Page 25 of Countdown to Murder (A Paranormal Halloween #3)

Mira

Panda seemed to breathe out in relief when we passed a line saying we were in another county. He flipped the turn signal on, slowed, and steered the SUV into a restaurant promising they had the best burgers in the county.

He turned the music so loud it was almost painful, leaned forward, and put his primary carry weapon in the pocket of the door. “No guns. No throwing knives. You can keep the one on your back if you want, but it’ll probably be better to leave it behind as well.”

I stared at him, and he shrugged. “If we need weapons in there, we’re fucked.

I’m good, and so are you, but in a room packed with Slayers?

They’d slaughter us. We have a better chance of making this happen if we walk in without weapons.

We’re asking for help, and it’s a big ask.

It’ll go over better if we show we trust them by not going in armed.

We have safe passage so long as we don’t do or say anything threatening. ”

“And since, armed or not, they’ll easily kill us if they choose to, we may as well use the trust card as a game piece?” I asked.

He smiled, happy I understood. I sighed and removed my weapons. The throwing knives went into the glove compartment. My two handguns went under the seat, along with the knife at my back, and all of the extra magazines. I kept the folding knife in my pocket.

We walked inside, a hostess looked at us with suspicion, sniffed, and pointed towards a dark corner. “Ryan’s waiting for you.”

The man we walked to looked completely forgettable. Nothing about him stood out. Normal nose, normal haircut, boring eyebrows. He was attractive without being gorgeous. He was neither interesting nor boring. I looked around the room and noted that most of the people in the room fit the same bill.

I tested the air with my Jacobson’s organ and tasted something off. It set my snake on edge.

“We have safe passage. No worries,” Panda reminded me. He spoke softly, but I had a feeling everyone in the room heard him.

Ryan motioned for us to have a seat. His back was to the wall, but Panda and I wouldn’t have that luxury. Panda sat without appearing concerned, so I did the same. I angled my water glass so I’d see a shadow of a reflection if anyone came up behind me. It was the best I could do.

“I allowed the beach house reservation to go through,” Ryan told Panda. “Doesn’t mean you’ll make it past the diner, but it means I’ll hear you out.”

“What do you know of my companion?”

“Made it my business to know everything about her when she was brought to Chattanooga. If she goes to Alaska with Kendra, Abbott will have to figure out how to keep her. If she stays, it’ll be up to Marcus whether to fight for her or let them take her back.”

“Fawn isn’t going to let her go back without a fight, and I’m not of a mind to, either.”

“Fawn does seem to have dug her heels in, and it appears you’re doing the same. I hope I can congratulate you a year from now, and not offer condolences.”

“A year?” Panda asked.

Ryan shrugged. “Less. She goes back on the summer solstice.”

I looked back and forth between the two men. “What are the two of you talking about? Abbott took possession of me when he...” I shook my head. “I’m not going back to the Concilio. That isn’t an option.”

Panda looked to the slayer and then to me. “This is Ryan. He’s a slayer who owes me a big favor. I’m hoping he’ll explain to you what Apollonius forbid me from telling you.”

Ryan shook his head. “Motherfucker.” He sounded frustrated, but he smiled. I had no idea what that meant. The slayer was hard to read.

“You were leased, not sold. The Concilio wanted you to kill someone who is an associate of the Master Vampire. We still don’t know who, only that it’s an order you won’t know about until you meet him face-to-face.

I’m assuming it isn’t me or Panda. Probably not Nathan or Aaron Drake, or Abbott. We aren’t even sure it’s a male.”

I leaned back in my seat. Floored. I didn’t allow my heart rate or breathing to change. I believed him because a few things now made sense — especially Apollonius acting as if he were somehow Master over me. In his eyes, he was. Is. Fuck.

“What’s to keep Apollonius from getting us here?” I asked.

“You’re on slayer territory,” Ryan told me.

“Concilio personnel need a written invitation to come onto our land. We don’t usually get involved in this kind of thing, but I can see why Panda is intrigued with you, and I’d kind of like to see if you can be humanized.

We usually kill people with your background who don’t have an overseer to take responsibility for them.

Fawn and Kendra intend to set you free, and I’ve been watching their progress — your progress — with interest. I know you just took Andreason out.

I like the idea of you fighting on our side, keeping humans and vulnerable supernaturals safe. ”

Ryan looked to Panda, thoughtful. “If Apollonius goes too far over my head, I won’t be able to give you the whole week. I’m pretty sure I can give you two days, and probably a twelve-hour warning before things go to shit, but maybe not.”

“I’ll appreciate whatever you can work out.”

“As will I,” I told him.

