"Lissa, Wlodek notified Gavin. He may be calling."
"Merrill, you know he's only going to yell," I muttered. Of course, Merrill heard.
"I know." Merrill didn't sound happy about it either.
"Tell Franklin I'm okay for now," I said. I didn't want him worrying.
"I may have to lay compulsion on my human child and I don't like doing that," Merrill said.
"Don't let him fret," I said. "Tell him I love him."
"I will." Merrill hung up.
I had to break the lock on the cooler, since Winkler still had the key. I had just drunk my blood and placed the portion I couldn't finish back inside when the knock came on my hotel room door. Answering cautiously, I was relieved to find two vampires standing there. One was at least six-six with white-blond hair cut short; the other was around six feet or so with darker hair.
"Dalroy," the white-haired one introduced himself. He had a slight Texas accent. "This is Rhett," he nodded at the other vampire. I shook hands with both of them; they didn't seem to mind. Rhett took the cooler while Dalroy grabbed my laptop. All I had to carry was my purse; the envelope of cash was now inside my laptop case.
They had a rental waiting outside for us and I caught up with them after checking out of my room. More compulsion was necessary, of course. I crawled into the back seat of the Cadillac they had, breathing out a relieved sigh. "We hear this could turn into a right mess," Dalroy said over the back of the passenger seat. Rhett was driving and nodding his agreement to Dalroy's words.
"You don't know the half of it," I muttered angrily. "Any word on Winkler and the Grand Master?"
"We've only been up a little while ourselves. We were intending to check the newscasts and the online stuff when we get back to the safe house. Don't worry; we'll get you out of here safely if we have to." Dalroy gave me an encouraging smile.
"I don't intend to leave until Winkler and Weldon are free and cleared of charges," I said.
"The Council might disagree with you on that," Dalroy pointed out. "Personally, I'm with you. Somebody is behind this, I think, and they want to take werewolves and vampires down. Or at least expose all of us," he added grimly.
"Yeah," I said. "I get that idea, too." Dalroy had a ruggedly handsome face but looked as if he'd seen a lot of life, both human and vampire. He smelled about the same age as Charles, though. Rhett was a little younger than Dalroy and I knew by the scent that Dalroy had made him. There was enough of a difference in their ages, though, that I knew Dalroy hadn't broken any rules to make his vampire child.
We pulled up to the safe house after half an hour of driving, and Rhett and Dalroy carried my things inside. Rhett offered to go out and buy clothing for me so I handed over a list. "Are you sure this isn't going to embarrass you?" I asked. There were bras and underwear on the list.
"I'll be okay," he grinned and took off. He'd been gone an hour and a half when my phone rang.
"Lissa, this is Tony," he said. At first, I thought it might be Gavin calling but the number was unfamiliar and the ID was blocked.
"Tony, how are you?" I asked brightly. It was nice to hear his voice.
"Lissa, I'm fine. Actually, I'm on a plane headed your way," he said. "We'll be landing in about half an hour. Is there someplace I can meet with you?"
"Tony, why are you using your cell phone when the common herd gets slapped on the head if we even look at our cell phones on a commercial flight?"
That made him laugh. "I'm special," he replied.
"Honey, we all think we're special. That doesn't mean we get to use our phones on airplanes." I know, I was teasing him and I was smiling while I did it.
"Now Lissa, stop beating around the bush and tell me where I can find you."
"There's a Barnes and Noble on Rock Road," I said. I'd scoped it out on my computer the night before. One of the books I bought in Overland Park was the first in a series and now I wanted the others.
"That's good enough," he said. "Don't keep me waiting." He hung up.
"Who was that?" Dalroy asked.
"Dalroy, it's better if you don't know," I said. "I need to meet this guy alone. He doesn't need to see me with you or Rhett. I'm just trying to get Winkler and the Grand Master out of this the best way I can. If you have to report this to Wlodek, go ahead. He may lift my head from my shoulders as a result but this is what I know to do."
"You don't know much about how the Council looks at the American vamps, do you?" Dalroy asked softly. "We're upstarts to them. None of us old enough to know anything. I'm surprised they thought to contact Rhett and me, instead of flying their own bunch in here. If you don't have a foreign accent, you're too young to have any sense at all. There's not a single American on the Council and no American Enforcers."
"Yeah, I get that too," I grumbled. That's exactly how Gavin treated me most of the time.
"So, how long have you been vampire?" he asked.
"Just a little over a year," I said.
"And they're sending you out to do this?" Dalroy didn't know what to think.
"I'm a mister," I said. "And I can mindspeak." That caught Dalroy's attention.
"That how you got out of the hotel without anybody seeing you?" There was a light in his eyes.
"Yeah. That's how I got out." Rhett walked in carrying bags of clothing. I could have kissed him. I took the fastest shower I could, dressed in jeans that had been pre-washed while I silently thanked Rhett, a top that wasn't too bad, my athletic shoes (I hadn't asked him to buy shoes), and borrowed the keys to the Cadillac. Dalroy said they'd see about getting a second car when I walked out the door.
The Barnes and Noble wasn't far from the safe house and I was only ten minutes late to meet Tony. He was sitting in the café, having a latte and flipping through a magazine.
"Lissa," his eyes and his kiss were both warm when he stood and greeted me. We sat down. "Winkler's lawyers are as busy as ants, right now," he said, first thing. "I spoke with Winkler this afternoon and the FBI is talking to the local authorities. We know neither he nor the other man are involved in this, Lissa. We have camera footage, showing who actually did commit the murders. What we're trying to figure out now is how they got the fingerprints all over the guns."
"They used more than one? Why?" I couldn't believe this.
"No idea; both employees were killed in the same room. But one set of fingerprints was on each weapon—one belonging to the Harper man, the other to you, Lissa."