“So they sent you home to check it out?” I asked.
Something a lot like betrayal was uncoiling in my chest. Or maybe just disappointment. I really had hoped Ryder had come home because he wanted to be here. Be a part of the people, the events, the day-to-day living of a small beach town.
“I came home.” He said it with emphasis. “That was my choice. They had the option to send me out to check on possible sightings throughout the state. But when your dad passed away, I knew I had to stay.”
“What does our dad’s death have to do with it?”
“Do you really think he drove himself off the road in broad daylight?”
All of us girls went still, tense. None of us believed that, but there had been no proof of any foul play.
Odin’s words came back to me. He said Dad waited too long to choose sides. I really needed to figure out what sides were involved.
“No,” I said quietly. “Do you know something about his death?”
He shook his head. “Nothing solid. But I’d known him for most of my life, Delaney. My dad was friends with him. He always told me Robert had more going on than just being police chief. I thought he meant he had kids to raise, or maybe relatives outside town to deal with, but Dad made it seem like it was something more. Something dark. Something your dad might have told him in confidence. He would never tell me what it was.”
“You got vampires out of that?”
“I got that things don’t add up in Ordinary. There is more here than is seen on the surface. You’re the one who confirmed vampires.”
“I only confirmed that because there are hunters in my town, probably killing them.”
“I know.” He didn’t look happy, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was mad about hunters being in town, or he was mad about Sven’s death.
“So your agency wants to contact vampires?” Jean asked.
“We’re an outreach. Very few people believe in the supernatural, and some that do are pretty unreliable. But the DoPP has been making human-supernatural relationships stronger for over a hundred years.”
“Why have we never heard of you?” Myra asked.
“Why should you have?”
It was a loaded question. It was an opportunity for us to tell him more about our extraordinary town, more about us and our extraordinary citizens. I glanced over at my sisters and could tell they were thinking about it. Pondering if we should tip our hand and let him know what we were.
“It’s not like the DoPP is going away, isn’t that right?” I asked Ryder. “Now that I’ve confirmed there are vampires in town, you’re not going to send your boss a report saying everything is ordinary in Ordinary, are you?”
“I haven’t submitted my report yet.”
“Why?” Myra asked.
“Because I don’t want to put someone I loh-v...care about in danger. I care about all three of you Reeds. If you tell me to, I’ll lie to my boss. I’ll tell him Sven was a one-and-done, and that there are no other vampires in town.”
Yes, I’d caught that Ryder had almost said “love” when he was offering to keep our secrets secret. I shoved that way, way back in my brain so I could think about it later. But I could already tell my heart was drawing little swirls and flowers and smoochy faces around that faltering admission.
“What kind of trouble would you get into for that?” Jean asked. “For lying?”
He pursed his lips. “Dunno. Haven’t had to do it yet.”
“Do they kill freelancers who don’t toe the company line?” Crow asked.
Ryder’s gaze went steely even though his voice was light. “Maybe they’ll let me off easy.”
He didn’t trust the agency. Not really. No wonder he was worried about hurting me. Hurting us.
“You don’t know anything about the consequences to breaking the rules?” Myra asked.
“Well, they have a list of options. Not sure if I would fall under three-strikes-you’re-out, or shiny-light-wipes-the-memories.”
