Shadows of Doubt (37 page)

“Welcome. I can probably get this streaming on your cell too if you want!” He grinned when he realized what a stupid question that had been. Of course Max would want.

Lou had given
them forty-five minutes notice before she was ready to head out and sure enough, a stereotypical black SUV was waiting for her when she walked out of the bureau. It surprised her how glad she was to see it and realized what an idiot she must have looked like when she noted she was almost skipping toward the car. Lou was sure she turned several shades of red when Niko got out of the passenger seat to open the back door for her. He was grinning at her even though he didn’t say a word. She thanked him and got in. It was awkward for all of two minutes until Frank glanced at her through the rear-view mirror and smiled.

“So how was you’re day, Tallulah? Did you play nice with the other detectives?” He snickered as he said it.

“Do you know what happened to the last person that called me that other than my mother?” She looked out the window as she asked.

“Actually I do!” She could hear Frank’s smug grin in his voice.

“Ah!” She nodded. “So you actually want to be a soprano then.”

Niko snorted and slapped Frank on the shoulder. “A soprano, that’s funny.”

Frank grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder, catching Lou’s snicker in the rear-view mirror as he did.

“Actually my day was good.” Lou eventually took Frank’s question semi-seriously. “I finished going over the files you and Abby gave me on the rogue and did some cross referencing. It looks like his first victim in L.A. was Marjorie Scott for sure.” She decided to talk it out with them when she noticed the freeway they had just gotten onto was a parking lot. It would make the time go by faster. “He definitely has a pattern of picking women of questionable character although the London files call them ‘unfortunates’. What is that all about anyway?” It was a rhetorical question really, she didn’t pause long enough for either Frank or Niko to answer. “The fact that he’s stuck to that type all these years means he has some beef with skanky women. Either his mother, sister, wife or lover turned out to be damaged goods and he hasn’t gotten over it. And the cutting is significant as well, even if he covers... oh hey! That reminds me!” She scooted up to peer at them from between their seats. “So what’s the deal with feeding? You guys have fangs and bite people like vampires or what?”

Frank grumbled loudly and scowled at her which amused Niko immensely.

“Come on man, it’s only natural for her to go there. The whole vampire thing is within her time so don’t take it so damn personally.” Niko rolled his eyes at Frank then shifted in his seat so he could face her better. “We mostly drink out of glasses like normal people these days...” Now it was Lou rolling her eyes at him. “... but yeah. Promise not to freak?” Niko eyed her suspiciously.

“If I were going to freak I think I would have done that by now, don’t you?” Lou huffed.

“Alright then.” Niko made a soft hissing sound while he appeared to be yawning but no sooner than he started, Lou saw fangs spring forward from what appeared to be the roof of his mouth. Similar to vipers she had seen on the wildlife channels. He smiled wide and she couldn’t help but lean in closer to look. “Aren’t you glad I brushed my teeth before we came?” he jested as she inspected his fangs.

“That is so freaking cool! Does it hurt to flip em out? They are kinda like landing gear!”

Frank jerked the car to the right slightly as he burst out laughing. “Landing gear?!” Lou only glanced at him for a second before turning her attention back to Niko.

“Nah it doesn’t hurt.” He yawned and hissed again as he retracted his fangs. “I imagine like wisdom teeth coming in all at once, or sort of. For those that are Blood-Born, they are always there at birth but don’t pop out until adolescence so they need to be bottle fed, literally along with milk, like normal babies.”

Lou blinked several times. “Blood-born? You mean you can reproduce full blown turned babies?”

Niko nodded. “It is very very rare and difficult. Because our blood is like antibodies on steroids. So when a fetus survives, its a big deal and the kid is usually massively stronger for it.”

“But that makes no sense, I thought you don’t age?” Lou was having a hard time computing things.

“With Blood-born, they develop and age like a normal child until their bodies reach about twenty-four to twenty-seven in age. Then it slows to the sloth pace like for the rest of us. We actually do age but its like dog time but in reverse. Approximately a couple hundred years or something to a normal human year of aging. I’ve never known of a turned Sanguinostri to ever die of natural causes, lets put it that way. That’s why there are restrictions on turning, a screening process, permission, so on and so forth.”

“So Joe would have to get permission to turn, and my mom too? If they decided to? They could not be allowed?” The thought of Joe and her mother being denied the option suddenly upset Lou very much.

