Wanted: Undead or Alive

Surrender

At eight o'clock on the dot, Nick knocked on my door. I opened it to find him in slim-cut black dress slacks, a white button down, and a black and gold corset vest. His gaze roamed down the length of my body and back up again. I'd chosen a pink leather bustier that bared my shoulders and midriff but held my bosoms high and secure. It matched my hair, perfectly. I paired it with black leather pants that had deep pockets and wide cuffs—great for stashing multiple weapons and tools—and a pair of chunky black boots with block heels. Stilettos were no good for chasing bad guys. Combat boots killed the vibe. Because it made me feel sexy as hell, I added a gold waist chain and a few bajillion bangle bracelets. My hair was piled high in a twist on top of my head. It was harder for anyone to grab in a fight that way.

Nick's right brow ticked upward. His Adam's apple bobbed. "We should go."

Could it be that I imagined the implication? We should go. We could stay.

Thinking of the officers lurking nearby, I told Nick to come inside. "Just give me one second." I collected my wallet, a pair of golden warded handcuffs, and my house key and jammed them into my pockets before returning to him. "Let's catch a killer."

Nick's gaze rested on the trash can beside my kitchen counter. "Was it one of Hawwa's?"

I looked down at the pomegranate rind. "Yeah."

"You ate it? Today?"

"Not me. Mandrake."

He continued to stare at my garbage long enough that I started to feel weird about it.

"It's just fruit, right?"

Seeming to shake himself out of a daze, he finally looked up at me. "Sure. It could be."

Well, golly, that was convincing. "I have another." I gestured to the bowl.

Nick said nothing.

"It's pretty old. Probably, I should throw it away."

"It looks fine to me," he said.

"So, you think I should eat it?"

"We should go." He stepped aside and motioned for me to lead the way. I would have protested, but then he told me I looked absolutely breathtaking and I didn't much care about the fruit anymore. I felt his eyes on me all the way to the car, and I didn't hate it at all.

***

Nick parked at the curb outside of a place I'd noticed in the past but never had the nerve to go to. Flashing neon signs advertised drag queens, hamburgers, and craft beer.

"Are Moose and Price behind us?" I peeked in the side mirror but couldn't make any sense of the mix of headlights and brake lights flashing by.

"And a dozen others."

"Where?"

"No idea, but they're there. I can feel them."

I turned to study him, trying to figure out if he meant that literally.

With a small, amused shake of his head, he handed me an earbud. "Keep that in. They can hear everything you say. You can hear what they want you to."

"Got it."

He slipped out of the car and came around to open my door for me. When I took his hand and stepped down, he said, "You truly are a vision tonight."

I blushed from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. "Honestly? You, too. You look amazing."

"We're going to need you two to focus," Moose said in my ear.

Grinning, Nick tucked my hand in the crook of his arm and escorted me past a bouncer the size of Godzilla and into the club.