Page 22 of Blood Magic

“I know a lot of things,” he murmured, but there was no cockiness in his voice.

“The dark web,” Lucy said. “I had a dream about you, Max. You were stuck in a dark web, but that wasn’t literal. It’s the world inside your computer, isn’t it?”

He neither denied nor confirmed. Like the rest of us, Max had his secrets. “Sara disappeared nineteen days ago from her apartment in Cleveland.”

“That’s over a hundred miles from here,” I said. “How did she end up dead in the woods of Huntersburg?”

He nodded. “Exactly. And I will bet everything I own that her brother is already in Jakeston. Tracking is what he does.” He hesitated, then, “Drop me at my car before you go to Long Shadow, Kait. I need to start digging. I can call Joe to meet us at your place.”

“No, don’t call him. I can go alone.”

“You won’t be alone,” Lucy said. “I’m going with you.”

“No,” Max and I told her, at the same time. “Too dangerous now.”

She sighed, but I don’t think she was too disappointed.

Max ignored my orders not to call Joe and called him anyway. “He’ll be happy to go with you,” he said, when I frowned at him. “The mayor would kick both our asses if we let something happen to you.”

“Max,” I said, “you forget that Joe doesn’t know about vampires. What if there is one buried in Long Shadow and—”

“He needs to know,” he said. “It’s time he stopped hiding from the truth. Let him see it, Kait.”

Lucy perked up. “If Joe is going—”

“No, Lucy,” I interrupted.

Then I pulled up one of my contacts and when it went to his voicemail, I left a quick message. “Hey, Sixten. I need some juice—just one. I’m not home so put it in the usual place. We can settle up soon.”

“What was that about?” Lucy asked.

I didn’t answer. I doubted she’d understand that Sixten was a “friend” who supplied me with things I couldn’t walk into a store and buy—a syringe of blood, in this instance—and he didn’t ask questions. I knew when I arrived home, the blood would be packaged and waiting behind a loose brick beside my front door.

Joe was already waiting when we reached my house, leaning against his car, his arms crossed.

“My God,” Lucy murmured. “He is so hot.”

Max laughed. “Girl, you need to get laid.”

“I’m trying,” she complained. “He’s not taking the hint.”

“Since when did you ever hint about anything, Luce?” I asked. “Maybe you should just ask him if he’s interested and put yourself out of your misery.”

“But what if he’s not?”

“Then you can move on.”

“There’s something about him,” she said, before we exited the car. “He makes me feel shy. I can’t just come out and ask him if he wants to bang me.”

But when we reached him, she clung to his arm and smiled up at him, and there wasn’t a person present who didn’t know that Lucy Shannon wanted to “bang” Joe Patrick. Including Joe Patrick.

She ran her hand over the front of his shirt. “Blue is my absolute favorite color,” she told him. “We have so much in common.”

He stared down at her, his eyes twinkling. Then, “I like dick, Lucy.”

For a second, she could only gape, but she recovered nicely. “So do I! See? So much in common.”

But Joe was watching as Max sauntered toward us, his stare on his phone.