Jase was standing with Niko, just outside the building where Esteban's building managers had their offices. I smiled as I drove past them. I hadn't seen Jase in person since he'd found the memories in my head, even though we'd talked. The two of them looked happy and cozy, chatting in the moonlight, Niko laughing at something Jase said. Laughing, his face was even more spectacular. I didn't necessarily trust him yet, but he made Jase happy, so I was going with it. Happy was important.
I was looking forward to spending a few hours with him doing the things we were good at rather than trying to stretch my brain around science I didn't fully understand. After Felipe left, I'd dived deeper into Smith's corporate trail, but Traxbet still seemed like the best lead. It was definitely the only business I'd found so far that had a direct connection to one of Esteban's companies.
Whoever helped Smith cover his tracks was good. But I was better. I'd already found two other small shell companies leading from Traxbet and was on the trail of the next level beyond those. This was my version of hunting down my prey, and I wasn't letting go now that I had fresh scent to follow. Especially after Felipe's verdict on my dad's data.
Esteban had replied to my email, pleased I had a new lead. He'd arranged for Niko to meet me here, to smooth my way with the owners—on paper—of the firm. Niko, as I had learned as we'd worked together over the last few months, was good at getting people to do things they didn't want to do. His personal charm and the fact that he worked for Esteban were a formidable dual arsenal, and he wielded both without a hint of self-consciousness. Even though most of the businesses we'd visited during the investigation tried to do some form of grandstanding when we first arrived, with Niko to smooth the way, most of them ended up cooperating faster than they would have if it had been just me and Jase.
And while a management company might be a more respectable business than a dark club, in my experience, supposedly respectable corporations could get just as squirrely about allegations of fraud as less respectable ones. More so sometimes because they were so damned worried about their reputations. But if the owners of this company were willing to have an Old One hold a significant financial stake in their business, I was hoping that reputation wouldn't be as much of an issue as it might be elsewhere.
I pulled the car into a parking spot about a block down the street and climbed out. It was busy for a Wednesday night, lots of people around, which made navigating the crowd of pedestrians slow. Most of them were headed in the opposite direction. Where were they all going? Out to dinner or going to the theater or whatever drew people into downtown these days other than working ridiculous hours. Having a real life. Something I didn't.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a show or even gone to a damned movie theater. I hadn't even managed dinner with friends for months. Other than pack dinners. Which I didn't arrange. And even before I'd been bitten, my schedule had made regular catch-ups tricky. Of course, lots of people who offered services to supernaturals worked strange hours, too, but most of the crowd looked like they were relaxing, not commuting.
Relaxing. What did that feel like? When was the last time I'd just chilled out for more than a few hours? I was actually looking forward to the full moon, when I could go to the Retreat and run until I forgot all the human problems. But that was still days away.
Tonight, maybe I'd get to have coffee with Jase and Niko after we finished our work. That was as close to socializing as I came. And doing that would mean less time with Dan or less sleep, which might equal less time with Bug in the morning. I needed a damned clone or something. Or just to catch Smith and get my life back.
I'd nearly reached Jase and Niko when a car came speeding down the street. Too fast for downtown. Too fast for anywhere. My hackles rose as I spun to track it, registering out of the corner of my eye that Jase had turned to watch it as well.
That was a mistake. The car was only a distraction. Because as it vanished around the block, three men came vaulting through the crowd, running fast and too smooth, nearly vanishing into the small patches of darkness between the storefronts.
Vampires. Coming for me. But not careful about who they took down in the process. Several people fell in their wake, and the humans started to scream and run, increasing the chaos and making it hard to spot the vamps.
"Ashley!" Jase yelled, and suddenly he was next to me. Niko appeared on my other side. I had a gun, of course, but I couldn't shoot into a throng of panicking humans.
The first vampire broke past the edge of the crowd with a leap, landing only a few feet away, his teeth bared in an expression that might have been a triumphant grin or a snarl. He apparently didn't have any qualms about firing in crowded places, because he pulled a gun from his pocket and lifted it. Aiming not at me but at Jase. Mistake. By the time I heard the shot, I had already shifted, leaping toward him.
He hadn't expected a wolf. His eyes went wide with shock as I landed, my front paws hitting his chest and my teeth closing around his neck.
