The Severed Thread (6 page)

“You need to leave the phone,” Seamus told me.

“Why?”  I hated the thought of not having it with me; it made the trip that much more unsettling.  This, when I thought about it, was surely part of the plan.

“Orders,” Seamus shrugged.

I reluctantly placed the phone on the hall table.  There was an imprint from the edge of the case embedded into the palm of my right hand.  I rubbed at it absently while grabbing my coat, all the while acutely aware that my two visitors were carefully watching me to ensure I did not bolt.

“I’m not going to make a break for it,” I assured them.

Seamus seemed about to make a comment when a female voice said, “There’s a car watching the front of the house.”

I turned to see a woman of about my height, with a fiery mane of red hair looking out the window next to my front door.  I
knew
there was another one around here somewhere.  She must have been upstairs or in one of the other first floor rooms when I came in.  She could easily have circled back into the foyer to cover that exit.

Seamus took a peek out the living room window.  “Looks like the Interspecies Bureau has decided to keep an eye on you Ms. Lassiter.  Wonder why that is?” he asked speculatively.

“Maybe they think I need protection,” I suggested with no small amount of sarcasm.  “Although, if that’s the case, they aren’t doing a very good job of it.  I might need to make a complaint tomorrow.”  That was assuming I was still alive tomorrow.

Seamus snorted and pointed to the kitchen, indicating I should head that way.  I was all for cooperation.  Everyone was minding their manners at the moment, which I could probably attribute to my father’s position within the government.  I guess I had found something I could count on my father to provide – protection.  But I couldn’t delude myself into believing that the Lassiter name would protect me indefinitely.  I was being whisked away to meet a clan master without anyone knowing where I was going.  I could disappear, and no one would be the wiser that Liam McCallister was involved.

Chapter 5

McCallister’s people had an Audi SUV parked about a block and a half down the street.  We made our way out my back door and into the night without the agent in the car out front realizing anything was amiss.  Someone definitely needed to ring his bell.  Why even bother watching the front and not the rear of a house?  The incompetence was mind boggling.

Once we reached the SUV, I sat in the back with the redhead who introduced herself as Jacqueline.  The name was French, but she sounded more like a southern belle to me.  She kept calling me “ma’am” even though I was certain she was older than I, and could break my neck with a flick of her perfectly manicured hands.  The oddity of the situation would have had me laughing out loud if I weren’t about to collapse from stress and exhaustion.

They took me to the River Walk, one of McCallister’s clubs located in the Manayunk section of the city. The area was famous for its steeply hilled neighborhood that descended straight to the banks of the Schuylkill River.  On the narrow flat stretch of land just above the water was Main Street.  For several blocks the buildings backed up to the Manayunk Canal, but once you got to the 4100 block, the establishments backed straight up to the river.  The whole area had an artsy vibe, and was lined with trendy restaurants and eclectic shops.  I was thankful I had not been taken to Free Fall, a club he owned off Delaware Avenue.  That one was located on the top floor of an otherwise vacant building.  It creeped me out when I drove by at night and saw the flashing lights leaking out of the windows, especially when all the subsequent floors where pitch black.  I had absolutely no desire to ever actually go inside. 

We parked in a lot that ran alongside the building in a spot marked ‘Reserved’.  It was so hard to find a parking spot in Manayunk, and usually a sign was not enough to deter anyone.  Except in the case of vampire-owned establishments.  No one in their right mind would park at night in one of their reserved spots, especially one owned by the clan master.

Lok led the way as we approached a side door manned by a vamp.  This one was average looking in the sense that he was not tall, he was not ethnic – he was not noticeable.  He apparently thought the same about me because he barely flicked a glance in my direction as we passed through the door into the bowels of the bar.  We walked down an alley of supply boxes stacked nearly to the ceiling.  A cursory look at a few labels indicated that they contained mundane things like stirrers and cocktail napkins. 

