Chapter 16
“Dev, where the hell are we going?” Frank pulled up the collar on his coat as he waited for her to unlock the passenger side door.
“You don’t have to come,” she told him for the fourth time as they got into the car. “Actually, I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I thought you loved me.”
She cranked the engine and got the heater going. Typical of Texas weather this time of year, the temperature had dropped in the hour since Kohl brought her and her car back home. And it was only supposed to get colder. “I do. That’s why you shouldn’t come with me.”
“Well, that ain’t gonna happen. According to tall, dark, and scary, I’m supposed to stay with you at all times until he lets me know otherwise.” He held up his cell phone. “And call the emergency number for the club you programmed into my phone if I so much as see someone look at you funny.”
Devon rolled her eyes. “You’ve never even met him. How do you know he’s tall? Or dark?”
“Because all vampires are tall, dark, and scary. All real vampires, anyway. Otherwise, why even bother?”
“He’s not scary.”
“Oh, honey. He’s scary. Trust me. You probably just haven’t seen that side of him, yet.”
Oh, honey. If you only knew…
After Kohl had deposited her back at her apartment with Frank, she’d filled him in on everything that happened the night before.
Well, not exactly everything, but everything he needed to know.
Once he’d gotten over his initial pissyness at being left out of the loop for so long, and the fact that he “no-way no-how” believed nothing had happened between her and Kohl (I always give you details…
you’re holding out on me), he’d stuck to her like a bur and announced he was calling in sick to work until this had all settled down.
Devon did eventually convince him to go home and crash for a few hours, keeping his phone with her and promising she’d wake him first thing in the morning.
But, sleep had eluded her as she’d paced from one end of her apartment to the other, worrying her lower lip, and checking Frank’s cell every thirty seconds to make sure it was on.
She must’ve eventually dropped off, though, because the next thing she remembered was waking up on the couch with a foggy head, still wearing the clothes from the night before.
Once she’d showered, Devon took a cue from Frank and called in sick to her employer at the pottery shop.
The deliveries she did on the side were on her own schedule.
It hit her that tomorrow was only Monday.
While Frank got his seatbelt on, she said, “I’ve only known him for four days, Frank.
Four days. And look at me. Look at all that’s happened. ”
Frank turned the heater down. “That’s a whirlwind love affair if I ever heard one.” Then he smiled. “But it’s so romantic.”
“Ha! Crazy, maybe. But not romantic.” Throwing the car into reverse, she backed out of her parking spot. “One thing is for sure. I’m no damsel in distress, and I’m not waiting around for some man to save me. I can save myself, and him, too.”
When they arrived at the library, she gave her friend one last chance to back out. “Seriously, Frank. If this goes bad, you’ll be seen as an accomplice.”
He didn’t deign to respond as he got out of the car and waited for her on the sidewalk with his hands in his coat pockets and an obstinate look on his face.
Shaking her head, she shut off the engine and got out.
Inside, Devon was relieved to see plenty of computers available for online use.
She had a library card for the few times she needed to get online, but she didn’t plan on using it.
Taking off her coat, she grabbed the last spot at the very end of the table and hung it over the back of the chair.
She had one hour before the library closed for the night.
Frank took up residence beside her. “What exactly are you doing?”
She gave him a look, reminding him to keep his voice down. “Remember what I found in Parasupe’s database? The reason I was called into court and my boss went to jail?”
“Yeah. You found out they were killing…” He glanced around. “Supernatural creatures for sport. Basically.”
Devon started typing, easily overriding the library’s security measures and getting online. “Right. And how much you wanna bet it’s still happening?”
“I don’t understand. You’re going to put your boyfriend on the list?”
She didn’t pause what she was doing as she filled him in on the genius plan that had come to her while she was changing clothes. “No. I’m putting the vampire who attacked me last night on that list.”
“What? How?”
Devon shot him a warning look, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed his outburst.
Putting one elbow casually on the desk and resting the side of his head in his hand, he lowered his voice. “How the hell are you going to do that?”
“I’m hacking into their system, Frank. And I’m almost there.
” Her fingers moved swiftly over the keys as she got past Parasupe’s first wall of defense.
“Almost there,” she murmured. The company had either been too stupid or too egotistical to change up their security after chasing Devon out of her chosen career and her home, the security system she had put in place.
Though, at least they’d changed their passwords. “Annnnd, I’m in!”
“This has got to be against the law in so many ways,” Frank groaned.
“Only if you get caught. And I won’t get caught.” She looked through what she had found. She was deep in the database now. Suddenly, she stopped typing and turned to grin at Frank. “Guess what I just found.”
“Well, just hurry up and do it so we can get the hell out of here. I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
Her mouth fell open. “Talked you into it?”
“Just get on with it, Dev.” Waving a hand at the keyboard beneath her fingers, he glanced around again.
He was right. There was no time for this.
She entered in all of the information, including the general location of the coven.
As far as she could tell, Parasupe wasn’t aware of the vampire’s hideout, or about the club.
She wished she could be around to see her old boss’s face when they discovered the den of a large vampire coven was right under their noses the entire time.
Her finger hovered over the key. If she pressed it, she would be giving away the location of the coven. If she didn’t, Kohl could very well be dead by morning.
“What are you waiting for?” Frank frowned at her.
That was a great question. Her finger lowered another fraction of an inch closer to the key, but the execution was cut short as a sharp pain shot through her temples, blurring her vision.
“Dev. Come on. Do it or don’t do it. My nerves can’t take much more of this.”
Squinting through the discomfort, she hit the key. The pain instantly cleared. “Annnnd….done.” She backed out of Parasupe’s system, and then the library’s. “Let’s go.” When Kohl texted her, she would tell him to get out of there, and take anyone he cared about with him.
“Should we get a book? Make it look like we were here for a real reason?”
“When’s the last time you read a book?” She put on her coat as Frank did the same.
“What? I read.”
“You read Fitness magazine. And not for the workout advice.”
Frank raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Your point?”
“Let’s just go. I come in here and use the computers like this all the time. No one will think anything about it.”
“Except you never logged in. And what about cameras?”
“I took care of it. Come on.” Waving to the young librarian, she pulled Frank out the front door and back to her car.
“Now what do we do?” he asked once they were inside with the heater running.
“Now, we go home, and we wait.”
They drove in silence all the way back to the apartments, but as they pulled into a spot near the door, Frank asked, “Is your vampire coming over tonight?”
Devon shut off the car. “He’s not my vampire.”
“Except that love bite on your neck tells me an entirely different story.”
Devon flipped down her sunshade and opened the mirror. Sure enough, her scarf had slipped, revealing two healing puncture wounds. “Dammit.” She yanked it back up.
“I knew you weren’t telling me everything.”
She didn’t even have to look at him. She could hear the pout in his voice. “Frank, it’s just…” She heaved a sigh. “It’s complicated.” Opening her door, she got out.
“‘It’s complicated’ is a Facebook status meaning you were stupid enough to fall for your booty call, not a real life relationship status,” he said from behind her as they hurried inside out of the cold.
“There is no relationship.” Not exactly.
“I find it hard to believe that a guy who goes to such great lengths to protect you is just after a one night stand. Or two.”
“It’s not that. It’s just…”
“It’s complicated.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. Rolling his eyes, Frank took her keys from her and opened the door.
“Yeah,” she muttered. Then followed him inside.
“What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out you just put his entire coven on Parasupe’s radar?”
Devon hung up her coat. “What are you talking about?” Her head began to pound. “I’m gonna go lie down.”
She left Frank standing at her kitchen counter with a look of puzzlement as she went into her room and shut the door.