Chapter Twenty

Dark and Twisty

 

I called Alejandro on my way out of Bay Town. I told him where I was headed and why. “I could use some backup.”

“I’ll meet you there,” he said.

When I pulled into the station—early, as usual—I sat in the parking lot watching the bustle for ten minutes or so before Al arrived. He wasn’t alone.

Jade Noel climbed out of the passenger side of his car.

“Shit,” I muttered. I didn’t know what it was about her, but she rubbed me the wrong way. She pissed me off, and there was no reason for it. I didn’t even have a gut feeling, a niggling doubt, or a worry that she’d turn on me.

She just pissed me off.

“Jade was with me when you called,” Al said, smiling as he walked toward me. “She offered to come along just in case we need extra muscle.”

He looked from me to Jade as we stood silently staring at each other, both of us grim and unfriendly.

“Uh,” he said, “I hope you don’t mind, Trinity. You can’t get better backup than Jade.”

“Of course not.” I gave her a nod. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said.

“Delaney is toying with the idea of arresting me,” I told her as we walked across the parking lot. “And I’m not even a supernat. You’re not worried he’ll try to take you?”

She snorted loud enough to scare away a couple of starlings scavenging a discarded wrapper littering the asphalt. “Fucking Todd Delaney doesn’t scare me.”

“He’s scared of you,” Al said.

“Scared humans are dangerous,” I growled. “They don’t like anything that makes them afraid.”

“You’d know what makes humans tick better than I would.” Her voice was mild but in no way hid her contempt.

She didn’t like me any more than I liked her. I wondered if she had a better idea of why, but I wasn’t going to ask.

As soon as we entered the station and people caught sight of us—or Jade, rather—they quieted. Their expressions were mostly curious.

I hadn’t recognized Jade when I’d first seen her in Willow-Wisp. She rarely made appearances in the city. Anything she did was carried out behind the scenes, away from the humans’ attention, and little was actually said about her. Jade Noel was a very private person.

I glanced at her, wondering how she kept such a low profile, as curious—and in the dark—as the rest of the humans.

“We’re here to see Captain Crawford,” I told the man at the desk.

Crawford yanked open his door, then groaned when he spotted Jade. He glanced back over his shoulder, then hurried out, closing the door behind him. He glowered at me. “What the hell, Sinclair?”

“I didn’t invite her.” I squinted at her. “Why are you here, anyway? This is not exactly a friendly place for supernaturals.”

Al hung back and kept his mouth shut.

“When the humans have reached their lowest low, I’m going to be one of the heroes who swoop in to save their whiny, entitled asses. I want them to get used to seeing me before that happens.” She shrugged. “As Himself said, it’s time.”

I looked at Crawford. “Delaney in there?”

He nodded. “Jade, wait out here. You know how the mayor feels about you. And please…don’t cause any trouble.”

Jade put her hand over her heart. “Now you’re just being mean.”

He tossed a glare around the room. “Yell if you need help.”

She merely raised an eyebrow, then leaned back against the wall outside his door and crossed her arms.

“I’ll stay with Trinity,” Alejandro said. “I’d rather she didn’t face the mayor alone.”

“She won’t be alone, for God’s sake,” Crawford said. “She’s in a building full of cops, and I’ll be with her.”

“Still,” Al said.

Crawford shrugged. “Fine. The mayor doesn’t have a problem with you.”

“How well do you know Jade?” I asked Crawford, as he walked me into his office.

“Well enough,” he muttered, then, “Mayor, you’ve met Trinity.”

Delaney sat on a battered settee that had been shoved against the wall. He didn’t stand or offer to shake my hand. He peered at me over his glasses, not a bad looking man, not a particularly heinous man, but an asshole, just the same. “Just this morning, actually.”

“Did Frank explain about the rifters?” I asked, taking a seat. “And the demons?” Al stood behind me. Crawford sat down on the sofa beside the mayor, worry in his eyes, though he tried to hide it.

There was another man in the room, but he stood a short distance away, apparently trying to be unobtrusive.

“Straight to the point,” Delaney said, after giving Al a long look. “I like it.”

“I’d rather not waste any more time,” I told him. “Not when so many lives are at stake.”

He leaned forward. “All right. I can get on board with that. So here is how things will go from now on. You’re going to continue doing your job—which is killing monsters—and you’re going to live in town until this nightmare passes. Frank said he has offered you free room and board. I suggest you take him up on that offer.”

I crossed my legs and let him talk.

“You’re not going to interfere with the way I run my city or the way I run my supernaturals. Do you understand me so far?”

