Page 27 of The Tracker's Rage
Chapter 10
“Thank the witchlightsyour mom is okay,” Rosalina said when I got to the agency an hour later. I had gone to her condo to change from my sweats into a pair of black slacks with a matching jacket and blouse.
She was also wearing a different outfit, which was strange. “Did you change?” I asked.
“Um, yeah.” She glanced at her teal dress. “I spilled coffee on the other one and ran home real quick to put this on.”
Odd. She was a pro at getting out stains with some handy wipes she kept in her desk. It must have been the mother of all stains.
Rosalina had rescheduled our appointment with Aaron Blackridge and had held down the fort while I was gone, yet again. I smiled gratefully at her, wondering if her patience would run out soon. My life had gotten too complicated, and things were nothing like they had been when we got started. I had to get my act together. This wasn’t fair to her. Not at all.
She handed me a manila folder with Aaron’s name stamped on it, her fingers letting go of it a bit reluctantly.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “This is all my fault.”
“We have other customers lined up. It’ll be all right,” she said, sounding more chipper than she looked.
The door chimed and Aaron walked in. He wore a black T-shirt with a splash of color and musical notes scattered around. His skinny jeans were stuffed into shoes that looked like something I could wear in space. They were bright blue and really cool.
He greeted us with a smile, which quickly disappeared. “What’s this about? You got me a bit worried since you said it was important.”
“It is.” I extended a hand toward our small sitting area. He sat, and we took our positions across from him, the coffee table between us. “How is Josh?”
“He’s great. We’ve been getting to know each other, and all I can say is that... he’s perfect.” He beamed, his gaze sparkling with happiness.
I tried to smile, but instead, I felt like crying.
Aaron was perceptive enough and noticed my distress. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid I have some bad news to give you.”
He straightened, his jaw setting, the friendliness in his expression disappearing.
“After we introduced you to Josh, we found out that... he’s not well.”
His eyes danced around, betraying his confusion. He sputtered a laugh. “Not well? He’s a vampire. Vampires are always well.” Then he gasped, his eyes widening, as he seemed to realize something. “He’s... he’s taking rhabo.”
Rosalina pressed a hand to her chest as we exchanged a glance. I was surprised he’d figured it out so quickly.
“You know about rhabo then,” I said. “I just recently learned about it. If I had known that Josh’s health was compromised, I would have never...” I let the words hang and set the manila folder on the coffee table. “This is a full refund for our services. There is no apology we can offer to make this better. Please know that we don’t give this back as any sort of reparation—we know there is nothing that can undo the pain this will cause—but it does not feel right to take it.”
Aaron stared at the folder, tears pooling in his dark eyes. “It can’t be. He looks fine. He’s happy. We’re happy. You must be wrong.” He glanced up, a hint of hope etching his features.
“I don’t believe I am,” I said. “But he’s the only one who can let you know for sure.”
He swatted a tear from his face and swallowed audibly. “If he’s sick, I’ll move heaven and earth to make him better. He’ll be all right.”
