throat. "Covey? What are you talking about?"
"Keep up, Evan. The people behind this. My death. The threats against your family to keep you in line. You didn't think these were the actions of one rogue vampire, did you?"
"You're talking about your political conspiracy theory again."
I hissed in frustration. "I'm telling you, these people have their hooks in your boss. Commissioner Alvarez is as dirty as they are. His head of security is a freaking volcanic elemental."
"Tyson Roderick was fired after the fiasco at the house."
Fired? I didn't know elementals could be fired. I did know they were damned hard to kill. Tyson was taken out twice, but it hadn't stuck.
"They're just covering their tracks, Evan. What about his chief of staff?"
"You mean Kita."
"Yes. Kita Mariko. She was part of that backyard brawl too. She's an animist, man."
"She's Emily's half sister," he spat.
I paused. There was the rub. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the bent photograph of Emily. "You know about that?"
"I... I found out. I didn't lie to you, Cisco."
I figured as much. When I'd first set my sights on Kita, Evan told me she and Emily were merely friends. But this was Emily we're talking about. My lying ex-girlfriend. She was part of the Covey that had me killed. Meanwhile, Evan barely believed in the group's existence. It wasn't a stretch to think that Emily had lied to her husband about a number of things.
This was ground I had to tread carefully.
"You don't find it suspicious that Emily's keeping secrets?"
"It was Kita's secret," he stressed.
"A pretty vital secret considering—"
"I'm not having this conversation, Cisco." Evan's tone took a hard edge. He was fiercely protective of his family. To be honest, I admired the trait. (He was raising my daughter after all.) But perhaps it made him blind to their faults. His wife, her sister, they weren't who he thought they were.
Problem was, Evan would never believe my word over hers. I couldn't tell him what his wife was guilty of or risk turning him against me for good.
I folded down the pickup's sun visor. A photocopy was paper clipped to it: the registration of the boat I'd been practically killed on. Intelligence garnered from my friendship with Evan. To me, his help proved he was on my side, at least somewhat. I couldn't lose that support completely.
I slid the picture of Emily under the paper clip. I still didn't know how to confront her betrayal, even as the subject of a conversation.
Eyes on the prize, Cisco. I needed to forget about my ex. I changed the subject.
"Where's Rudi?"
"This is a joke, right?"
"It's no joke," I said. "The commissioner hasn't been at home or work for a few days."
"I know that, Cisco. Alvarez is out of the country. The joke is that you think I'm your source in the police department or something."
"Where did he go?"
"You're not listening to me, man. I'm not telling you where my boss is. That's only gonna lead to trouble."
"What about Kita? Can I talk to her?"
Evan laughed defiantly into the receiver. "You kidding? You better not get anywhere near her, man. Besides, she's out of town too. I'll tell her to send you a postcard from the beach."
I gritted my teeth. My confidence in Evan's support was waning. "Give me something, man."
My friend took a long breath. "I don't know anything about this Covey. I'm a police officer. I do my job. If you want to know what the police know of your identity, it's a first name. That's it. You don't have a social security number or a credit card or an address. All semblance of an identity is lost on you. I'm the only one that knows your background, and as far as I'm concerned, it all stays in the past. We're chasing a ghost."
I smiled at the thought, but I couldn't enjoy it. For all I knew, Evan was keeping my past a secret because he was inextricably tied to it. His men would never forgive him if he was outed as the best friend of their top target, even if the title was a decade-old
"Keep up, Evan. The people behind this. My death. The threats against your family to keep you in line. You didn't think these were the actions of one rogue vampire, did you?"
"You're talking about your political conspiracy theory again."
I hissed in frustration. "I'm telling you, these people have their hooks in your boss. Commissioner Alvarez is as dirty as they are. His head of security is a freaking volcanic elemental."
"Tyson Roderick was fired after the fiasco at the house."
Fired? I didn't know elementals could be fired. I did know they were damned hard to kill. Tyson was taken out twice, but it hadn't stuck.
"They're just covering their tracks, Evan. What about his chief of staff?"
"You mean Kita."
"Yes. Kita Mariko. She was part of that backyard brawl too. She's an animist, man."
"She's Emily's half sister," he spat.
I paused. There was the rub. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the bent photograph of Emily. "You know about that?"
"I... I found out. I didn't lie to you, Cisco."
I figured as much. When I'd first set my sights on Kita, Evan told me she and Emily were merely friends. But this was Emily we're talking about. My lying ex-girlfriend. She was part of the Covey that had me killed. Meanwhile, Evan barely believed in the group's existence. It wasn't a stretch to think that Emily had lied to her husband about a number of things.
This was ground I had to tread carefully.
"You don't find it suspicious that Emily's keeping secrets?"
"It was Kita's secret," he stressed.
"A pretty vital secret considering—"
"I'm not having this conversation, Cisco." Evan's tone took a hard edge. He was fiercely protective of his family. To be honest, I admired the trait. (He was raising my daughter after all.) But perhaps it made him blind to their faults. His wife, her sister, they weren't who he thought they were.
Problem was, Evan would never believe my word over hers. I couldn't tell him what his wife was guilty of or risk turning him against me for good.
I folded down the pickup's sun visor. A photocopy was paper clipped to it: the registration of the boat I'd been practically killed on. Intelligence garnered from my friendship with Evan. To me, his help proved he was on my side, at least somewhat. I couldn't lose that support completely.
I slid the picture of Emily under the paper clip. I still didn't know how to confront her betrayal, even as the subject of a conversation.
Eyes on the prize, Cisco. I needed to forget about my ex. I changed the subject.
"Where's Rudi?"
"This is a joke, right?"
"It's no joke," I said. "The commissioner hasn't been at home or work for a few days."
"I know that, Cisco. Alvarez is out of the country. The joke is that you think I'm your source in the police department or something."
"Where did he go?"
"You're not listening to me, man. I'm not telling you where my boss is. That's only gonna lead to trouble."
"What about Kita? Can I talk to her?"
Evan laughed defiantly into the receiver. "You kidding? You better not get anywhere near her, man. Besides, she's out of town too. I'll tell her to send you a postcard from the beach."
I gritted my teeth. My confidence in Evan's support was waning. "Give me something, man."
My friend took a long breath. "I don't know anything about this Covey. I'm a police officer. I do my job. If you want to know what the police know of your identity, it's a first name. That's it. You don't have a social security number or a credit card or an address. All semblance of an identity is lost on you. I'm the only one that knows your background, and as far as I'm concerned, it all stays in the past. We're chasing a ghost."
I smiled at the thought, but I couldn't enjoy it. For all I knew, Evan was keeping my past a secret because he was inextricably tied to it. His men would never forgive him if he was outed as the best friend of their top target, even if the title was a decade-old
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