We approached an interior door with another sentry.  This time, the vampire was anything but average.   He had an ebony complexion that looked nearly blue-black in the dim overhead lights.  When he spoke to Lok, his teeth were a snowy beacon in the midnight landscape of his face.  He glanced briefly at me before touching an earpiece fitted over his left ear and turning his head to speak softly.  With a jerk of his head he indicated that we should go up the stairs beyond the door.  Seamus remained at the bottom, while Jacqueline followed Lok and me up.

At the top of the stairs was a balcony, which provided an unobstructed view of the entire first floor bar and dance floor.  It was still early, so there were not many customers, but the music was already pounding.  I could feel it pulsing up my legs from the floor below.  I followed Lok across the balcony to another door, which I hoped led into some type of office which might drown out the sound.  There would be no way to talk over this noise.

Jacqueline took up a post outside the door before Lok ushered me inside.  Our little group was like an onion, peeling off layers as we went. 

Once inside I took a look around.  It was an office, and the furnishings were completely at odds with the modern décor of the club lying just a few feet away.  The room was overflowing with antiques, and there was an intricate oriental rug on the hardwood floors.  The center of the space was dominated by a large Edwardian mahogany desk, and sitting behind the desk was Liam McCallister. 

I had forgotten how striking he was, with his dark hair and eyes.  Even sitting behind the desk you could see that he was fit, the line of his shirt implying a swimmers physique – wide shoulders and long lean muscles.  Damn vampires, they were nearly always physically attractive.  I guess when choosing someone to turn, you knew you potentially had to spend hundreds of years looking at them.  Might as well pick someone handsome, right?  Whoever had turned Liam McCallister had definitely chosen well in the looks department – it was his soul that was infamously lacking.

“Ah, Abigail,” he said with a smile, acting for all the world as if this were a social visit.  “So glad you could join me this evening.” 

I raised my eyebrows at him.  “Well McCallister, your associates didn’t make it sound like an optional invitation.”

“McCallister?” he tsked in disapproval.  “I thought I asked you to call me Liam when we met last spring?”  I was surprised he even remembered meeting me, and my expression must have conveyed as much.

“What?” he continued mockingly.  “You did not think I would remember meeting the lovely daughter of Senator Lassiter?”

I sighed in exasperation.  “Look Mc… ah, Liam.  I realize you must have a very good reason for dragging me here on the same day my brother was murdered.  But, I hope you’ll understand if I don’t feel like exchanging pleasantries.” 

“Yes, I was sorry to hear about your brother.  Damn, messy business that.”  I noticed that he completely ignored my dig about dragging me out into the night on the shittiest day ever.

“Yes,” I agreed, “very nasty.”  I was so not in the mood for games or banter.  I had depleted most of my self-control earlier in the day, during my time with the agents.  I knew I was walking a fine line in keeping my temper, grief, and physical exhaustion from overwhelming my mental fortifications.  I could feel my frustration leaking through the cracks that had been forming over the course of the day.  That I had kept it in check at all this morning still amazed me.  I was hoping that McCallister didn’t offer himself as a target for my anger, because my berserker was just waiting for an opportunity to vent its rage.  Anyone would do at this point.  It was feeling belligerent, screaming for vengeance.  It might think it could take Liam McCallister, but I wasn’t so certain. 

“Can we get to why I’m here?  As I told Lok and company, it’s been a long day.”  He narrowed his eyes slightly but otherwise there was little clue as to what he was thinking.  I couldn’t tell if he found my belligerence amusing, or annoying. 

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, really,” he finally said as he rose up out of his chair, and half sat on the edge of his desk directly in front of me.  He put both hands on the arms of my chair as he leaned down to look at me intently from only inches away.  “Something of mine is missing Abigail, and I believe your brother took it.”  He let me digest that little nugget for a moment before continuing.  “I want it back.”

I suddenly had a sinking feeling about the direction this conversation was heading. 
Please, oh please don’t tell me that Jason was entangled in some scheme involving Liam McCallister
.

