What Lies Beneath

This is a bad idea. At least, Landon made his opinion of that clear.

"You're going to get yourself killed," he said while I changed on the other side of the door. "You look twelve."

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the bathroom with my top half unbuttoned. "Really. Tell that to the boys." I looked at my chest. It was currently being pushed up with a bright red bra that Landon seemed to like. I started buttoning again. "I'm good."

He sighed. "I'm not bailing you out if you get caught." He crossed his arms and sat on the edge of my bed.

"You won't have to. One girl isn't gonna kill me. We're meeting in a coffee place with a giant window in front. As long as you take care of the woman she's supposed to meet, we're all good, baby." I shook his shoulder. "I know what I'm doing."

I was dressed very professionally today. A suit, with a skirt instead of pants, because I didn't hate myself. I even had heels. The suit was something I used on more complicated... well, I'd call them missions. The suit was black, but the shirt was red. My hair was pinned up in a bun, and I had on my fake glasses.

"Do you, really?" He eyed me doubtfully.

I grabbed my knife from my bag and carefully tucked it away in my bra. "Yeah, I do. This is my job. I'm a liar."

He smiled as his eyebrow went up. "Good luck then."

"Come on. I just have to get an address from some bossy chick planning a party. I get it. You buy me a piece of pie. We head back out on the road." I fanned my hands out. "Easy as can be."

He adjusted my skirt, since I guess it was crooked. "Don't die, Mila. If you do, then I'm screwed."

"Aww, you're so sweet to care about me."

We loaded our stuff up in my van and headed to the coffee shop. In the ledger was the name of both women. One, Landon knew worked for Knox. The other woman was the one we needed to get out of the way. That part wasn't up to me. We parked, and I looked at my partner. "She's in there. You gonna be okay with this one?"

He scoffed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. In case you haven't noticed, I'm incredibly sexy. I've lured a woman or two in my time."

I almost laughed at him. "I'm sure you have."

His eyes narrowed at me. "What? You don't think I can get a girl?"

I knew he could. But I wasn't about to let him think I found him as hot as he was. That was an advantage he didn't deserve. "I guess you might be able to."

"Don't challenge me, kid."

I half smiled. "I'm not. Just go do your job so I can do mine." I got out of the car, and he followed.

I was straightening out my skirt when he pinned me to the van. "Really? You think being forceful is gonna-" His hands held me against the car, his body holding mine in place. One hand stayed on my hip while the other skimmed the side of my body.

Quietly, he said, "Yes, really. I want you to make sure you don't blame me when this gets screwed up."

I didn't show a thing on my face. "Ya know, close up... you're still an old man. It's not actually possible for you to turn me on. And this really isn't doing it."

I don't think he bought it. His eyes changed, and he spoke in my ear. Very inappropriate things were said, and I was too much of a lady to like any of them. That was what I chose to believe. The next part, it was a little more difficult pretending to hate. His lips touched my neck, the spot he'd bitten before that was finally healed. I felt his teeth again, but not the fangs. He was just teasing me now. This really needed to end.

"We have work to do," I reminded him. My voice was far too husky.

He didn't move. "Tell me you believe me."

"I believe you." It was the truth. "Now go and do what you have to do." Code for, knock it off before I shove you down in the back of my van. Hate-sex isn't how I want to lose my virginity. As fun as that might start out to be.

Landon left me by the van, and I watched him walk inside. Through the glass, I could see him as he found the woman he needed to get out of my way. It was obvious. She was in a suit like mine, but a little frumpier. Landon sat at her table, smiling at her like she was the only woman in the world. And that pissed me off for a reason I was ignoring for the time being.

I leaned against the van, watching him do what I'd sent him in to do. A warm angry feeling came over me when she stood with him. His hand went to the small of her back, and she walked out of there with him. He didn't look back at me as they went out of sight. I was glad I didn't know where.

I grabbed my notepad from the car, fuming. I'd need to pull it the fuck together before that lady showed up. I needed to play a part.

By the time I saw another woman in a suit sauntering into the coffee place, I was fine. I waited a few minutes before I started walking. I passed a homeless man on the way in the door; he had a puppy with him, a little German shepherd. He was petting the dog, feeding him a sandwich.

I wore a smile on my face as I approached the woman I was looking for. "Mrs. Carrie?" I asked. "I'm Kara Zorel." I crossed my fingers that she wasn't a comic reader.

The woman was sitting in a middle booth when I first spotted her. Her coffee looked expensive and disgusting.

