“Surely you’re not suggesting I’d forget the face of—”
“No, no,” the human quickly added, clearly conscious of the danger of offending Jude. “I’m not saying we didn’t meet, just that I’m not so good with remembering faces, but I swear to you, I was nothing whatsoever to do with what happened to you.”
Jude’s crooked grin widened, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. “That would be much easier to believe if” – she dragged up the brunette’s blouse to reveal an artificial baby bump – “you were truly pregnant. What do they call these? Some antenatal classes use them, don’t they?”
“Empathy Belly Pregnancy Stimulators,” replied the human quietly.
I hadn’t been expecting that. I sensed that Sam was equally surprised. She was also extremely pissed to the point that a silvery-blue energy ball had appeared in her hand. I imagined she was probably cooking up interesting ways for the human to die.
“You weren’t pregnant when we first met either, were you?” Jude said to the human. “You’d been wearing this. It gives you an excuse to talk to pregnant women without looking suspicious. It’s just two pregnant women comparing notes. Admit it, you’re a Scout.”
“If you’re hoping I can tell you where your baby is, you’re very mistaken. My role ends at drugging the women.”
Slowly, Jude tucked her hand inside her knee-high boot and retrieved a jagged-edged knife about eight inches long. The moonlight glimmered off the steel implement. “So what you’re telling me is…you’re no good to me?”
“What I’m saying is I might have drugged you, but I didn’t perform the Caesarean, I didn’t take the baby.”
Rage flashed across Jude’s face, but somehow she remained calm. “Don’t call it a Caesarean, don’t. A Caesarean section is a medical procedure that’s used with the mother and baby’s well-being in mind. Having my abdomen ripped open and my unborn baby snatched from my womb – risking its life – wasn’t a Caesarean.” Jude seemed to be searching the human’s face for something, probably remorse. “How do you sleep at night? How many women have you done this to? Don’t you even care that innocent little babies are being taken from their mothers? For all you know, they’re being sold to paedophile rings. What is it – can’t you have kids of your own so you hate women who can? Or is it all about the money for you?”
A scorned look suddenly took shape on the human’s pale face. “Who are you to judge me? If you want to wiggle that knife in front of me and threaten me, go ahead, do it. I just hope you don’t think I can tell you where your baby is, or that you’d ever find it now anyway.”
“I don’t. I gave up hope after a little while. I didn’t want to lose faith, it just went. To tell you the truth, she’s probably better off without me. Better off not knowing that her mom’s messed up and her dad’s a rapist. But that’s not the point, is it? She wasn’t yours or anyone else’s to take. If anyone was going to give her away, it should have been me.” Pain was etched into Jude’s face. “There would be no point in me having her back now anyway. I can’t raise her. But neither can the people who she’s been sold to, because they’re just. Like. Me.”
I shared a confused look with Sam. Surely Jude wasn’t suggesting that her baby was sold to vampires.
Jude looked at her blade admiringly. “Being sexually attacked has a way of making you more cautious. After that day, I bought this knife and I carried it everywhere, except for that one day when you decided I was going to be butchered and my baby was going to be taken and sold. I dropped my guard for that day – can you believe that?”
The human licked her lips nervously. Desperation was in every word. “Jude, think about this…you could hurt me or kill me, but what would it change? Nothing. It wouldn’t get you your baby back. All that would really come from it, is you would end up with my employers and the police on your tail for my murder. Is that what you want? You sound like an intelligent person, someone who’s been through enough. You need to let me go, and let all this go, and move on.”
“I can’t. Not until all the people who were involved and profited from the sale of my baby pays for what they’ve done.”
Not wanting the human dead until I’d had a chance to question her, I turned to Chico, Butch, and David. You three concentrate on the vampire. Sam and I will take care of the human. In vampire speed, we were in front of the two women. Jude looked up; there was no surprise in her expression, and I had to wonder how long she’d known we were there.
“Oh thank God, please you have to help me!” begged the human. “She tied me up, she wants to kill me!”
I arched a brow. “Is that so?”
“She’s insane!”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, the good news is, she’s totally sane. The bad news is my fiancée here is a crazy, homicidal bitch and she wants to kill you.”
As Sam’s energy whip appeared in her hands, the human blanched, gulping and shaking. I wondered if she’d pass out.
Jude’s face took on a knowing look as she studied Sam – who was totally focused on the human. “You’re the Sventé Feeder.” She seemed entranced by her. I could understand that. Sam commanded attention when she was fierce. The vampire’s eyes eventually moved to me. “And you’re the Heir.” Her gaze raked over the three squad members who had surrounded her, lingering a little on Chico.
As I went to stand in front of the human, her eyes widened. I suspected that the red tinge to my irises was glowing.
“What are you?” she asked shakily.
I tsked. “I ask the questions. First, I want to know who it is you work for.” If Jude was right and vampires had bought her baby, this was a situation that I needed to take care of – and fast.
“There’s really no point in denying anything,” said Sam. “Although…it wouldn’t be so bad if you did, because then I could whip you silly.”
I winced, offering the human a sympathetic look. “I don’t envy you right now. I’ve been on the receiving end of that whip a few times – and not in a good way.”
The human shook her head madly. “No, this isn’t real.”
Sam cocked her head. “Frankly, I find it harder to believe there are people out there evil enough to steal children than that vampires exist. But maybe that’s just me.”
“Vampires?” the human echoed, releasing a nervous laugh.
Jude huffed. “What, you didn’t realise you’ve been working for supposedly mythological creatures?”
“What makes you think your baby was sold to vampires?” I asked Jude.
“Because vampires are running the operation,” replied Jude. “Stealing human babies, and then selling them to vampire couples.”
“Why would vampires do that?”
“How else are they going to have children unless it’s to steal them?”
The human was shaking her head incredulously. “You’re all crazy.”
Sam sighed. “Admittedly, I am. So for every time you fail to answer our questions, I will crack this whip at you. This can be over quickly, or it can be prolonged. Totally your choice, though the latter sounds more appealing to me. It’s part of the ‘crazy, homicidal bitch’ thing.”
“But me…I’d rather skip the cliché ‘I don’t know anything’ game.” I seized her gaze with mine. “Who do you work for?”
When she said nothing, Sam cracked the whip, catching the human’s earlobe. She cried out, flinching.
“Hurts like a son of a bitch, doesn’t it?” It truly did; Sam was merciless with that thing. “We’ll try this again. Who do you work for?”