I should have called Ben, but I waited, wanting to see where this was going to go. Surely this was all a misunderstanding.
The two Men In Black stalked toward me. Actually, they probably walked perfectly calmly and normally. To me, though, they stalked. The Wolf wanted to growl. And she wanted to get the hell out of here. I was still in the car, I could still drive—and so could the cops. I waited. Had to listen to the human half, this time.
Thinking before acting. Good girl. That was what T.J. would have said if he’d been here. Maybe he’d even have given me a scratch behind the ears. I felt a little better.
They stopped by my window, peered in, and looked me over. My nostrils widened; I took a breath. Human, they were normal human beings. Warm blood coursing through live veins, so they weren’t vampires. No hint of lycanthropy about them, either. Lycanthropes had a sort of musky, wild scent that couldn’t be covered up. They had fur just under the surface and it always showed, if you knew what to look for.
But there was something about them, something cold. They made my shoulders bunch up, and the hairs on my neck stand up—hackles rising. I gripped the steering wheel, white-knuckled. I met the driver’s gaze. Couldn’t show weakness.
His gaze dropped first.
He offered my license back to me. “Ms. Norville? Alette, the Mistress of the City, wishes to extend her hospitality. If you’ll step out of the car, please?”
I stared in disbelief, and a wave of spent adrenaline washed through me, making my muscles feel like rubber. The fear left with that wave, but now I was annoyed. Severely annoyed.
“Mistress of the City? As in vampire?” I said, and I realized what I’d sensed about them. They weren’t vampires, but they had a little of the scent on them. Human servants, who spent far too much time with vampires than was healthy. They were too pale.
“Yes. She’s pleased that you’re visiting her city and is anxious to meet you.”
“Her city? The U.S. capital and she’s calling it her city?” But then, what did I expect from a vampire?
The MIB pursed his lips and took a deep breath, as if collecting himself. He was probably under orders to be polite. “Will you accept Alette’s hospitality?”
“Why should I?”
“She fears for your safety. You don’t know the situation among your kind here. You lack protection. She wants to keep you safe.”
“How did she know I was coming?”
“It’s her city.”
I wondered what she thought she’d get out of keeping me safe, because she surely wouldn’t offer me protection out of the kindness of her undead heart. I also wondered what exactly the situation was that would put a lone wolf like me in danger. It meant there was an alpha here who didn’t like intruders on his territory.
Right now, an alpha werewolf out for blood scared me more than a vampire.
“All right,” I said.
“If you’ll please come with me, I’ll drive you to meet her.”
“What about my car?” I loved my car. We’d been across the country together. “And my hotel reservation?”
“We took the liberty of canceling your reservation. Tom will drive your car to the building. We’ll keep it safe for you while you’re here. Free parking in D.C., Ms. Norville. Not something to refuse lightly.”
Actually, this sounded like one of those offers you weren’t allowed to refuse at all.
I put my phone away and got out of the car.
The other MIB, Tom, slipped into the driver’s seat as soon as I was out of the way. I looked longingly at my reliable little hatchback, like I was never going to see her again.
The first guy escorted me to the sedan.
I said, “Just so we’re clear: the city’s vampire Mistress has the D.C. cops in her pocket, or at least enough of them in her pocket that she can order a roadblock on one of the major arteries, just to find one person.”
“It would appear so,” he said.
“She could have just called me, you know.”
He glanced sidelong at me, and I rolled my eyes. This was a vampire we were talking about. It was all about theatrics.