He stood. “Your steaks will be on the table soon. Stop and buy candy before you get to the beach house. Costumes are already there, so you don’t need to worry about buying those.

The house was already decorated, and the costumes match the theme.

” He placed a phone on the table. “It has the Drake app on it, so you can phone home. It does not have GPS, and the towers in this county will only give them a seven-mile circle. Please leave it on so I can contact you. My contact information is programmed in, as is the phone number for your northern neighbors, should you need backup.” He smiled.

“Or anything else, if Ruth takes a liking to you.”

He walked off without saying goodbye, and a waitress appeared with a steak and broccoli for me, and four steaks with two baked potatoes and a piece of chocolate pie for Panda.

“Did you order this for us?”

He shook his head. “Ryan likes to show you how well he knows you. Don’t let it freak you out.

So long as you aren’t a danger to humans, he won’t kill you.

The slayers in this county live by that code as well.

Not all slayers do, but as long as we don’t threaten anyone, we have safe passage here until Ryan recalls it, and he’s promised he’ll give us time to exit before he does so. ”

I opened my mouth to let my Jacobson’s organ tell me about the food, and I noted Panda paying attention. I’d told him more about it in the car — it’s available to me no matter what form I’m in, and it tells me more than my sense of smell.

I cut into the steak and it was red on the inside, seared only on the outside, just the way I like.

Whether Ryan knew that, or the cook guessed, was probably a toss-up.

The plain steamed broccoli with clarified butter to dip it in was something I hadn’t even told Panda about though, and I wondered how Ryan found out it was one of my favorite foods, and one of the few carbs I ate in quantity.

“Will it be safe for me to run on the beach in the morning?” I asked.

“Just don’t leave the county. I should probably get off my lazy ass and run too. What time were you planning to do this?”

“I like to run before the sun comes up, so I can watch it rise while I’m outside.”

He shook his head. “In this, we are not compatible, but I suppose I can wake with you and run, knowing I can come back and nap.”

I leaned back and looked at him, trying to figure out how to keep from angering him by telling him I wanted to run alone. Nothing came to mind, so I just said it.

“I’d rather run by myself.”

“I get that, but we’re going to be observing the buddy system this week. If you make a slayer friend and would rather run with her, that’s fine. Otherwise, you’re stuck with me.”

I crossed my arms. “Remember when you said it was going to be nice to date someone who doesn’t need rescuing?”

His smile was both tender and firm. He had no intention of letting me run alone, but he wasn’t upset by my argument.

“I do, but that isn’t what this is about and you know it.

The Concilio wants you back, and I can easily see them in a boat, rationalizing to themselves that the beach is part of the ocean and not the town.

Maybe they’ll do the same whether I’m with you or not, but at least I’ll know who took you. ”

“Can I assume I’ll be able to run as fast as I want? Are there humans who don’t know about supernaturals in Slayertown?”

“There’s an obfuscation spell on the county. Keeps outside electronics from focusing, and makes humans who aren’t given a key uncomfortable, so they won’t stay.” He smiled. “Which means we can turn it into a race, and I won’t be bored.”

My turn to give him an in-your-face smile, and I turned it up to a million megawatts. “I’m going to have fun toasting your ass.”

“Smoking my ass. Whoever worked with you on idioms did a mostly good job, but that one didn’t come out right.”

I frowned, trying to remember if that was what I’d been taught, but he pulled me away from my thoughts.

“By the way, what we’re doing now? It’s what can make or break a relationship.

We have to talk, and negotiate, and make sure we’re on the same page.

Once we get past tomorrow, if you still feel the need to run alone, we’ll figure something out.

The slayers have a track towards the middle of town.

I know it won’t be the beach, but the Concilio won’t be able to abscond with you there. ”

I uncrossed my arms. “Yeah. Okay. We both have the same goal — to keep me from being taken back to a Concilio stronghold and reprogrammed. I’d also like to know who I’m supposed to remember to kill when I see him.

Fawn must’ve tried to figure it out. She and Kendra have been in my head plenty. Abbott too, before he left for Alaska.”

“If they can’t retrieve a name or face, I doubt anyone can. Once Aaron sees you as his, he might find a way to strong-arm them into telling him.”

“Doubtful. No one strong-arms the Concilio into anything.”

“Rewind a second. Conversation last night. Who is Nathan in a relationship with?”

A god-of-old and a demi-goddess, if the rumors were to be believed, but no way was I going not say that out loud. I looked around. “Should we be talking about this here?”

“Every slayer in the room is aware, but I’ll finish my pie and we’ll go. We need to buy a few things before we go to the house.”