Chapter Twenty-One
Kane had been making friends. Lots of friends.
Rounding the corner of the Vital Exchange building, Verity heard the protesters before she saw them.
Shouts and heckles, chanted slurs and stamping feet.
Stood at the front, megaphone in hand, was Kane.
She’d recognise that face anywhere. Ever since her first meeting, he’d been there, lurking outside and yelling at anyone who dared walk past. His lanky friend was in the thick of the crowd, handing out signs and pointing. Pointing at her.
They’d been busy.
“Blood traitor!”
“Have some dignity!”
“Humans aren’t cattle!”
With head held high and face carefully passive, Verity picked up her pace, ignoring her quickening pulse as she approached the marble steps and made for the door.
They could say what they wanted, she wasn’t about to be shamed for donating.
The crowd roused, placards waving as she bunched her dress in her hands, careful not to trip.
“You’re as bad as them!”
“Vamp whore!”
“Have you seen my daughter?”
Just shy of safety, her steps faltered. Turning, Verity’s eyes landed on a man, red hair flecked with silver, and a face contorted, not in anger like the others, but worry. Fear. And in his hands a placard with a photo.
Georgie.
The insults and hollering melted away as she stared at Georgie’s smiling face, gleaming with pride beneath her cap and gown. The crimson and gold braid draped around her shoulder marked her as head of her class, an honour Verity could only have dreamed of when she graduated.
The man, her father, stepped forward. Verity couldn’t hear him over the chanting, but she knew what he asked. “Where is she?”
She didn’t know. Had Georgie told her dad she was going away with her client? Did he know what she had been doing? Had he seen the bite marks?
Verity’s feet moved before she realised, blindly stepping towards the man, when a figure rushed for her, wrapping her in his arms… and a coat.
Crack.
“Are you nuts?” Adam hissed, pushing her up the stairs, putting himself between her and the protesters.
Crack.
“Fucking slag!”
“What was that?” Verity asked, as he dragged her over the threshold.
Adam shimmied her away from the door before taking his coat off, egg dripping onto the polished floor. His usually jovial expression was lost under a creased brow as he glared at her.
Verity checked her dress, the near floor length midnight gown still looked immaculate, ready for her trip to the theatre.
“What were you thinking?” he demanded, tossing his coat in a heap. “They aren’t here to make friends, V.”
“But Georgie…”
“This is the third time I’ve called. What’s going on?
” David marched towards them, red-faced with a phone to his ear.
“What happened?” he asked Verity before seeing Adam’s coat.
“They’re throwing eggs at my fucking donors, you get someone here now!
” he snapped, hanging up the phone. “Are you both okay?”
Adam and Verity nodded.
“David…” she started, but two more donors rushed in, one in tears as the other picked egg shell from her hair.
“Come on,” David said, ushering everyone into the hall.
She could still hear them, muffled shouts echoing through the opulence. Chairs sat empty, the meagre turnout clustered by the refreshment table for safety. They were silent, but for a few words of worry or reassurance. Whispers swallowed up in the vastness of the hall.
“Sienna, Mike,” David called. “I know you guys have group chats, can you tell everyone groups cancelled. Tell them not to come.”
Unofficial group chats were discouraged, but David seemed to pick and choose which rules to enforce. Both pulled out their phones and started texting.
“Thank you,” David said. “The police are on their way and I’m messaging your clients to come get you all. Once those… people are gone if anyone doesn’t have a ride home let me know and I’ll take you. I don’t want any of you out alone right now, okay?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, making for the door.
“Wait, David.” Verity rushed after him. “Have you seen Georgie?”
David’s usually young-looking face was the picture of exasperation as he turned on her. “I’m sorry Verity, but I need to sort this out.”
“But Georgie…”
“Sienna’s telling everyone not to come so…” he shrugged. Sirens rang outside, shouts intensifying, as he made for the door.
Real fucking helpful.
Sienna. Gods, she didn’t want to talk to Sienna, but what choice did she have? Verity hadn’t seen her since that night at SubRosa and Theo said to stay away from her, but she needed to know.
“Sienna?” she called, stalking towards the woman. “Have you heard from Georgie?”
Sienna glanced up from her phone before returning to her task. “Heard what?”
“Anything,” Verity pushed. “Her dad’s out there. He says she’s missing.”
