Netherworld II: Blood Potion No. 9 (10 page)

Fortunately, C.K. had the witch’s
undivided attention now. “Let’s you and I talk, Hazel.”

The werehog stood and led the other man
towards the back of the club. Hazel wasn’t much to look at, I
thought, watching them go. Greasy dishwater blond hair fell over
his forehead in haphazard clumps, occasionally hiding one brown and
one blue eye. He had gorgeous long lashes that were his sallow
face’s only saving grace. Thin lips pulled back over crooked teeth.
He wasn’t too interested in fashion, either. A tee-shirt that
looked like he’d worn it a few times since his last trip to the
laundromat (ditto for the jeans) and untied dirty sneakers weren’t
going to get him on the cover of GQ any time soon. As he wandered
past me, not giving me/Fizz a second look, a sour scent wafted off
him. I wondered when he’d last bothered to shower.

As I watched the two strange companions
go into C.K.’s office and shut the door behind them, Bane grabbed
my shoulder. “Let’s go outside for a smoke,” he said
loudly.

Without waiting for my answer, he
turned and headed for the front door. I almost scowled then
realized Fizz would probably trip happily after him rather than
want to take up his lack of manners. Man, this undercover agent
stuff took concentration. I wondered how many times I’d screwed up
already.

Finally getting Fizz’s clothes adjusted
to my satisfaction, I followed Bane out.

Shivering in the cool air, I joined him
by his bike. He held a lit cigarette, but like the night before, he
didn’t smoke it. Nice to know he wasn’t addicted to that terrible
habit.

No sooner had I reached his side when
he grabbed the body I inhabited and trapped me between his body and
the motorcycle. Without so much as a how-do-you-do, he said, “All
right, who are you and what do you know?”

The heady combination of gasoline
exhaust and Bane’s masculine scent overwhelmed the rotten-egg
stench of the nearby pulp mill. I looked up into that handsome
face, trying not to enjoy how his body felt against me. My guilty
conscience, yammering on how I’d cuckolded Dan and Tristan, helped
tremendously in that fight. It wasn’t just Bane’s lack of manners
that made me snap, “You’re welcome.”

“What?”

I poked him in his very wide, very
bare, very muscular chest. “I saved your furry butt in there, Wolf
Boy. I pretty much cheated on my sweetheart to do it, too. A little
gratitude is in order.”

He stared at me for a moment. In a
disbelieving voice he finally muttered, “Thank you.”

I smiled like a teacher approving a
backwards student finally grasping a lesson. “See? Good manners
don’t cost you nothing and earn goodwill. Try it more
often.”

Bane relaxed enough to chuckle. He
backed off a little. “Good manners don’t go far here, darlin’. Who
are you and where is Fizz?”

“She’s still in here, sticking her head
in the sand like an ostrich. My name is Brandilynn.”

He shook my outstretched hand. “Are you
a ghost or demon?”

I rolled my eyes. “Duh. When do demons
help law enforcement?”

“Fair enough. What’s your deal,
Brandilynn?”

“Tristan Keith sent me.”

Bane cocked an eyebrow. “The vampire
county commissioner? C.K.’s not too fond of him.”

“Well, Tristan did promise to shut the
Beasts down. I’m here to see what illegal stuff the varmints are up
to.”

Bane kept his voice light, but there
was a little coldness to it. “Now who’s being bad
mannered?”

I thought about what I’d said. Oops. A
racial slur had gotten past me. I felt my face go hot with
embarrassment. “Oh. You’re right. I’m very sorry.”

He studied me. “You’ve walked into
something bigger than protection money and prostitution rings, Miss
Brandilynn.”

Relieved he’d been a big man about my
faux pas, I answered, “So I gathered. Tainted blood and all
that.”

“I think C.K. and Hazel are up to their
eyeballs in this with distribution, but I haven’t gotten in close
enough to find out. Infiltrating a gang enough to get into the
inner circle is chancy stuff as it is, and C.K. is more careful
than most. Tristan Keith needs to back off before he screws up my
case.”

