Page 77 of Inhuman Nature

Rake couldn’t see anyone around. “This would be a great place to invite someone to murder them.”

“Nah,” DJ said distractedly, craning his neck to look out the back window. “Far too much CCTV.”

“Not for how fast a vampire can move.”

“True.” They sat in silence for a few more seconds until DJ put his hand on the door handle. “Let’s go out and see if he’s here.”

Rake was tempted to grab DJ’s arm and keep him in the car where he had a modicum of safety, but they had another half-baked plan to enact. So Rake got out of the car too, rounding it as fast as possible to stand beside DJ.

Rake checked his watch. Twenty minutes till midnight. “We’re early.”

“Rake!” DJ grasped at his hand, making an excited little noise.

The guy that approached them from the hotel looked, on the surface, almost nothing like he did in the photos. Yet, even from a distance, Rake could tell he hadn’t aged a day. Gone were the angelic curls, and in their place, an obvious black dye job and straightened hair. Thick-rimmed dark glasses—surely fake—obscured his eyes, and the ring in his nose made him look like a throwback scene kid.

“Christopher?” DJ called as the guy drew closer.

“I go by Kit,” he replied, stopping a couple of metres away. “Rake and DJ, I take it?” Kit glanced between them, clearly trying to figure out who was who. He didn’t have an English accent like theirs, but Rake had never been adept at telling where people were from.

“I’m Rake. This”—Rake nodded towards DJ—“is DJ.”

“I won’t be telling you what it stands for, though,” DJ interjected.

Kit raised a curious brow. He was at least a head shorter than them, so his chin tilted up as he spoke. “I’d say I’m pleased to meet you, but that would be a lie. What do youneed to ask me about Lawrence?” The way Kit spat Lawrence’s name told them everything they needed to know.

“We need help to get Lawrence away from our, uh, Shaun,” Rake stuttered, unsure of how to contextualise their relationship for Kit.

“YourShaun?” Kit stood so still he could have been mistaken for a statue.

“Ours,” DJ confirmed.

Kit narrowed his eyes. “You’re aware of what we are?”

“Yes,” they replied at the same time.

“Then you’ll understand that mine and Shaun’s creator is stronger than both of us.”

“We don’t need you to fight him alone,” DJ said. “We need you to help Shaun. He went to the territory leader here? Lynette?”

“I’ve heard of her. Been around a lot longer than either of you.”

“We’re worried,” Rake said. “Shaun left days ago to get Lynette’s help and hasn’t returned. We don’t think Lawrence has him, but something else must have happened.”

“I came here to meet you because you needed information on Lawrence. Not to come into Brighton and speak to Lynette.”

“You won’t help?” DJ sounded affronted at the notion. Rake silently echoed the sentiment.

Kit folded his arms over his chest. “I didn’t say that. Just that I have my doubts about trusting you both, given you lured me here under false pretences.”

“Emailing and asking to meet isn’t ‘false pretences’,” DJ said, irritation clear on his face even as he did quote marks inthe air. “I explained everything in the email without spelling out that the paranormal exists.”

“How do I know you aren’t working for Lawrence, or planning to get me to drop my guard before staking me?”

“Compel us,” Rake said. “You’ll see the truth.”

“We’ve got nothing to hide,” DJ added.

Kit eyed them, but didn’t follow through on the invitation. “Regardless, coming into Brighton would involve putting myself in danger.”