He continued, “I just want you to know, I’m okay with that. It’s a damn good start. And I know this because I feel the same way. The difference between you and me is that I know it’s the real thing.”
She still didn’t say anything, so he went on, “Probably because I wasn’t completely honest with you in the beginning. You need time to trust this, to trust love and to trust me, and I get that. And I’ll be here when you finally do.” He pushed the glasses up and started the car.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later they parked in front of the first house on the list of Stone residences. Della look around. This was a not-so-nice house in a not-so-nice neighborhood. A dog, which looked to be a cross between a pit bull and a Tasmanian devil, was chained to a metal pipe stuck in the ground.
Chase glanced at her. “Meet Trouble.”
Della recalled the hot dogs and couldn’t help but grin.
Then she looked around. The house next to it had a CONDEMNED sign in the yard. she glanced up and down the street. The place looked like a great location for a meth lab. But was it a great place for a vampire on the run? Perhaps. She sure as hell hoped so.
Two weeks.
When Chase cut off the engine, the dog rose up and let out a low, serious growl.
“Friendly sort,” Della said and realized Chase could probably say the same thing about her. She hadn’t spoken since they’d pulled out of the parking lot. What could she say? Oh, she wanted to tell him he was so slick that his own bullshit just slid right off of him. She wanted to accuse him of thinking he looked like hot stuff in that black suit and dark sunglasses. But he did look hot, and she knew him well enough to know he was being sincere. Her only answer was … Not now. And she kept that one to herself.
“Get the hot dogs,” he said.
“You’re gonna get past him by feeding him hot dogs?” Della asked.
“It’s better than what I fed him three weeks ago.”
“What did you feed him?” she asked.
“A bite of my ass.” He chuckled. “I thought I could rub his belly and make a friend.”
“He bit you?” Della couldn’t help but laugh.
“He didn’t get much,” Chase said and reached behind to touch his butt.
They got out of the car.
“So this house belongs to one of the Stones you’ve already investigated?” she asked, catching the scent of garbage and seeing the two overflowing metal cans on the front porch.
“Yeah.”
“Remember, Burnett has ruled them out and thinks we should move to the new list of Stones.”
“He also said for me to follow my gut. I feel as if I might have missed something. I want to circle back around, just to be certain.”
The dog barked, calling their attention again. He scratched at the ground like a bull ready to charge. Then he bolted toward them. The canine’s lip curled and exposed teeth, the hair on the back of its neck stood straight up, and drool oozed from its jowls. He got closer. Then closer.
Shit! How long was that chain?
Della was about to do a quick step back when Chase said, “It’s okay.”
Then, unfortunately, or fortunately depending whose side you were on, about a foot from where they stood, the dog ran out of chain. When he hit his limit, he was yanked up in the air and landed with a thud on ground. He didn’t stay down long.
“I think he was inbred a few too many times,” Chase said.
“Poor thing,” she said and meant it. Most animals were stupid or aggressive due to how their owners treated them.
“Open the hot dogs.”
“Why don’t we just fly over him to the porch? No one is out here.” She waved around.
“Two reasons,” he said. “One, we’re supposed to appear like humans, remember?”
“I don’t think Burnett meant—”
“Two,” he interrupted, “that chain reaches the door. How do you think I got my ass bit?” He rubbed his backside. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re gonna throw the Oscar Mayers, and while he’s munching on them I’m going to pull out that pole and reposition it so his chain can’t reach the porch.”
“And if he’s not interested in the hot dogs?”
“Then I’ll try rubbing his belly again.” He smiled. “I rub a mean belly. Just ask Baxter. Anytime you need—”
“My belly is fine.” She tossed a half of a hot dog and then looked at Chase. “Don’t let him bite you.”
“Good plan.” Chase took off. In record speed, he pulled the metal pipe from the ground and moved it closer to the dog to reposition it.
The dog, obviously feeling the chain’s movement, turned toward Chase and growled. Della threw another wiener.
The animal was so hungry, he forgot Chase and went hot dog hunting.
Chase pushed the metal pipe in the ground. “Done.” He bolted back.
Della tossed the rest of the wieners to the hungry animal and then walked across the yard to the porch. On the front door, hung crooked, was a sign: IF TROUBLE, MY DOG, DOESN’T SCARE YOU, MY SHOTGUN MIGHT.
She looked at Chase. “You think you could offer to rub the shotgun’s belly? I fed all the hot dogs to Trouble,” she said in almost a whisper.
He grinned.
“Did you actually talk to someone here last time you came?”
“Yeah, human, in his late fifties, about as friendly as the dog. When I asked if he was Douglas Stone he said no and that he was just staying here with a friend. He was lying. Thing is I don’t know if the lie was about his name or staying here with a friend. Or both.”
Della took a deep breath to see if she got a trace of a vampire scent. She didn’t, but with the thick stench of garbage, it could be hidden.
Chase tilted his head to the side, listening to see if anyone was inside. Della did the same.
“TV’s on in a back room,” Chase said.
