Angel: Private Eye Book One (24 page)

Except… Christ, it didn't sound like me.
Same voice, just not the same force. When I spoke, I rarely did so
with conviction. But as I looked up at William Benson and spoke, it
felt like I was making a decree from god.

William straightened. Those perfect muscles
along his neck stiffened, and I watched the skin around his eyes
crinkle. “Miss Luck,” he said in a prying, careful tone, “Repeat
what you just said.”

I frowned. For some reason, I couldn’t
remember what I’d said – I was too freaking thrown by the fact I’d
sounded like I was in control.

After a few seconds of gaping at him, Benson
brought up a hand, tapped his chin once, and turned away.

He walked purposefully over to his desk,
plucked a plain legal pad from the top drawer, and proceeded to
scribble something over the top with a look of concentration
smoothed over his brow.

“Ah, what are you doing?” I asked.

He ignored me until he was finished, then he
promptly hid the pad away in the top drawer of his desk again.

He crossed his arms, leaned against his
desk, and looked at me.

My eyes were a little blurry from my ordeal,
so I couldn’t pick up his expression. His stance, however, was
about as readable as a neon sign flashing right in front of your
face.

He was suspicious. Of me.

Thank god I wasn’t giggling anymore. The
heady, crazy effects of the drink had waned.

While I still felt a pleasant warm energy
rushing through my body and soothing my injuries, I wasn’t ready to
skip over to Benson, fall at his feet, and giggle at his perfect
form.

I sat wearily on the edge of the couch, my
crooked fingers bent around the molded leather.

We watched each other.

Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore, and
rose to my feet. “Ah… what happens next?”

He took a few seconds to answer, clearly not
done inspecting me with that godawful penetrating gaze. “Next, Miss
Luck, I watch you. Like a hawk. Your exploits today have proved you
can’t be left alone.”

I became pink at the prospect William
Benson, the most eligible bachelor in the country, had no intention
of leaving me alone.

Then what he was actually saying caught up
with me like a sucker punch to the jaw. “Ah, what? What do you
mean?”

“I mean, I can no longer afford to take this
situation lightly. Theodore Van Edgerton now has a vial of your
blood. Worse, you killed a glass demon.” His voice shook.

He was a vampire king, a consummate business
man, and very much not the kind of guy whose voice shook.

Though I could tell he was trying hard to
keep his expression even, it wasn’t working.

William Benson III looked impressed,
shocked, and unsure.

It was enough to wash away the last giddying
effects of my medication.

I took a very hesitant step towards him,
clutching my sweaty hands around the torn hem of my sweatshirt. “I…
I didn’t mean to kill it.”

He smiled. It was impressed. “It was a
demon, Lizzie, no one will miss it. Plus, you were within your
rights. It was trying to kill you. I’m more interested in how you
managed to dispatch it.” He watched me intently.

Me, I just stood there and looked as lost as
a puppy in the woods. I mutely shook my head, pressing a suddenly
cold and sweaty hand to my lips.

Benson sighed. “Don’t tell me – you have no
idea. Well, I thought that might be the case. Oh well, I’ll just
have to wait to see what will happen next.”

I swallowed and stifled a groan.

He smiled. Though if you looked carefully –
and I’d done nothing but look at Benson carefully since he’d
brought me here – you could see the stress.

It marred his strong gaze, crawled up the
side of his lips, and saw him stand a little stiffer as he leaned
against his desk.

Before too long, he sent me home with a
small bottle of that amazing black liquid and strong instructions
not to drink it all at once.

I was too nervous, sick, and ashamed to try.
Instead I moped back home in a chauffeured car Benson prepared for
me.

He was certain Theodore wasn’t going to try
his hand at any more kidnapping.

Me, I wasn’t so sure.

As I tugged my head up and stared at the
sky, I was pretty damn sure it was going to fall down. And if not
the sky, then the rest of my life.

I’d already killed a demon and fallen
giddily at the knees of William Benson. And it was only 11:00 in
the morning.

I sat on the edge of my bed wincing.

I was never ever, ever, ever going to live
this down. Though I really should have been distracted by what I'd
learned from Benson, the only thing I could think of is how I'd
stared openmouthed at his perfect body.

