left the room, promising to go down the hall where he couldn’t overhear, and I called Maven.
“Lex? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Quinn is on the line too.”
I exhaled. “Hey, Quinn.”
“Hi.” His voice was tight, but he was trying to keep it together. “What happened?”
“I was careless.”
I told them everything: the cemetery, the blood tribute, getting shot, getting saved by another vampire, the injuries. I didn’t use Cole’s name or say that it had been Maven’s spy, but they probably inferred it.
Quinn wanted me to come home, but I explained the deal I’d cut with Beau.
There was a long pause, and then Maven said cautiously, “You’re sure you want to do that?”
“Yes.”
“She needs help,” Quinn said, and I knew he wasn’t talking to me. “I should be there.”
“You know very well that you can’t,” came Maven’s calm voice. Into the phone, she said, “Lex, I will send someone to watch your back. Let me ask around.”
I hadn’t realized how tense I was until my shoulders relaxed. Maven would send someone I trusted. I wouldn’t be alone here. “Thank you.”
“As soon as we hang up, I’ll call Beau and formalize this deal,” she said, her voice hardening a little. “Before I waive the oath, I’m going to get all of this in writing.”
“Sounds good.” I suddenly felt exhausted. It was only ten o’clock, but now that my plan for the immediate future was settled, the lack of sleep and the painkillers were hitting me all at once.
“I’m also going to tell him that you are taking the rest of tonight and tomorrow morning off, and that under no circumstances is he to require your presence before your help arrives,” she said sharply. “I’ll try to have someone there by the afternoon.”
I yawned, trying to keep from making any sounds they’d hear over the phone. “All right,” I said.
“Get some rest.”
Chapter 19
When Beau came back into the room a little later, he handed me a plastic shopping bag. I peeked inside and saw the Sig Sauer, which Beau had held on to while I was being treated, a new T-shirt and hoodie from the hospital gift shop, and a plain white mailing envelope. I put the bag on my lap so I could open the envelope. It was full of cash.
The shirt made sense—blood had dripped all over my own top—but I looked at the money in confusion. “Uh . . .”
“For a hotel room,” Beau said. “And clothes, toiletries, whatever you need for tonight. Maven said she was sending someone to help, but I don’t want you going back to your hotel. Take a cab to a new one.”
I blinked. That was a little paranoid, but I kind of liked it. “I’ll stay somewhere else, but can someone bring me my things? Maybe that guy from before . . . Cole, right? I’m pretty confident that he’s not trying to kill me.”
Beau thought that over for a moment, but even without knowing that Cole was Maven’s spy, he could see the logic. If the trumpet player wanted me dead, he wouldn’t have stuck his neck out to save me.
“All right,” Beau agreed. “If he’s willing, I’ll ask him to go to your old hotel, get your things, and meet you wherever you’d like. Are you okay with that?”
I actually opened my mouth to ask how Cole would get into my hotel room, which goes to show why I shouldn’t do serious painkillers. Vampire. Duh. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
Beau nodded. “That’s settled then. Keep the cash anyway, you’ll need a replacement phone. Tomorrow, whenever your friend arrives, call either Maya or me and we can resume the inquiry. Until then . . .” He paused, then shrugged and gave me a tired smile. “Please be careful. If you do get killed, Maven will probably have me murdered.”
If I got killed, I thought, Maven wasn’t necessarily the one he’d have to worry about.
I was allowed to check out of the hospital a little later, after I’d promised to follow up with a doctor in a few days. I took a cab to a twenty-four-hour pharmacy to pick up a new burner phone and some over-the-counter painkillers, got Quinn to forward my calls again, and found an all-night diner for some eggs and toast. I hadn’t eaten much that day.
I couldn’t use my left hand to eat, since it was still wrapped up with two chemical ice packs from the hospital. It took a frustratingly long time to eat with my nondominant hand. As I was