I laughed, but it was completely without humor. “Easier said than done. I’ll be there in five.”
I ended the call and realized that the only two options we had left were to kill Ringo or go on the fucking lam.
“So, I hear Washington is nice this time of year,” I remarked as I sat and watched the man I loved eating Chinese takeout.
He paused the noodle-laden chopsticks at his mouth. “Washington state or Washington DC?”
“State,” I replied, looking down at my phone. “The northwest part of the state is the gloomiest. Hardly ever gets any sun. I could maybe go out during the day there if I had to.”
“Sounds like a blast,” he replied dryly, shoving the noodles into his mouth. “Days and months without sun. That won’t be depressing at all.”
“Colorado is too sunny for vampires anyway,” I continued. “Over three hundred days of sun per year. I’m surprised any vamps live here at all.”
“I think you’re missing the point,” Judson said, wiping his mouth on a paper napkin. “This Ringo fucker needs to die. Period.”
“He says the same thing about you,” I murmured.
“Exactly,” Judson said. “I refuse to live in fear from the very same type of creature that killed my twin. I fucking refuse, Dani.”
Realizing he was speaking out of grief and not taking it personally, I put my hand on his and said, “I know. But we have to be smart about this. I agree he needs to go, but Ringo is not that easy to kill.”
“No shit. The question is… if you don’t produce a body—or bodies—by October thirty-first, he is gonna do it himself? Like come to my house or to Bash and just kill me in front of God and everyone?”
“Good question. The answer is… I don’t know. I usually just get the information, kill the subject, get paid, and move on with my life. This has never happened before. I haven’t even been a vampire that long.”
He put his chopsticks down and grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just panicked right now. I’ve obviously never had a tag on my head before. Maybe moving away is the answer. For now, anyway.”
I hated to agree, but he was right. I began to do searches on jobs and houses in Washington state. It made me sick that he would have to leave Innubis and doing what he loved to find some mundane job just because of me. For us to be together. For him to save his life. But we couldn’t stay here. Not as long as Ringo kept the bounty on his head. And killing Ringo would just draw more attention from the Vlasé… whoever the fuck those guys were. I realized in my short time of being a vampire, I should have been asking more questions. All these unanswered ones weren’t going to do me any good now, though.
All of a sudden, an idea hit me.
“Hey… what if I could find out where Ringo lives? Hit him at home? Flush his ashes down the toilet, make it look like he took off? It would take the pressure off.”
Judson looked up from his rice bowl and said, “Huh. That’s not a bad idea. Sounds like a suicide mission, but a good idea nonetheless. So… Uh, yeah, no.”
“Oh, come on. You can have my back like you did outside that club with Deputy Vanhoose.”
He rolled his eyes. “That was one human. You’re talking the possibility of a houseful of vampires. Very different.”
“I don’t know,” I said, chewing my lip and looking away. “I don’t get the feeling Ringo lives with a bunch of vamps. He seems like a loner. Maybe has a girl over every once in a while. I know he’s not in a relationship or anything.”
“How do you know?” Judson asked.
I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Just a feeling I have. He seems like the type to keep his options open, not be tied down. He always has whores hanging off his arm when he’s out in public and I’ve never seen or heard of any consistent woman coming around asking for him.”
Judson nodded and picked up some rice with his chopsticks. “Okay, then. If we do this, we need to scope out his place first. Just to be sure.”
“Agreed. Now, I think I know a way to get his home address. You’re not gonna like it, though.”
He didn’t look like he liked the sound of that, and said, “Continue.”
“I may have to flirt or even make out with Jonas. I thought at one time he might be gay, but I don’t think he is. He’s just pretty shy.”
“Who the fuck is Jonas?” he snapped, looking like he wanted to kill the guy.
“He’s the resident hacker-slash-accountant-slash-bookie-slash-paper-pusher. You get the gist.”
“And you think he’ll have Ringo’s home address?” he asked between clenched teeth.
“Yes,” I quickly replied. “I know he will. I’ll just have to butter him up for it. I promise no sex, though.” I let out a small shudder. “Definitely not my type, anyway.”
“Good to know,” he said wryly.
I got up from the table and headed toward the door with my purse. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Judson followed me to the door and wrapped his arms around me. “Be safe, please.”
“I will,” I replied, standing up on tiptoe to kiss his beautiful lips. “I will.”
“I’m, ah, not sure I’m supposed to give that out, Dani,” Jonas replied, pushing his glasses up his nose further. Jonas was human and pretty much scared shitless of all vampires. Ringo paid him so well, though, that he stayed. He was a pretty valuable asset.
“Please,” I whined like a sixteen-year-old girl. “I need it. I am on a deadline and I have what Ringo wants but I have to give it to him now or else he’ll probably kill me. I also need to get paid, my rent is due soon.”
Such lies, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
“I don’t know. He told
