Hard Bitten - Chloe Neill [44]
“On it,” Jonah said, stepping back to the road to scan for passing cabs. It was late, but we were still within a couple of blocks of Michigan, so it wasn’t completely unlikely that we’d find one.
As he moved away, I looked down at Sarah again. “Sarah, how did you find out about the party?”
She blushed and looked away.
“It would really help us if you could tell me. It might help us put a stop to these parties.”
She sighed, then nodded. “My girlfriend and I were out at a bar—one of those vampire bars? We met a guy there.”
“Do you know which vampire bar?”
“Temple?”
My stomach sank. That was the Cadogan bar. “Go on.”
“So, I went outside to get some fresh air—there were a lot of people in there—and there was a guy outside. He said a party was happening and we’d have a good time. My friend, Brit, didn’t want to go, but I wanted to, you know, see what it was about.”
So Sarah had gotten info about the rave at Temple Bar, and Jonah had found the phone at Benson’s. That meant the folks who frequented the bars also knew about the raves. Ethan was going to be pissed about that one.
“The guy you talked to—what did he look like?”
“Oh, um, he was kinda short. Older. Dark hair. Kind of grizzled-looking? And there was a girl with him. I remember because she had on this, like, gigantic hat, so I couldn’t see her face. Oh, but when I was walking back inside, he called her name. It was kind of old-fashioned, like Mary or Martha. . . .” Sarah squeezed her eyes closed as she tried to remember.
My heart thudded in anticipation. “Was it Marie?”
Her eyes popped open again. “Yeah! It was Marie. How did you know?”
“Lucky guess,” I said. I may not have known a particularly short man, but I knew a vamp with a predilection for causing trouble. And once upon a time, she had been known as Marie.
Before I could ask a follow-up question, Sarah grimaced.
“Are you okay?”
“Just a headache. There was something weird in their air, I think.”
Excellent segue to my next question. “Did you take anything while you were there? Maybe a drink someone handed you?”
She shook her head. “You’re asking about drugs, but I don’t do drugs. And I know not to drink anything I didn’t pour myself. But I did see this. Another girl—a human—handed it to me.”
She pulled a small paper envelope, the kind that might hold a gift tag, from her pocket. It was white, and there was a V inscribed on the front. I stuffed it into my pocket for later. And then I asked a question that made me hate myself a little bit, but it had to be asked. The stakes were too high.
I had to know if she posed a risk to Cadogan.
“Sarah, are you thinking about going to the police?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, God, no. I shouldn’t have gone to the party, and if my parents found out, if my boyfriend found out, they would freak. Besides,” she shyly added, “if I called the cops, you’d get in trouble, too, right? You’re a vampire, too, but you helped me.”
I nodded, relief in my chest. “I am a vampire,” I confirmed. “My name’s Merit.”
She smiled a little. “Merit. I like that. It kind of describes you. Like you were always meant to be good, you know?”
This time, I was the one sniffing back a sudden errant tear.
The clack of a car door opening pulled my gaze to the street. Jonah stood beside a black and white cab, door open. “Let’s get you home.”
Sarah nodded. She still wobbled on her feet, but we made it the dozen or so feet to the cab. At the door, she turned back and smiled at me.
“Will you be okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “I will. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry they made you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s forgotten. But I won’t forget this,” she said, “not what you did tonight.”
When the door closed, we watched the cab pull away.
Jonah glanced back at me, and then at the eastern sky. “Dawn will be here soon,” he said. “We should get home.” He gestured down the street. “I actually parked pretty close. You want a ride back to your car?”
“That would be great,