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  I nodded.

  “Well, hopefully Delgado’s on time. I don’t get the feeling that—what was her name?” Tuesday asked.

  “Yareli,” I said. “The water lady.”

  “I don’t get the impression she’ll wait.”

  The doorbell rang, and Levi went to answer it. He came in with Delgado on his heels.

  “My men are in the car, and I have my phone on, so they can hear everything. If you attempt to cross me, Deana Holliday—”

  Oh, now I was First Name Last Name? I’d bet my ass I wasn’t welcome in the harem at all anymore.

  “Then they shall hear it, and none of you will survive.” His voice was loaded with menace. “What happened to your face?”

  “I’m not the one who threatened people in the first place,” I said. “All I did was work for my client.” I shrugged. “You’re not in danger. My face was hurt when there was a gas explosion at my office. Come on, let’s go wait for her.”

  It was crowded on the canal landing. I sat down, crossing my legs. Looking up, I said, “You all might as well relax. She’ll be here, and you’ll be able to hear her better if you’re sitting.”

  Tuesday took a seat next to me, and Levi sat behind me.

  Delgado remained standing, looking at how they’d surrounded me. Then with a noise of disgust, he sat down on the other end of the landing. “You seem to experiencing a serious case of bad luck, Deana.”

  “Shit happens,” I said.

  He glared, about to say something, probably something shady and snarky, but I held up a hand.

  I could hear the slight splash down the canal. “Shhh,” I said. “She’s coming.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  I noticed that all three of the vampires leaned forward.

  The sounds of someone swimming got closer, and I felt my heart beat faster. Then before I expected it, she was at the landing and reaching up to touch my leg. The jolt I’d felt when she touched me last night raced through me, and I was filled with an exhilaration that things would be all right.

  I didn’t care if it was just a pick me up on her part, because it felt amazing.

  “I am here to offer witness to the death of a vampire on the beach half a moon cycle ago,” Yareli said. “Where are those who are to bear witness to me?”

  “I am here,” Delgado said.

  “And so are we,” Tuesday said.

  “There are three of you?” Yareli looked over all of us on the landing. Her eyes landed on me last, and I noticed that they were gleaming gold in the moonlight. I nodded.

  She lifted up her hand, and bit the fleshy side of it. “You may each have a few drops of my blood.” She offered it first to Tuesday, then Levi, and last to Delgado, swimming to get closer to him.

  “I shall tell you what I saw, Deana Holliday. I was close to the beach that night, out at the large point.”

  I assumed she meant Point Duma, and I nodded.

  “I became alarmed when I saw the woman with the flapping garment on the beach, because I could sense that she was not human. So I moved away. But then I saw something moving down the cliff, and I stopped to watch. Watching the world above the waves is a past time of mine. I never know what I might see,” she said, looking at me, and I knew she meant Caleb.

  I nodded again, not willing to interrupt.

  Next to me, all three of the vampires gasped. I looked at them. Their eyes were closed, and they all had varying expression of pleasure on their faces. If her touch affected me as it did, what would her blood do?

  “The figure from the cliffs came down to the beach. I swam in closer, and I could see then that he had a glow of one not of this world. Even hooded and covered, I could see him.”

  “What do you mean?” Delgado got out with difficulty.

  “He was not of the earth. He was not of the water. He came from the land of the dead, below the ground.”

  “Hell,” I said.

  “Yes, the land of the dead,” Yareli repeated. “He walked closer and closer to the woman, and she turned, surprised. He put his hands around her neck, and his glow brightened, a dark red, like the red around the moon at times.” She stopped.

  “She tried to fight, striking at him with her arms, and legs. But he was too strong, and as his glow brightened, her attempts to fight him off became smaller, weaker.”

  Levi gave a strangled sound behind me.

  “She fell to the sand, and the figure in the hood stood over her for a time, and then he walked a distance away from her, and he disappeared. That is what I saw, and this is my truth.” She stopped.

  There was silence all around me. Not even the water dared to take a breath.

  Then Levi spoke, leaning over the landing to look at Yareli. “I thank you for sharing how my mate was killed.”

  She inclined her head regally.

  “Do you concur now that you have an idea of the killer’s identity, and that Deana Holliday has fulfilled the agreement between you?” Tuesday’s voice cut through the evening like a knife.

  I resisted the urge to bitch about the use of the word agreement.

  Delgado didn’t answer right away. Shit. We were going to have to fight out way out.

  “He cannot deny my truth,” Yareli interjected. “Is what you saw as I described?” she asked Delgado.

  “You did not give me the name,” Delgado said.

  “There was no name to give. But I have allowed you to see that it was a demon who killed her,” I objected. I got up, letting my hands slip down to my pockets. The NoMo spray first—the fire tea bag would bring his men in here running. They were a little noisy.

  “You are very close to not upholding your word,” Levi said.

  Delgado looked at Levi, and in that look, I saw him judging whether continuing on would be worth the hassle. Then he looked away. “Deana Holliday, I agree that you have fulfilled our agreement,” Delgado said grudgingly, his teeth clicking as he shut his mouth tightly.