She smiled at me, and it made the lines on her face become more obvious. She looked about twenty years older than I. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and she had her own notepad in front of her. "Please, call me Kelly," she said.

I sat down. "So sorry I'm late. My husband couldn't take our son to school, so it was up to me."

"Oh, you have a son? How old?"

"Four," I said quickly. "He's in pre-school. Kal." I smiled. "Looks just like his daddy."

"Aw." She put her hand to her heart. "So sweet."

"You have any kids?"

"I had a daughter. Have, I hope." She swallowed and folded her hands on her lap. "She was sick. Her father and I had to bring her to a facility that could help. Some things happened that I won't get into, but she left. Haven't seen her since. She was only twelve when she broke out of that mental hospital. All alone in this world for the past three years. I can't imagine what's become of her. How I got into this business, actually."

I was mildly interested now. "Can I ask how?"

"Well..." She paused and leaned closer. "...you know what this event is, am I right? You know the work we do?"

"Demons," I felt safe saying. "This event is a showcase."

She relaxed. "Some time after I lost my daughter, I was contacted. The man told me he knew what was wrong with her. He said he could fix it if he could find her. I thought I would have some luck if I dipped my toes into this world. So far, I haven't found her."

"I wish you luck." I wasn't sure I meant that. If she was in this business, even for a good reason, something was off about her. If my daughter was missing, this wouldn't be how I'd go about finding her.

We moved past the sadness and got down to business. "So," I started. "I see you have some ideas." I gestured to the paper in front of her.

"Yes." She smiled. "The event is only a few days away. There's not much else I need, but my other planner dropped out on me. Do you think you can get a caterer to serve two hundred by then?" "No problem." I clicked my pen. "How about you tell me what you need?"

She prattled on about shit I didn't care about, but took diligent notes for. I needed an address and a time. Shouldn't be a problem, since I was supposed to be sending food and drinks their way. I just wanted to know why that information wasn't already in the ledger. If I had to guess, it was because Knox wouldn't be there. I didn't need him to be. I just needed Jax to be there.

As far as I could tell, this auction wasn't very large. I had little hope that my brother would be there, but all I could do was follow leads. If I could find that man that took him, then I could find Jaxon.

I chatted with Kelly for a while about this little party that went with the auction. She said she hadn't been invited. She was only human, after all. And she wasn't a buyer. There was a ten-thousand-dollar charge per person for the event that was being held. It was meant to weed out the people who weren't serious about slavery, I guessed. That hardly mattered to me. If I needed to, I could break into this place, no problem.

I got what I'd come for, but I needed to fish a little bit for the information that would lead to my brother.

"I have a question for you," I started. "Are demons the only things that are presented at events like this?"

She didn't understand my meaning. "Are you talking about vampires?"

"Humans. Do they sell humans?"

"Oh." She blinked. "No. They don't really ever get humans. Not much use to them. Same as vampires. The only people that want vampires are people who want to be vampires. Even then, they only need blood. They get it, then they don't need the vampire anymore. It's a lot easier to just buy the blood."

"But people do buy vampires?"

"Rarely. When they do, sometimes they like to keep them around. Only give them enough blood to function. They can be used for a lot of things."

I felt nauseous suddenly. And I wanted to hurt this woman for speaking so casually about this kind of thing. She deserved something awful to happen to her. I hoped that her daughter was with better people than this bitch.

We both stood. "It was so nice to meet you," I lied and shook her hand. I patted her arm before I left. It was enough of a distraction to get my hand in her pocket and pull out her wallet. I let her leave first, taking the opportunity to take the cash and the credit cards out of the wallet. I chucked it and left, slipping the cash into my bra. It felt like a good chunk of change. I could buy me somethin' purdy with it. Or dinner. Jaxon had told me to be smart with money, even if I was flush with it. He'd warned that it never lasted.

On my way out, I handed three credit cards to the homeless man with the puppy. "I'd say you have about three hours," I told him. "Have fun."

He took them without hesitation. He thanked me, and I left him after I petted the pup on his head.

I got into my van on the passenger side. Landon wasn't there yet, and that only made me angrier. What the hell is he doing that he can't be here, making sure I didn't get murdered or something? Bastard.

When he eventually got into the vehicle, he was smiling at nothing.

"Where did you run off to?" I asked like a pissed-off wife, yelling at her husband for coming home late.

He looked at me sideways. "I was getting rid of the woman, like I was supposed to."

"You were gone an hour."

