“Nothing,’” she sighed. “Just don’t use them on Michael.’”
Eve stopped for a second, stricken, and then nodded. She was still getting her head around it, Claire knew. Well, Claire was doing the same thing. She kept expecting to hear Michael’s guitar downstairs; she kept wondering about what time it was. Not dawn yet—she checked the Internet and found out that they still had time, but if Michael didn’t come back soon…
The front door opened and closed. Eve snatched a stake from her pocket, wide-eyed, and Claire motioned to her to stay where she was, then sneaked carefully to the corner.
She nearly ran into Michael, who was moving way more quietly than she was used to. He looked nearly as surprised as she did. Behind him was Sam, but there was no sign of Amelie.
“You okay?’” she asked. Michael nodded. He looked…better, in some strange sort of way. At peace. “Not going to…?’” She mimed fangs in her neck. He smiled.
“No way, kid.’” He ruffled her hair lightly. “There’s a deal on the table for Shane.’”
“A deal?’” Eve sounded tense as she came around into view, and Claire didn’t blame her. Deals hadn’t gone especially well for them so far.
“If we get Monica back safely, Shane goes free. The Morrells still have influence in this town, even with the vamps.’” Of which Michael was one now, but he didn’t seem to be lumping himself in quite yet. “Oliver was willing to trade. Or maybe not willing—convinced.’”
“Shane for Monica? Sweet!’” Eve realized she was holding a stake in her hand, blushed, and put it away. Neither Sam nor Michael seemed all that bothered. “Ah, sorry. Nothing personal…so it’s you two and us against the world, or what?’”
“No,’” Sam said, and looked at Michael. “It’s the three of you. I can’t go with you.’”
“What? But—you—’”
“I’m sorry.’” Sam honestly sounded like he meant it. “Amelie’s orders. Vampires stay neutral—Michael’s the only exception because of his agreement with Amelie. I can’t help you.’”
“But—’”
“I can’t,’” he repeated, with emphasis, and sighed. “You’ll get some help from the human community—that’s all I can tell you. Good luck.’” He started to walk away, toward the door, then turned back. “Thank you, Claire. Eve.’”
“What for?’”
Sam’s smile was suddenly luminous, and it looked just like Michael’s. “You brought me to Amelie. And she talked to me. That counts.’”
There was a story behind that, Claire was sure, full of heartbreak and longing; she could see it, for a second, written all over his face. Amelie? He loved Amelie? That was kind of like loving the Mona Lisa—the painting, not the person. Presuming Amelie even had enough emotion in her to feel something for Sam these days.
Maybe once she had. Wow.
Sam nodded to Michael, equal to equal, and he left, closing the door behind him.
“Hey,’” Eve said. “Did he have an invitation? To get into the house?’”
“He didn’t need one,’” Michael said. “The house adjusted itself once I—changed. Now humans need an invitation. Except for you, since you live here.’”
“Okay, that’s stupid.’”
“It’s Protection,’” Michael said. “You know how it works.’”
Claire didn’t, but she was fascinated. Not the time, though. “Um, he said the town was sending help…?’”
“Richard Morrell,’” Michael said. “Monica’s cop brother. And he’s bringing Hess and Lowe with him.’”
“That’s it?’” Claire squeaked. Because there were a lot of bikers. Like, a lot. Not to mention Shane’s dad, who frankly scared her worse than most of the vampires just because he didn’t seem to have any rules.
Funny, the vampires seemed to be all about rules. Who knew?
“I’m going to want you both to stay here,’” Michael said.
“No,’” Eve said flatly. Claire echoed it.
“Seriously, you need to stay. This is going to get dangerous.’”
“Dangerous? Dude, they killed kids. On campus!’” Eve shot back. “We were there! Don’t you get it? We’re not safe here, and maybe we can help you. At the very least, we can grab Monica and hustle her skanky ass back to her dad while all you brave, strong menfolk hold off the bad guys. Right?’”
“Not Claire, then.’”
“Claire,’” Claire said, “decides for herself. In case you forgot.’”
“Claire doesn’t decide when it’s something like this, because Claire is sixteen and Michael doesn’t want to be explaining her tragic accidental death to her parents. So, no.’”
“What’re you going to do?’” Eve asked, and cocked her head to one side. “Lock her in her room?’”
He looked from one of them to the other, his frown deepening. “Oh, crap. What is this, Girl Solidarity?’”
“Bet your ass,’” Eve said. “Somebody’s got to keep you in line.’” Her smile faded, because that was true now, not just a funny idea. Michael cleared his throat.
“Did you hear that?’”
“What?’”
“A car. Brakes. Outside.’”
“Great,’” Eve said. “Vampire hearing, too. I’m never going to be able to keep a secret around here. Bad enough when you were a ghost…’” She was doing a good job of looking like she wasn’t freaked-out, but Claire thought she was. So did Michael, apparently, because he reached out and touched her cheek—just one small gesture, but it said a lot.
“Stay here,’” he said.
He should have known they wouldn’t—not completely, anyway. Claire and Eve followed him partway down the hall, enough to watch him unlock the front door and swing it open.
Richard Morrell stood on the doorstep in his police uniform. Next to him were Detectives Hess and Lowe, both looking even more exhausted than normal.
“Michael,’” Richard said, and nodded to him.
He tried to move across the threshold, and was stopped cold. Hess and Lowe exchanged a curious look and tried to come across, as well. Nothing.
“Come in,’” Michael said, and stepped back. This time, all three men could enter.
Richard was looking at Michael closely. “You’re kidding,’” he said. “You’ve got to be kidding. All this time, and she picks you?’”
Hess and Lowe exchanged looks, a second behind the curve, and both appeared startled.
“Yeah,’” Michael said. “What about it?’”
Richard smiled, all teeth. “Nothing, man. Congratulations, and all that. You’re going to be the talk of the town. Get used to it.’”
Michael shut the door behind them. “Whatever. How much time do we have to get to Shane?’”
“Not much,’” Hess said. “And the thing is, we don’t have anyplace to start. No leads.’”
“Well, we’ve got one. We know the van went through the Underground,’” Richard said. “We’ve got an eyewitness. Right?’” He looked straight at Claire, who nodded. “We pulled all the surveillance tapes, and we tracked the van in and out of the Underground half a dozen times, but it finally disappeared. Problem is, one white van looks a lot like other white vans, especially on Night Sight surveillance cameras.’”
“We know that Shane’s dad had maps of Morganville. Shane provided them. You’re sure he didn’t say anything about where his father might be making his base of operations?’” Hess asked. “Any of you?’”
“He never said anything,’” Claire said. “Not to me. Michael?’” Michael shook his head. “God, I can’t believe nobody knows where these guys are! They have to be somewhere!’”
“Actually, two people probably know exactly where they are,’” Richard said. “Shane, and the biker, Des. One of them, maybe both, has to know the places Frank was using.’”
“And nobody’s asked them?’” Eve questioned, and then her expression turned blank with horror. “Oh God. Somebody has.’”
“It’s not so bad as that,’” Lowe offered. “I was there observing. They’re all right.’”
“That doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way,’” Michael said. “Especially now. Or was that the plan, Richard? Get