"Jason," Niko cried.
I didn't look around. The wolf didn't waste time when she was focused on her prey. Part of me knew I should keep the vampire alive to be questioned, but that was lost to the part that knew the only way to take out the threat was to make sure it didn't rise again. Vamp blood, hot and acidic, filled my mouth as I ripped the vamp's throat out with one quick bite and used the motion as he fell to push and leap again, trying to locate the other two.
Where were they?
Attacking Niko and Jase.
Thankfully not with guns. But the four of them were fighting, moving at speeds I couldn't have followed in human form. Niko was a whirlwind of practiced savagery. I could tell he was trained to fight. Knew what he was doing. The vamp he was tangling with was losing ground. But the one focused on Jase was holding his own. Jase was favoring his right arm, blood blooming on his sweater.
Did that fucker with the gun hit him?
I sprang back toward them just as Niko gained the upper hand with the vampire he was fighting, closing his hands around the man's head. One fast twist and the vampire's neck cracked with a sound the wolf heard all too clearly. The vamp collapsed. I didn't know if he was dead, but even a vampire couldn't heal a severed spinal cord fast, so he was out of the picture. The vamp Jason was fighting landed a punch to Jase's injured arm that sent him reeling backward, his eyes wide and shocked.
Niko and I reached them at the same time. I was behind the vamp and went for his hamstring. He snarled and tried to turn as my teeth tore through the back of his thigh. Mistake. Both because his leg crumpled and because it gave Niko the opportunity to repeat his neck-snapping trick. Which he did with an expression of cool efficiency that made me wonder exactly how many times he'd done it before.
But just then, I couldn't resent his skills. Not when he might have just saved Jase's life.
I nosed at Jase, scenting too much blood that was definitely his. After scoping out the surroundings with a practiced scan, Niko herded us back toward the building, guiding Jase to sit on the steps.
Jase didn't protest, and Niko pulled a knife from his boot and sliced Jase's shirt sleeve off, fastening it into a makeshift bandage around his shoulder.
Deadly, beautiful, and practical.
I was beginning to like him more.
Jase was paler than usual—which meant he was approximately the color of weak milk, given he was pale to start with—but he was still conscious. In the distance, sirens wailed. Clearly some of the humans had called the police and the paramedics.
My panic button was back in the jacket that had most likely been shredded when I changed. And I wasn't shifting back just yet. There could be another attack. Not to mention, I'd be naked in the middle of downtown with a whole bunch of law enforcement and possibly even media about to turn up. Not going to happen.
I nudged Jase's hand again. Then nosed his jacket pocket, where he usually kept his phone. "Call Dan." I knew Jase could hear me in this form. Not all vampires could. Niko didn't react, so maybe he couldn't.
He nodded, pulled out his cell phone with his good hand, and said, "Call Daniel Gibson," in a voice that was remarkably steady.
When Dan answered, Jase told him what had happened and where we were. Then he ended the call, tried to stand up, and fainted.
Niko caught him and eased him back against the door of the building. I followed them, whining with worry, but turned to face the street so I could see if anybody else decided to try something. Nobody had emerged from inside to offer any assistance. I might need to have words with Esteban about that. But all down the street, doors to cafes and other stores that had been open when I'd arrived had shut, lights turned off. That was only sensible for humans when gunfire was involved, really. In their place, I probably would have done much the same.
"Do not worry, Ashley," Niko said. "There is not enough blood for the bullet to have hit anything vital." I glanced back at him. He bent down to put a finger on Jase's neck, checking his pulse, then stroked his face. "Jason, caro, wake up."
Jase's eyes were fluttering open. I bounded back to his side and licked his face. He flinched and muttered, "Ew, wolf spit." I did it again.
"Gross," Jason said, eyes all the way open now. "Quit it, Ash."
"You are awake, caro," Niko said. "Good. Hold on, I suspect there will be paramedics aplenty any moment now."
"I'm not that badly hurt," Jase said.
"You fainted," Niko said with a roll of his eloquent brown eyes.
"Only for a moment."
