Chapter 17
Alyssa gave all the files to Detective Kennedy, but his response wasn’t encouraging. He was a gang cop. He had no legitimate reason to be talking to the CDC and didn’t know anyone in authority who was shifter-aware. Worse, every cop was helping to contain the unrest as people began to feel the effects of the quarantine. The gangs were being especially violent, but so were bankers and soccer moms. And worse, by afternoon the news confirmed that a third wave of outbreaks was sweeping through the area. It was like the entire city was on edge and rather than pulling together, people were throwing knives at each other. Or bullets.
At least they’d managed to get a good lawyer. That was Kennedy’s recommendation, too, and he turned out to be young, handsome, and sharp as tack. He was there when Alyssa gave her statement and he sat by Simon, too. Apparently, he’d been up all night as members of the Griz gave their statements and bartered their deals for turning state’s evidence. It was a messy business and Alyssa did her best to keep up, but mostly, it was aLaw & Orderepisode with too many people involved for her to keep straight. Plus, she’d never really liked that show because it always ended on a “life sucks” note.
Simon spent the whole day in that neutral expression place where his mind was a steel trap. Nothing escaped his notice, and no emotions leaked through. Similar to yesterday, he was a Spock-like machine as he answered questions, directed his people whenever possible, and didn’t give her anything more than orders. Not a soft look, not a gentle caress, not even a whispered “thank you.”
Years ago, she would have been hurt by his attitude. Now she just accepted it. After all, she understood what it was like to focus solely on getting stuff done. No distractions, no interference, and none of those pesky emotions clogging up the flow.
Great, except she’d just declared her love this morning. She’d said out loud that she was his. And no, she hadn’t expected him to drop onto his knee and swear eternal devotion. They’d been on the phone. But she’d thought he’d give her some sort of reaction if only a kiss. Something to say,I’m yours, too.
It hadn’t happened. He’d asked for updates on the cleaning crew and had her run through his email out loud with him. And when she was busy driving to the police station, he had her pull up aSesame Streetprogram on her phone so he could learn his alphabet. Instead of a declaration of love, she heard “C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me.”
Don Juan, he was not.
And so they churned through the day. There were a thousand things to do at the Griz headquarters. And when Simon was closeted with Joey the accountant, Alyssa had to deal with a disaster at the laundry. People doing laundry were usually mellow. Especially ones who wandered down the street to get some pot. Not so today. A fistfight broke out over use of a dryer, and now Malik was nursing a broken nose and a bad attitude.
She’d sent him home, but that meant she had to cover his shift, which made Simon even more frustrated. He had to confess to Joey that he couldn’t read, and that meant one more person in on Simon’s biggest vulnerability. That made them both jumpy, but there was nothing she could do about it. The streets were heating up, grocery stores being the biggest battlegrounds. Everyone wanted food now. And gas. And a way to blow off steam after two more “monster” videos appeared on the Internet.
It was enough for her to beg Vic to stay in his apartment. Especially once the news hit that a guy with a too full beard was shot on the street because someone thought he was a monster. Scary times for everyone. So why was she obsessing like a teenage girl about whether her boyfriend loved her?
“Hey, are you sure Simon said the water was bad?”
Alyssa looked up from repairing a broken washing machine to see her brother coming in the laundromat front door. He was dressed in shorts and a tank and drinking from a refillable sports bottle.
“Yeah. Said we shouldn’t even shower in it.”
She looked closer at him. He’d been working out, probably running through the nearby park, and as she watched, he squeezed the last of his drink into his mouth.
“Really? Tastes fine to me.”
“Was that tap water?” she cried as she stood to face her brother.
“Yeah. Refilled at the drinking fountain.” Then he curled a lip at her. “Don’t get pissy. I needed to burn off some energy. I called Simon and since he didn’t need me, I thought I’d go for a run.” He sauntered around the busted washer and headed for the sink. Popping on the tap, he started refilling his bottle.
“You can’t drink that!” She grabbed for the bottle, but he elbowed her out of the way.
“It’s fine. Simon’s hyper.”
“Damn it, Vic, it’s serious!” She reached again for the bottle but he knocked her back. She stumbled backward into a machine, which was bad enough, but he followed her with a hand on her throat.
“I like it,” he hissed.
She stared at him, hardly daring to breathe. She was caught with the largest washing machine behind her and the hard length of her brother’s bigger, stronger, and definitely bad-smelling body. It was the BO that came with the monster, and she didn’t need the pinpricks of claws against her throat to see he was changing.
She had two choices. She could try and fight him, but he’d most likely take out her throat first. Or she could try to talk him down.
“Vic, what are you doing?” she rasped as calmly as she could. “Think.”
He wasn’t listening, and he wasn’t thinking. He leaned forward, his breath harsh in her face. “I like the water.” And then, out of spite, he turned the bottle upside down and squirted it in her face.
She sputtered while he laughed, and that gave her the opportunity. She pulled up her knee as hard as she could while simultaneously knocking aside his arm. The good news was that she nailed him hard.
He doubled over with wheezing gasps. The bad news was that he changed right there. Full-on monster, tearing his tee and stretching his shorts to breaking. He swiped at her, his jaw snapping loudly and too close to her face. The only thing that kept her from being disemboweled were his shoes. Too tight for his monster feet and he fell over while trying to walk.
Which is when it got immeasurably worse.
Ms. Turley came in. She was munching on a tin of cannabis-laced popcorn, but what she saw was Vic. And she started screaming and pointing.
