"Fang," I muttered.
Gravy Boat took a step in front of me and hissed at Lazarus, arching his ugly, wrinkled ass up in the air. Maybe the little bastard wasn't all bad, after all.
"Last chance," Lazarus said. "Hand them over, or this gets ugly."
"It got ugly the moment you decided to show that thing you call a face in front of us," Fang said.
"Fang," I growled. "Would you please shut the fuck up?"
Lazarus was motionless. I braced myself for him to attack or try to grab the girls. I had Sylvie clutched tight. In that moment, I realized I cared about keeping her safe in a different way than I cared about keeping her sister, Maisey, safe.
I didn't have time to unpack that. I also didn't plan to let anything happen to either of them. I felt my wolf stirring inside, readying himself to shift into action if needed. It seemed my wolf shared in my protectiveness towards Sylvie. Or maybe that’s where it was coming from in the first place.
But Lazarus finally tilted his head to the side, then smiled. "Another time, perhaps."
I sensed a new presence beside me and saw that Felix had come from somewhere and was now looming behind us. I had to give him credit, the big bastard did strike an imposing image, and I couldn't entirely blame Lazarus for losing his nerve at the sight of him.
The vampire took a step back into a darker section of the street and appeared to melt into shadow. I caught the shadow bulging in one area, then sliding along the street until it blended into darkness and was gone.
"Fucking vamps," I muttered under my breath.
"Did he just..." Maisey whispered.
"We need to keep moving," I said. "Come on."
Felix came up beside me in the last leg of our walk to The Wet Flea. He gave my shoulder a punch but said nothing at first.
"I'm not going to thank you, if that's what you're waiting for," I said.
"I'm not waiting for anything. I'm just glad you're back in the game, Riggs. I am wondering what made you decide to partner up with Fang.”
"Common sense," Fang blurted.
"Ever walk through a bush, look down, and realize you've got a few leeches stuck to your body?" I asked. "It was something like that."
Felix looked at the small form of Sylvie in my arms. "What's wrong with her?"
"Just caught a bug," I said.
I looked down at Sylvie, who had her eyes closed and her forehead scrunched up like she was in pain. I felt my grip go a little tighter on her and had to force myself to relax. She was going to be fine.
"You sure that was a good idea, by the way?" Felix asked.
I pulled open the door to The Wet Flea and we all headed inside, making our way toward the private rooms upstairs. As always, the music was loud and there were dozens of howlers crowded around the stage.
"No," I said. "But I don't make deals with vamps."
Felix sighed. "That shit is going to get you killed, Riggs. They aren't all the same, there's-"
"Spare me," I said, anger rising quickly enough that my heart was pounding. I yanked open the door to one of the private rooms and set Sylvie down on the bed as gently as I could. Maisey went to sit beside her and held her hand, but I noticed Maisey wasn't looking too healthy, either. She was pale and sweating and her eyes were going bloodshot. Maybe the immune thing was genetic, but I thought they would've mentioned that.
I tossed the meds from my pockets onto the bed and Maisey wordlessly went about finding the right ones and getting Sylvie sat up so she could swallow them.
Fang, Felix, and Gravy Boat filed into the room and I shut the door.
The private rooms at The Wet Flea were meant for exactly this purpose. Temporary refuge in a place where vamps didn't dare come. There were treaties, even between vamps and werewolves. One of those agreements was that certain places were sacred ground. We didn't go into their crypts and they didn't come into our dens. Simple as that.
Of course there had been a few incidents, but they were rare, and never without harsh consequences for anyone involved. The catch was that we weren't allowed to keep non werewolves here indefinitely. One week was all we got, and that meant I had a week to try to get Sylvie back in good enough health to move. A week to figure out how to get Lazarus off our asses.
One week to figure out why the hell I'd come out of retirement and stuck my neck on the chopping block for two women I'd just met.
Sylvie was sitting up. Her eyes had been bright and clear half an hour ago, but now they were heavy-lidded with dark circles beneath. She looked painfully fragile, like she might break in half if I tried to scoop her up again like I had on the street.
Maisey was at her side, talking in low tones that even my enhanced ears couldn't make out.
It blew my mind how quickly Sylvie's condition had deteriorated. One minute, she'd been completely fine, the next she was on the verge of passing out.
"What's the story with that?" Felix asked quietly after everyone settled around the room.
I realized I'd just been staring at Sylvie like a creep, and I quickly tore my eyes away from her, shaking my head. "No story. She's a job. I'd prefer it if my clients didn't try to off themselves with weak immune systems, though. I can't do much about bacteria."
Felix ran a hand across his shaved head. He stared toward her, then looked at me again.
I hated how he made it feel like he was seeing straight through me. "Fuck off," I groaned.
He chuckled. "Let me guess, they didn't sign a contract or agree to pay you before you started protecting them?"
"Not important. They'll pay when they pay."
"The old Riggs would disagree with that sentiment. Remember the guy I tried to help back in Salem? The howler who got tied up with-"
"I remember."
"You nearly tried to gut me for even suggesting we could let him pay us back when he had the money. You made me help him on my own and called me... what was it? A dumb, softhearted bastard who might as well be sucking off his clients?"
"I don't remember using those exact words," I said. Actually, I did, and the memory made me smile. Felix and I had a good run but thinking back on all that was bittersweet. I'd been different before my sister, Kyla, decided to fuck everything up.
Think about something else.
"How'd you wind up with Fang tagging along?" Felix asked.
Fang heard the question, perking up from where he was lounging in a chair at the corner of the room.
I sighed. "Bad luck."
Felix chuckled. "Well, you've got yourself a small army, now. I think these girls might just make it."
Sylvie looked like she'd fallen asleep, and Maisey came to stand in front of us then. The girl looked almost as bad as her sister did. Her skin was pale, and her hair was plastered to her forehead by a thin sheen of sweat. Her eyes looked hollowed out.
I sniffed, feeling a frown deepen my forehead when I picked up a stronger hint of the vampire scent she'd been wearing ever since she got that vamp blood all over her.
Felix tensed beside me, then shot me a questioning look.
"She got vamp blood all over her back at their apartment," I explained.
He relaxed a little. "I see."
A suspicion was forming deep in my chest, and it was one I didn't dare examine. Not now. Not yet. But I could tell Felix was wondering why the smell would be so strong. Why would-