Page 115

“My mind is made up. This is the safest way.”

I don’t know anyone stronger than Brigitte. She’s been through so much in the last few years. She came here with nothing but a gun and some acting lessons. Had a few romances, more bad than good. She fell in love with Father Traven and then he died. She had a pretty successful cable action show and she’s losing that, too.

“There’s no one at the studio who can help?” says Carlos. “You’re on TV. That’s better than being on money.”

That makes her laugh a little, but her face soon turns red again. No one says anything. What’s there to say? It’s stupid and brutal. I want to find whoever ratted her out and introduce them to Kenny’s smoke squid.

Candy pulls Brigitte to her and in a second they’re both crying.

What a pathetic bunch we are. Between just me, Candy, and Vidocq, we could rip a big smoking hole in this city. But here we are now, bullied by Feds and unable to even protect one of our own.

Janet has been nursing the same drink for the last twenty minutes. I really wish they’d get over their nervousness. They hand me their drink and walk to Brigitte.

“Marry me,” Janet says.

Everyone looks at them like they’re speaking Urdu.

“What?” says Brigitte.

Janet says it again. “Marry me.”

Brigitte and Candy stare at them.

“I’m serious,” they say. “You’ll be the spouse of an American citizen and they’ll have to let you stay.”

Brigitte puts a hand on Janet’s arm.

“That’s very kind of you, but why would you do that? We’ve barely met.”

“Because I owe you my life,” they say. “When the Drifters were loose, you and Stark saved me. Now let me save you.”

“It’s not a terrible idea,” says Allegra. “It should at least slow things down. I had a cousin in a green card marriage. They had to go through a lot of paperwork and a face-to-face with some snooty government bitch about where stuff is in the kitchen and each other’s families. But those are all things you can memorize.”

Carlos leans on the bar and says, “Ray is a minister in one of those internet churches. He can marry you and you can have the reception right here.”

Brigitte’s face is funny, caught somewhere between complete shock and vague relief.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes, dummy,” I tell her. “I’d marry you, but I think I’m still legally dead. I should probably check on that.”

Brigitte looks at Janet for a minute, like she’s trying to figure out if the offer is legit.

Janet says, “My dad’s a lawyer. He can help with the paperwork.”

“Yes,” Brigitte blurts out. “Yes.”

“You’ll marry me?” says Janet.

“I will.”

They hug each other and Brigitte and Candy start the waterworks again. Everyone is hugging everyone and it’s a complete mess. But the okay kind.

By the time we head for Dan and Juliette’s it’s late and I’m wrecked enough that I don’t want to drive the Hog, so I take us through a shadow. My first night as a member of the Lodge Within the Lodge. If there’s more initiation garbage—if they want me to beat up a yeti or fight another vampire—I’m killing the doom twins and going back to Bamboo House to celebrate.

Me and Janet head straight downstairs.

The rumpus room doesn’t look as bad as I expected after the smoke squid. Someone did a nice cleanup job on the place. There are boards neatly nailed up over the entrance to the mountain tunnel. I’m guessing that Dan and Juliette didn’t pick up as much as a dustpan. They must pay their cleaning people a fortune to keep their mouths shut.