“Oh God, you are a hopeless case,” I chided
myself as I hissed through bared teeth, balled my hands up into
fists, and struck the edge of my bed repeatedly. The crappy old
mattress practically twanged under the onslaught.

Though I could have set myself to beating it
and slowly eking out my frustration for the rest of the day, I
couldn't really, could I?

Because I'd killed a glass demon. Sure,
Benson had tried to hide how impressed he'd been at that. But as
repulsive as it sounded, I was starting to get to know the guy. And
it had been damn obvious how taken aback he'd been at the prospect
that me – little mouse, Lizzie Luck – had destroyed one of the
hardest creatures to kill in all of Hope City.

It was that thought and that thought alone
that finally stopped me from beating the mattress. Instead, I sat
on the edge of my bed, nervously clutching my hands into tight
fists. I was now so far into this stupid mess that I'd stopped
thinking I could wake up from this nightmare.

The only thing I could do was find out what
on earth I was. But in doing that, I would have to face the
terrifying prospect that maybe I wasn't from Earth, but I was from
underneath it.

I brought my shaking hands up once more and
swallowed hard at the memory of that demon shrieking. The memory of
that pulsing, unstoppable, violent light tearing out of me and
ripping through the creature’s glass body.

Before I could completely give in to my
fear, crumple into a ball, and cry myself to sleep, my phone rang.
I jolted as I clutched it from my pocket with shaking hands. I
expected it to be him. Of course I did. Because he’d outright told
me he was now intending to keep such a close eye on me I wouldn’t
be able to cough without him knowing it.

It wasn't Benson, though. It was Sarah.

The prospect of Sarah's happy smile and
outrageous sense of humor were the only things that could bring a
small smile to my lips as I plucked the phone up and pressed it to
my ear. “You have no idea how good it is to hear from you,” I
began.

“Honey, you have to come over. Another
vampire’s come to see you,” Sarah spluttered without as much as a
hello. Sarah was not the kind of girl who ever got to the point
quickly. You’d go through half an hour of random conversation with
her until she bothered to blurt that your boss had called with an
urgent appointment. But now Sarah was getting straight to that
point, and that was a truly terrifying prospect.

Not as terrifying, however, as the thought
of which vampire it could be.

I stiffened so badly I heard my muscles
creak. I pressed towards the edge of my bed. “Sarah, you have to
listen to me very carefully. If that's Theodore van Edgerton, you
need to find some way to get him out of the house. I'll call for
help—”

“Van Edgerton? You mean that socialite
playboy who owns most of the gambling halls and casinos in the
city? It’s not him. God, if it was him, you think I'd be calling
you? I know we’re friends, and all, but if the city's number one
eligible bachelor and playboy vampire appeared on my doorstep,
sweetie, I'd have other plans.”

Though I wanted to launch into an immediate
tirade about Theodore Van Edgerton being an evil bastard, I
stopped. Because while it wasn’t him, there was still a vampire in
my ex roommate's house.”

I tensed. “It's not Benson, is it?”

Sarah spluttered. “Firstly, if it was
Benson, I’d tell you. Sure, the guy’s hot, but you clearly have
history, and I haven’t easily forgotten the last time he came over.
It's not Benson.”

“Then who the hell is it?” I demanded in a
loud gulp.

It wasn't impossible that I'd attracted the
attention of more evil vampires other than Theodore. Hey, they were
probably right now passing around a photo of me in whatever clubs
and establishments of ill repute they met up in. I'd be the flavor
of the month. Literally.

I shivered as I clutched a hand to my
neck.

Sarah gave an odd, awkward pause that made
me so frigging alarmed I sprung to my feet. “Sarah, who the hell is
there?”

“She won't give her name. Keeps saying that
it could get her killed. She’s in a bad way, Lizzie – I've never
seen a vampire this scared before.”

My nose crumpled as my legs fell out from
underneath me and I sat with a bang on the bed. “It's a woman?”

“Yes, and she's goddamn terrified. She keeps
asking to see you, says she has to warn you about something. I
thought maybe she was playing at first, and this was just some sick
joke of Benson's. But it’s not. So, Liz, you’ve got to come over.
Now.”

