Chapter Twenty

As I expected, Thirteen picked us up and led us to a plain white van.

“Mmm, smell the fresh smog,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, Country Girl. Get your crap in here before one of those taxis tries to push us out of the way.” He looked good, as always, dressed in a plain white tee and shorts. Blending in with the locals.

July in Southern California was hideously hot, but at least the humidity was low today. Though, I felt like my skin was cooking the second sunlight touched it.

“Better bathe in SPF 100 while you’re here, kid, or you’ll look like a charcoal briquette.” He moved the van into traffic.

“Since when do we work during the day?” I asked from the passenger seat.

“Since this is a city full of the undead.”

“Is it only you here?”

“More or less.” What did he mean?

That was a yes or no question.

“Why did you request me? I’m sure you can handle the job alone.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I need two more hands and you were available. Thornhill can stop glaring at me. This is nothing dangerous.”

“See?” I said. “She’s been overprotective since that old vamp found me in the woods.”

“I am right here!” Amelia said from the back. “And for good reason, Seven, as you had yet to be properly trained. As for this city, I see no reason to waste our limited resources on a futile mission.”

“Futile?” I asked.

“We can’t bug the premises because the vampires hear the electronic noise, so across the street is as close as we can get and is entirely pointless for ascertaining any of Juliet’s plans. Ergo, futile.”

“For listening devices, yes,” Thirteen said. “Video—no. They leave the cameras alone.”

“Is that what I’m here for? Setting up more cameras?” Boring.

He didn’t need me for that.

“Let’s save the briefing for the safe house.” He turned up the radio.

Amelia’s sour expression could curdle milk.

There had been tension between her and Thirteen since St. George and obviously they hadn’t worked it out, yet. This must be what it’s like to be stuck between divorced parents.

No thank you.

Weren’t we professionals? Adults?

Like most of The Agency’s safe houses, a clergyman lived there. A vampire in the Red family would—and could—never set foot in it. Lucky for him, the Golds avoided L.A. This particular house was a Victorian near Downtown.

The van parked under a carport and Thirteen led us inside through a side door.

“What is the plan?” Amelia asked.

“Bedrooms are upstairs. You’ll be sharing a bathroom,” he said.

“That is not an answer to my question, Agent Thirteen. Why was Agent Seven assigned here? Surely a professional with your record does not need her help.”

He sighed. “Sometimes four hands are better than two, and for the record, I asked for her, not you. Yeah, I know, protocol says you’re a package deal, but this is a two-man mission and Seven might as well get acquainted with the city. She’ll rotate through like anyone else.”

“I’ll be upstairs whenever you two are done arguing like I’m not here.” Carried my luggage up and picked the first empty room.

Geesh.

Mental note: mail Mama a postcard before I leave.

Amelia and I had been workin’ in the US so far and I’d sent a note from each place we stopped. Never said much, ‘cause I didn’t want to lie to her, but I wanted her to know I was okay. Spending so much time away from home was never my life plan, after all.

Being away had softened my accent. Sometimes, I didn’t recognize my own voice, especially with a new vocabulary of international slang and supernatural terms. Amelia spent the first six months of my training blurting out corrections to my Oklahoma pronunciation.

Footsteps on the wood stairs.

“Settling in?” Thirteen.

He braced one arm on the doorframe, which popped his bicep. Man had yummy arms.

My stomach flip-flopped. “Where’s Amelia?”

When would I be immune to him?

“Out for some air.”

Keep unpacking, Della. “Have you two always clashed? I don’t want you arguin’ over me still. I’m an Agent now.”

He sat on the bed, watching me putter around. “It’s about you when I think she’s being overprotective, or otherwise not serving you the best. She’s a first time Guide, did you know that?”

A glance over my shoulder. “Really? But—”

“Oh, she’s been working with recruits for a while, but you’re Amelia’s first one-on-one assignment, and she needs to learn not everything can go by the book.”

That explained a lot now, her rigidness and grasping for control.

“Adapt or die.”

A small grin. “You remember.”

“I remember everything you’ve taught me. Was I your first student, too?”

“Nah. You’re not that special, kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, either.”

He met my eyes. “No. You’re not.” Then stood. “I’ll order a pizza and we’ll go over why we’re in this town.”

“No pepperoni.”

“Really?” His eyebrow shot up. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It gives me indigestion.”

Shaking his head, he went downstairs, muttering, “Women…”

Settled everything where I wanted it, then washed my hands. By the time I came downstairs, Thirteen had set a big pizza box on the kitchen table.

“Hope you don’t have anything against mushrooms.”

“Nope.” I lifted the lid. He’d ordered a large with half pepperoni and sausage, half mushroom and ground beef. Worked for me. He set down a stack of paper plates and paper towels. I loaded two slices on a plate. “Maybe we should wait for Amelia.”

“And let this pie get cold? I only eat cold pizza for breakfast. Sit and eat.”

I sat and closed my eyes for a three-second grace.

Took a bite of cheesy goodness and mmm. Golly, I’d missed pizza.

“So where does Juliet live?”

