If the look the werewolf gave me was any indication, I was dead meat the next time we met. “Because Wilson’s dead and they have no further use for her.”
“But why not give her a new victim?” Jackson asked. “Surely she’s too valuable an asset to waste?”
“Don’t ask me—I’m just a subcontractor. You’re lucky I know as much as I do.”
“Meaning we obviously need to talk to the man who employed you—his name?”
The wolf hesitated. Jackson shook him. Hard. Breath hissed through the wolf’s clenched teeth and his eyes narrowed even further—and yet again promised death.
After a moment, he said, “Henry Morretti.”
“Surprise, surprise,” I muttered.
Jackson’s expression was as grim as mine undoubtedly was. “And how were you supposed to contact Morretti after the job had been done?”
“Phone call. Payment is cash, sent by courier.”
Which was all very clinical and efficient. No face-to-face contact, no paper trails to trace. I was betting even the courier who delivered the cash wouldn’t tell us much—especially given we were dealing with vamps who could easily erase or rearrange memories. It made me wonder whether Henry Morretti even existed. It was more than possible it was just a cover name.
“I’ve given you what you want,” the big wolf growled. “The least you can do is let me go before the cops get here.”
Jackson looked at me, eyebrow raised. “What do you think?”
I paused, as if considering the request, then shook my head.
“I totally agree.”
And with that, Jackson threw a punch so forceful the wolf’s head snapped back and his body went limp. Jackson checked his pulse, made a satisfied-sounding grunt, then released his grip on the wolf’s shirt. The big man hit the carpet with a heavy thump. Jackson stepped over his legs and met my gaze. “The ambulance is almost here. It might be worth you going to the hospital with Amanda, just in case she wakes and feels the urge to talk.”
“I’m not family, so they’re not likely to let me sit in her room with her.” Besides, I hated hospitals and tended to avoid them unless there was absolutely no other choice.
“Lie and say you are. It’s not like they’ll ask you for ID. They rarely do in emergencies.” He handed me his car keys. “Besides, your hand needs stitches if the state of the handkerchief is anything to go by.”
I glanced down to see blood dripping from the sodden handkerchief. “What are you going to do? Wait for the cops to arrive?”
“I’d better, if only for the sake of the cops. Wounded or not, our wolf could take out two humans without blinking an eyelid.” He cocked his head, expression intent. “There are two sirens approaching. The cops were obviously close.”
And wasn’t Sam going to be happy that we’d rung the police rather than him. By the same token, our reluctance shouldn’t really come as a surprise given what he’d done to us. “I’ll give you a call if there’s any news.”
Jackson nodded. I headed for the front door to let the paramedics and the cops in.
Several hours later, sporting a freshly stitched and bandaged hand, I somehow managed to convince the hospital staff I was Amanda’s sister and was allowed into her treatment room.
“How is she?” I asked, as the nurse checked Amanda’s charts and made some notes.
“She’s been stabilized and given blood, and we’ve treated the nasty bite on her neck, but otherwise, she’s fine. She might want to stop playing around with vampires, though. This was a close call.”
It should have been more than close. If Jackson and I had been a few minutes later, our black widow would have been well and truly dead. “If she’s got any brains, she will after this.”
“I’d be making her if she were my sister. I wouldn’t let any of them damn leeches near the neck of someone I loved.” The nurse’s smile was grim. “She’s just lucky you found her in time.”
“That she was.”
The nurse hung the clipboard back on the end of her bed. “I’ll be back in twenty to check her again.”
Once the nurse had left, I walked over to the lone chair sitting to the right of the bed and dug my phone out of my purse as I sat down. I hit Jackson’s number, intending to give him an update, then realized there was no reception in this part of the hospital. I cursed softly and moved the phone around in the vague hope it might make a difference. Still nothing.
“And who the hell might you be?” Amanda’s voice was low, but it held a surprising amount of strength for someone who had been hours—if not minutes—from death.
“I’m the person who saved your life, as you no doubt heard the nurse say.” I relaxed back into the chair and pushed the record button on my phone as I put it away. “And you really should be more careful about who you go to bed with.”
The confusion that flickered across her face actually seemed genuine. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you shouldn’t go to bed with a vampire and a werewolf. Especially when you’ve reached the end of your usefulness to your employer.”
“I’m hardly likely to have bedded a man, let alone a wolf and a vamp. That wouldn’t have—” She cut herself off with a cough.
“Wouldn’t have looked good to the cops who are still investigating your husband’s death,” I finished for her. “How long will it take them to make the black widow connection, do you think?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” she said, with such sincerity that I was almost tempted to believe her. Almost.
I crossed my legs and regarded her steadily for several seconds. If she was at all unnerved, she didn’t show it. Eventually, I said, “I noticed you ignored my jibe about your employer. That might not be wise, given what’s happened.”
“Look, as I’ve already said, I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to call security.”
“You do that,” I agreed. “And the minute I’m outside, I’ll ring Henry Morretti and tell him exactly where you are. I bet this time he’ll send a better grade of executioner.”
Her eyebrows rose and her expression remained one of mild confusion. She should have been an actress rather than a black widow—she could have won an Academy Award with performances like this. “I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the vampire who almost bled you dry and the werewolf who fucked you while the vampire drained you. Both were sent by Henry Morretti.” I shook my head, my expression one of mock sadness. “Seems Morretti thought you’d reached the end of your usefulness.”
“Look, as I’ve already said—”
“Fine.” I thrust to my feet. “I’ll just go make that phone call, then.”
I was almost out of the treatment room when she said, “No, wait.”
I turned and crossed my arms. “Why should I, when you apparently don’t know what I’m talking about?”
She waved a hand, the motion elegance itself. “If what you’re saying is true about the vamp and the wolf, why, then, did you save me?”
“Because I’m investigating the death of your husband, and it would be hard to question you if you were dead.”
“But you wouldn’t mind me being dead otherwise, if your tone is anything to go by.”
“Totally wouldn’t mind, but that’s beside the point.”
“At least you’re honest.” Her brief smile held very little in the way of amusement. “Are you a cop?”
“No. Personally, I would rather avoid involving the cops at the moment. I’m thinking you might want to, too.”
“Possibly.” She pursed her lips. “And just to put things straight, I didn’t go to bed with either a vamp or a wolf.”