She screamed, “Bitch!” and launched, all fangs, nails, and unplucked eyebrows. Before I had time to react, she stopped suddenly, her eyes round and shocked as they lowered slowly to her abdomen. A neon green crossbow bolt as big as my middle finger protruded from her gut, still quivering from the impact.
“Did you really think we’d walk in here without some sort of backup?” I asked, glad for the first time that we’d been forced to bring the man who lurked out of sight, just at the edge of the trees. “Now, we don’t have a whole lot of time to talk, because the little red pill attached to the pointy end of this missile is due to dissolve in the next minute or so, at which time it will set off a reaction in your system kinda like an internal sunburn. Can you say blister, peel, poof?”
Koren gaped at me as I continued. “Sorry I can’t give you a closer timeline estimate.” I shrugged. “But it’s not an exact science.” I held up my hand as she grasped the bolt and tried to pull it free. “It doesn’t work that way. Only I can pull it out without leaving the pill inside you to do its dirty deed.” Unless Bergman had fouled up this small revision of his original invention. Which was entirely possible. His prototypes hardly ever followed the playbook. But I wasn’t going to advertise the fact.
Vayl locked eyes with Disa. She hadn’t moved since the bolt had impaled her vamp. None of them had. Humans would’ve run screaming. Or collapsed into sobbing heaps. These others just became more still, further entranced. As if the smoking of Dinns, the stabbing of Rastus, and the shooting of Koren entertained them at the highest possible level. “So what will it be?” he demanded. “Are we on the team or not?”
The Vitem gathered around Disa for a whispered conversation.
At the same time the human from Genti’s crew ran forward with a wide, teak chair and helped Koren sink down into it. As with the costumes and the aid to Bomber boy, it struck me as more theatrical than necessary.
I watched the Vitem converse with their leader, paying special attention to Sibley and Marcon. Hard to tell without audio if they were just spouting lines or if, like Niall, their actions stemmed from genuine opinions. Ten seconds later Disa emerged from the pack. “We will abide by Hamon Eryx’s contract,” she said.
“Excellent,” said Vayl as I moved toward Koren.
“You need to back off now,” I told the human who stood with her.
“Why?” she demanded, a you-don’t-boss-me pout lining her face. Her pose told me right away she’d come from old money. The kind that sends their kids to camp all summer until they’re old enough to drive, at which time the allowance kicks in, giving them the means to stay out of the house and in trouble well into their thirties.
I said, “Because my guy in the shadows has orders to keep me safe at any cost. And if he decides you’re too close to me, you’re going down.”
When she still hesitated, Koren said, “Do as she says, Meryl.” The woman finally backed away as I grasped the head of the bolt.
“Hold still,” I said. I held it steady with one hand while I gently depressed the head with the other. Koren moaned dramatically as I accidentally wiggled the shaft. “Oh, for shit’s sake, are you really that much of a candyass?”
“How dare you speak to me that way?” Koren demanded, a note of hysteria in her voice.
“You’re the fool who attacked an assassin. Most people who do that don’t end up chatting with me on their patios afterward.” The button on the head popped out, bringing with it the metal wire that ran down its center.
“We do not have patios in Patras. Where on earth did Hamon find you? You are a complete savage!”
I glanced at Vayl, thinking, I have to take this crap from the Mistress of Grunge? But his eyes practically sparkled at her statement.
“Indeed she is,” he said. “And you will survive a great deal longer if you remember that fact.”
I pulled the wire free along with the vamp-killing pill at its tip that Bergman had created on one of our previous missions. Because he hadn’t perfected it yet, I’d hesitated to make it a permanent part of my arsenal. But for this application—ideal.
I broke the pill free of its wax coating and showed it to Koren. “Lucky you that Disa decided to play ball.”
She gestured to the shaft of the bolt, still sticking out of her gut. “What about this?” she cried.
“Keep it,” I said. “A little souvenir to remind you not to mess with skinny redheads from America.”
Chapter Three
At a prearranged hand signal from me, our third dropped from his perch in the tree he’d chosen for its panoramic view of the courtyard and emerged from the thick forest of fir, oak, and chestnut south of the lane leading up to the villa. He wore the uniform unique to his military position—green and black camo over full-length body armor, matching bucket hat, and equipment out the wazoo. This included a field knife, night-vision goggles, first-aid kit, and sat phone. He’d left his urban assault weapon at home, but his Beretta M9 currently rode a shoulder holster similar to mine under his jacket. We’d provided the crossbow.
Biting my lip to suppress the worry that twisted my gut whenever I recalled why SOCOM had, once again, partnered us with one of their best Special Ops commanders, I turned to Disa. She, alone, remained in the courtyard, having dismissed the rest of the Trust. They’d seemed eager to get back to whatever festivities we’d interrupted.
“This is David,” I told Disa as our backup joined us at the table beside the garage. I omitted his last name. Hoped she wouldn’t smell the whiskey on his breath. Or notice the fact that we were twins. Someone less self-absorbed might have caught the resemblance. We share the same green eyes and stubborn chins. But Disa wasn’t interested in a man she saw as our servant. She didn’t acknowledge him as he came to stand at my shoulder. Probably wouldn’t even have raised an eyebrow if I’d turned around and belted him one. And I was tempted. What the hell was he thinking? No time to ask now. Disa had launched into conversation.
“Did you ever think I’d come this far?” she asked Vayl.
He regarded her with eyes the icy blue of a mountain lake. “Hardly.”
Her smile reminded me of a teenager who’s gotten away with a huge kegger while her parents were out of town for the weekend. “And really, I have you to thank for it.”
“You are welcome.”
Now, why would that smooth answer irritate her? I wasn’t sure, but she suddenly looked like she wanted to pick him up, swing him around her head a few times, and throw him into a crowd of stake-wielding priests. I darted a glance at my boss. To my surprise, he looked just as pissed, though only somebody who’d hung with him as long as I had would’ve been able to tell. A master at damming his emotions, Vayl leaked them with the smallest alterations of expression. Just now the minuscule lowering of his slanted brows accompanied by a tighter than usual grip on the blue jewel that topped his cane let me know he wouldn’t mind if Disa went the way of Binns before we completed our mission.
She sat forward, steepling her hands before her catalog-model face, her crimson nails practically glowing against the paleness of her skin. “You know, left to my own devices, I never would have called you.” Disa spoke directly to Vayl, as if Dave and I had gone boneless and oozed into the cracks beneath her heels. “I can take care of myself.” She nodded to emphasize the point. “And the Trust,” she added, almost as an afterthought.
“I know,” said Vayl, after a hesitation that lasted long enough to make me think he’d meant to say something else.