Fall of Night The Morganville Vampires - By Rachel Caine Page 0,33
after the movers and went back upstairs to stack boxes in order of priority unpacking. She texted Dr Anderson to tell her the device was safe, and Anderson quickly got back to her to order her to wait at home. Apparently, she was sending reinforcements.
Claire spent the time waiting checking the windows for any signs of tampering. Nothing. All was secure, or as secure as it could be. She was unpacking winter clothing from the last box when she finally got a phone call to her cell – not from Dr Anderson, but from a number she didn’t recognise.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, Claire. You don’t know me, but don’t hang up. Irene Anderson asked me to drop in and take you to her lab. My name is Jesse.’ She sounded calm and relaxed, and had a slightly exotic accent, something that vaguely reminded her of the Deep South, but it was well concealed. ‘My friend Pete and I will be there around six.’
‘That’s late,’ Claire said, surprised. ‘I thought she wanted me to get it to her as soon as possible.’
‘Day jobs, they do throw a crimp in your social life,’ Jesse said, and chuckled. It was a warm rumble of a sound, and despite her current on-alert-for-trouble attitude, she found herself liking the other girl for it. ‘Coming as fast as we can. Oh, and she said you might be a little trigger happy, so please, don’t shoot. We come in peace, and I’d rather not go in pieces.’
‘I promise to ask questions first,’ Claire said. Jesse laughed again, and hung up.
And she did ask questions. She called Dr Anderson, who confirmed straight away that Jesse and Pete were known to her. Claire hadn’t really doubted it, but she was still worried about Derrick; it seemed unlikely he knew about Dr Anderson and the escort she’d ordered up, but just now, paranoia was an advantage.
She spent the spare few hours studying, surfing the ’net, and wondering – worrying – about where Shane was, and what he was doing. She’d had an e-mail, she saw – not a video this time, just plain text, telling her that he had a new phone number, and giving it to her. She memorised it and put it into her phone and logged it in her computer in her private phone list – her usual triple backup plan – and was considering calling him (just to be sure the number was right, of course).
Just as she hovered her finger over his name in the address book, though, she heard a loud knock on the door. Her gaze jerked up. It was – surprisingly – six o’clock, and they were right on time.
She still checked the peephole before she began clicking back the locks. Not Derrick, for sure; a boy and girl, both a little older than she was. The girl was the one who drew the attention first, because she was tall, well built, and had fiery red hair that fell in shining waves almost to her waist. She was also – like Eve – Goth style, with lots of black eyeliner, pale make-up, and unnaturally coloured lips. Skulls and leather featured heavily in her outfit.
Claire eased the door open just a bit and said, ‘Jesse and Pete?’
Jesse smiled and slid a thumb toward her short, easily overlooked friend. He was built like a bulldog, but he had a pleasant face, and he gave her a weary smile and wave. ‘Pete. I’m Jesse,’ the redhead said. ‘So. We’re taking you to Dr Anderson, right? Let’s get going. Got places to be, yo.’
‘Let me get my bag,’ Claire said. ‘Come in.’
Pete and Jesse shook their heads, almost in unison. ‘Got to keep an eye on the car,’ Pete said. ‘This neighbourhood, we’ll get ticketed if we don’t stay right here.’
‘Oh.’ Claire hadn’t thought of that; there was a car sitting down at the kerb, shiny and dark blue. It had tinting and what looked like death metal decals – Jesse’s ride, probably. ‘I just need to lock this door, that’s all.’ Because she had a horror now of leaving it open, even though she didn’t think Jesse and Pete would let Derrick slip inside while she was gone.
‘I’ll go in, and Jesse can stay out here and guard the car,’ Pete offered. ‘Is this thing you’ve got heavy?’
‘A little,’ Claire said. ‘It’s not bad.’
Jesse patted Pete’s shoulder. ‘Let my man here carry it, he loves showing off his muscles for the ladies.’