"And?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Just take us to a hotel. We have some waiting to do." I pulled the money out of my bra and counted it. A few hundred and some change. Lot of walking-around money, but that shouldn't have surprised me. She had two black credit cards.

Landon started the car. "Where did you get that?"

"I stole it," I said with hostility. "I'm a thief, remember?"

"How can I forget? It's why I'm stuck with you."

That stung, for even more reasons I wanted to ignore, but really couldn't now. I liked him. I liked his style of getting things done. But that hardly mattered because he hated me.

We started driving, and the ride was a quiet one. I felt awful, and Landon was obviously feeling... not awful. He was just annoyed that he was stuck with a kid that had screwed him over.

He took us to an actual hotel this time. Like one where I wouldn't catch half-a-dozen diseases just from sleeping in a bed. I grabbed my own bag and some cash before we went in. We each paid for our room and headed up. He followed me into my room.

The heels went back in my bag after I decided it wasn't worth snapping them just to dull my anger. I sat on the bed while I pulled off the stupid leggings I had on.

Landon leaned against the wall and watched me.

"Can I help you?" I snapped at him.

He smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were mad at me."

I threw the leggings in the trash and grabbed more comfortable clothes out of my bag. "What's it to you?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

I took my jacket off. "I'm not mad."

He made a sound. "I feel like you are. Is it about what I did before I left you?"

Of course he thought it was that. "No."

"So you admit you're angry?"

I stared up at him before I walked away, clothes in hand. There was a little alcove just outside of the bathroom. It was where the closet and the sink/kitchen area were. I took my skirt off first, replacing it with shorts. Not my sleeping ones yet. I may still go out. Room service was easier, but not worth the price.

"Are you?" he asked.

I huffed. "No. But I will be if you don't shut the hell up."

I had the shirt unbuttoned, and I tossed it onto the floor. I was grabbing my t-shirt when Landon walked around the corner. He leaned his hip against the wall, looking far too pleased. "I think you should just tell me what's wrong." "HEY!" I yelled and covered my chest with the shirt. "What the hell?"

"If I'm stuck with you, I think I have the right to know why I'm going to be walking on eggshells till you relax."

"Gee, maybe you making that kind of comment every other sentence is doing it."

His eyebrow arched. "I'm why you're angry?"

I ignored the question. "Leave so I can get dressed."

"I'll leave when you talk to me."

"Why do you care?"

One minute I was standing there, the next Landon had picked me up and plopped me on the counter by the sink. I almost dropped my shirt. I held it tighter, deciding if I was going to try and stake him.

"Mila," he said slowly, forcing eye contact, "you are annoying me greatly. Just tell me what I did."

I looked at my lap. "It doesn't matter."

"It does."

"Why?"

"Because I'm asking you." He tilted my head up.

I took a deep breath. My words sounded angry. "You don't need to constantly remind me how bothered you are by my being around you. I get that this is an obligation, but I'm really scared that I'm not going to find my brother. I don't need you adding to that icky feeling." And I'm jealous in a way I don't quite recognize.

He let go of my face, and his hands went to the counter on either side of me. "I hurt your feelings?"

"What? You think I don't have any?"

He smiled, but it wasn't meant to be cruel or mocking. "Sometimes I don't know."

"Thanks..."

Both eyebrows rose this time. "Don't do that. Don't take everything I say personally. I'm not good at social interaction, and I don't think I'll ever get those skills."

I wanted to ask him about that woman again, but I didn't want to know the answer. Not when I was sure of what he would say.

"Can I get dressed now?"

Landon backed away and crossed his arms. "Go ahead."

"I meant... can you leave?"

"I could."

"Will you?"

He cocked his head, and his eyes lowered. "I don't know."

I scoffed. "Jeez, you creep. You just got some, and you're still desperate enough to check me out?"

His eyebrows pinched together. "Huh?"

"To what part?" I hopped off the counter and walked away from him, pulling my shirt on when I was out of view.

I set my bag aside and sat in the middle of my bed. Landon was already walking back, looking mildly confused and a few years younger because of it.

"What did you find out?"

"The auction is in a couple days. We can see who they have for sale. The woman said they don't auction humans."

Landon's eyes went to the floor. "No, they wouldn't do that if he was human." It was strange, the way he said it.

"Do you think it's a waste of time?"

It wasn't until his next word that I was worried. Something in the tone, the look he gave me. There was something I didn't know, and I didn't like it. "No," he said, too quietly. "I don't think it's a waste of time."