“Oh no.” Frank spoke up. “Joe’s family has been what we call Grand Stewards to the Sanguinostri for over a millennium. The Senatus charged special dispensation for all Grand families ages ago so that they are automatically sanctioned but it has to be overseen by a their Dominor.”

“Oh.” It was all so fascinating to her. “But I’m technically not his family. I’m not even adopted!” Lou hadn’t made a decision whether she was going to turn or not but as with the panic for her parents being able to have the option, she suddenly felt that same fear for herself.

Niko sensed her upset and put a hand on her arm to calm her. “He will never admit it but that’s one of the reasons why Max is placing you as Principate for criminal investigations. That insures your right, should you choose to make that decision.”

She thought about that for a moment. “One of the reasons?”

Frank and Niko looked at each other briefly. “You’re a damn good cop for starters, but lets not get into all that now. Fishing for compliments doesn’t suit you.” Frank knew he skillfully diverted Lou from that line of questioning when she swatted at him. “Hey! I’m driving here!”

“Alright then, I need you guys to explain this whole Principate thing and what I’ll need to do, etcetera and so forth. Since it appears I will die of old age before we get home, you may as well start now.” Niko and Frank were founts of information that Lou decided to exploit to the fullest extent possible. She needed to be prepared for this so called position should she decide not to fight Max on it.

By the time they arrived at the McAllister compound, Lou had a list of to-do’s three pages long and her to-get’s were extensive as well. Frank had told her he would train her on all the technical things and help her acquire a proper computer system with biometric security and higher encryption levels than the Pentagon. He would make sure she was networked and had a cell phone separate from the one she was using that would be untraceable to anyone outside of the Aegis Council. Niko had informed her that they were looking in to property on the ridge above Lou’s neighborhood to build a tactical headquarters but until then she was welcomed to join him for combat training any time. He even jested that he would help her learn all of his superpowers like his observation skills. Lou had nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement at the offer and demanded to know how soon they could get started.

“Whoa there, cowgirl!” Niko chuckled. “You have the girlie thing to do with the gala tomorrow night. Why don’t we get together this weekend and set up a schedule that suits us both?”

Lou grumbled when she remembered the whole gala affair but she knew it was important to Joe and now that she was Sanguinostri, and supposed to be stepping up to some level of position in it, she knew it was important for her too. “Okay, sounds like a plan.” She started to get out of the SUV. “You guys hungry? Want to come in for dinner? My Mom and Joe had a meeting to go to over Max’s damn park so it would be nice to have the company.”

Frank and Niko looked at each other, knowing full well that Max would worry if they left her alone.

“Got any leftovers from the other night still?” Niko asked.

“A ton and they’re going to go bad if we don’t polish them off.” She hopped out of the truck, surprisingly glad they were staying.

Frank threw the truck in park and killed the engine. “I got dibs on those artichokes!” He shouted and bolted for the door.

Lou laughed as she ran with them and headed into the kitchen. Marta came in to investigate the ruckus they were making. When they told her it was a leftover raid she started fussing over them and insisted on making them proper plates. Lou took the opportunity to sneak away for a second and check in with Vinny before it got too late.

“Hola, kiddo!” He sounded very chipper.

“Hey! Can you talk freely?” Lou wondered if Vera was lurking.

“I’m still at you’re uncle’s place. Vera’s at some pregnant yoga thing with her sister so your aunt invited me to stay for pot roast! You know I’m a sucker for her pot roast.”

“You’re a sucker for food, face it.” She grinned when he chortled at her statement of the obvious. “How was you’re study day? Ready for tomorrow?”

He sighed on the other end. “I better be. These guys even made flash cards for me. Just keep your fingers crossed and a candle lit, okay?”

“You know it. Make sure you call me as soon as you get out and remember to breathe and stay calm.” Lou could hear her aunt yelling in the background.

“Hey kiddo, that’s the dinner bell. Have fun with all your foo-foo stuff tomorrow.”

“Will do! Give everyone there a kiss for me there.”

“How about you’re aunt only? Not kissin’ Seamus’ ugly mug.” He snorted at the thought. “See ya kiddo, sweet dreams!”

“Night Vinny, good luck tomorrow!” She shouted then clicked off and headed back into the kitchen.

When she walked into the chaos, she stopped and leaned against the wall just to watch a while. Niko and Frank were teasing Marta incessantly over her dirty jokes from the other night and Lou couldn’t help but grin. These huge, mean looking guys were becoming something like big brothers to her. Something she never thought she would have wanted. For the umpteenth time so far this week, she was very surprised at how happy it all made her.

