I had a sister, and while she annoyed the shit out of me sometimes, I wouldn’t trade her for this phony woman and all the blood in the world.
I saw no reason to tell her that, though. This was my chance. She might be able to monitor me on the cameras, but every system had a blind spot. If I got close enough to an exit, I wouldn’t even need to exploit the system’s weaknesses. I’d just high tail it out the door and not stop running until I found a safe place to hole up for the night.
Before I could answer, there was a screech of noise as an alarm sounded. Kat turned back to the computer and brought up the security feeds, not bothering to push me away when I glanced over her shoulder.
From the number of different windows, there were dozens of cameras in the club. It would have been impossible for me to sneak around undetected.
“What are they doing here?” Kat hissed.
At first, I couldn’t see what she was talking about, and then in the top right box on the screen, a familiar face caught my attention. Brax. It was a little grainy and I’d only met him once, but his face wasn’t one I would forget.
“Stay here,” Kat ordered.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, of course not. There’s just a small situation I need to take care of. I’ll be right back.”
I could hardly believe it when she hurried out of the room without a backward glance. She didn’t actually expect me to obey, did she? Like a dog told to sit. Unbelievable.
Maybe there were guards outside waiting. Unlikely, but possible.
The security feeds were still running on the computer so I enlarged the one containing the hallway leading to this room. Empty. Perfect. Getting out of here would be easy. I probably wouldn’t even need to run.
I pulled out my keys and flipped open the small thumb drive I’d carried since I was a freshman in college. I rarely needed it anymore since I didn’t really use a computer that often, but I never got around to taking it off after graduating. My laziness was about to pay off. I plugged the USB into the computer and prayed they hadn’t disabled the port. A file folder popped up with the USB’s name on it. Guess these vampires weren’t that concerned about computer security.
It took moments to bring up the files for the past week. I didn’t want to chance missing something important just because Kat had been looking at files from two days ago. I dragged them over to the USB folder and winced when I saw the estimated time to download. The files were big. This was going to take a couple of minutes.
The seconds counted down as I monitored all the feeds, keeping an eye out in case someone headed in my direction. The moment they did, I was gone. I wouldn’t jeopardize my freedom over some files that may or may not be helpful.
It looked like everybody was heading to intercept Brax and a few of his werewolves. I thought I spotted Liam and Aiden on the cameras as well. Good. That should give me enough time.
The files finished downloading. I grabbed the USB, took one last look to make sure my path was still clear, and then headed out.
My footsteps were loud as I walked as fast as I could without running towards the rear exit. In the slight chance someone happened upon me on my way out, I didn’t want to immediately alert them that I was up to no good.
No one appeared, and I was on the street in a very short time, heading back to Cherry.
CHAPTER SIX
THE CAR RETRIEVED, I drove around aimlessly. I couldn’t go home in case the vampires or werewolves somehow figured out where I lived. I didn’t want to go to Hermes’ office, partly for that reason and partly because I didn’t want to face the interrogation I knew was in store. Going there also meant I’d have to give up Cherry, and I still needed her. I wasn’t ready to face the sorcerer again and it was too early in the evening to find a place to sleep through the day. That didn’t leave me a lot of options.
Somehow, I found myself driving down High Street, past the campus district, through all the college neighborhoods and on down to the Short North area. If I remembered correctly, Elements was near there.
I needed to talk to a witch, and Miriam was the only one I knew. At least the only one I knew how to find and wasn’t terrified of. There was that witch on the east side, but I’d vowed never to go near her after her attempt to turn me into a frog had resulted in a week of green skin.
I could use some witchy advice. I needed to know more about the mark on my arm. It also wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions about hiding scents from a werewolf’s nose. At the very least, she might have a computer I could borrow.
Parking down here was always a crap shoot. Tonight, being a Thursday, was no different. The college kids were out in force. It paid to have no classes on Friday. Those that did have class probably intended to skip. I know it’s something I’d done many times at that age.
The only place I could find to park was several blocks away. After squeezing the car into a spot better suited for a Prius, I pocketed the keys and walked towards the store. It took me a lot longer than I predicted. I’d traveled much further afield in my search for a parking spot than intended, and it was not a relaxing walk with me being convinced Liam or Aiden would materialize at any moment.
Elements had a closed sign in the window when I finally made it. The lights were on and two figures moved in the back. I reached for my phone to check the time. It, along with the bag I normally carried, wasn’t there. That’s right, I’d left it at Lou’s when I’d made my great escape.
With no cell, I had no way of telling the time. I stopped wearing watches years ago when it dawned on me that a cell phone told the time just as well and wouldn’t cost me anything extra on my college student budget. It only sucked in the rare times I had no cell phone to check.
The sign said the store closed at midnight. I did a quick mental calculation. It didn’t feel like it was past midnight. So why was the store closed? And how angry would Miriam be if I barged in anyway? In the end, none of my questions mattered. I was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Even if it did mean pissing off a witch of unknown power.
I tested the door, not surprised to find it locked. Lucky for me, I had increased strength and the locks on this door weren’t the heavy-duty kind. I briefly considered knocking but didn’t want to take the chance she would pretend to be out of the office. It’s what I would have done if someone came knocking at my store after I’d hung up the closed sign.