I kept my voice bland, unemotional, non-confrontational, even if my words were full of anger, disgust, and emotion. “See, that’s part of your problem. They’re not your supernaturals. And I will not lead my hunters into the city to protect the ones who persecute them.”

I wouldn’t underestimate him. The man was not without power. He held sway with the humans, and he ruled the city. He was dangerous.

He would order our arrests—or our deaths—if he thought it would benefit him. “You have to understand,” Delaney said. “I wasn’t the only one who initiated the city’s new rules and regulations, and I certainly can’t snap my fingers and order them suspended.”

“I’m sure you can do whatever you want to do.”

He shrugged and gave me a tiny, pleased smile. “I don’t singlehandedly run the city, even though it sometimes feels like I do.” He laughed, then sobered quickly when no one laughed with him.

“We’re more than willing to help,” I told him. “We’ll protect you. We’ll protect all the humans. But you need to retract the regulations you put into place and you need to do it before tonight. Trust me—you give us a chance and you won’t have to worry about the city.” I stared him down, stared into his thick, arrogant silence, and I refused to look away. “It’s time for change, Mayor. Just not the changes you want.”

He studied me, his anger at my continued resistance obvious in the tight line of his lips, his narrowed eyes, his clenched hands. “Why should I coddle them, Ms. Sinclair? The nonhumans are attacking our city. Turning people into vampires. Killing people. And you ask me to make things easier for them?” He crossed his arms and sat back. “We’ve allowed them to exist on this land for centuries, and this is how they repay us. Bay Town is theirs.” He pursed his lips, then shot Crawford a quick, angry grin. “Sort of, right? They should be grateful.”

“The vampires attacking the city are not Red Valley vampires,” I said, forcing myself to unclench my jaw. “They’re not even vampires. They’re rifters. Our vampires are dead and gone and these monsters want to take their place.” I leaned toward him. “Believe me when I say that you do not want that to happen.”

“What I want is for my people to be safe. What I want is a city where monsters don’t roam the streets expecting equality. Once they get that shit into their heads, it’s almost impossible to get them back to where they’re satisfied with their lot.”

He was trying to provoke me. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “The thing is, if you don’t do as we ask, the city will fall to the rifters. And,” I added, “to the demons. You may not have been touched by the horror yet, Mayor, but you will be.”

The captain didn’t move, but he closed his eyes in a long, slow blink. He said nothing.

Delaney uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Are you threatening me, Ms. Sinclair?”

“I’m simply stating the facts.”

“You realize I could have you arrested,” he said.

“I realize you could try.”

I could almost feel Alejandro stiffening behind me, and Crawford’s entire body tensed.

But Delaney only laughed. “You have confidence in yourself. I like that. But make no mistake, Trinity, with the snap of my fingers I could have you thrown into the darkest, nastiest jail for the rest of your life.”

“The supernaturals—”

“The supernaturals,” he interrupted, his voice hard, “will behave themselves before I have every last one of the bastards exterminated.” He held up his hand up in front of my face, his index finger and thumb half an inch apart. “I am this close to ridding my city of all of you.”

I backed down, because it was the smart thing to do. “As I said, Mayor, I believe you can do anything you want to do.”

Crawford visibly relaxed and shot me an approving smile.

I wanted to glare at him, but again, I controlled myself. Maybe I was growing up. Maybe I was learning how to play nicely with others—especially others who could do bad things to me and mine.

“Frank informed me,” the mayor said, satisfied with my passivity, “that you asked for a title and a badge.” He spread his fingers. “You’ll have them both, as well as the training you need. I’ll give you an office and a couple of employees to aid in your monster-hunting quest. And you’ll be well compensated, I assure you.”

I sighed. The mayor wanted to keep an eye on me.

“Think about it, Trinity.” He leaned toward me and softened his voice. “We need you here, in the city. Not in Bay Town. You’re human. Act like it.”

I got to my feet. “I am human. I’m also supernatural. But mostly, I’m just a woman who will fight what’s wrong to get what’s right.” I leaned over, ignoring the warning in the captain’s eyes, and put my face close to Delaney’s. “And what’s wrong, Mayor Delaney, is you.”

I didn’t scare him. He smiled and moved even closer. So close I felt his breath waft across my lips. “When this is over,” he murmured, “you’ll be on your knees before me, just like everyone else in this lovely city. Do you believe me, Trinity?”

I recoiled as something dark and twisty flared to life in his eyes, and for a second, I did believe him.

And it scared the absolute hell out of me.