Page 51 of The Tracker's Revenge
Chapter 17
Em had a small scooter—aVespa, she’d said, which explained her hat hair since she probably wore a helmet—which she’d parked around the corner and would not accommodate the both of us, so we rode to the police station in my Camaro.
Before driving off, I called him to make sure he was in. He was and promised to wait for us to talk for a few minutes. Apparently, there had been an altercation between werewolves and vampires in The Scourge—a commercial district reserved for Skews—and he needed to head there with his partner to interview potential witnesses.
When we walked into his office, Tom looked up from his paperwork, a white, perfect smile flashing on his kind face.
“Toni, it’s good to see you. Come in. Take a seat.”
He rose from his chair like a perfect gentleman and stayed on his feet until we sat. He nodded at Em in greeting.
“What brings you here today? Have you uncovered more... exciting things?”
I shrugged. There were a few things I hadn’t told him since our last meeting, more importantly, the events that had transpired at the coven temple, but the lines of what I should share with him and what I shouldn’t were starting to blur.
We had killed several vampires, and even thoughtheyhad practically killed an entire pack, I doubted Tom would take kindly to vigilantism. No one was supposed to take the law into their own hands. No one was supposed to leave a crime scene or use magic to scrub all the evidence away.
The Enright Massacre, the news had called it, because the temple was located on Enright Ave. The details had been scant, no mention of what the police knew or didn’t know. I wondered what they had made of it. I felt bad for keeping things from Tom, but it wasn’t only me I was protecting. Eric, Jake, and Rosalina had been there, too.
I shook those thoughts away and focused on what I was here for, instead.
“There is something,” I said. “Um, it relates to Damien Ward.”
“Oh.” Tom scrubbed his goatee.
Tom and his partner had taken Rosalina’s and my statement after the mage died right on the floor of our agency. That was when we’d started lying to Tom, telling him we had no idea why someone had attacked Damien and that the only reason the mage had been there was to pick up Rosalina to go out on a date.
I had a feeling Tom didn’t believe us. His narrowed eyes and detailed questions seemed to be aimed at tripping us up. But, we had managed to keep our story straight, and in the end, he gave up.
“Well, um,” I continued so eloquently, “he had a daughter. Her name was Liliana Ward. They were estranged, and Damien had told us she was sick. I went to visit her to tell her that Damien died. I thought she deserved to know. But when we got there, there was... a creature there.” God, I hated to lie further, but I had to.
Tom leaned forward. “A creature? What kind?” His dark gaze paused on Em for an instant.
“I don’t know what kind? But it wasn’t a regular Skew. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
I could feel my stomach churning. I wriggled in my seat and thumbed the hem of my jacket. Lying to someone you love was a bitch. But what else could I do? I couldn’t tell him about the Unholy Vessel, and the monsters it was capable of creating. It would lead to too many questions. Questions that involved my friends and the Pack Rule.
Tom rested his elbows on the desk. “So... you mean a new kind of Skew?”
Em’s eyes went from Tom to me, but she didn’t interrupt.
I opened my mouth to answer, to sayyes, but I realized, in time, that this could be a trick question. Tom was smart. I had to tread carefully. Besides, why would he ask that? Why would he think there was a new kind of Skew running around unless he knew something?
“I’m no Skew expert,” I said with a shrug. “All I know is that I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tom huffed and reclined back in his chair. “So then what happened? After you got there?”
“The creature was angry and had a hold of her,” I continued. “We tried to calm it down, but it...” Images of Liliana’s ravaged body flashed before my eyes, upsetting my stomach further.
“Take your time, kiddo,” Tom said kindly.