He stood surveying
the room. Triple checking to make sure that all was in it’s proper place. The floor was meticulously covered in plastic and the smell gave him a shiver of anticipation. Plastic sheeting had been draped to cover every wall carefully so that not a single drop of blood or flake of tissue could accidentally slip underneath. A new chair had been prepared with all the customary straps that were so integral to his work. Even the little table off to the side was covered in plastic and all his accoutrements were neatly arranged just as he liked them. Everything was as it should be. Ready and waiting for his new, very special fly to be caught in his web.

It had all come together so brilliantly. He hadn’t anticipated finding anything worth troubling over when he had come out west. Media reports always glorified the Golden State as being all perfect, bright and shiny people with their blond hair, golden tans and casual living. The truth is that it had become a cesspool of corruption under blue skies and abundant sunshine. There wasn’t a palm that couldn’t be greased or soul that couldn’t be bought for the right price. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco were fraught with opportunities for the discriminating tastes of the sick and twisted. The business of catering to the dark underbelly of debauchery was thriving and he reveled in it. It was a shame he was going to have to cut his stay so soon but it was best for now. Just a few more days then off to new happy hunting grounds and new adventures. He still had one adventure here and he was so excited for it.

Ambling about his workspace, he toyed with the various options he had in obtaining his next fly. The one minor sticking point was that she wasn’t an unfortunate as all his others had been. That was a difficult thing to reconcile within himself. Regardless, all the signs pointed to her being the perfect choice. No denying she had nearly been handed to him on a silver platter. He actually caught himself giggling out loud over it. Just one more day and she would be sitting in that chair, straining for breath. Her teeth would dig into the rubber of the ball-gag. Her fingernails would chip and split from scraping and clawing at the wooden arms of the chair. Certainly she would weep a little and pray to whatever god she worshiped for a way out of the nightmare. It made him giddy every time he thought about it. There would be no way out for this fly as there had been none for any of the others. She may not be an unfortunate but she was nothing special when it came down to it either. She was a whore waiting to happen like the rest of them. Like all of them. The only thing that made this one special is that the illustrious Dominor thought she was. And for that simple fact alone, she would die a long, slow and exquisitely painful death.

Abby inspected Max’s tuxedo first, checking that not even a speck of
lint could be found on it. She had his cashmere overcoat already prepared and just needed to get them into his room before she left. She was so excited when Caroline invited her to join her, Lou and Shevaun for a long leisurely day of getting all dolled up. Abby couldn’t remember the last time she had had that luxury. Being Max’s girl Friday and the only girl at the top tier with the Aegis Council, she usually was the last to get ready for anything. However, Max had been within earshot when Caroline invited her and he was insistent that she let the boys fend for themselves for a change and she take the day to indulge herself. It was really nice when he acknowledged her sacrifices and let her know that he realized how much she did for them. Not that she needed such petty validation, but it was nice just the same. Once she found his ensemble for the evening satisfactory, she scooped everything up and headed across the hall to his suite so she could set it out for him.

She was excited for the day to come with the girls as she skipped down the hall. Abby had prearranged with the spa, after Caroline invited her, to have top-drawer accommodations for all of them. Her treat. She would spare no expense for her new girlfriends and was even having a champagne brunch delivered to their private suite. She could afford it after all. Besides the boys, she rarely spent her money on anything since most everything, including any residence, was handled by Max and his extensive empire. She had been collecting a hefty salary for her position for gods knew how long and had even had to break it up into numerous different bank accounts over the last few decades to avoid complications. It was going to be so much fun spoiling girls for a change rather then the boring boys who only really cared about tech toys.

Max had been up and out for a while when she entered his room just after seven. She arranged his clothes, shoes, freshly polished cufflinks etcetera on the mahogany valet stand in the corner of his room. She even put a handkerchief over his shoes so they wouldn’t get dusty while they sat out all day.

“Aren’t you supposed to be taking care of you for a change today?” Max had seen her skip into his room with her arms full and came to see what she was doing.

“Just appeasing my conscience before I go.” She grinned and gave a last smoothing over to his coat. “I’m just hanging the boys things on their hooks and then I am outta here!”

“Any instructions for me before you go?” He grinned now, knowing full well she would have a laundry list of things for him not to forget.

