“Let’s go. With some luck, they might still be there.” Then he hesitated for a moment. “Who were you patrolling with?”
“Oliver.”
“Where is he now?”
“Our shift was over; he said he was going home.”
“Did you actually see him leave?”
Slowly, Cain shook his head, his eyebrows pulling together into a frown. “You don’t think he would do anything stupid? Like play hero?”
He didn’t think so, but it was best to verify. Thomas pulled his cell from his pocket as he ran out of his office, Cain on his heels. At the elevator, the cell rang. He rushed into the elevator, Cain beside him, and pressed the button for the lobby level.
“Thomas?” Oliver answered the phone.
“Where are you?”
“Heading home.”
Relief washed over Thomas. “Change of plans. Head back to Sergio’s Book Emporium. But make sure you’re not seen by the four vampires who went in. Wait for Cain and me. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
At the ground floor, the elevator doors opened. Thomas and Cain crossed the lobby and exited the building.
“Shouldn’t we get backup?” Cain asked.
“Call dispatch.” He looked to his motorcycle, which was parked in front of the building, then addressed Cain, “Where’s your car?”
“I’m on foot.”
Thomas motioned him to follow him to his motorcycle. “Hop on. We’ll be faster this way.”
He unhooked the helmet from the back of the bike and held it out to Cain, who shook his head.
“You take it,” Cain said.
Thomas put his helmet on and mounted the motorcycle. The engine roared and Cain slid behind Thomas.
“Hold on tight.”
Cain put one arm around Thomas’s waist and Thomas pulled into traffic, racing down the busy street. At the next intersection, he turned right and headed toward North Beach where Sergio’s was located. He heard Cain on his cell phone, calling the central dispatch office at Scanguards to ask for backup; Cain then put his phone away, wrapping his other arm around Thomas’s waist too.
It was rare that he had anybody riding the motorcycle with him, but it didn’t bother him. Nor did he sense any kind of desire or arousal when he felt Cain’s thighs press against his, and his arms hugging his midsection. He liked Cain as a person, but that was all.
Thomas wound his way through traffic, dodging cars and bicycles, avoiding busses and taxis without blinking. Riding a motorcycle was like second nature to him. He could practically do it in his sleep. He leaned deep into the next curve, tilting the motorcycle almost forty-five degrees.
“Hope you know what you’re doing,” Cain said from behind him. “I’d hate to land on my ass.”
“You won’t. Promise.” An involuntary smile stole onto Thomas’s lips. If Eddie were riding with him, he would revel in the excitement of the drive, and the faster and more reckless the better.
When he turned onto the block on which Sergio’s was located, a narrow side street off Columbus Avenue, he slowed the bike to a crawl and searched for a convenient place to park. In front of a dive, he pulled to a stop. Cain jumped off and Thomas parked the motorcycle, then perused his surroundings.
Raucous laughter came from the open door to the bar, and from the entryway of the house next to it, he saw Oliver emerge.
“What’s going on?” Oliver asked and joined them.
“The four vampires you saw earlier, I saw them the other night. They were talking about a takeover. And some plans. Some big boss. I didn’t like the sound of it.”
“Let’s check them out.” Oliver seemed eager for some action.
“If they’re still there,” Cain interjected.
“One way to find out. Stay here and wait for reinforcements.” Thomas crossed the street, and used the trees and parked cars to remain hidden from view.
The store looked closed—the sign in the door indicating as much—but a faint light was coming from the back of it, where the office and storage room were located. Ducking between two cars, Thomas trained his eyes on the light and focused on it. A door in the back seemed to be ajar, but he saw no movement.
Staying low, he took a few steps forward toward the entrance door of the bookstore and reached for the door handle. He pushed tentatively and was surprised to find it unlocked. Easing the door inside a few inches, he peered into the dark room. The shop was of a good size. There were six or seven rows of bookcases stacked over six feet high, a comfortable seating area in a corner for people to browse, and the checkout counter toward the middle of the room. The scent of books drifted to him. It reminded him of the library his father had kept in his old home in England. He closed his eyes for an instant, inhaling more deeply.