Wyatt answered for him while unwrapping a MoonPie. “You sleep like the dead.”
“From what I hear, the dead don’t sleep.”
He pointed at me and winked. “Now you’re catching on.”
Shepherd appeared in the doorway, looking like a man who’d survived an explosion by the skin of his teeth. He hadn’t changed out of his shredded pants, so I could see the cuts on his legs, probably from escaping the bomb. Though his face and hair were rinsed, he hadn’t done anything to clean the dried blood off his chest. He took a seat on the short end of the L-shaped sofa that faced me and tossed a pillow on the floor.
Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now that we’re all here, I’ll give you an update. After speaking with the higher authority about tonight’s events, the case is officially closed. Final payment will appear in my account in the morning, and I will distribute it to everyone by tomorrow evening.”
The baby suckling the bottle drew our attention away.
Blue tilted the end of the bottle higher. “Hold it like that so he doesn’t swallow air. This isn’t one of those fancy bottles.”
Claude was lost in the smell of a new baby. His nostrils twitched when he leaned over and sniffed his head. Unlike others in the house, Claude didn’t appear uncomfortable with holding him.
Viktor yawned. “I’ve requested the Regulators come by in the morning to collect the infant. Tonight he should rest and eat plenty while in our care.”
Wyatt yawned dramatically. “That goes for the rest of us too. Do we need to give statements, or can I sleep until noon?”
“I want to commend all of you,” Viktor continued. “The child is safe, and the threat is contained.”
I unstrapped the knife holster from my arm and set it on my lap. “What do we tell the Regulators about what happened to Cristo?”
Viktor centered his eyes on mine. “That he perished in the explosion. They will not send anyone down to scrape up what remains of him. Our confirmation will be sufficient.”
“Is that what really happened?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Did you see anything otherwise?”
“Nope.”
Viktor rose to his feet. “Tomorrow we rest. Christian, come with me. I need your help with a cradle upstairs.”
“You can put it in my room,” Blue said. “I’ll go light a fire. Does anyone want to make bottles? I’m not sure how often he eats, but it’s a long walk to the kitchen, and I could use the help when he wakes up hungry.”
Gem raised her hand. “I can.”
Blue jerked her head toward the door. “Come on. I’ll show you how. Claude, are you okay with him?”
Claude was in another world. He pulled the bottle out of the sleeping baby’s mouth and bent him forward, lightly patting his back until a burp slipped out. “Go on. He’s in good hands. Aren’t you, little one? No one’s ever going to hurt you again.”
When the little guy spit up, Claude lifted his own shirt and wiped the baby’s chin dry.
“There’s just one more thing,” Viktor said before Blue stepped out of the room.
Wyatt’s chair squeaked when he spun it around. “There’s always a catch.”
“No catch.” Viktor strode toward the door. “Just an invitation.”
“To what?” Shepherd asked gruffly.
“A charity ball hosted by Patrick Bane.”
Wyatt snickered. “This guy has more balls than a golf course.”
“I was going to respectfully decline, but after tonight, I have decided to donate my share of the money to the orphanage. Specifically, the orphanage that will be caring for this child. I think it is important that each of you attend and learn more about the politics involved. Our case ends, but it doesn’t really end. Perhaps with more of us there, we can persuade others to donate. Most people do not get to see where their money is going as we do,” he said, gesturing to the baby. “We have saved him from the black market. Let us see if we can save him from an underfunded system. Or else one day he might end up on our list of outlaws.”
Chapter 24
It was a rough night. I’d thought a hot bath might help to relax me, but the water felt like toxic sludge lapping against my sensitive skin. It was all in my head, but that knowledge didn’t remove the vileness within me. Dark light always pressed upon my own, leaving me with an irrational fear that it might never leave, like a dirty fingerprint left behind.
After throwing on a T-shirt, I pulled a blanket over me and curled up in the fetal position. There were moments I drifted off and saw those Vampires chasing after me. Only, in the dream, they gained on us and the rock didn’t explode. My blood-curdling screams reverberated off the tunnel walls as my limbs were torn from my body.