Della felt a thrill shoot through her. If this was Douglas Stone, her dad’s ordeal could be over.
“You wanna knock and I’ll go around back in case he tries to run?” she asked.
“Nah, if we hear him leave out the back, you go left and I’ll go right.”
She looked at the peephole in the middle of the door. “If it’s the same guy, he might not answer to you. Why don’t you stand over there and let me do the talking. If I get him to admit his name is Douglas Stone, then we know it’s not our guy, right?”
“Yeah.” Chase moved to a window a few feet from the door and peered in. Then he glanced back at her. “I can see the entryway from here. If he really has a shotgun, I’ll say move. You do it.”
“You think I should?” she asked with sarcasm and then motioned for him to move back a little. “Don’t let him see you.”
Della banged on the door. And listened.
When no one answered, she banged again.
“What the hell do you want?” someone yelled from inside.
Chapter Thirty-three
Chase stood at the very edge of the window, hoping he could see the homeowner, but the homeowner couldn’t see him.
“He’s coming,” Chase said in barely a whisper. “Not armed.” Chase tightened his eyes to catch the guy’s pattern on his forehead. “Human.” Chase was pretty sure it was the same guy he’d spoken with before.
“Go the hell away,” the man yelled out, but he kept coming.
“I just need a few minutes of your time,” Della said, and Chase noted she’d put a slightly flirty tone to her voice.
“Who are you?” The man put his eye to the peephole in the door.
“I’m a house flipper and wanted to ask you about a few of the empty houses on the street.” Damn, Della could come up with a story quickly.
“You can flip me anytime,” Chase heard the lowlife mutter and saw him run a hand through his hair and suck in a beer belly that appeared to have taken years to grow.
He opened the door. Chase eased closer, in case the lowlife put a finger on Della, but he kept against the
wall where the guy couldn’t see him.
“Hi,” Della said as soon as the door creaked open. “My name’s Charlotte Nance.” She smiled and tilted her head to the side like a cute puppy. “I’m interested in some of the properties on the street and wondered if you could tell me who owns them.”
“You look kinda young to be in real estate,” he said.
“My curse. My mama says I’ll be happy about it in a few years.”
“Your mama is right, honey. Besides, I like ’em young.”
Chase saw a muscle in Della’s cheek start to twitch. Something told him that could mean trouble.
“Are any of these houses for sale?” she asked, still managing to keep her voice flirty.
“Well, uh, there were a couple of druggies living in that one, but I think they were renting it. Seemed to take off about two months ago. No one has even been around to mow the yard. The one next door has been condemned. It caught fire last year and no one’s even touched it.”
The dog barked, and Chase saw the man stick his head out, probably wondering why the animal wasn’t doing his job. “You might want to come inside. My dog eats pretty young things like you for lunch. I, on the other hand, don’t bite. Not too hard, anyway.”
Chase bit back the desire to show the guy how hard he could bite. Della hesitated for a second. The muscle in her cheek continued to twitch.
She put a smile on her face, but not a real one. “Are you the owner of this property? Mr. uh … I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Stone,” he said. “But call me Doug. All my lady friends do.”
Yeah, Chase bet the guy had a lot of those.
“Oh, well, that’s okay. If you don’t have the names…”
“I bet I have ’em in my address book.” He poked his head out again, but thankfully didn’t look Chase’s way. “You here all by your lonesome, sweetheart?”
Something about that question put Chase on instant alert. He almost stepped out, but Della cut him a glance and shook her head.
The man’s hand reached out, but Della moved faster. She bolted back and his grubby little hand missed her by an inch.
“Don’t play hard to get,” the man said. “I got a few beers and I could use some company.”
“Sorry. Gotta find a house to flip.” She started to walk off—none too quickly—and she sent Chase a look that said she had this.
The idiot reached for her. Della swung around and with one quick lift of her knee, brought the guy down on all fours.
No excess force had been Burnett’s rule. And it hadn’t been excess, just a direct hit. The guy rose up, but with his hands cupping his privates, his mouth wide open, he had yet to make a sound. No doubt, however, he was gonna be singing soprano when he found his voice.
“Sorry,” Della said, sneering down at the man. “I think I’m allergic to perverts. I get involuntary knee jerks whenever one is around.”
They walked back to the car, keeping to the far left, out of the dog’s reach. “Remind me,” Chase said smiling, “to never upset your allergies.”
* * *
“We got lucky,” Chase said twenty minutes later and followed behind a car into a gated apartment building complex. Della looked around. It wasn’t high rent, but it looked decent. He parked right against the building and hit a button that brought the top up and over.
“I didn’t realize something until now,” Chase said.
“What?” Della asked, still scanning the area.
“This apartment is only a couple of miles from where Pope told me Stone’s girlfriend lived.”
“So this is another one that you already visited, right?”
“Yeah. Hand me those files under your seat. I can’t remember why I dismissed him as a suspect.” Leaning forward, he looked around. “If I remember correctly, a woman answered the door.”