He swallowed before replying. “Gated property on a hill. In her eyes, she’s queen of the realm, so she lives like it. It’s a secure location.”

“Does she ever leave the place?”

“Good question.” He was going to make me figure it out.

“Watching and waiting could take months, years, to see anything relevant.” And we already knew we couldn’t bug the place.

“Yep.”

“You’re going to point cameras at the door?”

A smirk. “Something like that.”

“Then why am I here? That doesn’t require two people.”

The smirk deepened, then. “It does when one of them needs to go up a telephone pole.”

Yay. “You could find someone closer if all you need is a lookout.”

“Sayin’ you don’t want to work with me, Seven?”

My cheeks warmed at his teasing. “Of course not. Only being practical, sir.”

“Don’t ‘sir’ me, kid, I work for a living.”

“You got that from a movie.”

I think…

He eye-rolled. “Back to point, I need more than a lookout, and this kind of work will be good experience for you.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

Amelia walked in, and frowned. In her eyes, pizza was junk food and junk food was not proper nutrition for an agent.

Hadn’t hurt me none, or Thirteen. The man always had serious abs.

“What have I missed?”

“Nothing much,” he said.

She sighed and went to the refrigerator. I should’ve told him to order a salad for her. She didn’t eat with us, heading upstairs with her luggage instead.

“This is going to be a long couple of days if you two can’t get along.”

He chewed. “Not my problem she has a stick up her ass.”

“Well, I’m in the middle of all this lovely tension and it sucks.”

“Don’t worry…we’ll be out of the house tomorrow.” He wiped his hands with a paper towel, put the last slice of his half in a Ziploc baggie, and tossed it in the fridge.

“Doing what?” I started on my fourth slice.

Being an Agent meant our bodies ran at Olympic-level efficiency and required a lot of calories. My body looked like a cross between an MMA fighter and college gymnast.

“Posing as LADWP.”

“Wha’?”

“Department of Water and Power.”

I swallowed to speak. “That’s why you’ve got the white van.”

A nod. “We need to put the decals on it tonight.” He sat again, legs akimbo. “You’ll find a uniform in your closet. Everything else is taken care of, so just follow my lead.”

“You’re supposed to use a bucket lift to work on a telephone pole.”

“Only on streets where that truck would fit.”

“Working on a pole is a solo job.”

He coughed, stifling a laugh.

“What?”

Smiling, he said, “Nothing. You don’t want to be here? I’m hurt.”

I tossed a balled-up napkin at him. “Ha, ha. I just don’t see a need for me here. There’s a whole lot more of them than us and it’s a big globe, so I’m still wondering why you requested me.”

He stood from the table. “You think too much, kid.” Grabbed a bottle from the fridge. “Hurry up and finish stuffing your face so we can get this decal on.”

“I’m not a kid!” I called after his retreating back.

Hmph.

Thirteen had been a hard instructor at times, but we’d also bonded—at least it felt that way to me. He trusted me. He was my first crush, the first guy to make me feel swoony from a smile or the slightest bit of praise. Taught me a lot.

Did he visit home when work sent him to L.A.? I didn’t know much about his life before. He was from Malibu and his parents were killed by a vampire while out on a dinner date. Everything else was a mystery, relationships between Agents were strictly forbidden, and our Guides were always the same gender as the Agent.

Two Agents in the same city was uncommon and more an extreme rarity, but our ranks were thin, so I didn’t know if that was by order or necessity.

Cleaned up after supper, then found him in a garage, loading the van with tomorrow’s equipment. “Hey.”

“The decals roll on and peel off and it takes two people to place the big ones on the sides of the van.” He dusted off his hands on his shorts and grabbed some large paper tubes. “And we don’t want air bubbles.”

“Right.”

I got to hold the rolled end while he smoothed the decal on the white metal. He was so meticulous in making sure it was perfectly smooth that even my enhanced arms were burning from maintaining his required tension. And we still had to do the other side, too. This really should be done with three people, but I didn’t want the bickering to start again.

“Is this trip strictly business, or do you have time to show me ‘round your home turf?” I shook my arms out between decals.

“The Agency doesn’t send you to be a tourist.”

Duh. “I know that. But you went surfing in Australia, so you can’t tell me there’s no downtime. Oklahoma would’ve been my home forever without this vampire nonsense and Amelia doesn’t take her eyes off me when it’s the two of us, so…”

He pulled the decal out of its tube. “Save the big green eyes routine for your dad.”

“Haven’t seen him since I was five.”

Why did he always forget that?

“Sorry.”

Sigh. “It is what it is. Why don’t you hold the roll and I smooth it on?”

“Because I outrank you.” Grinning, annoying...

“Jerk.”

“One day, you’ll boss around the newbies, too.”

My arms were noodles after this round and I left him to slap the door decals on. I needed water, a shower, and a bedtime snack, not necessarily in that order.

Amelia’s door opened when I topped the stairs. “Has he shared the mission with you?”

“Enough. You really don’t need to stay. I’m a literal extra pair of hands.”