"You fainted," Niko said again, and his tone was so worried, I grinned, wolf style. He clearly cared about Jason. That probably shouldn't have made me happy because he was who he was, but it was better than thinking he was purely pursuing Jason because he'd been ordered to do so.
"I'm fine."
"You have a hole in your shoulder."
"Yes, it hurts." He peered down at me. "You didn't tell me it hurt this much being shot."
"You didn't ask." Wolves couldn’t really shrug, so I just made a rumbling noise and licked him again, relieved. He was a vampire. He'd heal. The fact that he was awake was a good sign that there hadn't been anything weird about the bullets.
I glanced back down the street. The three vampires were lying on the pavement, and beyond them, knots of people surrounded others lying on the ground. A few of them seemed to be alive, judging by the intent expressions of those helping them. But two were clearly not, the onlookers crying or shocked.
Fuck.
This wasn't good. This wasn't feeding from someone and leaving them to be found. This was a purposeful attack. And worse, it had been aimed at me.
What the hell was going on?
I didn't have too much time to ponder, as Dan's Jeep came barreling toward us about ten minutes after Jase's call. He pulled up in the middle of the street, leaving enough room for other vehicles to get around him, and climbed out, moving fast.
"What happened?" Dan asked as he reached us. He squatted beside Jase, eyeing the bandage. "Gunshot?"
Jase nodded.
"Bad?"
"The bleeding is slowing," Jase said.
He could tell that? Was that a vamp trick?
Dan looked skeptical. He reached for the knot Niko had tied.
"I think the bullet went straight through. I'm fine." Jase was trying to sound tough, but he hissed when Dan moved the bandage away.
"Hurts, huh?" Dan said. He looked at the makeshift bandage, then told Jase to lean forward so he could look at the wound.
"Yes," Jase said. "Stop poking me." He twitched away from Dan as Dan loosened the bandage.
"Don't be a baby. You're a vampire. You heal fast." Dan peered at the wound, frowning.
"I'll heal faster with a mouthful of werewolf blood," Jase snapped, "so don't push me."
Dan straightened and grinned. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try." He tightened the bandage back into place. "I'm sure the paramedics can give you some blood to help things along. You probably don't need to be sedated, so you might just have to suck it up for a few hours. But it's a lesson. Don't get shot."
"I don't intend to," Jase said, shaking his head. "And there was very little risk of me getting shot or anything like it until you showed back up in Ash's life."
"Yeah, well, not much we can do about that now. Things will get back to normal eventually."
I doubted it. Even if we caught Smith and wrapped this whole business up, there was still an unescapable fact that Dan was in a dangerous line of work. I shivered and a whine escaped my teeth, and his head snapped back to me. "Ash? Are you hurt?"
I whined again, shaking my head, but my teeth were chattering. Shock, I guessed. Dan couldn't hear me while he was in human form, so I couldn't answer him.
"What happened?" Dan asked Niko as he took a seat beside Jason and gestured for me to come sit with him.
I did. If anyone was going to react weirdly to a werewolf downtown, it would be useful to be seated beside a Taskforce agent.
I leaned in to Dan. He was, as always, warm like he was wrapped in a heated blanket. But I wasn't shivering because of the cold. No, that was the vampires and the guns. And Jase with a freaking bullet wound in his arm. The tremors ruffled my fur. Jase had his eyes closed, leaning back against the door. I couldn't smell much fresh blood on him. The acid of vamp blood stung my nose, but most of it was coming from the bodies behind us rather than Jase.
"A car came along the street," Niko said when Jase didn't answer Dan. "Dark gray. Sedan. I did not see the model." He frowned at that. "I think maybe they took the badge off. There were no plates either."
"You're sure about that?"
"My lord pays me to pay attention, Agent Gibson. You may take my word for it." He pointed up at the security camera above the door. "And if not, you will see when you check the cameras."
If the vampires hadn't taken them out of commission again. So far, they'd done a pretty good job of getting around any surveillance.
"Go on," Dan said.
"The car turned the corner. It was a distraction, I think. Meant to stop us seeing the vampires. They came for Jason and Ms. Keenan and me. One of them had a gun. Ms. Keenan changed and attacked the one in the lead, but he shot Jason. She killed him." Niko smiled approvingly at me. "Jason and I fought the other two."