“And she was human?” Della asked as she pulled a folder from under the seat.
“Yeah.” He took the file and opened it, scanning his old notes. “Okay, I remember now. The girlfriend claimed her boyfriend had run to the store for some parts to fix one of the other apartments. She said he was the handyman of the place. I didn’t come back because I didn’t think someone like Stone would actually work for a living or date a human.”
“So let’s not waste our time,” she said.
He looked around again. “Maybe I’m wrong. But my gut says…”
“What does your gut say?”
“See that?” He pointed to the building.
“What?” Della asked.
“This place has cameras.” He looked back at Della. “Do you remember what Burnett said? That it seemed like a long shot because if I didn’t get any trace of Stone, how would he have known I was here?”
“And it’s true?” she said, not following.
“Well, if Stone has access to the cameras, his girlfriend wouldn’t have had to recognize me. He could have just looked at the film.”
“Okay,” Della said. “But what about him not being of moral character to actually work? That sounded logical. And the human girlfriend?”
He looked at Della, and his eyes widened as if he figured out something. “Remember the interview with Sam? He said he heard that Stone hired patrons to do his grunt work for him.”
She nodded.
“Well, maybe keeping up the apartment is their grunt work. Look at the advantages. Stone gets to live here for free, has a camera to watch who comes and goes, and gets some of his not-so-smart friends to work for him for nothing. Or maybe he lets them live here for free.”
“It’s possible,” she said, and right then a cool breeze brought with it the scent of a were.
“You smell that?” she asked and looked around, but didn’t see anyone.
“Yeah. Were, but not strong,” he said. “Maybe a half breed. And maybe a member of the Bastards.”
“What apartment is it?” Della reached for the door handle, eager to catch this guy.
“Not so fast,” Chase said.
“Why?” Della asked.
“I think we need to get Burnett.”
“Why?” she repeated.
“If he’s here, it could be dangerous.”
“For him, not us,” Della said.
“We don’t know how many of his friends live here.”
“All we’re getting is one weak scent.”
“Others could be behind doors. Especially if they are half breeds. Their scents can be undistinguishable.”
She frowned. “Burnett might be halfway across town. I’m not going to just sit here and let this guy get away.”
“He’s not getting away. We’ll wait here.” Chase pulled his phone out.
Della listened as Chase informed Burnett and named off the address, a little pissed that Chase didn’t think they could handle it themselves.
“Okay,” Burnett said. “I’m ten minutes away if there’s no traffic. I’m calling a few more agents to meet us there. Do not get out of the car. And keep Della on a leash. I know she’s chomping at the bit to go in.”
Chase’s gaze shifted to her. “I will.” He hung up.
Della glared at him. “Oh, you’re gonna keep me on a leash, huh?”
“What was I supposed to say?” He shrugged.
“Maybe that you don’t think I need a leash.”
“He just wants to make sure you’re safe.”
“Since when did you start taking his side? I thought you didn’t even like him.”
Chase exhaled. “He kind of grows on you.”
Della nodded. “True, but he acts like I can’t take care of myself.”
“If he really thought that, he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of you becoming an agent.”
“If he had his way, I wouldn’t.”
Chase cut his gaze back to the apartments for a second. “He lost a female agent he was training. Sounds like it was hard for him. I think you remind him of her.”
Della sat there staring. “How … He told you this??
?? she asked.
“Not that you reminded him of her, but he told me about her. And I kind of figured it out.”
“He just confided this to you?”
Chase looked at her as if she were jealous. And, yeah, maybe she was a little.
“It’s not like he was sharing something with me. Except his temper. He was reading me the riot act about going to the prison and told me he’d lost one agent he was training and didn’t plan on losing another.”
They sat there in the silent car a few minutes. Della used her phone, checking emails to keep from letting the quietness chip away at her sanity.
But when she found an email from her sister, it no longer felt like a stress relief. She decided not to read it. Her new, two-worded litany worked well in this instance as well. Not now.
Della put her phone away. She felt Chase studying her. “Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what?”
“Stare.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to say … thanks.”
“For what?”
“Last night. The morgue thing.”
Her heart got tripped on the memory.
“I still think Eddie should be shot for taking you there.”
Silence filled the car. “He’s not a bad person, Della.”
“What did his wife say? A woman would know that it wasn’t right.”
“There was no wife.”
“Ever?” she asked. “What? Is he gay?”
Chase’s mouth dropped open. “No. He saw some girls, sometimes.”
“So he’s a womanizer.”
“No. He used to be married. He said his heart belonged to one woman. He never got serious with any of the others.”
“What happened to his wife?” Della asked. “Did she leave him?”
He shook his head. “She was a medical researcher like him. There was an explosion.” Della saw Chase’s expression get serious.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Eddie had just walked out of the building. I think he felt as if he should have died with her.”
“That’s sad,” Della said.
“Yeah,” he said. “She was his bondmate.”
Della looked away, not wanting to think about that. “He still shouldn’t have let you go to the morgue.”