Sergio stood up, dropping his napkin onto his plate. “Look, everyone, I appreciate your concern, and even more so appreciate the hospitality, but I really should get running.”
I felt hysteria rising in my chest. “But someone just tried to
Sergio patted me on the shoulder and smiled at me kindly. “Again, I appreciate everything, but I’ll be fine.”
I watched Sergio walk out the door; then Will gave me a quick hug and turned to go, too, but not before telling me, “I’ll keep an eye out—poke around and see if there is anything that seems a little”—his eyes cut left and right—“angelically abnormal. But you never know, Sophie. Vlad could be right and this could all be a chain of coincidences.”
Will stiffened, and I sensed he could feel the ice-cold waves of disbelief wafting from me.
He tried an unconvincing smile. “Besides, why would someone want to attack the Underworld?”
I dug my teeth into my lower lip.
Chapter Fifteen
I set the pink donut box next to the coffee and tea service on the credenza; then I set a tray of artfully arranged blood bags next to that, trying to make the UDA conference room look welcoming. I was buns to the sky, rooting around in my shoulder bag, when Will’s lilting voice broke the silence.
“I love this country.”
I turned around and shot him an icy glare. “This is serious, Will.”
“Obviously.” Will stared skeptically at the fuzzy purple earmuffs I offered him.
“Go on. Put them on.”
He reached out, tentatively taking the earmuffs, his fingertips brushing mine. Though we were in the throes of a potentially life-and-death situation, my body reacted with all the hormonal decorum of a twelve-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
I waggled the earmuffs. “On.”
To his credit, Will snapped them on. To my credit, I didn’t wet myself laughing.
“Would you like a donut?”
Will’s brows went up. He plucked one fuzzy earmuff away from his ear. “Can’t hear you, love. I’m wearing the muff.”
I rolled my eyes, dropped a donut onto a plate, and handed it to him.
“Cheers,” he said before settling into a chair.
Vlad and Nina filed in next, each selecting a blood bag and a pair of earmuffs, then settling around the conference table. Dixon came in and I shut the door behind him, offering him a pair of earmuffs.
His razor-sharp eyebrows formed a tight V; his dark eyes slitted as he looked at the earmuffs. “Are those really necessary?”
I shrugged. “It’s your afterlife.”
Dixon pressed his lips in a pale, thin line and took the earmuffs, snapping them on.
“He’s so vain,” Nina said with a matter-of-fact head shake. “It’s part of the reason we didn’t work out.”
“I can hear you,” Dixon returned.
Nina’s stunned face broke into an easy grin. “Kidding,” she sang, quickly looking away.
“Okay, since everyone’s here now ...”
Each of the vampires looked at me, vague interest on their timeless faces. Will, on the other hand, kept chewing happily while humming a jazzy version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
“Will?”
Nothing.
In my brilliant calculations I failed to note that while vampire hearing is ultrasensitive—even when encased by a set of fuzzy earmuffs—human hearing was not. I gestured for him to slide off the earmuffs and I started again.
“I know that you are skeptical about Mrs. Henderson’s disappearance. You think the guy who tried to turn Kale into a speed bump was a coincidence, and the guy who shot silver bullets at Sergio was—what?—a gangbanger. I know none of these are coincidences, so I wanted to prove to you, firsthand, that even if these events are remotely coincidental, we need to pay attention. Bettina? Could you come in here now, please?”
Will’s eyes widened, earmuffs locked securely in place, as I led Bettina into the room. In the day that had passed, her bruises had become more pronounced. Her gray skin had puckered and dropped into a deep purple; cuts and scratches, which I hadn’t noticed yesterday, looked blue-red and menacing today.
Bettina’s lower lip started to tremble, her lips parting a millimeter, hands curled into fists. I dove across the table, coming face-to-face with a startled Will. I clamped my palms over his fuzzy purple earmuffs just as Bettina started to shriek.
Will’s eyes were wide; terror and surprise sank in the deep hazel. Sweat beaded on his upper lip, and his body started to quake gently underneath my palms.
“Bettina, please!” I was shocked that I was able to scream over the choking knot of tears locked in my throat.
Will’s face was turning a mottled purple. His eyes bulged; a drop of sweat rolled from his hairline.
“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You’re killing him!”
Bettina clamped a hand over her mouth and the silence seemed just as loud. Will crumpled forward. His shoulders slumped, his head deadweight in my hands.
“I’m so sorry, Sophie,” Bettina whispered as she backed out of the conference room.
“Will?” I said, the word barely crossing my lips before a torturous sob wracked my body. My cheeks itched as the tears flooded over them.
“Will ...”
“I can’t hear you, love!” Will yelled in my face, pointing to his head. “Got the muffs on, remember?”
“Oh God, Will.” Relief washed over me and left a cold sweat. I slid the earmuffs from his head, but Will continued yelling.
“And I think that gray bird tried to kill me!”
I wiped the heel of my hand across my cheeks. “Momentary lack of judgment on my part,” I croaked.
Will plucked a piece of donut out of my cleavage and popped it in his mouth. “We’re all allowed one.”
“Ms. Lawson? Perhaps your guest should take a breath of fresh air. Vlad, Nina?”
Nina and Vlad led Will out of the room. I worried my bottom lip as I watched them leave and Dixon approached me.
“Your demonstration was eye-opening.”
My stomach was in my shoes. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Dixon held up a dismissing palm. “Regardless if the previous events are connected, Bettina’s experience has demonstrated that as an organization we are not doing enough to keep our clients safe. The Underworld Detection Agency will work to rectify that, and I will allocate all the resources necessary for you to conduct a thorough investigation.”
“For me to conduct an investigation?”
Dixon nodded curtly.
It should have been a victory, but it didn’t feel like one. But whether it was Will’s near-death experience, Dixon’s blood-tinged, conciliatory smile, or being charged with finding the Underworld killer and saving my friends, I wasn’t sure.
Dixon turned to leave; in a moment of confident solidarity, I stopped him.
“May I ask you something?”
Dixon nodded and took a seat at the conference table. I fished the silver bullets from my shoulder bag and laid them in front of him.
“Do you know anything about these?”
