Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Shae’s List of Life Goals
13. Eat whatever I want, whenever I want. Don’t let anyone take away my access to food ever again.
(Addendum: Maybe learn how to cook so I can make something for Griffin someday. And if that’s successful, make something for the whole team.)
Shae
The mood of our little evening soiree immediately shifts and everyone mobilizes into action. Emma passes around some potions to purge the alcohol from our systems, and Dallas puts on a big pot of coffee for the long night ahead.
We all follow Ruby and Emma to the high-tech lab where they spend most of their time. The space is enormous and pristine, with white walls and floors and a lot of shiny metal equipment everywhere. There are several workbenches, what appears to be a jumbo stainless steel fridge with a special locking door, and a bunch of scientific and technical gadgets I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with.
At one of the workbenches, we all crowd around to study the small glass jar of what appears to be a moisturizing face cream with the word Immortelle on the side of it.
“It was no easy feat getting a hold of this,” Harper explains. “Margaret is highly selective in her clientele, and entrance into the little enclave of ridiculously wealthy people that she’s collected is by invitation only.”
“How did you manage, then?” I ask.
Harper gives me a slow wink and presses one finger against his lips. “Vampire trade secret, darling. But let’s just say that I possess some special abilities that come in handy for situations like this.”
Cal snorts with laughter. “That’s code for Harper managed to seduce someone who’s one of Margaret’s clients and then got his hands on the sample.”
Harper sighs theatrically. “Way to ruin my air of mystery.”
Cal blows him a raspberry.
Harper chuckles and then languidly gestures a hand up and down his body. “It would be a shame to let all of this go to waste. My appearance comes in quite handy when I need it to.”
I blink at him. “You’re not prostituting yourself, are you? I mean, if that’s your thing, then no judgment, but?—”
Harper throws his head back and laughs, cutting me off. “Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need to use sex to get information.” He licks his lips. “There are plenty of humans out there who are enamored with a vampire’s special kiss.”
I frown, feeling all kinds of confused, then blink in understanding. “You mean biting them and drinking their blood?”
Harper flashes a fang. “That’s right. The vampiric bite can be quite pleasurable, especially for humans, if you know what you’re doing. And I’ve had many years to perfect the art.” He smirks. “I’ve never left anyone unsatisfied. It took me some time to find someone just right. The woman I finally connected with regularly pays a lot of money for what I had to offer. She was more than happy to instead provide all the information she had in exchange for my bite.”
“Harper’s got mad skills,” Griffin says with a proud smile.
“Never fear, I have scruples and don’t abuse my powers. I only bite willing participants,” Harper explains.
“Harper is a good vampire,” Haku says, and the vampire smiles.
I chuckle and pat Haku’s head, making him preen with pleasure.
Emma and Ruby get ready to test samples on some slides and in test tubes, using a lot of high-tech equipment I don’t have a clue about. Although I was able to finish high school online with some help from private tutors, I wasn’t able to expand my education much beyond that once I was restrained by Margaret’s collar. For the first time, I start to seriously consider my goal of going to college when this is all over.
Holy shit. Look at me thinking about my future again.
I’ve come a long way in a short amount of time.
Cal studies the jar of lotion, his eyes glowing briefly. “There’s definitely traces of magic here. Once we’ve gotten all the samples we need, I’ll assess what’s left and see what I can discover. They might be working with a Potion Master to activate different ingredients.”
What follows is a long night of waiting.
Evidently, lab analysis on movies and TV shows happens much faster than it does in real time.
Dallas keeps pumping us full of coffee and snacks while Emma and Ruby work with focused determination, bringing a blend of scientific and magical investigation to their work. I knew they were both amazing women, but I’m even more impressed with them as I see them in action.
Around dawn, they hit the jackpot.
Emma and Ruby gather us around to share their findings. “Okay, folks. We still need further testing, of course, but we have enough data now to definitively say there are traces of at least siren scales, dryad hair, and vampire blood.”
Harper’s eyes flare red. “I’ll need to share this with the Vampiric Council, then. They’ll almost certainly sign on in support of our proposal to the greater Otherkind Council.”
“I’m sorry for the reason, but that’ll honestly be a big help. If we have more folks in our corner who can persuade the Otherkind Council to push the human authorities to act, all the better,” Dallas says.
