I nodded as I typed away on my phone. “But you said this is an annual trip?”
“Yep.” Hoder stuffed his hands in his coat sleeves. “Been coming to the Magiford Holiday Bazaar for decades.”
“Do you always come the first night?”
“Yes,” Hoder said.
I nodded, then locked my phone screen. “Thank you for answering my questions. There will be more, later, but once backup arrives, if you like, a couple of us task force members could accompany you back to the bazaar to see if the ornament stall is completely closed…”
I heard voices behind me, so I turned around, this time to find four humans milling around the werewolves while Considine watched.
“Sorry. I’ll be one moment.” I bowed an apology to Hoder, then practically teleported to Considine’s side.
“What are you—Considine,” I snarled when one of the humans walked past me with a dazed expression. All four of the humans were fairly muscled, and were wearing workout gearand the dopey expressions that marked all humans who were under the influence of vampire pheromones.
“What now?” Considine asked.
“First, you used your pheromones on humans! Second,where did you get these humans?” Now that I stood next to him, I could feel the force of his pheromones. They didn’t affect me, but they made the air…heavier.
Considine pointed down the road. “They all came out of a gym.”
I inhaled deeply through my nose, then exhaled through my mouth in an effort to stay calm. “And the pheromones?”
“You said not to command other vampires. You said nothing about using pheromones.” Considine folded his arms across his chest and smirked, eliciting a giggle from one of the human helpers. With his charisma, he probably didn’t have to use more than a dusting of his pheromones to wrangle help.
“Considine…you have to personally do the work for the task force,” I said. “Involving other people could ruin evidence and release important information to the public. It’s vital that as a team we work togetherwithinthe team for our cases.”
The tilt of Considine’s head told me he wasn’t completely sold on the idea. “That doesn’t seem very efficient. Why not fully use our abilities?”
What could I say to show how serious this is? Maybe…it might not work since I don’t know if he means any of this, but it’s my best bet.
“If you don’t adjust to the way the task force operates, Considine, this isn’t a partnership, but a babysitting gig for me,” I said. “And we won’t work as a pair, but as part of a team with other squadmates present because I won’t be able to trust you.”
Considine’s playful manners disappeared, and he studied me. His red eyes traced my face with a scrutiny that would havemade me fidget if I wasn’t so intent on winning this particular battle.
“Very well,” he eventually said. “If it’s what you want.”
The heavy feeling in the air evaporated—Considine had stopped oozing pheromones.
“Thank you for your help, it’s no longer needed. Goodbye,” he said to the humans.
The humans watched him with worshipful gazes. “We’re more than happy to stay!” A woman said.
“No thank you. Now leave.” He glanced at me, then reluctantly added, “Please.”
At least he’s willing to follow direction.
I watched the humans pout and march past us, a few turning to look back at Considine with puppy eyes.
Considine didn’t even notice—he was inspecting one of the nearly recovered werewolves. “I don’t suppose you feel like fighting?” he asked, a dangerous calm covering his voice. “I’d welcome a bit of a fight right now.”
While werewolves aren’t known for their self-preservation skills, this one proved to be admirably smart in that he hunched his shoulders and shook his head.
Considine sighed. “Figures.”
I peered back at Hoder—Brody was standing with him, looking down the street with a happy posture.
Backup must be here.
