22. Oz
OZ
Manny wanted me to shift back. He was worried about me, about why I was staying in my badger form, but that was easy to explain. I didn’t trust the vampire.
Sure, he wasn’t under the control of the trafficker anymore, but his magic was still mostly black.
I’d never seen that before in anyone, and I didn’t know what it meant for the vampire going forward.
For all I knew, he’d been left with some sort of compulsion to be evil and was only pretending to be a good person who’d been trapped in a shitty situation.
Until we were safe back home, I wasn’t letting Manny out of my sight.
I’d have preferred to keep an eye on Arch as well, but his responsibilities meant I couldn’t follow him everywhere right now.
After Manny found my clothes, I herded him back over to Carmen and Eloise, who were leaning against the wall. Surely we could go outside now? A few of the wolves had come in and taken the unconscious and dead goons away, though Eloise had had to clear the pixie dust before they could approach.
I checked that Manny was going to stay where he was, then I went over to the door to the reception area and peeked out.
I wrinkled my nose. There was a lot of blood, and obviously none of the goons had survived.
But the bodies were gone, and it wasn’t going to get any cleaner.
I wanted to get our little group out of here.
I went over to Arch, who’d hung up his call.
I’d heard him say “Simon” earlier, so he must’ve been asking the other vampire to come help with this one.
Now he stood with his hands on his hips, staring down at the body of the trafficker.
I lifted my lip at the dead man, wishing I could’ve helped kill him.
I’d probably have nightmares for weeks after this, but right now all I felt was a lot of relief combined with a significant amount of triumph.
“Hey.” Arch squatted down, running his fingers through my fur.
He tried to look at the puncture wounds on my neck from the vampire, but I jerked away.
I tilted my head toward Manny and his family, then toward the door.
He rubbed his head. “Yeah, you’re right.
We still need to get statements from them, but it doesn’t have to be done in here.
Plus they could probably use some water and food.
Let me just ask the wolves something, and then I’ll have one of them escort y’all outside. ”
Standing, he called, “Lee? Can you come over? And you too, Roman and Harrison.” The other Hunter who’d been talking to the vampire excused herself and came over, followed by the wolves. Arch didn’t ask me to leave, so I stayed, leaning against his leg.
“What’s up, Captain?”
He pointed at the trafficker’s body. “It’s hard to say for sure, since his face is kind of bashed in, but you wolves would know. Doesn’t that look like Niall?”
Lee frowned. “Who?”
Arch’s heart rate spiked, and he turned to Roman and Harrison. “Niall, one of the magic carriers in your pack?”
Roman and Harrison both slowly shook their heads. Roman spread out his hands. “No Niall in our pack. I don’t recognize that guy, and my wolf doesn’t either.”
Arch put both hands on the top of his head. “Lee, on Monday morning you had a meeting with the wolves who were helping to relocate the Wonders from Mexico. Who was in that meeting?”
She swallowed nervously, her own heart rate increasing. “It was me, Harrison, Cassandra, and Lester.”
“Fuck.” Arch dropped his hands and turned to me.
“He was a telepath?” I nodded. “That tracks. He’s been coming to the office and sitting in on meetings, using his abilities to convince us he belonged there.
He picked information out of our heads, then he mesmerized us to make us forget he’d been there. ”
Lee and Harrison looked like they were going to be sick.
I leaned against Arch’s leg, and his hand tangled in the fur on my head.
“Harrison, would you escort Manny, Carmen, and Eloise outside? Oz here will probably go too. Put them in a car or something so they can rest. Don’t let them leave until they’ve been interviewed, but they can go home after that. ”
Harrison nodded, eyeing me curiously. “Sure. I can find Kraus or Fortnell to do the interviews, then I can take them back to Manny’s house.” He grinned. “By the way, Oz, wicked cool second self.”
Once we were outside and resting in one of the big SUVs, I felt comfortable shifting back.
I wished I had sweatpants instead of jeans, but given my lack of underwear it was just as well.
No surprise, my voice wasn’t cooperating, so when Fortnell and Kraus came around to interview us, I typed up my statement on a tablet for them.
I kept my shoulder or arm against Manny the entire time.
He seemed to get that I needed the touch and leaned his weight into me when he could.
