“Because I’d kill to see her, and I’m not going to let you cut off my Jac connections just because you hate the Hollywood status quo.”
At the notion of seeing the girl again, panic welled. Foolish or not, it was time for Dawn to lay it on the line.
“Remember a few days ago when the possibility of Underground vamps having plastic surgery came up?”
Kiko looked at her sidelong.
“I can’t help thinking,” Dawn continued, “what, with the things we found out about Robby Pennybaker’s own faked ‘murder’ and planned ‘comeback’ that…”
Kiko finished for her. “You think she’s Eva with plastic surgery, and that Jac could have been Underground, just like Robby.”
Dawn had refused to talk about that day in the hospital, but she knew Breisi had filled in Kiko and The Voice. She was glad she didn’t have to go through all the details again.
“Here’s the thing,” Kiko said. “I don’t think you should worry about Jac. She’s actually been under watch, just like a lot of people we’ve been in contact with. So far, she’s clean.”
“Jac was under Friend surveillance…?”
“Uh-huh, and the Friends are spread thin. We don’t exactly have a surplus, and they need to get back home every once in a while to sort of refuel, know what I mean?”
“Gee, Kik, thanks for telling me about this before.”
He shook his head, as if she should’ve learned better by now. “You’re never going to know everything that happens around here. Not unless you need to, Dawn. I’m used to it by now.”
So just accept it, he didn’t have to add. Just know that you’re doing your part to save the world, Prophecy Girl.
“Obviously,” Kiko continued, “Jac isn’t a concern, or else the boss would’ve had us follow up on her.”
Yeesh, maybe it wasn’t obvious, but at the hospital, Dawn had almost broken down at the thought of a resurrected Eva.
Couldn’t they see what she was seeing—?
Wait. Good God, she’d never even looked beyond her own shock.
She calmed herself, thinking rationally for once. What if Jac/Eva could lead her to the Underground? Shouldn’t she be wondering about that?
“Go. To. The. Party,” Kiko was saying. “There’s nothing pressing happening tonight anyway. Breisi wanted to go over what we know about Jessica Reese again, then she’ll probably hermit up in her lab.”
She saw a flash of something off-kilter in his gaze, but he looked away before she could call him on it.
“Why don’t you and Breez come with me?”
“Because Jacqueline Ashley isn’t…Dawn, you can’t go around thinking everything, including Jac, is going to attack you. Believe me, you gotta get out of that phase. When I saw my first monster, I went through it, too, but you need to chill before you do even more damage.”
She knew he was talking about the homeless woman. How many times had she told herself the same thing?
How damned many?
He got out of his chair. “Clear it with the boss if you decide to go. And”—he turned away—“I hope you do. I hope Jac helps you get out of this funk.”
He left the room in a rush, never looking back.
But Dawn barely noticed because she was already thinking of ways to get the truth out of her starlet “pal.”
Even if no one else believed in her suspicions.
J AC had gotten a new Prius and, while she drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Paul Aspen’s home in Malibu, she chattered away about her new ride.
“I decided on cherry red because I’m still such a sorority girl at heart, but the flip color doesn’t scream ‘tree-hugger hybrid driver.’ That’s what my PR guy said—buying this car, no matter what color it is, shows I’m concerned about the environment, even though I’m not giving interviews about it.” Jac grinned. “Isn’t all of that so major? All I wanted to do was save some gas.”
Jac’s window was only slightly gaped, ensuring that her hair didn’t get messy, even though faint huffs of the summer-night breeze still played with her long blond waves. Tonight, she wasn’t wearing her usual sunglasses and, at first, Dawn had flinched when looking into Jac’s brown irises. The last time that had happened, Dawn had seen Eva with all the clarity of a knife shearing into her stomach. This time…not so much.
Maybe the shock had worn off?
As Dawn tried to return Jac’s grin, she noticed that the starlet really did look like she’d been in a boot camp for the last month; it wasn’t that she’d lost weight—no, she looked like the usual slender Jac in her white silk tank and a pair of tight black pants. It was just that her skin was duller than the usual pearly complexion. Or maybe it was just Dawn’s vampire-steeped imagination taking over.
Jac noticed the visual inventory, so Dawn casually said, “Looks like you haven’t been eating well.”
“I know, I know,” Jac said. “Nerves—total nerves! But that’s all going to change. I’ve been assigned a nutritionist. Can you believe that? Someone’s going to tell me how to eat, like I don’t have a clue.”