“Raven… Raven, wake up.”
The voice echoed in my head, and my eyes snapped open. It sounded like Christian, but when I turned over, no one was there. Shadows moved about the dark room, and my eyes closed again.
The cycle repeated for hours until I drew the covers over my head and shut out the world.
“Raven, wake up.”
Someone pulled the cover away from my eyes, and I squinted at the bright window.
“It’s late afternoon.” Christian set a silver thermos next to the bed and took a seat in my chair. “Thought you could use the caffeine.”
I propped the pillow behind me and scooted up, my head pounding. After blowing the steam from the opening on the lip, I sipped the aromatic coffee. “It’s good.”
“No cream. No sugar. Maybe a drop of blood.”
“You’re not funny. Is the baby gone?”
“Aye. Regulators came by this morning and spoke with Viktor before collecting the evidence. They had no interest in questioning the rest of us.”
“The baby being the evidence.” I gazed up at the window and yawned. “What time is it?”
Christian turned around and looked at my desk. After shoving a few things around, he gave me a peculiar look. “Wait a minute. Why the feck am I looking for a clock? You’re half Mage. What happened to your internal clock?”
“I hit the snooze button. It’s just that I have to wait until my father gets home from work before we go. I also want to give him time to eat his dinner, because he hates being interrupted when he’s eating.”
“And my job is to sit around while you have a talk-show moment, and then I scrub his memories? Sounds like a fruitless task.”
“You owe me a favor. And I’ll buy you a box of gum on the way home. How’s that sound?”
He crossed his legs. “Grand. And do you plan on telling him the whole story? The whole of the whole? Fangs, magical light, your history as a serial killer…”
“I don’t know. I’m just going to wing it and see what happens.”
He chuckled. “This might be interesting after all.”
My hands were steady, so that was a good sign that Cristo’s light was finally draining. Caffeine made me feel normal again, but I still had no appetite.
The susurration of snowflakes blowing against the window drew my attention away. “How bad is the weather?”
“It’s a mess out there. I asked Wyatt to check the forecast on his computer, but I don’t need a fancy computer to tell me the weather. The snow will stop by nightfall.”
I combed my fingers through my rumpled hair and took a last sip of the coffee before setting it on the nightstand. “Do I look okay?”
He stared at me unblinking. “You’ll not be winning any beauty competitions this evening.”
“I just meant do I have dark circles or look… not human?”
“Run a comb through your hair and put on that blood-red lipstick if you like. That might help with your corpse-like appearance.”
“Maybe I should paint my nails. The black polish is chipping.”
“I can promise you that the last thing your da is going to be shocked by when he sees his dead daughter standing in his doorway is the state of your cuticles.”
“Do you think Viktor will ask where we’re going?”
Christian stood up. “I’m taking my partner out for a drink. Don’t forget to wear a jacket. I wouldn’t want your da thinking I’m an irresponsible friend.”
I laughed and stood up. “Irresponsible is the least of your worries.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
I crossed the room and reached into the armoire for my favorite ripped jeans. “Nothing. Just that my daddy doesn’t like your kind.”
Christian strode over and leaned against my blood-red armoire. “Handsome? Well endowed? Or is it the Irish part?”
“Cocky. He can smell an asshole a mile away.”
“Perhaps prison is where he belongs.”
I decided to keep my long black T-shirt on and reached for socks and a pair of shoes. When I sat on the bed, nerves tightened in my stomach like a coil. “You know what my worst fear is?”
He arched an eyebrow.
“That he’s gotten over me.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted, lass.”
I pulled the laces tight on my black-and-white sneakers. “I do.”
“And you think I’m the one with issues.” He turned around and ambled toward the door.
I grabbed my leather coat and attached a push dagger to the waistband of my pants. “Stop trying to understand women. It’s not your strong suit. Are we taking the Honda?”