Bane didn’t know much if he thought
Tristan would take warning from anyone when it came to taking care
of Fulton Falls. Great. I was stuck between two very alpha males
and not in the good way. “Maybe I can get in where you haven’t,” I
offered as a compromise.

“Ghosts can’t testify in a court of
law. Anything you find would be inadmissible.”

“But your testimony wouldn’t be, and I
can tell you where to look. No one else needs to know I’m helping.
I just have to avoid being seen by Hazel.”

Bane scowled. He shot a look over his
shoulder at the club. “He could hurt you, and darlin’, he enjoys
hurting women.”

Aw, the big, bad wolf wanted to keep me
safe. Maybe I should give him a bone in thanks. Then I winced.
Another bit of bigotry from yours truly. Was I that big a racist? I
had some serious work to do on myself.

To Bane I said, “Thanks for the
warning. Witches are bad enough. Sadistic witches are definitely
low on my Christmas card list.”

He crossed big, beefy arms over his
big, beefy chest. I might be guilty of unthinking slurs, but it
wasn’t because I found the shifter unattractive physically or
intellectually. Chalk it up to ill-bred snobbery. I would get
better. After all, I liked Gerald and the other weres in Tristan’s
employ. I had no excuse for stupidity.

Bane asked, “What’s in it for
you?”

I’d been so busy taking myself to task
for calling shifters ‘varmints’ that I’d lost the thread of our
conversation. It took a moment for me to remember we were
discussing my involvement with the Beasts. Then I had to ask myself
what indeed was in it for me. I really wanted to stay on this case
despite my utter disgust for the Beasts, C.K. in
particular.

It came down to the same old reason.
“Being dead is boring, Bane. I don’t sleep, I can’t shop, I’ve seen
every movie at the theater twice now, the college lecture series
has been axed due to budget cuts, and one can spend only so many
hours reading before you need to do something. Even Halloween
pranks have gotten old already.”

He frowned. “I can’t help you if you
get into trouble, you know. As far as the law goes, you’re dead and
therefore, you have no legal protection.”

I snorted. “I’ve dealt with worse than
a bunch of var — excuse me, shifter bikers.”

Darn it!

“Bane, I don’t really think of weres as
vermin,” I hastened to explain. “I didn’t hang out with paras
before I died, and I had a lot of misconceptions about your kind.
I’ve learned better since then. I keep saying ‘varmints’ out of
habit. I sincerely apologize, and I will do better.”

He sighed. “I’ve been called a lot
uglier. I guess if you had a real prejudice, you wouldn’t have done
the horizontal bump with me in there.” He leered a little at the
memory.

Oh, I hadn’t minded that one bit. At
least not until I remembered my two boyfriends. Swallowing hard, I
said, “Thanks for not taking offense.”

Bane wagged a finger in my face. “Don’t
screw up my case, Brandilynn. And I swear if Tristan Keith comes
barreling in here screaming about poisoned blood supplies, I’ll
stake him on the spot. Got it?”

I didn’t contain a shiver as he loomed
big and scary over me. “I hear you. I guess I’d better get out of
this body now. I don’t know how much she’ll remember.”

Bane deliberated. “Fizz’s brain is
Swiss cheese after all the meth she’s done. She’s clean now, but
the booze and pot keep her from being reliable. Still, if she knows
who I am because of this—”

I had an idea. “I’ll let her go, and if
there’s a problem I’ll jump back in until we figure out what to do
with her.”

“Okay.” He eyed me real thoughtfully.
“You know, your boyfriend is a lucky guy. I didn’t for one second
think I’d get it up in there with everyone watching. I definitely
wouldn’t have with Fizz.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” I didn’t
explain that during my days as an escort, a few extra dollars would
get a trusted client more than just a honey on his arm. It’s not
something I’m proud of, but there’s no undoing it at this late
date.

Bane startled me by leaning down to
kiss my cheek. “I do owe you thanks. Don’t think for one second I’m
not grateful.”

I squashed the fluttery feeling in my
belly. Keeping my voice level, I said, “Yeah well, give Fizz the
business once in awhile, because I don’t plan to do it
again.”