“Yeah, and there’s no time to waste.” Cal scrubs a hand over his tired face. “These Divine Beauty fuckers are even worse than we imagined. And believe me, we’ve imagined a lot.”
“They’ve clearly been sampling from multiple species,” I agree.
“Just further evidence of the probable trafficking connection,” Harper says.
Dallas crosses his big arms, his face deadly serious. “Harper, we need you to meet with the Vampiric Council.”
“Most of them have probably just gone to bed, but I can be at their door when night falls.”
Dallas makes a rumbling noise, his face screwed up in thought. “Getting the vampires on our side is a critical first step. We still need to find Divine Beauty’s secret laboratory, but for now, we can take this evidence to the Otherkind Council to get the ball rolling.”
“Let’s hope they can get their heads out of their asses fast enough to be useful,” Cal drawls sarcastically.
Harper flashes his fangs, a wicked glint in his dark eyes. “One of my minions is helping me comb through all of Margaret and Bryce’s secret property holdings. We’ve narrowed the list down to five viable possibilities and I have people out surveilling each location even as we speak. We should know very soon.”
I blink at Harper. “You have minions?” I don’t know why that’s what I ask, but it is. Maybe I’m just too overwhelmed by everything else.
Harper arches an eyebrow. “Of course, darling. All powerful vampires do.”
Griffin shakes his head in wonder. “So freaking cool.”
I kind of have to agree.
Cal and Harper grin at one another.
“Looks like we’re going to get to enjoy a delightful raid soon. It’s been far too long since I got to use my parasol sword,” Harper says.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Cal’s got a zealous gleam in his eyes that says he’s ready to rumble.
“Simmer down, boys. There’s way too much testosterone all up in here,” Ruby says.
“Seriously,” Emma agrees.
They look at each other and giggle.
Then they yawn and it starts a chain effect among us all. Haku doesn’t even notice. He’s been asleep, snoring softly on my shoulder in the nest he’s made from my hair for a while now.
“Okay, team,” Dallas says. “It’s been a long night. We have some concrete evidence now, and I’ll send a brief report to the Otherkind Council containing details of what we have, but we all need to get some sleep before we do anything further. We’ll reconvene in the evening and plan our next steps. With any luck, we might hear back from the Council or know more about the lab’s location by then.”
I want to protest, but I know he’s right.
“Come on, sexy. Let’s go cuddle and get some sleep. I’m zonked,” Griffin says around a huge yawn.
I can’t stop myself from mirroring the action.
“Fine,” I grumble.
“Don’t worry, Shae,” Harper says. “I’ll stay awake and keep an eye on things while everyone’s resting. If any pressing new developments manifest, I’ll wake you all.”
“You don’t need sleep?” I mumble as Griffin wraps an arm around me and starts to lead me away.
“I require very little slumber and going a few days without any will not harm me. Sweet dreams, young siren,” he murmurs softly behind us.
Griffin half carries me up to my—well, basically, our —room. He makes sure to close the blackout curtains, and then we collapse on the bed together, off to dreamland in mere moments.
For the first time in a long time, I dream of my mother. Not the night I thought she died, but rather happier times when just she and I would spend our day by the seashore, swimming in the ocean and having picnic lunches on the beach. In my dreams, she’s smiling, her hair—a lighter shade of blue and silver than mine—blowing in the breeze as she stares out at the water.
When I wake, the sun’s setting. Haku gives me some nuzzles before leaving to find Lucy. I’ll have to ask my aunt what she thinks about their budding romance.
Griffin and I stumble into the shower together where we enjoy some wet and slippery frotting under the hot spray of water before leisurely washing one another. I do want to try penetrative sex with him, but I don’t think I’m in the headspace to do that until we can find my mother and bring down my father and stepmonster. I’m lucky that Griffin fully understands where I’m coming from and is the most easygoing guy I’ve ever known.
He pulls me close and starts a ritual he’s become particularly fond of—washing my hair. His strong fingers knead into my scalp as he massages the shampoo into my roots, and I let go and enjoy the sensation. Griffin was right when he told me he was good with his hands— oh, let me count the ways —and his massage therapist training is regularly put to good use on my body.
I sigh with pleasure as he manages to work all of the tension out of my neck and head. He rinses out the shampoo and methodically works in some conditioner before leaving it to do its work while he scrubs down my body with a minty body wash.
