Page 178 of Death is Familiar

They spoke about how Abigaile Johns—now Selena Belle—the elfish woman, frequented the apothecary with a love for all things vamp. How she’d been a regular there. How they’d known where she lived, because they’d made sure to keep an eye on her after she received a prominent bite-shaped mark on her neck after an evening with the vamps.

And how they eventually convinced her to take the fall. Not only to save her life and prevent her from becoming a vamp, but to draw the FBI’s attention away from the apothecary. They used what they knew of Lenore’s operation to convince Selena that taking the fall was an initiation. That the police, including her step-brother, were in on it. She only had to hold out long enough to prove her worth.

Which is why the strange police officer, Officer Ellis, confronted me in the parking lot.

Officer Ellis wasn’t allowed to work the vamp case due to a conflict of interest. Because Selena Belle was his step-sister. He’d waited to get me alone so he could seed the concept of the muggings and help redirect us. Ideally, without breaking the chain of command, or drawing attention to himself in the process.

If the Huntington police force was anything like the FBI, Officer Ellis risked his career by involving himself in his step-sister’s case. It also explained why he was so flighty when I pressed him on the issue.

Which made him around eighty percent less creepy.

Lenore also didn’t come out of the situation unscathed. The apothecary staff made sure to bring her down with them. How she’d paid cash to them under the table to conduct anti-vamp activity. Thousands and thousands of dollars that never made it to her books. As far as they were concerned, Lenore was paying them to do whatever they thought necessary to keep the vamps in check. To make the experience, and the stakes, real.

There were plenty of other statements from vamps and familiars alike to counteract the more heinous claims, but it was looking like Lenore was going to be under investigation for tax evasion at the very least. A fate she accepted with grace and dignity. Unlike the apothecary staff who were turning their frustrations towards one another.

The two men I’d locked in the closet appeared to be yelling at one another in the back of a police car. They had to be cut out using bolt cutters because no one could find the key to the fuzzy handcuffs and the key-hole happened to be non-standard.

Which would have been funny, if I wasn’t so ready for the evening to be over. I’d spent a significant, and unplanned, portion of the evening in heavy, cold, wet clothes lugging around a man whose weight convinced me he was made of marble.

We just had to hold out a little longer, and we’d be able to make our getaway.

“I must admit, this was the most entertaining evening of my life,” Carmen sauntered towards Todd and me, wearing similarly ill-fitting sweats, appearing a little more human. “But I’ll not be looking to revisit this anytime soon.”

Apparently, Carmen had made note of the woman from the apothecary, Maeve, who had been trailing me for a better part of the evening. And when she saw Maeve and Hank saunter off minutes before the fang ceremony, she trusted her gut, and followed.

And for that, I was grateful.

Carmen was the only reason I ended up not getting jabbed in the throat with epinephrine, and I owed her my thanks.

“You saved the day.”

“Oh dear, no don’t thank me. That’s unnecessary. I threw a rock and sat on someone.” She shook her head, the corner of her mouth kicking up. “I came to apologize.”

I knit my brows. “Apologize?”

“To you,” she turned to Todd, who looked just as confused as I felt, “I tried to bait you into jealousy to stoke my own ego.”

“I wasn’t⁠—”

“But clearly there is something more here. And I’m sorry if I got in the way, or brought any hardship on this.” She circled the space between Todd and I like there was some invisible rope tying us together.

“Oh, we’re not⁠—"

“If we don’t meet again, thank you for an unforgettable evening, and,” she looked at Todd, “best of luck in parenthood.”

With a sultry smirk, and swish of her hair, Carmen was gone.

†

Once the FBI and the police had what they needed to close out the case for the evening, Jezebel and I said our farewells in a very Leslie’s Pies fashion, with a hug, and promise to see each other soon. With nothing new or exciting to catch the crowd’s attention, the spectators lost interest, and slowly but surely dispersed.

The parking lot emptied, besides a vehicle or two, it was time to clear out and, for better or worse, reap what we sowed.

“We’ll meet at my place.” Jack leaned over the open window to Todd’s sedan, continuing before either Todd or I could intervene, “It’s a non-negotiable. I’ve got enough beds for the three of us, and we don’t know if either of your apartments are safe.”

“Mads—”

“Mads may not have given your apartment to the rest of the Seal, but for all we know there could be someone on his team he shared the details with. And we can’t afford to be taking any chances. Not with—” Jack dropped his gaze to my belly.