During dinner, she moved about the room so stealthily that she barely drew attention. Food kept coming, glasses stayed full, and all the while, she rarely got close to Shepherd. Her father must have sheltered her from brutes like him.
Unfortunately, Kira’s peculiar ways weren’t enough to distract me from Christian’s earlier remarks. Though inches apart, we hadn’t spoken all through dinner. Without a doubt, Houdini couldn’t be completely trusted. But even if what Christian said was true, it didn’t make sense why my maker would care. Houdini had no love for me. Confronted with the truth about Christian, I wondered why I would have risked my position with Keystone for a relationship that wouldn’t last. Especially with it not being sexual.
No sex? That was another thing I found unbelievable. What could we possibly have in common besides curiosity and physical lust? At what point had I suddenly decided that a bloodsucking Vampire with a dark demeanor was the one for me?
After dinner, Gem invited me for a walk around the mansion.
“How’s Hooper?” I asked as we ascended the stairs.
She gripped the railing and walked sideways on her roller skates. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“That’s all?”
I slowed my pace so she could keep up. Gem’s bold lipstick had mostly rubbed off at dinner, leaving a violet stain on her lips. But her eyes were rimmed in black, as usual. Even when not leaving the house, she liked to have fun with her makeup and clothes.
“Things have been topsy-turvy since… Well, you know.”
“Drama putting pressure on your love life?”
“Bingo. We talked on the phone, and when we finally went out on a date, it was difficult to pretend as if nothing was happening in my life. He doesn’t know the details, only that you were missing. The team joined us a couple of times, but the connection between us wasn’t the same. Not like when we’re alone.”
I was curious. I’d met Hooper a few times, and I just couldn’t imagine falling for a guy like that. He seemed nice, but that was it. “What is it about him that makes you feel that way?”
“I don’t know. Hooper just has a way of making me forget my cares.”
“So he’s like a walking bubble bath.”
She giggled. “That’s one way to put it.”
When we reached the top of the stairs, she glided ahead of me, her long grey duster floating behind her.
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the little things. The sound of Gem’s skates whirring down the hall, passing Niko in a random alcove, Shepherd’s used matches lying around for Christian to pick up, and Wyatt’s music echoing in the halls late at night.
We reached Wyatt’s office, and a smile ghosted my lips when I spotted the vending machine.
Wyatt’s chair squeaked as he turned and noticed the direction of my gaze. “You didn’t miss nothing. Shep rigged ludicrous prices that stayed there for three weeks before he gave me back my key.”
Gem chortled. “When he got bored, he put some of Wyatt’s personal things in there. Spooky got so mad that he hid Shepherd’s weapons all over the house. Viktor had to intervene before World War III broke out.” She rolled toward a beanbag chair, eyes on the big TV. “Oh, you have a good one on!”
Glinda the Good Witch waved her sparkly wand and made ruby slippers magically appear on Dorothy’s feet. Memories flashed through my mind of holidays with my daddy. He’d be out front, firing up the big grill to smoke a turkey while I stayed warm inside, watching The Wizard of Oz. I briefly wondered which I missed more—my father or the sense of normalcy.
On the L-shaped sofa, Claude was shirtless and sprawled out like a cat in the sun. Though he remained motionless, his nostrils were flaring. During sleepless nights, I had a habit of taking midnight walks around the mansion, and Claude had followed me on two occasions. He didn’t skulk in the shadows and hide his presence either. It should have creeped me out, but Claude sometimes had a quiet way of showing his support that I appreciated. His Chitah personality traits made him different from most men—he wouldn’t hesitate about entering someone’s room and offering physical comfort if he sensed they were distraught. Gem had told me that Chitahs had a thing with sleeping on one another—male or female—and there was nothing sexual about it.
Luckily, he hadn’t gone as far as climbing into my bed.
Claude slowly got up and swaggered toward the vending machine. “Give me a dollar,” he said, swatting Wyatt on the head. After inserting the bill and pressing a button, he turned around and tossed something at me.
I caught a package of cookies and nodded my thanks as he ambled back to the sofa, one leg of his grey sweatpants bunched up below his knee.
Wyatt patted the leather chair next to him. “Take a seat, buttercup. I’m doing some last-minute work for the trip.”
The chair creaked when I sat down. We hadn’t discussed the case at the dinner table. In fact, I didn’t really know anything outside of what Viktor had told me. “Who all is going?”
“You, Christian, Viktor, and Blue.”
“Not Shepherd?”
Wyatt cracked open a can of root beer. “Viktor spent a lot of time working through each case scenario, and Shepherd’s out with the rest of us. You’ll probably be up against one or more Vampires, so Christian’s obviously going, and you’re immune to almost everything. Blue can fly to safety and do surveillance, and Viktor’s going because he calls the shots.”
“How many Vamps do you think we’re talking about?”
Wyatt gulped down half of his drink. “Don’t worry, Shep’s gonna hook you guys up with impalement wood.”
“Why is Christian automatically in?”
“Charming, memory scrubbing… the usual. Plus he can break a man in two, so there’s that.”
“It’s Chitah and Shifter country up there,” Gem pointed out. “Well, that region anyhow. Technically it was once inhabited by an ancient race of Sensors before the settlers moved in. I’m not sure why they disbanded—”
“Enough with the history lesson, Professor Plum.” Wyatt rolled his eyes. “That girl was an encyclopedia in her past life.”
“Where in Canada are we going?” I asked.
Wyatt stretched. “New Brunswick. I’ve already got your fake passports and paperwork. I think you’re going to a private airport, so from there, who knows.”
“I still don’t get why Shepherd’s not going.”
Gem shrieked when Wyatt let out a shameless belch. “Caveman,” she muttered.
Wyatt flashed a grin and winked at me. “Shep’s a Sensor. He can’t heal like the rest of you. Blue and Viktor can do all that shifting. Anyhow, Viktor knows what he’s doing. He’ll have a tracking device so I can pinpoint your location. I need to stay here and man the station.”
“Sounds like a cop-out.”
“If you get yourselves in a pickle and I’m not here, who you gonna call?”
“Ghostbusters?”
Gem laughed. “She got you on that one, Spooky.”
It made me wonder who would have gone in my place had I declined Viktor’s offer. Shepherd was a tough guy, but going up against a Vampire was another matter. Claude would be a good contender given his Chitah speed and tracking ability.