She straightened to her full height. “It’s my duty to be by your side, Seven.”

“When I don’t have another Agent here, yeah. All I’m sayin’ is there’s nothing for you to do on this mission. Visit your family or something.”

Guides didn’t have the same rules Agents did. For them, being part of The Agency was an inherited legacy, generation after generation expected to serve in some capacity, mostly at Sacra Aedes. And Amelia wanted to make her parents proud.

Her lips flattened into a line of disapproval. “Is this you or Agent Thirteen talking?”

“Me being practical, like always. If you won’t leave L.A., at least get out of the house and do somethin’ for yourself while we’re gone, okay?”

“I’ll consider it.”

“All I ask. ‘Night.”

Walked into my room and shut the door. Needed to collect my soap and towel before checking into the hall bathroom.

The bath had a baby blue pedestal sink and a curtain around a claw-foot tub. Obviously not updated in a while. Only needed to be serviceable, though. Brushing the curtain aside revealed a shower head. I turned the taps and waited for heat.

Washed my hair this morning, so it went into a bun on top of my head.

Hot water on my shoulders felt like heaven. Don’t know how long I stood with the spray rejuvenating my muscles before I decided to finish up before I fell asleep. Soaped and rinsed my armpits and closed the taps. The towel from home helped my homesickness a fraction.

Last time in Guthrie, I stole little things that would fit in my luggage, things Mama wouldn’t miss that would help my heart hurt a tiny bit less. All of this was for her, after all. The Agency was paying the bills for her chronic medical care in exchange for my service.

Dressed in my sleep shorts and tank, I opened the door to Thirteen in the hall. His eyes flicked down and up, his expression unreadable.

“Were you waiting for the bathroom?”

“Passing through.” He continued to the door at the end.

I went into my room, stuffed the dirty stuff in a laundry bag, let my hair down, and got into bed. Sleeping in strange places had gotten easier since my early days as a recruit.

Two quick knocks on my door.

The sun was up, but by the light, it was early.

A glance at the clock said seven.

Shuffled across the hall to splash water on my face and pee, then pulled on clothes and went downstairs in search of food.

Thirteen stood at the sink eating cold pizza, his eyes on the backyard. No shirt, only a pair of low-riding shorts.

Geeze.

Two small dimples in his low back right above the waistband.

My belly fluttered and I turned to the fridge, opening the door in a hopeful search for milk. The clergyman had stocked well. I could even cook tonight if I chose.

Hadn’t cooked since home.

“Mornin’,” Thirteen said, mouth full.

“Swallow before you talk, barbarian.” Bowl of cereal. Sliced bananas on top.

“Such a girl.”

“No, a human raised with manners. Which I’m sure you were, too, Rich Boy.”

He tossed the crust end in the trash can, then took a long swig from a mug of coffee. “Put on the uniform after you’re done. We want to be up the hill before the heat is the worst.”

“Sure, Coach.”

“Thirteen will suffice.”

He leaned his butt into the cabinets so the front of him was on display, instead. His chest was bare, but the morning light revealed a line of fine pale blond hairs heading downward where I couldn’t look.

“Yeah, but it’s not a number that produces a nickname. I ain’t that formal.”

His hair was longer than the last time I saw him at HQ. Hadn’t noticed yesterday because it was brushed back, but now it flopped around his forehead in an all-too-charming way.

Since when was I into the surfer dude look? I liked clean-cut church boys with a little dirt under their nails from hard work, not blond and tan and half-naked—

Boys. That’s the problem.

A man stood in the kitchen. My eighteen-year-old hormones stood no chance.

Geeze, these couple days were going to be torture.

Control, Della, control.

“Gonna tell me what we’re doin’ today or wait until we get there?” Professional questions, eyes on my bowl.

“Impatient.”

I shrugged. Kept eating. He’d answer if he wanted to and only if.

“We’re DWP making a service call.” He refilled the mug and left the kitchen, then his feet were on the creaky stairs.

Sighed with relief, then took my time chewing breakfast instead of wolfing it down.

Amelia entered the room dressed in her usual blouse and trousers. She picked up the empty carafe and made a noise of disgust. “Ingrate,” she muttered.

“Say somethin’?”

“No,” and proceeded to make more coffee. Amelia lived on coffee away from HQ. She took one glance at my Fruity Pebbles and sighed. “Starting with a nutritious breakfast, I see.”

“I sliced a banana on top.”

Bread went into the toaster. Her only luxury was traveling with breakfast spreads from England. She always ate alone in her room before joining me for work.

I finished and told her I was leaving soon while I washed the bowl and spoon.

“Well, at least he’s on mission at a sensible hour.”

“Enough with the tension. I don’t know why you dislike him and I don’t care, but I don’t want this beef between you gettin’ in my way.”

“As you wish.” The toast popped up and she left the kitchen.

I followed upstairs once I heard her door, bumping into him on the way.

He was dressed in the costume.

“Just be a minute.” Slipped into my room and hurriedly changed into the uniform.

Amelia hadn’t reappeared by the time I joined him in the garage and he didn’t wait.