  Apparently not worth it. Now I had to resist the urge to laugh in his face. I knew—or at least, I had an idea—of how much it cost him to say that.

  “Then you need to leave,” Levi said. “Tuesday, let’s show Alfonso out, and reassure his men that all is well.” He got up, and he and Tuesday placed themselves between me and Delgado.

  The three of them left without another word. When I heard the door to the deck close, I leaned down to Yareli. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved me.”

  “You eased Caleb’s passing. I am grateful to you. I was pleased that Caleb told me there was something I could do to show my gratitude. We are now equal with one another.”

  “He’s all right?” I asked.

  She smiled, and in that smile, I saw the same look I’d seen on Caleb’s face as he walked into the water with her. “He is all right. He will see you again. Be well, Deana Holliday.”

  Then she slipped beneath the water, and I didn’t even hear a splash to announce her leaving.

  I sat on the landing for a long time, watching the moon on the water. Finally, I got up and went back to face whatever was waiting for me inside.

  When I came in, Tuesday and Levi were waiting for me.

  “Did you see everything she described?”

  “And then some,” Tuesday said. “Are you going to be okay, Levi?”

  He rubbed at his eyes, and I saw pink around them. “It was difficult seeing it, but I thank you for making it possible for me to see, Deana. A demon killed her. So her shorthand did mean demon. And that means Delgado knows something about the demons. Maybe even this one.”

  “Don’t go after him now,” I said.

  “I will not. But I will discover the connection, and if Delgado had anything to do with this, he will wish I killed him quickly.” The menace in Levi’s voice reverberated through the room.

  “You should go home,” Tuesday said. “Go and feed, and then go home.”

  His expression was shuttered and dark, but he nodded. “Thank you, to both of you.” He turned and lef
t.

  Tuesday looked at me. “What now?”

  “Do you need to feed?”

  “I should. But the mermaid’s blood,” her eyes took a dreamy look, “Was incredible. I feel I could walk in the sun now.”

  “She touched me. That’s what her touch feels like.”

  “I’ve never tasted anything like it before.” She stared off in the distance, her expression still dreamy. Then she snapped to me. “We will need to leave. Levi won’t rest until Delgado is either implicated or cleared. This is how wars begin.”

  “Christ, that wasn’t what I was trying to do,” I said.

  “It’s our way,” Tuesday shrugged. “You do not bear any responsibility for that. I think I will go and feed, and then when will we leave?”

  “Tonight. So we can get somewhere and get you a hidey hole before the sun comes up.”

  “I will be quick.” She zipped from the room and I heard the click of the door. We’d need to come to some sort of agreement about her feeding once we got to Bisbee. People couldn’t be dropping every seven days, or whatever her feeding schedule was. But that was under the heading of future business.

  I hitched up the trailer to Baby, and went through the house again. I’d miss it. But I didn’t have time to mourn just yet. Pulling up the map, I looked to see how far we could get if Tuesday was back in two hours.

  It would take us ten hours to get to Bisbee. So I chose a place right in the middle—Yuma, Arizona. I was taking the more rural route, and I booked two nights at a vacation rental in an RV park. The RV was dark, with good blackout curtains. I figured Tuesday and I could sleep all day, and then get up at night, and make our way to Bisbee. Two nights would cover us for however long we needed to be there. Then we’d be able to reach the house that Caleb had left me, and I figured I’d be able to find her somewhere. There had to be a cellar in that thing. It had the look.

  Tuesday was back in under an hour.

  “That was quick,” I said, feeling a little alarm.

  “I do not need to feed from one person only. I take a sip here, a sip there, and I move through a crowd quickly, so that no one notices.”

  I burst out laughing in relief.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I was thinking about how we had to have a conversation that you couldn’t be killing all over the place where we’re going. It’s a lot smaller than Los Angeles.”

  She gave me a dirty look. “There is no need to kill at all. It’s messy, and complicated.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think all your kind feel the same way.”

  “No, you’re right. Some are stuck in the past. But they are not the ones who last. Are we leaving? What else is there to do?”

  “Nothing. I’ve got everything packed, even your stuff. All we need to do is leave.”

  She looked at me, and then said, “You were preparing to do this no matter what?”

  I nodded.

  “Even before you had the proof from the mermaid?”

  A little more slowly, I nodded again.

  “You continue to surprise me, Deana.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  She laughed. “It is. Let’s go.”

  We drove away, and I looked in my rear view mirror. I’d miss it, but I felt a sense of excitement that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wondered what kind of pie I’d be called to bake once we got to Bisbee. I’d need to start keeping pie crusts in the freezer, just in case. Would it be a pie for everyone? Or just the person who started whatever it was I was going to be dealing with? It was something to think about.

  We drove through the night, occasionally talking. I finally mustered up the courage to ask Tuesday something that had been nagging at me. “What did Zachary say when you told him you wanted to leave?”

  “He did not release me from my ties to him,” she said. “But he agreed that my leaving Los Angeles could be good for me. When I told him I would be with you, I think that sealed his decision. He’s interested in you.”

  “Yeah, like a commodity.”