“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” I told him honestly.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and frankly I don’t have the energy to guess.  So, if you could just get to the point…”  I was trying to sound unconcerned but my heart rate had increased and I was sure he noticed.  Vampires have very keen hearing, and were especially in tune with all things related to the circulatory system.  I found myself feeling like prey for the second time this evening.  The sensation was causing a few more hairline fissures to form in the wall around my temper.

“Hmm,” he said giving me an assessing look before glancing up at Lok, who was standing behind me at the back of the office.  They seemed to be having a silent conversation, and I had to fight the impulse to turn around and see what Lok was doing.  Liam glanced at me again and shook his head regretfully before seeming to come to some sort of decision.

“Well, it would appear you have a problem, but I’m willing to offer you the chance to fix things,” he said as he leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest.

“I’m still way behind here.  Can you bring me up to speed so I can be on the same page?”

“As I’m sure you know, your brother had some cash flow problems.”

I let out a defeated breath and nodded my head.  “Yes, I know.”  His trust was tied up until he turned thirty-five; mine was as well.  Since he was two years my junior, he had even longer to wait than I did to get his hands on his money.

“About a month ago, Jason approached me with a proposition.”  He walked back to his chair on the other side of the desk and sat down.  “He suggested a mutually beneficial agreement between me and Lassiter Shipping.  The arrangement involved him overlooking inconsistencies with certain shipments.  Once in port, he would arrange times for those shipments to be privately picked up.” 

I leaned my head back and looked at the ceiling.  Was it possible that my brother had really done this?  I tilted my head to look at him. 

“You said he made that agreement on behalf of Lassiter Shipping?” I asked, grappling for any loophole I could use.  “He didn’t have the authority to do that.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” he replied.  “Nonetheless, a member of your organization, a member of your family even, made a promise on your behalf.  I expect you to fulfill the obligation.”

“You said something of yours was missing.  Care to elaborate?”  I decided to skirt a commitment by asking another question.  I could tell he knew exactly what I was doing, but he went along anyway.  For now.

“Two days ago, the Lassiter Storm docked at the Tioga Marine Terminal.” I nodded.  That sounded right.  “It was carrying a container with merchandise that belongs to me.  Its disappearance would cause a considerable loss of future revenue.  Not to mention the expenses I incurred buying the merchandise and getting it loaded into the container in the first place.”

“At which port was the container loaded?”  I had to ask the question but I knew I did not want to hear the answer.

“Cristobal, Panama.”  My stomach seized at the answer.

“Bananas?” 
Say no, say no, say no!

He just raised his dark brows and nodded.

“Dammit!” I said as I jumped from my chair and started pacing around the room.  McCallister’s eyes flicked to Lok, who I knew would jump me at sign of attack.  My rage containment was being tested to the max.  This was too much!  Was Jason fucking crazy?  There was only one thing that somebody wouldn’t want to show up on a manifest when it came to a shipment of bananas – Sapphire.

Sapphire was the new drug of choice for affluent young Weres and shifters out looking for a good time.  It had popped onto the club scene about two years ago, and was an instant hit.  It had effects similar to Ecstasy, which was used heavily by the human club crowd; it diminished anxiety, created a sense of intimacy with others, and induced feelings of euphoria.  Shifters and Weres were two of the most closely related species in the supernatural community.  Because of their high metabolisms, regular drugs did not have much of an impact.   Sapphire was revolutionary because it lasted for hours, and as a result was in high demand and very expensive.

Since it had become such a sought-after recreational drug, our Central and South American neighbors had begun producing it in large quantities.  At first, they were merrily shipping it around the globe and making a fortune.  Then six months ago, authorities figured out how to locate it hidden in shipping containers using gamma radiation detectors.

Sapphire has a unique radiation signature, since it is processed with uranium in order to have a psychological impact on shifters and Weres.  This unique signature became one of the things that made it so hard to get through port scans.  To counteract these new security measures, Sapphire was now hidden in loads of bananas since its radiation signature was similar to that given off by the potassium in bulk banana shipments.