The woman looked up again, eyes roaming every inch of her with an arched brow. “Night on the town?” she asked with that sickly sweet smile.
“None of your fucking business,” Verity snapped. “Where’s Georgie?”
“What’s your problem?”
Verity scoffed. “Hmm… I wonder.”
Sienna rolled her eyes, phone buzzing as she replied to messages, warning everyone to stay away. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Theo?”
“What’s that meant to mean?” she asked through gritted teeth. Gods, this woman!
“That donors go missing every day and your precious Lord Mayor does fuck all about it. Why should Georgie be any different?”
Verity blinked, blinked again, words escaping her. Georgie was the first she’d heard of. If donors were going missing people would know, it would be in the papers, on the news.
“What in the hells are you talking about? Theo wouldn’t just abandon them if people were going missing,” she said. Was this what Harris kept harassing Theo about? What Theo said he was looking into?
The confusion must have been etched on her face as Sienna let out a humourless laugh. “Oh yeah, he doesn’t talk to you about work, does he?”
“Not about that,” Verity snapped. “And if you wanted to know you didn’t need to drug me!”
“What?”
“Preston, Adam! Rides are here!” David called from the door.
Sienna stepped closer, trying to get in Verity’s face, but she moved back, trying to keep space between them.
“Stay away from me,” Verity snapped, loud enough for a couple of the donors to turn, watching the exchange.
“Why the fuck would I drug you?” Sienna asked, voice quiet.
“Why were you asking me about Theo’s work?”
Sienna gestured to the room, eyes wide as if it was obvious. “Because donors are going missing?” she hissed, glancing at the huddle of scared humans, making sure no one heard. “Because we aren’t safe? Because he won’t listen to Harris?”
“Harris…”
“You know Theo attacked him? All he has ever done is try to protect us and Theo broke his jaw. He broke his fucking jaw, Verity.”
Tipping her head back, Sienna blinked the silver from her eyes. Verity knew Theo was mad, guessed there had been a fight, but to break a man’s jaw? A vampire’s jaw?
“Sienna, rides here!”
She shook her head, eyeing Verity’s dress again.
“He was so excited when you applied,” she said, touching her sleeve to the corner of her eye and forcing a smile.
“The journalist who stood up for us, for humans. You threw away everything to find the truth but look at you now. Pretty dress and a good shag and you couldn’t give a fuck about us anymore.
” Slipping her phone into a pocket she gave Verity one last withering look. “Gods, you’re a disappointment.”
With that, she left, striding for the door without another word and leaving Verity gaping in her wake.
What the fuck just happened?
David appeared, calling another donor and sparing Verity a glance, head to toe, before he left. She looked down, at her dress, the one Theo insisted on paying for and cost more than most families‘ rent. Glittering and perfect and utterly disgusting.
Hands shaking, she grabbed a glass of water and sipped, attempting to soothe the bile in her throat. People were missing and she was prancing around in a fancy dress, going to see plays and daydreaming about vampires.
How much force did it take to break a vampire’s jaw? Other than his knuckles there hadn’t been a scratch on Theo. She knew how mad he was, saw how demanding and possessive and…
Abe’s words filled her head.
The Chapel brothers… I know what they’re like… you were terrified…
She wasn’t terrified. Not of Theo, not like that. She was just…
No. Abe said himself that he hadn’t seen Theo in years, he didn’t know him that well. Not really. Verity knew him. She knew him. And she knew that if he found out that humans were going missing, he’d do something about it.
He was swamped, drowning in work. So much that she was trying to lighten the load herself because he couldn’t afford the staff to take care of it. She saw the toll it was taking on him.
Harris was a dick. Always bursting into Theo’s office, shouting the odds and talking to him like shit. No wonder Theo couldn’t stand the guy… but that didn’t mean he was wrong.
The unproven reports Theo said Harris kept giving him, the ones in his briefcase. What if Harris was telling the truth and there really was a problem with donor numbers? What if the reports were right? But… there were articles from Cliffhaven with them too.
Why was everyone so interested in Cliffhaven?
Voices filled the hall, David and… Theo. Snapped from her thoughts, Verity looked up as the pair entered the hall.
“I’ll be speaking with the commissioners first thing,” Theo said. “Maybe meetings can be moved to City Hall while we get all this straightened out.”
He saw Verity, offering her a tight-lipped smile.
