ago, but he never showed. He’s not answering his cell phone either. I’m getting worried.” His head shot up from their cradle. “Wait a minute.” He pointed at me. “You were in the motel room the other night and attacked me.”

I rolled the tension from my shoulders. He smelled of truth, or at least, he believed what he said was true. “You were walking into a trap. I saved your scrawny ass. They think you killed their friend. He was supposed to meet with you then vanished.” I groaned. Explaining this to Colby wouldn’t be easy. “I need to know everything. They still want to stake you.” I took a seat next to him, not letting the gun go.

He glanced at it. “You don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

“And you’re not human.”

“I’m a shifter and, more importantly, I’m head of Master Tane’s security. If Cesio is breaking breeding laws, Master Tane needs to know.”

Alcide whistled and glanced at Mutt. “Are you in more trouble than me?”

Grinning, Mutt nodded. “Gwen is here to set me straight. If you answer her questions, I might consider not kicking your ass for not coming to me with this in the first place.”

The vampire swallowed visibly. “I wanted to, but I really don’t have any concrete evidence.” Alcide faced me. “It started with my human companion. She mentioned there was a flu affecting many of her friends, an anemic flu. It seems the sick were all low on blood, some needing transfusions. She was young, and all her friends liked to gather at the clubs. They’re easy prey. It was enough to set off my alarms. I told her to stay home in the evenings, unless I could accompany her, and went to some of the hospitals to discreetly question staff.” By discreetly, I assumed he meant he entranced them.

I leaned toward him. “Why concern yourself?” He didn’t hold any position of importance so he didn’t have to make such an effort.

He winced. “I liked her. My companion, she was fun and gentle. There’s not much gentleness in a vampire’s life. She was also headstrong and independent. Against my advice, she continued to go out on her own.”

“Liked?” I asked, noting his use of past tense.

“I found her at home, weak and helpless. No signs of abuse, but I did find a set of bite marks not belonging to me.” Alcide stared unseeing ahead, his thoughts focused inwards. “Someone else had fed from her to a dangerous level, but she couldn’t remember the event. At the hospital, she died. They said it was the anemic flu.”

I cleared my throat. He had cared for her, but love could be blind. The source of her mysterious bite seemed obvious to me however he didn’t appear to want to see it. Instead he conjured phantom plagues and mysterious plots. “Alcide, I still don’t see any connection to Cesio.” It took a lot of effort not to bitch slap some sense into the grieving vampire. His misguided theories might have cost Red his life.

“I’m getting to that.” He met my gaze, his eyes turning hard. “I know what you’re thinking. That she cheated on me. I thought the same at first, but what about all the others in the hospital?” Shaking his head, he leaned back on the couch. “Cesio’s smart.”

“The old ones always are.” So I’d been wrong. He could see beyond his heart. I should have known; I didn’t think Mutt would consider a fool his friend.

“Think about it. If he were breeding a small army, how can he feed them without drawing either human or Nosferatu attention? He can’t let his young vampires out in the street to hunt. Rising body counts would be all over the news and draw the Nosferatu.”

A cold lump of fear dropped into the pit of my stomach.

Mutt straightened in his chair. “He’s making it seem like an illness?”

Oh my God, the cold turned into nausea. “It’s a brilliant plan. Not everyone is dying?” I shot the question at Alcide.

“No, of course not. If they were, it would be all over the news. Even the number of humans falling ill are not overwhelming, just enough to make them scratch their heads.”