"Are they dead?"
"Yes." Niko's tone was blunt. "It was self-defense. They clearly intended to kill us. Or take us. I was not going to let that happen."
I whined agreement at that. I wasn't going to be kidnapped by bloody vampires again.
Dan's hand skimmed soothingly down my side.
"I have no issue with what you did," he said. "It just would have been useful to question one of them."
"I will remember that should the occasion arise again," Niko said. But there was a certain stubborn look in his eyes that suggested he thought acting first was the better plan. I didn't like the chances of any vampire who tried to hurt Jason around him.
That made me like him a lot more than I had before. I made an approving rumble in my throat.
"Don't you go getting bloodthirsty on me, too," Dan said, tugging my left ear gently.
I rumbled again.
Niko grinned at me.
"All right, so we have three dead vamps to deal with," Dan said.
"I think there may be some dead humans as well," Niko said. "The three were not careful when they were moving through the crowd to get to us."
Dan stared back down the street. Paramedics were working among the humans now. "I can see that. This isn’t good." He stared at Niko. "I expect you'll be telling Lord Esteban about this?"
"Yes," Niko said. "He will want to know. He is unhappy with the situation as it stands." He looked down the street. "And I do not think it will be possible to keep this incident quiet, Agent Gibson." He tipped his chin in the direction of the vampires. "There will be press here soon. And people have their cameras out."
That got a grimace from Dan, but he didn't look surprised. The other two attacks had been secluded. This was not. Now it would be damage control. We just had to hope that the vamps hadn't bitten anyone on their way through the crowd. "Do you recognize any of the vampires?"
Niko shook his head. "No. I have a fair head for faces, but I do not think I have met any of them before. I will take photos, and my lord will make enquiries."
"Jason?" Dan asked.
Jase opened his eyes. "I didn't recognize any of them either."
The vampire population of Seattle was sizable. They liked the gloomy Washington weather, I figured. It didn't necessarily mean anything that neither of them recognized the vamps, but I didn't like it all the same. This was connected to our case. I leaned harder on Dan.
"When you say they were careless with the crowd," Dan said, "did you see them bite anyone?"
"No," Niko said. "They were just rough. A vampire's strength unguarded can be a fatal blow." He looked back up the street, frowning. "It is reckless to behave so."
If I'd been in human form, my brows would have lifted. I didn't think Niko would have too many scruples, working for who he did. But apparently I'd been wrong.
"I agree," Dan said. "Which is why we're going to find out who those three vamps are. Take your photos. Show Lord Esteban and ask that he spread the word. I will be very grateful for an identification." Which meant he wasn't expecting them to have any ID on them. The vamps who attacked the memorial service hadn't.
Niko nodded and stood. "I will take photographs now and speak with my lord. Then I will go with Jason to the hospital."
"I don't need a hospital," Jase said.
"You were shot, caro," Niko said. "You go to the hospital, and when a doctor says you are fine, I will take you home and look after you."
I made a noise that was as close to "Awww" as a wolf could manage.
Jase opened his eyes and looked down at me. "Don't encourage him."
"I'll always encourage people to take care of you." I grinned a wolfy grin at him, then rose and put my front paws on Dan's legs, stretching across him to lick Jase's face.
Jase tried to dodge, but I was too fast. "Quit it with the wolf spit, Ash," he said, wiping his cheek. "Wolf spit has no magical healing powers. Keep it to yourself."
I licked him again and he laughed, then winced.
"Ash, get down, please," Dan said. "We need to get to work. You'll have to come back and check out this firm another time."
I dropped back down to all four paws on the ground, angling my neck to look up at the building doors, lip curling in frustration.
I knew Dan was right. Even if Jase hadn't been hurt, the area was going to be swarming with law enforcement for some time, and the steps where we sat would be considered part of a crime scene. Plus, if I changed back to human form, I'd have no clothes. So no getting one step closer to Smith tonight. Which made me frown, or as near as the wolf could.
Was it a coincidence that there'd been an attack just as we'd closed in on this new lead?
Part of me didn't think so.
I whined softly, and Dan looked down at me.
"Tell me at the office," he said. But he glanced back at the building, and I could tell his thoughts were running in the same direction as mine.