  “That’s true, but you’re aware of it. It doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Knowledge of something allows it to be used as a weapon.”

  “Tuesday, my knowledge of things nearly got me killed. More than once, probably.”

  “Yes, but that was before you understood. Now you do. I shall help you. You will not need to be at the mercy of men like Delgado again.”

  “I’d appreciate that,” I said honestly. “I am usually at the mercy of no one, and I don’t like it.”

  “Where did you get the bikes?” she asked, changing the subject.

  I sighed. Fair was fair, I supposed. I told her the whole long tale of Derek, and then my falling out with Kel, and how the bikes came to me.

  “He is a weak man,” she said.

  “I’d agree with you partly. But he did his best to make amends.”

  “If you say so. While the bikes are beautiful, I’m not sure they were worth the hassle.”

  “Oh, they were,” I said definitively. “They were.”

  She was silent, then asked, “Will you teach me to ride them?”

  “You don’t know how?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never had the chance. But I can see why you like it, and I’d like to learn.”

  “Sure,” I said, oddly pleased by her request. “I’m glad you decided to come with me.”

  “I thank you for asking me. Zachary was right. I needed to leave.”

  I smiled, and we didn’t talk anymore. We got to the RV camp around three, and I followed the instructions I’d gotten from the owner. When we came in, Tuesday looked around approvingly. “This is dark enough that I will be safe.”

  “That was my thought, too. Let’s get some sleep.”

  We shared the one bed, after making sure that the blackout curtains were tightly closed, and snapped down.

  “You’re not worried to be sharing a space with me?” Tuesday asked.

  “Where else would you sleep? On the floor? In the bathroom?”

  “I have my sleeping bag,” she said.

  “No, I’m not scared,” I said.

  I couldn’t read the expression on Tuesday’s face, but I lay down in bed, rolling over. I had the NoMo spray under my pillow, just in case. I didn’t know if vampires dreamed, or if they were completely still, but just in case, it was there.

  I woke first, and it was late in the day. I got up, and went out into the front of the RV, making sure to close the door behind me so no light would get in. I showered, and made some coffee. I hadn’t even thought of bringing food, but I figured once Tuesday was up, we could stop somewhere along the way and roll through a drive through. Now all I wanted was to get to Bisbee.

  What would I do there? I wanted to open another business, to have roots in the place, so I looked like I had a reason to be there. A thought came to me, and I pulled out my laptop.

  There was an email from Ken Bateman, informing me the insurance company would be issuing me a check for the loss of my business. He also said that any other business I chose to insure with them would require a few extra steps, now that they’d had to pay out. I wrote back and asked him if we could do a direct deposit. That would solve me having to offer any more information. I also told him I was considering my options, which included relocating outside of LA, since I was understandably nervous after the accident.

  Then I turned my attention to my original thought, and as I looked at options, and then, placed an order, and asked for it to be rushed, I found that I was smiling from ear to ear.

  It was dark when Tuesday came out. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “Just about. What do you need to do?”

  “Nothing. We can leave when you wish to.”

  I gathered up my things, emailed the owner to let him know we were leaving, and within twenty minutes, we were on the road. We’d been driving for about an hour when my mom’s ringtone sounded through the car.

  “Hey,” I said.

  �
�Oh, my goddess, Deana, are you all right?”

  “What do you mean, Mom?”

  “I just got a call from the police,” she said, and then she burst into tears.

  “Mom, what happened? What’s going on?”

  I heard some shuffling, and then the phone clicked.

  “Deana, you’re on speaker.” It was Daniella.

  “Hang on, I think I need to pull over,” I said. I handed the phone to Tuesday, and pulled off to the side of the road. I hooked the phone into its holder, and hit the speaker button. “Okay, I’m back. What’s happened?”

  “The house in Venice is gone,” Gran said. I could tell she’d been crying. “The police called, and told us it was on fire, and it burned to the ground.”

  “What?” I whispered.

  Tuesday was about to say something, but I put my hand on her arm to stop her.

  “How?” I asked.

  “They don’t know,” Gran said. “They told us they couldn’t tell if anyone was in there. Dee told us about your call the other day, but she didn’t know the details. Are you all right?”

  “That utter bastard,” I said.

  “Who?” It sounded like all five of them shouted.

  “Alfonso Delgado. This is his doing. I’d bet Baby on it.”

  “You’re that sure?” Mom said.

  “Who is Baby?” Desdemona asked.

  “My car,” I said. “My wonderful car, which was not in the house when it blew up. No, I’m not there. I am on the road, and I’ll let you know where I am a little later.”

  “Are you on the run?” Deirdre asked.

  I was pleased to see that she grasped the situation immediately. “Apparently so. I thought it would be a good idea to get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak, since I thwarted the plans of Delgado, but now he’s upped the stakes.”

  “You know,” Desdemona said. “We might be able to buy you some time.”

  “How?” Mom and Gran asked together.

  “Now that we know you’re safe, you get to wherever. We’ll call you back when we have some idea of whether this can work,” Desdemona said. “Stay safe, Deana.”

  “Love you,” I said.

  “Love you,” came a chorus through the phone.