“Well, now that you mention it!” She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Its all laid out so you can’t screw up.” As he scanned the paper she noticed he seemed to be a little uneasy so she placed her hand on his arm and tried to get a feel for him. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing!” He knew he answered too quickly.

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, your choice.” She sat down on the bench at the end of his bed and gave him the look that meant there was no way she was leaving until he answered. Grumbling, he sat down next to her.

“Tonight is important. I have all my bullshit duties as Dominor that I have to do but all I can think about is Lou. How is she going to react to something like this as her first real exposure to me and the Sanguinostri as a collective? How am I going to be able to temper what I have to do with what I want to do? What if this all turns Lou totally off? I mean, I don’t have any illusions that she has feelings for me but it would be nice to have a shot, and tonight could ruin that.”

“Hmm.” It was a reasonable concern, she knew. “First of all I know she has feelings for you, we all can see that, even her mother. As for the rest of it, I think she understands your role and how important it is. Caroline and I have had discussions with her about the structure of things, so I know she has a clue. She’s a very down to earth person, Max. She is not petty or easily put off by things so just be yourself tonight. Don’t be nervous and standoffish towards her. You’re not a stuffy dictator, you’re fair, generous and a good man who takes his role very seriously. That is something she needs to see and needs to factor into her equation of you. Just make sure you come back to her between obligations so she knows you balance things well.”

Max looked at Abby and thought for a while before he smiled. “When did you become so wise beyond your years?”

Abby snorted and hugged him. “I know, such a young two-hundred and something years, but an old old soul.”

He laughed and hugged her back. “Thank you. Now have the guys grab their own stuff so you can get the hell out of here. I have a car waiting for you downstairs and we have transpo already set up for tonight.”

“Oh! The limo we have here? That way we can all ride together and drink more champagne since no one has to drive!”

“Of course. I already called and had it brought around for you.” He kissed her on the forehead then got up to head into the other room.

“Try and relax, its all going to be perfect. I know it.” She smiled at him as he looked back at her before he left the room.

Despite the protests made by Frank and Connor, Abby gathered her things and began stuffing her hands into her mittens. Max scolded the men for not knowing how to tie their own ties by now and told them to leave Abby alone.

“I’ll be back by five to get changed so you can save your panicking for then. All your stuff is ready to throw on, so just remember to shower and shave!” She took a moment to look them all in the eye as she said it. “Now I am off, so no calls unless it’s something of global proportions.” She blew kisses to them all and headed for the elevator.

The men stood staring at each other for a long time after she left, as if completely clueless what they were supposed to do next.

“Oh for pity’s sake!” Max shook his head in disgust. “Its barely eight in the morning. We have hours before we have to worry, so someone order breakfast and let’s see if we can accomplish something before we need to get ready.”

The other men grumbled briefly then began the ritual morning debate of what to order from room service. It took about seven minutes before they decided on a smattering of everything and then focused on work until it arrived.

Lou had woken
up early, forgetting she was taking the day to go with her mother and Caroline to the spa to get ready for the gala. Caroline was bringing Lou’s dress and shoes over with her own so they could play dress up and all go to the event together. Lou just had to kill a few hours before she got there. She had tried to go back to sleep but the more she thought about the gala, the more nervous she got. Other than the Sunday golf thing, Max had only seen Lou in her work grunge and while that was really more her style, she suddenly felt like there was a lot of pressure to clean up well and mind her manners. He was putting a lot of faith in her abilities if he was planning on making her Principate or whatever it was. She was going to have to prove herself to a lot of people who were all going to be at this thing. Of course that all sounded excellent as an excuse but that really wasn’t the truth of it.

Max had floated her boat since the moment she laid eyes on his shoes and everything attached to them. She knew it, Caroline and Vinny knew it, her mother knew it. But now she knew who he was, what he was and that he was a seriously important man, especially in this new world she was knee deep in. How in the hell did she think he would ever notice her? He had been around for God knows how long and only been engaged once so that woman had to have been very special. He had serious standards, clearly. Max had rubbed elbows with kings and queens, presidents and supermodels. She was just a jean wearing, boot hoofing cop. Sure he had seemed to flirt with her before but maybe that was all pretense to get her indoctrinated and recruited as an operative. He had been snippy with her on the phone the day before, but she hadn’t exactly been charming and flirty like Caroline was in her sleep. Did she really care if he noticed her in that way? Oh, who the hell was she kidding, of course she did.

