He slid his hand under my bottom and pulled me closer to whisper in my ear. “Don’t tell Colby about me and Eric.” It was as if he could read my mind. “If you do, I’ll expose Colby to the vampire community. Neither he or his team would escape Europe alive.”
I couldn’t stop the shudder that shook me. That would be real bad. “How do I contact you?”
He slipped a business card into my hand. Only a phone number was printed across it. “Do you see that pier over there?”
I looked up from the card. A short dock jutted from the main pier that moored the A38. Small boats were tied to it and a ladder led into the water. “Yes.” Maybe he owned one of the boats.
“Can you swim?”
I faced him and quirked an eyebrow. “Yes. Oh no! Wait...”
He picked me up and threw me overboard.
I plugged my nose before the water engulfed me. Reflexively, I kicked to the surface. The water spilled over my face as I gulped air and sputtered. I treaded water and looked up to see Tane, whose eyes crinkled with amusement. “Bastard.” My voice echoed across the water.
He leaned forward on the rail with a huge grin on his face. “That’s for dumping a tray of drinks on me.”
Chapter Eleven
I watched Tane walk away as I coughed and sputtered in the river. On-lookers began to gather and point at the silly woman in the river. No one offered to help. They just stood and waited for me to drown.
I didn’t lose my purse to the dark waters; it remained grasped in my fingers. Lights from the A38 reflected off a small white rectangle of paper that floated by my face. Staying afloat occupied my mind, not flotsam, until I realized Tane’s card was not clutched in my hand any longer. I did a frantic search of the immediate area for it.
The river’s gentle current pulled it away from me, my only tie to contacting Tane. I paddled, like a dog, to catch it in my grip but something brushed my leg and a startled cry echoed over the river.
It came from me.
The dark water held secrets I didn’t care to know. I envisioned fish, eels, and two-headed monsters. It increased the efficiency of my strokes and I caught the damn card.
My heart, ready to explode, pounded against my ribs as I raced to the small pier. The sensation of being chased by those dark secrets fueled my speed. I pulled myself out of the black water to collapse panting on the dock.
I hate vampires.
When my heart calmed and my lungs no longer billowed, I stood to assess my situation. This small pier connected to the main one but I’d have to pass a guardhouse at the only exit. The street wasn’t too far from there.
I sighed when I looked down at myself. One more dress ruined. At this rate, I’d be returning home with empty suitcases. Yet, I still managed to keep a shoe, not that it mattered. I slipped it off and flung it over my shoulder, back into the river to join its sister.
Carefully, I opened the delicate, wet card Tane had given me. The phone number appeared faded but still present. At least I didn’t lose my handbag. I placed the soft paper in between my credit cards, then made my way to the exit.
The short, round guard at the booth opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out as I drew closer. He rolled his eyes and waved me though the gate, apparently more concerned with those breaking in than breaking out.
I smiled my gratitude and took the stairs that led to the street.
The first taxi driver took one look at my dripping hair and hem, shook his head, and pressed the gas pedal. I waved a second one to stop soon after and got a similar response.
I shook my fist at the retreating vehicle. “Paranoid money-grubbing fascists who eat children.” Just like my grandma taught me.
The rendezvous point with Colby was a mile away. How would I explain my being half drowned? I tripped and fell overboard? He already distrusted me, this would make it worse. I couldn’t blame him, I was about to lie my ass off to him.
I passed a gas station and spotted a pink pay phone. A desperate idea emerged. I made my way over to it and dialed a number.
“Hello?”
“The gigs a bust, Colby. Rurik won’t show up and I’m going to bed.”
“Your signal disappeared. My men should be there looking for you.” His tone told me more than his words. He was pissed.
“Someone spilled their drink on it.” Kind of the truth if you considered the river drinkable.
“You barely arrived. What makes you think he won’t show. My source seemed certain he’d be there.”
“Trust me.” I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to jump up and down while I spilled the beans. I wanted his men to whisk me away back to America so I could hide in my apartment with a week’s worth of DVDs and chocolate chip cookies. “I’ve been following him to clubs all over Budapest. This place won’t be to his taste.” I couldn’t risk the team’s life so I’d do what Tane wanted. Not like Colby told me much.
He didn’t respond.
“I’ll catch a cab and talk to you tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
“Colby, I wouldn’t listen to that source anymore.” Tane never said I couldn’t hint.
He grunted and hung up.
I leaned my forehead against the booth. It would be a long walk to the Rudas but I could use the time to think. Tane told me so much, my head spun with the possibilities. He hired Colby to execute Rurik. I assumed he provided the pictures but he never mentioned the crime tonight. This smelled bad.
He wanted me to snitch on Colby’s movements. It didn’t bother me so much since Colby kept me in the dark. After my appearing to bail out tonight, I’d be lucky if I ever heard from him again.
The drug was my problem. Why the interest in something like a Roofy? To get it, I’d have to find Rurik on my own. Even if I could steal the drug from him, should I entrust it to Tane?
This was not going to end well for me. I could feel it.
The crunch of tires on the pavement as it pulled alongside me caught my attention. I palmed a vial of pepper spray from my handbag. It didn’t work on vampires but worked great on humans.
I looked over my shoulder as a powder-blue microcar pulled up to the curb. They built these tiny cars in the 1950’s yet some Hungarians still drove them. The driver leaned over to open the rust bucket’s passenger door.
“Rabbit, did you take a swim?”
I almost wished it was serial killer. Rurik, the last person I wanted to see, gave me his sexiest smile. I didn’t have a plan formulated yet and I needed to make a decision on his fate. “I fell off the terrace of the A38.” I grinned as I examined his small, two-passenger tin can. “I imagined you drove something more sporty and fast, like a Jag.”
He flinched. I didn’t know Rurik was capable of looking embarrassed. “My car’s getting repaired. This one belongs to a friend.”
We exchanged small lies and both of us knew it.
He twisted to glance at the oncoming traffic then back at me. “Need a ride?”
I did, but those pictures showed me a possible side of Rurik I didn’t care to meet. “You can’t expect me to believe that you just casually drove by and saw me walking.”
“Rabbit, please. Someone’s bound to notice us soon. Get in, we need to talk.”
“Then you’d better answer quick.”
He growled. “I followed Tane here, then saw him toss you in the river.”
I felt my mouth drop open. “Why would you...”
“Rabbit—” he interrupted, and gestured to the vacant car seat “—get in.”
I swallowed my questions and climbed in.
He accelerated from the curb. The little, vintage vehicle’s engine whined from the effort.
I needed an ally and I wondered if maybe he needed one too.