Out for Blood

He couldn’t see a clear path for when they’d be together again either. The death of Brutus had complicated things even more. Doc understood why Mal had killed the lion-shifter. Doc would have done the same in that situation. But Chrysabelle’s magic resurrection had definitely screwed the pooch.

Speaking of pooches, Tec had promised to let Doc know if Fi showed up at Seven, not that Doc could figure any good reason she’d go there, but then what did he really know anymore? He’d once thought being unable to shift into any form but a house cat was the worst life could get.

Those were the days.

In another hour, the sun would be up. He should just about make it to the freighter before daysleep turned Mal into a comatose lump.

He stomped the gas. The sports car responded instantly, snapping Doc back into the seat as it leaped forward. At least Sinjin had good taste in cars. This machine was a helluva lot more fun to drive than Mal’s old beater. Fi would love the way this car took off.

His joy faded. He had to find her.

Forty-five minutes later, he slammed the door as he got back into the car and cursed into the air as dawn brightened the sky.

He’d been too late to talk to Mal, so he’d searched the freighter. It was the closest thing Fi had to a home, but there’d been no sign of her.

He punched the dashboard. The pride expected him to make a ruling about Brutus’s death today. The last thing he wanted to do was stop looking for Fi and go back to the penthouse and Heaven, but he didn’t need more problems piled on top of the ones he already had.

Reluctantly he turned the car around and headed home. Such as it was. The responsibility of being pride leader without Fi at his side… He shook his head as heat built along his tendons. Those kinds of thoughts weren’t helping. He reached into his jacket pocket, grabbed the little vial tucked there, popped the top open, then shook out a pill and swallowed it.

Numbing himself was the only way he was going to get through this without killing someone.

Chapter Fifteen

With Creek on the dais behind her, and John and the daytime security team positioned around the room, Lola walked to the podium to address the gathered press. She burned with an unsettled urgency to set the curfew in place. It was the right thing to do and exactly what her citizens needed. Creek had told her that repeatedly last night. Now it was all she could think about.

“Thank you for coming this morning on such short notice. I won’t waste your time.” She glanced at the notes Creek had helped her put together. “As you’re all aware, the recent troubles that have plagued this city are unlike anything we have seen before. We can no longer ignore words like shape-shifter and vampire. The creatures we once thought lived only in our nightmares now walk among us.”

The assembled press before her, a group known for its collective boisterousness, remained steadfastly fixed on her every word, microphones stretched forward to capture each one.

“Unlike many of the other nationalities who have flocked to our shores in hopes of asylum and sanctuary, these newly revealed othernaturals present a unique dilemma. Which of them can be trusted? Which of them should we fear?”

A few in the crowd shifted, casting glances at those around them.

“Some have already delineated themselves as friends of Paradise City. As the blogs and dailies have pointed out, my own security team has several varcolai on it. Our police force, our firefighters, and our paramedics all have othernaturals in their ranks. For the service of those men and women, we’re thankful.” She paused, watching the faces, trying to read them as she always did in situations like this.

“Among the rest of the population, however, many questions remain. To this end, I am instating a citywide curfew, effective immediately. From sundown to sunup, any othernatural caught breaking that curfew will be subject to disciplinary action.”

A sea of hands shot up before her and the barrage of questions began.

She leaned forward and spoke into the mike to be heard over the ruckus. “The only exceptions to this will be othernaturals in service to the city as I previously mentioned: our first responders, firefighters, law enforcement, and medical personnel. There will be some leniency for othernaturals employed by humans, but it will be on a case-by-case basis. You’ll all be issued a copy of the statement on your way out. Thank you for coming and have a good day.”

The blast of new questions hit her immediately, but she tucked her notes into her jacket pocket and backed away. A sense of calm came over her and the driving desire that had arisen in her last night finally felt sated. Her mission was accomplished. John blocked the crowd so she could exit. Creek jerked into step alongside her.

“Well done.”

“Are you sure? I still don’t know if—”

Creek grabbed her wrist as they walked. Again his touch gave her a weird shiver that also somehow calmed her. “It’s what needed to be done.”

She pulled her hand away, unsettled by the contact. “Yes, you’re right. But there will be backlash.” Nothing she said went without critical comment by some newspaper, television station, or website. It was part and parcel of being mayor. The elevator was open and waiting. Creek and John got on with her; then John punched the button for her office’s floor. He’d yet to make eye contact with her since the announcement, but it was hard to tell who he was looking at behind those dark shades.

Creek spoke as the doors slid closed. “Remind them that if this curfew had been in place sooner, your daughter and the two other girls wouldn’t have been killed.”