Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed 3)

The clerk shook his head. Can't release without some form of ID. Sorry. It's policy and I can't afford to lose this job. No matter how bad it sucks.

Please, Elise said. This is very important. My...husband was here yesterday to pick it up, and he was very upset that it was delayed.

She weathered the clerk's answering rush of animosity toward the Minion. He was thinking of baseball bats, dark alleys, and broken bones. No offense, lady, but your husband is a dick.

Elise knew she looked anxious, but it would only serve her all the better at this moment. He's not going to be happy with me if I come home without that shipment today. Really, I must have it.

Not without ID. The kid looked at her for a long moment, then ran his palm over his chin and the little triangular growth of whiskers below his lower lip. Course if I happen to leave it on the counter and go back for a smoke break, there's a good chance that box might sprout legs and walk off while I'm gone. Shit does go missing from time to time...

Elise held the kid's cagey stare. You would do that?

Not for nothing, I won't. He glanced at the earbuds dangling from the collar of her sweatshirt. That the new model? The one with video?

Oh, this isn't...

Elise started to shake her head in refusal, ready to tell the clerk that the device belonged to her son and it wasn't hers to give away. Besides, she needed it, she thought desperately, even while reason told her she had the means to buy a hundred new ones. But this one was Camden's. Her only tangible link to him now, through the music he'd been listening to in the days--the hours, in fact-- before he left home for the very last time.

Hey, whatever, the clerk said, shrugging now and pulling the box back off the counter. I shouldn't be messing around anyway--

Okay, Elise blurted before she could change her mind. Yes, okay. It's yours. You can have it.

She pulled the wires out from under her sweatshirt, then wound them around the iPod and set the sleek black case down in front of the clerk. It took her a while to remove her hand from the top of the device. When she did, it was with a wince of deep regret.

And rigid resolve.

I'll take the package now.

Chapter Eight

Tegan came out of a brief, light doze, fully recharged, as footsteps approached the apartment door from outside. He knew the sound of Elise's soft but determined gait even before a key slid into the lock announcing her arrival.

She'd been gone almost two hours. Another two and the sun would finally be gone, and he'd be free to get the hell out of there, back to his business as usual.

Seated on the floor with his elbows resting on his knees, his back against the foam-padded wall, he watched as the door opened cautiously and Elise slipped inside. She didn't seem as eager to singe him with the waning light from the hall; now she was focused on her own movements, as if it took most of her concentration just to remove the key and carefully close the door behind her. A lumpy plastic grocery bag swung from her tightly fisted left hand.

Find what you needed? he asked her as she rested a moment with her forehead pressed against the door. Her weak nod was her only reply. Another headache coming on?

I'm fine, she answered quietly. As if marshaling her strength, she pivoted around and with her right hand up at her temple, she headed for the kitchen. It's not one of the bad ones...I wasn't out very long, so it will ease soon. Without dropping her grocery bag or shedding her down vest, she walked past the treadmill into the narrow galley. She was out of his line of vision now, but Tegan heard the tap running, water filling a glass. He got up and moved so that he could see her, debating whether to offer her the comfort of the trance again. God knew, she looked like she needed it.

Elise drank the water greedily, her delicate throat working with every swallow. There was something fiercely basic about her thirst, her need so primal it struck him as absurdly erotic. Tegan considered how long she'd gone without blood from one of the Breed. Five years at least. Her body had begun to show the lack, muscle groups going leaner, skin less pink than pale. She would be able to better cope with her talent if she was nourished by Breed blood, but she had to know that, having lived among the vampire race for any length of time.

She drank more water, and after her third full glass, Tegan saw some of the tension drain from her shoulders. The stereo, please...will you turn it on?

Tegan sent a mental command across the room and music soared to fill the quiet. It wasn't blaring like she preferred, but it seemed to help her take the edge off a bit. After a moment, Elise began putting away the supplies she'd brought home. With each second that passed, her strength renewed before his eyes. She was right; this wasn't nearly as bad as what he'd walked in on last night.

It's worse when you get close to the Minions, he observed aloud. Being exposed to that level of evil--having to get close enough to touch it--is what brings on your migraines, and the nosebleeds. She didn't try to deny it. I do what I must. I'm making a difference. And before you tell me that I'm of no use to the Order in this fight, you might be interested to know that the Minion I killed last night was in the middle of an errand for the vampire who made him.

Tegan froze, eyes narrowing on the petite female as she turned to look at him at last. What kind of errand? What do you know?

I tracked him from the train station to a FedEx store. He was there to pick something up.

Tegan's brain went into instant recon mode. He started firing questions at her one after the other. Do you know what it was? Or where it came from? What exactly did the Minion say or do? Anything you can remember might be--

Helpful? Elise suggested, her tone nothing but pleasant even though her eyes flashed with the spark of challenge.

Tegan chose to ignore the slight goad. She may want to grind that tired axe with him from the morning, but this shit was too critical. He didn't have the time or interest for playing games with the female. Tell me everything you recall, Elise. Assume that no detail is insignificant.

She went through a basic recap of what she observed about the Minion she'd hunted the night before, and damn if the female didn't make an excellent tracker. She'd even gotten the Minion's name, which might prove useful if Tegan decided to locate the dead human's residence and dig around for further information.