[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Any idea who called the police?
I& don t know. Richard couldn t have. I don t think. I know I
didn t. Anxiety crept into her eyes. Josh, what s going on?
That s what I m trying to find out. Richard said stuff about
some mutant things. Dire beasts he called them. But he gets kinda
drama queen sometimes.
I m sure he d prefer poetic, Glory said with a hint of a smile.
Right. Either way. But he said something about them feeling
like vamps, too. Josh dropped his gaze to their joined hands. I
didn t see any prints outside your house. And I didn t feel anything
that set off the vamp alarms in my brain.
What are you saying?
Nothing. Not yet. He gave her what he hoped was a
107
A DIFFERENT BREED
reassuring smile. Don t know enough yet. But I do know I d
better be home when he wakes up, or he s gonna have kittens
worrying.
Oh, that s an interesting visual. Glory gave his hand a last
squeeze as he rose. Josh, be careful.
Never. He winked. I ll just be smarter, faster and better
armed than anything out there. Works way better than careful.
Back at Richard s house, though, he sat on the back porch
feeling a hell of a lot less confident than he d pretended. Nothing
fit together. None of it made sense.
A horrible scenario kept playing out in his mind. Richard
scenting bear, the scent of another large predator throwing him into
a territorial frenzy. What if Richard had lost control and attacked
Glory? What if the gash on his leg was from Glory trying to defend
herself with a kitchen knife? What if the cops shot him and they
just weren t talking about it?
A shiver prickled up Josh s spine. Stupid. Here he was, feeding
into Richard s own anxieties instead of keeping to the facts.
Puzzles weren t solved by jumping at shadows. Richard was a
predator in the strictest sense, but Josh had never met anyone with
such iron-willed control. It made no sense that Richard would
suddenly lose it.
Though everyone had a breaking point&
Josh pulled out his wallet and flipped to the faded, dog-eared
picture behind his license. The wheat-haired girl still smiled at
him. She would always look the same, no matter how old and
wrinkled he became some day. Wish you were here, Jen. It was
always easier thinking things through when I could talk to you.
No single born person could ever understand the loss of a twin.
Like losing half of yourself. Maybe that s what made the
108
A DIFFERENT BREED
connection with Richard so sharp and intense, that need to fill the
gaping hole left by half a heart. Maybe that terrible need colored
all of his perceptions where Richard was concerned, and kept him
from being objective.
Maybe he was talking himself around in circles. He seemed to
be doing that a lot these days. The hunts, William, Richard& his
nice black and white world suddenly had gray paint splashed all
over it.
You would ve told me, Jen. If the shit I ve been doing for the
past few years was wrong. The bastard who had killed Jen, killing
him had been right. He didn t question that. Arrogant, handsome,
and a walking construct of self-absorbed evil, he needed to be put
down. The next kill, too, that one was clear for Josh. She lured
young artists to her, pretending to be interested in their work,
promising patronage, and then she slaughtered them like the poor
little lambs they were. There had been others, evil creatures who
regarded humans as cattle.
Some he hadn t known anything about, though, except that
they were vamps. Beings that might have had some faithful lover
waiting at home, who might have created beautiful things and lived
quiet lives. Until some hunter came along and dusted them.
Dammit& Josh wrapped his arms around his ribs, unable to
stop his shaking.
Sudden warmth caressed his mind. Richard was awake, the
emptiness filled again by his awareness. Josh s breath caught on a
sob, trapped between wracking doubt and relief.
Joshua? Richard knelt behind him in only the boxer briefs in
which he d slept. He had arrived without a sound and still Josh
knew exactly when he had bolted from his bed to rush out to him.
Strong arms wrapped him close. What is it? What hurts you so?
109
A DIFFERENT BREED
It s& Josh shook his head. Nothing. Just being stupid.
Is that Jen? Richard s finger traced the edge of her picture.
Josh snapped the wallet shut, a trickle of resentment racing
over his shoulders that he would touch uninvited. Yeah.
Richard pulled back, his expression guarded. Did you find
anything today?
Not a damn thing. Josh rose to pace the porch. Cops had
fouled the ground. Glory doesn t remember anything. And there
wasn t any freaking vamp trail.
What conclusion do you draw from all this?
Josh s irritation grew at Richard s too-careful question. Bunch
of things came to mind. One, you re a liar and made the whole
thing up as a cover. Two, you re crazy and don t remember what
you really did. Three, there s something really weird going on, and
I need more info.
He watched Richard s reactions as his jaw clenched, then
twitched, though otherwise he appeared relaxed.
Which do you feel is the most likely?
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]