Harrison ended up driving us back to Manny’s house around 2:00 a.m. Arch had told us he’d be needed at the warehouse for a few more hours but he’d meet us there. Carmen and Eloise agreed to stay in Manny’s guest bedroom for the rest of the night. None of us wanted to be alone.
Miraculously, our phones were still in the car.
I didn’t have any messages, but Manny had multiple missed calls from his job.
We sat on the bed together, my arms around him and our backs against the headboard, while he debated how to explain his absence in a way that wouldn’t make them expect a police report to go along with it.
In the end he merely apologized and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
He didn’t have any other issues on his record, so they didn’t fire him.
But they did say he’d get a written warning on his file, and they made him feel guilty about leaving his coworkers short-handed.
After he hung up with his boss, I kissed his head and rocked him, wishing I could make his frustration go away.
Manny also had several texts from Rory. Apparently Carlyle had popped over to update Rory, Shane, and Ellis about what was happening, and they were pissed Manny hadn’t told them about his healing abilities.
He’d tossed the phone onto the mattress and collapsed against me, putting his face into my neck.
“I said I’d talk to them in the morning. Fucking Grandpa, telling my secrets.”
We hugged like that for a few minutes, then I sat up and tugged him to the edge of the bed, pointing at the attached bathroom.
He sighed. “You’re right. I want to shower before we sleep.
” I shook a finger in his face then mimed eating.
He made a face at me, but he nodded before going back to his rant.
“I knew I’d have to come clean to them sooner or later, but I was hoping for later.
They’re gonna be all judgy about how I handled everything and try to tell me what to do.
” I didn’t know Rory, Shane, or Ellis very well, but that tracked.
They obviously cared about Manny, and they’d show their worry for him by fussing.
I stripped down and went into the shower stall with Manny, mostly because I didn’t trust him not to go directly to bed afterward.
Neither of us were interested in any shenanigans; we got clean and got out.
Fortunately I’d brought some clothes with me when I’d come for lunch today, so I pulled on a pair of sweatpants.
I didn’t bother with a shirt, and neither did Manny.
He put on some pajama pants and we went to the kitchen.
I pulled out my phone and typed, Do you know how much blood you lost? Do you feel dizzy or anything? His magic was about two-thirds depleted.
“Nah, I’m okay. I didn’t give him everything I had, mostly because I think he’s gonna need another dose soon. That... poison, or whatever it was coming from the trafficker guy, was strong. I don’t think he’ll get it cleared out of his system for a couple of months at least.”
I typed again. That’s nothing compared to the decades he spent bonded to the guy.
Manny shuddered. “That fucker was evil, and I don’t say that lightly. How the Elves or whoever gave somebody like him magic, I’ll never understand.”
Which was an interesting point, I mused as I pulled out the pan to make grilled cheese sandwiches. If the trafficker had had his magic in 1947, he’d have had to have gotten it directly from the Elves. No wonder it’d been so strong, and then he’d gained vampire powers too? Shit.
Manny went to see if Carmen and Eloise wanted to eat, and they trailed into the kitchen after him, pale and tired in their bathrobes. Good thing their luggage had been in the car.
Manny cut up some fruit, and he fed me a few pieces while I grilled the sandwiches. Carmen wanted avocado and tomato on hers, and Eloise wanted hers with ham. I put everything on Manny’s. He needed the calories.
I was making my own sandwich when the front door rattled as Arch unlocked it, and he came inside. “Archie-bear!” Manny popped out of his chair and ran to greet him. I started another sandwich to add to the pan.
Arch walked around the corner, Manny clinging to him with his arms and legs wrapped around his body, his face tucked into Arch’s neck.
“Ladies, you okay?” They assured him they were, and he came into the kitchen.
Cupping my jaw with his free hand, he kissed me soundly and leaned his forehead against mine for a moment.
“You okay?” He trailed his fingers along my neck.
“Those punctures healed?” I nodded, pointing at the pan and then Arch.
He smiled. “Thanks, sunshine.” He kissed me again, then kissed Manny and let him slide to the floor.
Manny went to the cabinet and got a glass out. “Water or something stronger?”
“Water’s great, thanks.” Arch washed his hands at the sink then sat at the table and let Manny ply him with fruit.