Hunter's Trail

“You’ll do fine,” Jesse said curtly. “You’ve done two major police investigations already. You can handle this.”

Not wanting to freak out any further in front of Will, I just nodded.

We arrived back at the alpha’s house. I had been a touch nervous that there would be flashing police cars waiting for us when we arrived, but the nova wolf hadn’t called the police the night before, and he hadn’t called them tonight. Whatever was going on, he was keeping it in the Old World for now.

Will went inside to get a pack roster for Jesse, who carried my duffel bag to the van for me and loaded it in the side door. When the door clicked shut, I asked, “While we wait, do you want to talk about those interviews tomorrow?”

“No,” he said without hesitating. “I just . . . need some space, Scarlett. I’ll go in and get the list from Will, and call you first thing in the morning.” He abruptly turned on his heel and marched toward Will’s front door, leaving me standing there with my mouth ajar.

I’d seen Jesse mad, distraught, and worried before, often at me, but I’d never seen him be cold. Maybe he was regretting taking the deal with Dashiell. Or maybe he just didn’t want to be my partner anymore. Focus, Scarlett, I chided myself. Jesse was going to do what he was going to do; there was no use worrying about it.

No matter how many times I told myself that, the nagging fears stayed with me the whole way home.

It was nearly eleven when I parked the White Whale in the structure near Molly’s house and limped my way to the back door. My leg felt far away, as if the big lump of pain that had wound itself around my knee like a tentacle was actually separating it from me. I wanted nothing more than to go to bed with several ice packs and some of the good drugs. As I rounded Molly’s decorative shrubbery, however, I saw a small figure with shoulder-length blonde hair huddled on the concrete step leading to the doorway, arms hugging her knees, her head turned away so one ear was resting on her legs. I tensed, gripping my cane hard like I might use it for a weapon, but took a few cautious steps forward—and felt her hit my radius. Not a werewolf, not a vampire. It was like my radius had been thrust into a prism.

Another null.

She felt it when I did, and the blonde bob tilted up to meet my eyes. “Corry?” I asked incredulously.

Chapter 14

“Scarlett!” The teenager’s face broke into a beautiful grin I’d never seen on her face before, and she jumped up and ran for me, throwing her arms around my shoulders. Her momentum rocked me back a step onto my bad leg, but I ignored it, shifting my weight to my left instead. I was smiling stupidly, and to my great annoyance, I realized I was blinking back tears. “It’s so good to see you!” Corry said into my hair.

“Yeah.” I released her and leaned back, swiping my eyes as quickly as I could. The pain from my knee, which had been at a low running-refrigerator hum before, now roared into focus, and I fought to keep it off my face. “You too. Come on, let’s get inside.” I had a dozen questions, but was anxious to get her out of sight first. I didn’t think any of Will’s pack had found Molly’s house, but I didn’t want to wait around to find out. If anyone saw Corry here . . .

Corrine “Corry” Tanger was a fifteen-year-old null whom I’d met the previous fall. A teacher at her school had sexually assaulted her, and then blackmailed her by threatening to tell her dad, a Pentecostal minister. Corry had felt like she didn’t have any other options, so when a psychotic guy with a yearning to kill vampires offered to get the teacher off her back in exchange for helping him cleanse LA of the supernatural . . . she had gotten all turned around.

I’d done what I could to help her, but then I had told Corry I couldn’t see her anymore. Nulls are ridiculously rare, and there are creatures in the Old World who would happily commit murder to get one for their own personal use, especially a young, impressionable teenager with a history of moral flexibility. I’m protected in Los Angeles because of my job, but if anyone else found out about Corry, she’d be fair game. The girl was “in the closet” to the Old World, and I had made it my personal mission to let her stay there.

And here she was, on my doorstep. I wanted to scold her, but I was just so frickin’ happy to see her I didn’t know what to do.

“Your leg!” Corry cried as we started for the door. “Oh my gosh, what happened? I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to hurt it!”

I waved it off. “It’s no big deal; almost healed anyway,” I lied. I unlocked the door and led her inside, through the back hallway and into the living room. “Um, sit anywhere you want. I’ll take the couch, if you don’t mind. Do you want something to drink, or I could make a sandwich . . .” I wasn’t used to being a hostess, and I realized that I was babbling.

“Oh, no, here—” Corry ran to the two armchairs, grabbing throw pillows, which she propped under my knee. “I could get you some ice or something,” she added hurriedly. There was a pause, and then we both broke into nervous laughter.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Corry said, crossing the living room to perch on the edge of an armchair. “In some ways, I feel like we’re family, like I’ve known you forever. And then I remember that I don’t know your favorite color, or band, or if you have brothers or sisters, or . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she gave an embarrassed shrug. “You know. Anything.”