I leaned forward until Sophia’s feet touched the floor, and she let go and turned to Harmony. “It’s nice to meet you. I haven’t seen Brain in too long, sorry about hugging him before I met you.” She glanced at Aaron, and back to us with a sheepish look. “I guess it was kind of rude, I hope you’ll accept my apology. Aaron tells me you’re as smart as Brain, and I couldn’t be happier for him, to have finally found his match. Come, sit down. Do you already know everyone?”
Gen stood and said, “No, I haven’t met her, though I’ve heard a lot about her.” She looked at Harmony and said, “I’m Gen, or I guess Brain has probably called me Duchess, if he’s talked about me. I’m Duke’s wife.”
I could smell my Buttercup’s anxiety, and I looked to Abbott as I said, “We came to give you information, I didn’t expect an ambush.”
He spread his arms and gave me an apologetic smile. “I lost track of you, and was worried. I’m happy to discover you had a good reason for falling off the grid for a while. I’m curious, though, as to whether you intend to fully integrate back into the Atlanta RTMC.”
Instead of answering him, I started with an explanation of why I thought Detective Appian was someone Abbott needed to be made aware of, and then let Harmony finish the explanation. She handed him a USB drive, and I said, “That’s all we came to tell you, so if someone can let us out, please?”
“Does Harmony know what I am?”
I shook my head, and he motioned towards an empty sofa. “I’d prefer she knew, since she already knows of the supernatural, in general.”
I looked at him a second and said, “You’re trying to help. Wanting to make sure she stays safe, doesn’t stumble into trouble because of something she doesn’t know.”
He nodded, and I walked Harmony to the sofa with a sigh.
“Occam’s Razor will probably give you the right answer here, too,” I told her as we sat.
“He’s in a room with no windows, and tons of security for his lair. So, vampire?”
Abbott smiled. “Got it in one. I’ll answer the initial questions — I drink blood, but don’t have to take enough to kill. Most of us are only up when the sun is below the horizon, but I’m stronger than most so I rise a few hours earlier, though I don’t go aboveground until the sun has set.”
“So, werewolves, vampires, and,” Harmony looked to Aaron, “other kinds of shapeshifters. What else is there?”
“I’m a swan,” Sophia said, her voice soft. “There are many kinds of shapeshifters. Our world can be harsh, especially to a human’s eyes. I’m sorry for the way you were treated. I know Duke to be a good man, and it saddens me to hear of the rift in his friendship with Brain. I hope you know how lucky you are to have the love of someone so loyal and true.”
“I do, and I’m sorry for the way I was introduced to your world, as well. It’s my hope Brain and Duke can eventually find a way to mend their fences, but I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to be in a room with Bash or Gonzo and not want to claw their faces off.”
Gen gave a short laugh and said, “I’ve felt the exact same way about Gonzo, on more than one occasion. I understand why Duke put him on you as a guard, but… darn-it-all, he messed up by not trusting Brain.”
Harmony looked at me in question, and I smiled big as I told her, “Yeah, the MC president’s wife doesn’t cuss.” I looked at Gen and said, “I miss you, Duchess, but I won’t be back.”
The rims of her eyes went red, and I saw tears forming. “No.” I told her. “No tears. Not fair.”
“We need you, Brain. The club’s falling apart without you, and everyone blames Duke for running you off. They vote against him just on principle, and if there was someone else capable of leading while keeping the club profitable, they’d probably be President by now. A third of the video cameras around town have stopped working, and McGyver has no idea why. He replaced a few of them with new cameras, but they still don’t work. The guys have had to step up patrols where there aren’t cameras, and the dealers are figuring out where they can come into the territory for short periods and get away with it. The fighting’s gotten worse… but all of that’s peanuts to the fact you just aren’t here anymore. There’s an empty place in the family.”
I looked at Harmony a few seconds, and then back to Gen. “The only way I’d consider coming back were if Duke, Gonzo, and Bash left. Then, and only then, would I step in.”