When he kneels down in front of me to clean my lower body, I get a delicious thrill and my cock tries to rise to the occasion for a second time, but I’m too worried about everything so I put a pin in that.
Once we’re clean, we get dressed and hurry downstairs. There, we find Dallas in the kitchen, pulling an enormous tray of bubbling cheesy lasagna out of the oven. My mouth waters and my stomach rumbles at the sight.
He chuckles. “You two, help me set the table.”
Dallas calls everyone to dinner, waking up Ruby and Emma who were still sleeping, and we gather around the table. Haku returns to his usual perch on my shoulder, but I notice he and Lucy making eyes at one another. Harper is conspicuously absent.
“Did Harper go to the Vampiric Council?” I ask Dallas.
“He left an hour ago. With any luck, he’ll be back soon.”
Cal scoffs. “Debatable. Vampires don’t tend to make fast decisions.”
That isn’t reassuring. “Why not?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. Probably has to do with the fact most of them are incredibly old and in no hurry to do anything. They have, for all intents and purposes, all the time in the world.”
“But since we have evidence that vampire blood is being used in Divine Beauty’s shady products, they might be more inclined to act quickly,” Ruby offers.
“I agree,” Anemone adds. “They tend to be a fairly closed society, but they won’t let something like this slide.”
Dallas’s mouth sets in a grim line. “I think it may come down to whether they have any missing vampires.”
“Wouldn’t you guys know if there were?” I ask.
Griffin slurps back a mouthful of gooey lasagna and shakes his head at me. “No, babe. The vamps tend to be super closemouthed about what’s going on in their community. They prefer to handle things internally.”
“If any of them are missing, I guarantee the Vampiric Council has already been investigating it,” Dallas says. “The information we have will probably make them work with us in that case.”
“So once again, we just have to wait and see?” I grumble.
Griffin chuckles and leans over to kiss my cheek.
We’ve just finished cleaning up after dinner when Harper returns. Today, he’s wearing a slinky, black, full-body unitard with a scoop neck and has paired it with a billowing lilac-colored silk duster vest that ties at the waist.
I jump up from where I’m sitting on the couch. “What’s the word?”
A slow grin spreads across his face. “As Dallas would say, ‘Saddle up, team! We’ve got a mission.’”
My heart pounds heavily and I have to remember to breathe.
“You’ve found the laboratory?” Dallas asks sharply.
Anemone rises to her feet, hope glowing in her eyes.
“I got word while I was in the middle of my meeting with the Vampiric Council. The timing was fortuitous because it was precisely the push they needed to agree to get involved.”
“Was I right? Are there missing vamps?” Dallas asks.
Harper nods, a dark look passing over his face. “Three in the last three months.”
“Fuck,” Cal mutters.
“What about the Otherkind Council?” Griffin asks, standing at my side.
“They actually reached out to the head of the Vampiric Council before I got there and shared what we sent them earlier. Both Councils agreed we have enough evidence to move forward and are going to lend their support,” Harper says.
Dallas’s cell phone rings and with a frown he answers it. The conversation is brief, but when he ends the call, he gives us all a triumphant grin. “I don’t know how or why this kind of luck has landed in our laps, but for once it has. The human authorities have taken fast action and gotten a judge to issue a warrant for the laboratory. We’re allowed to join them on the search of the premises.”
Griffin pulls his gold coin out of his pocket and holds it aloft. “Behold the power of the Magic 8-Coin!”
I pat him on the arm.
“So fast?” Ruby asks Dallas, ignoring Griffin and his coin. “How the hell?—”
“Pressure from the Vampiric Council is evidently far more persuasive than just that of the Otherkind Council,” Harper interjects.
Anemone starts pacing in agitation. “If only we’d known this years ago, we could have gotten them to help us look for Tempest and Shae.”
Harper’s countenance clouds over. “Alas, Ms. Anemone, I don’t think you would have been successful. The Vampiric Council rarely sees fit to get involved in the problems of other species if they believe it has no impact on them. The only reason now is different is because we have missing vampires and illegal products containing vampire blood.”
“All right, enough talking. Let’s roll out,” Dallas booms. “Harper can brief us on anything else along the way.”
We head to the garage and squeeze into the SUV, with Dallas driving and Harper acting as front-seat navigator.
“Where are we heading?” I ask as we pull out of the compound gates.
The reflective membranes of Harper’s eyes glint eerily in the dark, just like a predator animal. “Long Beach.”