He nodded. “I hate casual sex,
especially with someone I’m not attracted to. You’re right though.
If you can make that kind of sacrifice, I guess I’d better man up
and do the same. Are you going to spy on C.K. if letting Fizz free
goes all right?”

“That’s my plan.”

“Go for it, then. And
Brandilynn?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.” His tone held real
concern, and I couldn’t help but smile and press my own kiss to his
slightly furred cheek.

Before anything else crazy could
happen, I pulled free of Fizz’s body. She staggered as she resumed
control. I waited, ready to spring back in.

Bane grabbed her by the arm to steady
her. “Hell Fizz. What’s wrong with you, anyway? You’re acting
flakier than usual.”

She looked around wildly, her eyes wide
with confusion. “What happened?”

Bane shook her a little. “You got me in
trouble with C.K., you impatient bitch. Do it again and I’ll beat
you senseless. Got me?”

Before she could answer he snatched her
close to kiss her hard. The embrace held more violence than
affection, or even just lust for that matter. Still when Bane
pushed her back, Fizz was smiling. Seeing her accept and like such
treatment, even though it was only an act on the shifter’s part,
made me feel sick inside. Some people think I’m utterly screwy to
enjoy being a sub, but Fizz’s lack of self worth had me beat by a
mile.

“Sure Bane,” she breathed. “Whatever
you say, baby. I can’t – I really can’t remember what happened
though.”

The werewolf shook his head. “Fizz, you
don’t remember shit half the time anyway. Shut up and let’s go back
inside.”

“Okay.” She practically skipped at his
side as they returned to the thrash metal thumping environs of the
club.

I sighed and reminded myself this
assignment beat hanging out at the library with nothing but books
and the mindless image of residual haunt Miss Gertrude to keep me
company. I followed the happy couple back into the
building.

Chapter 5

I bypassed the tables and bar, the
foosball and pool tables. I slowed as I approached C.K.’s office,
worried I could run into Hazel at any moment. The nasal whine of
the witch and C.K.’s gravelly grumble told me the two men were in
deep conversation. I chanced peeking in the room through the
cracked open door.

I couldn’t see much due to the sliver
of viewing space. C.K. sat on a battered desk, his short, thick
legs ending well above the floor. Hazel slouched in a chair in
front of him, his back to me. Good deal. From the witch’s position,
there was little chance he’d see me there. I strained to hear their
low-voiced conversation.

Pig Boy muttered, “I want that shipment
scheduled. The vamps are going down all at once.”

Hazel picked at his fingernails. His
hands were small in relation to his lanky frame. “The ship is
already on its way from Liverpool.”

C.K. scowled. “There are a lot of
bloodsucker sympathizers in Britain. I prefer France, where they
still keep a lid on the paras.”

“French security is too tight, and they
don’t hire any weres to hold the borders. The Liverpool Beasts have
several members as well as the property to get the job done. That’s
why I went with them.”

C.K.’s lip wrinkled back to display
more of his yellowed tusks, then he abruptly relaxed. “We’re almost
there. Over eighty percent of bloodsuckers drink the bottled and
pouched shit. Once we get it all on the market, it’ll be a fucking
fanged holocaust.”

My mouth dropped open. Was this little
werehog behind the whole tainted blood issue? Was he the actual
kingpin of the operation? My dislike and respect went up a
millionfold in an instant.

Hazel was laughing, a screechy,
fingernails-on-the-chalkboard sound that made my teeth grate. “The
norms might give you a parade. Then they’ll start looking for ways
to annihilate shifters too.”

C.K. scratched his crotch, satisfaction
radiating off him in waves. “By that time I’ll be national, baby.
Heading up the whole fuckin’ thing. The Beasts’ war chest will go
straight to R and D. With your smarts and the right research labs
under my thumb, norms will be the minority right after we wipe out
the vampires.”

“Better living through chemistry.”
Hazel offered more screechy laughter at his own joke.

C.K. was back to being grouchy. “Give
up trying to be funny, Hazel. Stick with the distribution of bad
blood and Zoo Flu.”