She studied herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, picking herself apart inch by inch. She had bags under her eyes and she barely noticed the green of her irises because the whites were so damn bloodshot. She should have kicked the guys out earlier last night but she had been having too much fun. The non-black and blue portion of her skin tone was even, though a bit on the pasty side. She could definitely stand getting a little sun. She wondered if the spa did that spray-tan thing or if that would rub off on her dress. She would have to remember to ask. Her hair was a stylish cut, she thought, though there wasn’t much to be done with the boring auburn mop anyway. Her bangs definitely could use a trim since she could barely see through them unless she brushed them to the side, which when she did just then she saw the condition of her hands and winced. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a manicure and she had remnants of black nail polish on her toes from Halloween. Alright so she had to admit to herself that maybe a spa day wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

“You realize your bathroom is as big as my apartment?” Caroline startled Lou so badly that she started to choke from nearly swallowing her electric toothbrush. “Oh God! Sorry sweetie, are you okay?” Caroline thumped on Lou’s back and handed her a towel.

When Lou finally caught her breath and wiped the toothpaste off her face, she glared at her friend. “For someone who hates it when people sneak up on them, you sure are good at doing the same damn thing!”

“I am so sorry!” Her friend grabbed another towel to mop some of the toothpaste out of Lou’s hair. “I was sure you heard me and your mom talking out there. She let me in, then I helped her cart coffee and morning noshes up.”

“Oh! Any of Marta’s croissants out there?” Lou suddenly forgot all about almost choking to death.

Caroline grinned at her. “Most definitely. Hey Lou, would you mind if Abby joined us for girls day getting ready? I kinda feel bad for her being stuck with all those guys all the time.”

“Not at all! That’s a great idea. It’s kind of like having two of you around.” Lou grinned then headed for the croissants.

“Great, because I already invited her.” Caroline followed her out.

Shevaun was walking out of the closet as they headed for the goodie tray and was already perfectly polished and ready for the day. Lou looked at her mother and wondered why in the hell the woman needed a day at the spa.

“I definitely must have gotten more of my father’s genes.” She muttered.

Her mother went for her coffee mug. “Oh stop that! You know I hate it when you say things like that!” She took a sip of her coffee and grinned at her daughter. “I absolutely adore your dress. You have to wear that topaz suite your grandma left you.”

Lou was drawing a blank on two fronts. First, why in the hell would her grandmother leave her a hotel room and second, how could she possibly wear it. “Uh...”

Shevaun scoffed. “The copper brown chandelier earrings with the matching bracelet and ring?”

“Oh! That would be perfect!” Lou had forgotten all about the set her grandmother had left her several years ago. “So a suite is like an ensemble?”

Shevaun and Caroline just rolled their eyes at her before they turned to head for their chairs.

Caroline’s phone chirped to indicate an incoming text which she began to read as soon as she plopped down. “Too fun! Abby has commandeered a company limo for us and is on her way now. I would have invited my momma but she’s had like the entire staff from her salon at home flown in for this. Daddy actually bunked with my uncle last night. The women have the place overrun with girl junk. You know she brought five different gowns with her because she couldn’t decide which to buy? She bought them all!”

“Wow!” Lou was baffled by all the fuss. “So this thing is that big of a deal?” She could feel her nerves flaring up again.

“Apparently so, from what Joe has told me.” Shevaun broke off a piece of scone and studied it. “It was a big deal to begin with because the man who’s giving it has like the largest collection of Byzantine artifacts, jewelry and other priceless things.” She finally popped the piece of scone in her mouth and chewed quickly, then swallowed. “But now that Max, being like the king of all of North America is going to be there, its an ultra big deal so everyone on the continent is flying in for it.”

“Well, that is so cool!” Caroline gaped. “It’s like the red carpet of all red carpets for the Sanguinostri!”

Now Lou’s stomach was doing flip flops and if she thought she was nervous before, what her mother had just said and with Caroline’s gawking, it had literally made her hands start to shake. She put down her mug and went in to her closet to change, hoping that would buy her some time to compose herself. She had already showered and all that but noticing how posh and polished the women in the other room were, Lou figured plain old gray sweats and mukluks wasn’t going to cut it. She rifled through her things to find an appropriately fashionable jog suit like Caroline had on, then heard Abby’s voice in the other room. When Abby came into the closet to say hello, she could clearly see that Lou was freaking out.