“I am so sorry about this,” he offered the five remaining donors, all looking surprised to see the Lord Mayor himself. He nodded to Mike before going on. “This should be your safe place, and I’ll be doing everything in my power to make sure it stays that way.”
Safe place indeed. Verity resisted rolling her eyes as she set her glass down and strode for the door.
“You all have a good evening, I’ll talk to you on Monday,” he added for David.
“Yes sir,” David chirped as Theo joined Verity.
Outside was a mess. Broken placards and splashes of red paint covered the stairs as Theo offered Verity a hand, helping her dodge a puddle of crushed eggs. Police swarmed the street, strong-arming the remaining protesters as they screamed, resisting arrest.
She didn’t take the hand, not wanting to give them anything else to yell about as she averted her eyes. It had been bad when she arrived, but all out pandemonium must have erupted soon after.
“Fucking animals,” she muttered reaching Theo’s car. He opened her door before she could stop him.
She couldn’t look at him. This wasn’t his fault, but lingering thoughts nagged at her. Thoughts of fights and donor numbers and Cliffhaven.
He slipped in and pulled away from the Exchange before asking, “Are you okay?”
Was she okay? Physically, she was fine, but…
“Verity?” His hand found hers, a squeeze that she usually found so very reassuring.
“One of the donors is missing,” she said, watching him for a reaction.
A frown, his eyes flicking between her and the road. “Who? How long have they been missing?”
“Georgie. Her dad was one of the protesters, he was asking about her. He… he looked scared. Apparently, her client took her away for Valentine’s, I don’t know if anyone’s seen her since.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Like you’re looking into the donor numbers?” she countered.
“Yes,” he said, hand leaving hers when she didn’t move to hold his back. “I am looking into it.”
Verity looked out the window, watching the passing street lights behind his reflection. “And Cliffhaven? You looking into that too?”
“What about Cliffhaven?”
“I don’t know, Theo, you tell me.”
His nose scrunched, that face he pulled when she pushed him. When he was pissed off. Well, two could play at that.
“How about we try to enjoy the night?” he asked, words clipped.
“Enjoy the night?” she snapped. “I just told you one of the donors from my group is missing, that her devastated father is looking for her, and you want me to enjoy the night?”
“What do you want me to do, Verity?”
“Find her! I want you to find her!”
“And how the fuck am I meant to do that?”
“I don’t know!”
“Well, neither do I!”
They sat in silence until Verity’s lip began to tremble.
Theo took a deep breath before reaching for her again. This time Verity couldn’t find it in herself to refuse his touch. She knew him. Knew that whatever was happening, her Theo wouldn’t stand for it.
“How do I look for someone if everyone tells me that nobody is missing?” he asked.
“But she is.”
“I know, Angel, but I’m telling you, between us,” to shot her a look at between us, “everyone is telling me that nobody is missing.”
“But…”
“I know.”
That couldn’t be right. It would have been reported, her dad wouldn’t be going to protests and not telling the police. But… if Theo already knew…
“There’s others,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
Any remaining irritation left his face as he nodded. “I believe so. The reports… from Harris. I don’t know what’s going on but things aren’t adding up.”
The theatre approached. From one grand building to another. All excitement for the evening, for the play and the box and her date with Theo evaporated, leaving a hollow pit in her stomach.
“I will get to the bottom of this,” he swore, pulling into the car park. “I just… it’s complicated. I need to be careful.”
“Why?” she asked.
They stopped in the valet queue and he turned to her.
“Because if my figures are wrong, if my information is being tampered with, then someone is doing that, and I don’t know who.”
Oh gods. Her mind went blank. So many thoughts and fears filling her that they turned to white noise.
“Just get through tonight,” he said, brushing a stray hair from her face. “Just act like everything’s fine. No talking about missing people and donors…”
“And Cliffhaven?” She asked.
“What about Cliffhaven?”
“Why was Abe there? It’s supposed to be quarantined.”
Theo’s frown turned beseeching. “I don’t know.” The car in front pulled away and he closed his eyes a moment. “I’ll tell you whatever I know, just… later.”
“Promise?”
He sighed as a man approached the car, ready to open the door.
“Later,” he said with a nod.
A promise of later was as good as she could get right now so she nodded, plastering a smile on her face.
“Birth of a god, hey?” She tried to sound excited, but the words came out as hollow as she felt.