I had no option, did I? I had to get over to
Sarah's and find out what the hell that vampire wanted. Not only
could I not leave my ex flat mate alone with her, but I had to find
out what the heck was going on.

I knew full well that it was a bad idea to
leave the shop. Not only had Benson warned me to be careful for the
rest of the day until he got in contact with me again, but,
seriously, Theodore was probably waiting behind the trashcan
outside the shop, one of those bank sacks in hand, ready to chuck
it over my head and shut me in the back of his car.

While I could have called Benson and begged
for a lift, I wasn't that stupid. Nor was I that desperate. Plus,
from what Sarah had told me over the phone, the vampire in our
apartment sounded terrified. Terrified someone would find her and
kill her. For all I knew, that was Benson.

I wasn’t a brave girl. Sure, the past
several days had been taxing, and had taught me that I had a heck
of a lot more courage than I'd once suspected. Still, I surprised
myself as I ran around the shop, gathering whatever magical
supplies I could. Though Mr Marvelous had been quite strict in
telling me that we were a private detective agency and not a
private army, he still had weapons. After all, we weren’t exactly
dealing with the nicest clientele. Not only were we in a
particularly seedy, nasty section of town, but, hello, this
business was a dangerous one. This was my first case, and I’d
already been stalked and kidnapped.

So it didn't take long to find the case of
weapons. It took a little longer, however, to figure out what the
hell they were.

Though some were obviously daggers of the
particularly magical and pointy variety, there were one or two I
couldn't even guess the uses of.

One in particular looked to be nothing more
than a charm bracelet. And yet, it couldn't be a bloody charm
bracelet, because not only was Mr Marvelous one of the most blokey
blokes I'd ever seen, but, hello, it was in the armory box.

On closer inspection, I realized the exact
charms looped around the gold bracelet weren’t exactly the ordinary
figures you’d see on a child's toy. They were downright nasty. One
looked like a bulging eye. Another looked like a cracked skull. And
one looked like some kind of sinister monster dragging a guy into
the drains.

Not only were they marvelously detailed,
they were exquisitely hideous. I made a face, shivered, but
nonetheless crammed the bracelet on my wrist.

When I was done collecting my weapons, I
shoved a pair of magical binoculars into my bag for good measure,
grabbed a legal pad too in case I had to take any notes, then
paused by the door, locking a sweaty hand on the handle.

“Come on, girl, you can do this. Because you
don't have any other bloody option.” With that awful thought, I
opened the door and made it out onto the street.

I won't lie to you. My head practically
exploded from the effort of scanning and re-scanning the street for
any sign of threat.

From the old trees groaning in the wind
marching down the street, to the dustbins, to the birds, I analyzed
everything like some kind of sophisticated targeting system.

When it became apparent that vampires
weren’t about to chuck themselves out of the bushes and hunt me
down, I relaxed.

A little.

Not willing to take any chances with public
transport, I took the beast.

Before I knew it, I made it across town and
arrived at my old apartment.

I didn't have time to be proud of myself
that I'd staved off attack by Theodore's cronies. As soon as I
walked in the door, Sarah pretty much jumped on me.

I'd never seen her looking more
pressured.

She instantly shrugged backwards, indicating
the woman practically crumpled on the couch.

She was obviously a vampire, just as she was
obviously stunning. Six-foot, slender, buxom, and with dark ebony
hair and white porcelain skin, she looked like a doll. A doll ready
to break.

She had a thumb rammed in her mouth, and was
chewing it so hard, her skin was ragged and raw.

Sarah pressed up close, motioning me towards
the kitchen with a quick flick of her hand. “She's been here for
about an hour now, won't say a word to me, keeps repeating that she
has to see you. Lizzie, honey, I have no idea what this is
about.”

I gave my flat mate a worried smile. “It's
okay, I got this,” I said.

And Sarah, Sarah looked suitably impressed.
She'd known me long enough to realize I never had anything, apart
from a serious case of nerves. Except now here I was, smiling
warily at the vampire as I carefully sat down beside her on the
couch.