that they were being tailed. Instead, I took the first left onto Penelope Street, and then took another left into the alley that bordered Headquarters. I drove slowly as I navigated around the potholes and trash.
Suddenly, it occurred to me why they might be at Headquarters. The illegal potions that were being stored in the vault. Maybe they hadn’t been destroyed on purpose? Maybe these bastards were going after them? The only thing I could wonder is how they would’ve gotten access. Maybe it was an insider job? But who within the A.N. C had access to the vault? It was basically top secret. I glanced at Knight. “Hey, who has access to the vault?” His eyes were closed, his arm out straight as he repeatedly pinched it, writhing in what looked like bliss. “For Hades’ sake, Knight!” He threw open his eyes and glared at me. “Why do you want to know?”
I shook my head, wanting to keep my reasons to myself. I mean, I didn’t have the whole picture yet so no need to fill him on every little detail. “Just curious.” He shrugged. “Anyone management level and above.” “So, that means Quillan and you and who else?” “About a handful of people in the Relations Office.”
I turned the headlights off and pulled up to a break in the wall separating the parking lot from the alley. Turning the car off, so as not to attract any attention, I watched the Ford sit idly in the parking lot, but my mind was still on the connection with the A.N.C.
If a handful of people from the A.N. C had access to the vault, maybe one of them was involved? And only Quillan had access within our branch? Hmmm… No, it couldn’t be Quillan-I’d worked with him too long and knew him too well. There was no way he was involved. And as far as anyone from the Relations Office in the Netherworld? Well, I’d never met any of them and it’s not like the potions went back to the Netherworld-they were destroyed on Headquarters premises.
That left just one person.
Course, I’d thought he was guilty once before and that had resulted in my total humiliation so I wasn’t exactly thrilled with playing that card again.
Knight got out of the car, so I followed suit and forced my attention from the facts that seemed to be pointing the finger at Knight to the Ford which was still idling in the parking lot.
No one got out. No one got in. Maybe that killed my theory about the illegal potions and the link with Headquarters? Maybe Headquarters was just backlogged on destroying the street potions? I mean, who knew how reliable the cauldron delivery system was. Maybe my imagination was running away with me…Good thing I hadn’t said anything.
“Why the hell would they come here?” I whispered, now at a complete loss.
“Because it's the one place where no one would imagine they would,” Knight started, looking pained. He crossed his arms against his chest like he was restraining himself. From what, I had to wonder.
I glanced at him and nodded, wondering if he were the criminal in question. “I guess so.”
He took a deep breath. “That's exactly why they chose to come here. Because it's safe.”
The breath caught in my throat as I watched another car enter the Headquarters lot. This one was a silver, Lincoln Towncar. It pulled up behind the Ford and a man I didn't recognize stepped out. I grabbed the binoculars.
Holding them to my eyes, I watched the man. He was stout and short with a mustache and a sinister air about him. He waddled up to the driver's side of the Ford and had a conversation with the driver. I returned my attention to the Towncar when I glimpsed movement in the back seat. There was someone sitting back there but they were covered by the cloak of night.
The stout man inspected the surroundings of the parking lot, as if alerted that someone might be watching them. I instinctively shrunk back, even though there was no way he or anyone else could see Knight and me. We were completely hidden in the alley. The man shook his head and returned to the Towncar. The Ford started for the parking lot exit, the Towncar behind it. Both disappeared into the lamp-less darkness of Main Street.
“Get in the car,” I said as I went for the driver's side. I started the car and gunned it until we were out of the alley and following the creature and its master.
EIGHTEEN
I'd managed not to lose the Ford or the Towncar, and Knight and I were now following them out of the city center and toward the town of Estuary on Highway One. The farther we ventured from Splendor, the fewer cars on the road and the more I worried the Ford and Towncar would notice us.
“This creature juice is giving me a serious upset stomach,” Knight said through gritted teeth. He dug his fingers into the armrests and shuddered.
I didn't glance at him, entirely too focused on not losing sight of the two vehicles, which wasn't hard considering they were the only other vehicles on the road.
At least his issues were going from erectile to merely gastrointestinal. Gastrointestinal I could handle. His erectile issues were just getting downright annoying.
“Pull over, I feel like I’m going to be sick,” he said and sounded like a junkie going through withdrawals.
“I’m not interested in you or your issues right now, Knight. We’ve got more important stuff to deal with. Just breathe deeply until the feeling goes away.”
I had a mind to call Sam and find out what the hell went wrong. But, I knew what the answer would be-it wasn't her; it was Knight. “I feel sick to my stomach,” he hissed. I laughed. “That's called blue balls.” Knight just grumbled.
The Ford took a right on an unpaved road with no sign. The only distinguishing landmark happened to be an old defunct mill, looming in the shadows like a nightmare. The Towncar turned onto the road, following the Ford, but I stayed on Highway One, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. Soon both vehicles disappeared down the road, trailed by a cloud of red-tinted dust from their taillights. I pulled a U-turn and started back after them.
“Oh, God,” Knight groaned as he rolled his head back and forth.
“Just don’t throw up in my car.” I gave him a meaningful glance. “I’ll kill you if you do.”
Not waiting for a response, I pulled onto the dirt road and put the Wrangler into four-wheel-drive. With the potholes and the incline, I was surprised the Towncar made it up at all.
“Where are we?” Knight asked, finally pulling his attention away from that which makes him male.
“Some dirt road. I think we're in the city limits of Estuary but I'm not sure.” I paused to glance at him and noticed his erection raring against his khaki pants like a demon wanting out of Pandora's box. Course, in this case, Knight's demon wanted in.
I shook my head. Once this case was done, and if we were lucky enough to survive, a new type of torture awaited Knight-and that torture included me reminding him in vivid detail of every sexual notion to come out of his mouth.
“Do you think you’re going to puke?” I asked, wondering if I should just leave him in the car and handle the arrests myself.
“I’m not going to be sick,” he groaned and glanced outside. “You should turn off your headlights-otherwise, the lights are going to blow any chance we have at getting these guys.”
The word “guys” struck me, being plural. “There are at least, what, four of them including the creature? And there are two of us,” I said, sounding like I was setting up the foundation for a math problem.
“I'm easily as strong as three men,” my nymphomaniac passenger said calmly.
“You were. Now I’m afraid you’ll just toss your cookies on them.” I fished inside the cubby hole below my CD player for my cell phone. “I think we need backup.” “No, no backup. We can handle it,” Knight insisted. I grabbed my phone and flipped it open. “Knight, we'd be stupid to go in there without anyone covering our asses.” I started to dial.
“Hang up the phone, Dulcie, that’s an order.” The steel set to his jaw was warning enough and I flipped the phone closed and dropped it back into its designated slot. “We can handle this,” he continued. “I can feel my strength returning.”
“Well, for our sakes, I hope you aren't exaggerating.”
I turned the headlights off and struggled to locate the dirt road in the darkness. Luckily, the moon broke from the clouds every so often to highlight my path. If I thought I'd been driving slowly before, now I was proceeding at a
