I, for one, was going to take that as a good sign. I imagined living as long as Rossi had might mean that things could get pretty tedious. I hoped Ryder being interesting was better than Ryder looking like something bothersome that should be eaten.
I started heating the water for tea and put on a fresh pot of coffee. I could hear if there was conversation in the living room—small house—but so far, no one was saying anything.
“Ryder said his agency wants to talk to you about human-vamp relations,” I said loud enough for my voice to carry into the other room. “He’s the head of the welcome wagon.”
“I know.” Rossi did that vampire thing where his voice sounded like he was standing right beside me even though he wasn’t. “I was here when he said it.”
I pushed the coffee pot button and checked the tea kettle on the stove, then came back out into the room.
Ryder and Rossi were both still standing, the other three still sitting.
“So let’s get down to it,” I said. “First, there are a few rules.”
“Rules?” Rossi asked.
“My house, my rules. One: no killing. Two: no harming. Three: no fighting. Four: no underhanded tricks that the other doesn’t know about, which includes recording this session.” That, I directed to Ryder, “or altering someone’s mind or memories.” That was for Rossi.
“I’m not wired,” Ryder said. “I wasn’t expecting this coffee and donut session to turn into introductions.”
“There are donuts?” Crow asked. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“There are gonna be now.” Jean tossed her keys to Crow. “Make mine maple.”
“Apple,” Myra said.
“I want a cupcake,” I said.
“Oh, so now you’re letting me out of your sight?” Crow asked. “So I can be your delivery boy? What if I just keep driving?”
“Please,” Myra said. “We know you’re not leaving town. Not without...” she caught herself just in time. “Not without our permission.”
That brought us back to the second thing we really needed to discuss. The missing powers. It would have to wait until we settled this thing with Ryder and Rossi.
I didn’t want Ryder here for the god power discussion. There was no way I was going to tell him gods vacationed in his hometown. Letting him know about vampires was enough of a security breach.
The kettle whistled and Crow held out his hand to Myra. “Credit card. I already pay for your wages with my taxes, I’m not paying for your donuts too.”
She pulled a card out of the slim wallet in her pocket, and I went into the kitchen for tea for the vampire and coffee for the rest of us.
The only tea in my cupboard was Lipton black, a couple Earl Grey that I didn’t remember buying, and a single licorice spice. I filled a cup with water and put one of each bag on a plate beneath it.
“All right. Let the fun begin. Tea.” I handed it to Rossi, then returned to the kitchen for coffee, cream, and sugar. “Rossi, I didn’t hear you promise not to use your tricks on Ryder,” I said as I walked back in.
“You weren’t in the room.”
“He didn’t agree,” Myra said.
Ryder held his cup up over his shoulder and I refilled it. I sat, filled my cup, and handed the pot to Jean. She filled her cup and Myra’s.
“So let’s have that promise,” I said.
The vampire was dangling three tea bags off his fingers. “We really need to talk about your lack of tea in this house. Lipton? Could you find nothing more...pedestrian? Doesn’t Folgers put out a tea?”
“Still not a promise.” I slurped coffee, which wasn’t Folgers, thank you very much.
“Fine.” Rossi chose the Lipton with a grimace. “I agree to your terms. Mr. Bailey?”
“Terms are good with me.”
Rossi wasted no time. “Who is your boss?”
Ryder ground his teeth together for a moment and gave me a dirty look like I had coached Rossi or something. Finally he seemed to give in. “Jake Monroy.”
“Your client?” I said before thinking. “Not your client,” I corrected. Well, no wonder he’d been arguing with Ryder late at night on his doorstep. Now I wondered what they had been arguing about. “What about Frank?”
“He was a recruiter. He was my boss at the beginning.”
“Did you or someone in your agency kill Sven?” Rossi went on like I didn’t even exist.
“No.”
“Did the hunters?”
“It’s possible, but I have no proof.”
“Give me their names.”
It might not have been actual mental manipulation, but the way Rossi said it carried weight and pressure. As if the years of his life made each word come out heavier than it should.
“No.”
“Bad move,” Jean said. “Never piss off the fanger.”
“He can say no,” I said. “This is a discussion not an interrogation.”
Rossi slipped his steady gaze over to me. From the corner of my eye I could see Ryder relax. I had sympathy for Ryder. Rossi’s gaze could make a brick wall squirm.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Delaney.”
“That’s okay, I’ll give it to you for free. I want the names of the people in town hunting vampires too, but if Ryder gives them to you, then he’s no longer useful to you. That isn’t how you’re going to behave. We’ve talked about you not killing him, haven’t we?”
I didn’t mean for it to come out in such a motherly sort of tone and felt my ears go hot with a blush as Rossi raised both eyebrows and gave me an incredulous smile.
“Did you just use a ‘mom’ voice on me?”
“No. That was my cop voice. And the statement stands. No killing Ryder.”
“Did I say I was going to kill him? Delaney, I am a peaceful man. My soul is in balance. My Karma and conscience are clear. All chakras go.”
None of that was actually a promise not to kill him.
“So why don’t we make this easy.” Rossi turned that molten gaze of his back on Ryder. “Who killed one of mine?”
That came with a flash of fang and that glowy-eye thing.
Ryder didn’t move, but even I could tell his heart rate kicked up a notch. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m here to figure out. I only know one of those men, those vampire hunters. When I saw him in the bar, I knew they had to be in town looking for your kind. My job, Mr. Rossi, whether you believe it or not, is to make sure that your kind can live safely among the mortals of this world. I am not a vampire hunter. Not a vampire killer.”
“Tell me why they had your blood, Ryder Bailey. Tell me why I should ignore that it was your blood that killed Sven.”
“I wasn’t a part of it. I donated to the Red Cross outside the hotel where I was staying. That’s the only way I know someone could have gotten their hands on my blood.”
“Who?”
“You tell me. I didn’t even know my blood was a part of Sven’s death until Delaney told me. While you’re at it, maybe you can tell me who would have wanted Sven dead. If there are other vampires in Ordinary, and I’m assuming there are, why him? Was he just the most vulnerable? Was it bad luck? Did he do something that brought attention to himself?”
“He was new here.”
“And? Was he new to being a vampire?”
“Time is such a relative thing.”
“Was he relatively new?”