Winter Halo (Outcast 2)

And as much as I wanted to, I didn’t dare come out and ask. I had no idea how suspicious Sal’s partners were, or how close an eye they might be keeping on Winter Halo’s top employees, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

The stranger pulled me upright and slipped a hand under my elbow in support as I wobbled about on one leg. His grip was firm and warm, and perhaps a touch more intimate than required. Even so, I ramped up the strength of my pheromone output a little. I didn’t need him thinking too much right now.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” His gaze skimmed me, but it held a whole lot more appreciation than concern. “Because it wouldn’t take long—”

“I’m fine.” I put some weight on my foot to demonstrate and gave him another warm smile. “Thanks for the concern, though.”

“Do you need help to get anywhere?”

I hesitated. “I’m actually supposed to be meeting a friend at Seven Sins, but I don’t know this area very well. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, do you?”

“I do, thanks to the fact that the ladies in my office seem to talk about nothing else.” His smile flashed, and it lent warmth to his otherwise austere features. “It’s two blocks up, but over on Seventh. I can escort you there, if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but I’ve already taken up enough of your time.”

“Well, if you do happen to find yourself at a loose end later this evening, I’d love to buy you a drink to apologize for my clumsiness. I’ve booked a table at Zendigah’s on Second at eight.” He hesitated and gave me a crooked smile. “I’m Charles Fontaine, by the way.”

“Cat.” It was the first name that came to my mind, and my using it would undoubtedly amuse my little ghost immensely.

“Short for Catherine?”

“Yes, though no one but my mother ever called me that.”

“Then I certainly shan’t.” He gave me a nod. “I hope to see you tonight.”

“And perhaps you will.” I caught his arm and leaned forward to brush a kiss against his cheek. There was no suspicion in his thoughts, only a wish to continue the conversation.

With that, I left him. While his regret chased me, he remained where he was and simply watched me walk away. Which meant I’d judged the attraction levels just right, and that was somewhat gratifying. I might not have used the skills I’d been designed with much since the end of the war, but at least my control and judgment hadn’t lessened any in that time.

Once I’d entered the next walkway and was out of his sight, I ran toward Seventh. Few people paid me much attention; running might be frowned upon in the more genteel areas near Central’s heart, but it wasn’t so uncommon in the middle-class and poorer areas. I paused when I hit Seventh Street. I didn’t immediately spot anyone resembling Keller, so I hurried forward, studying each building as I passed it, looking for the Heldan Apartments.

I found them one block up and, at the same time, saw Keller coming out of a food collective a few doors farther on. He was a tall man with receding blond hair and a thin unpleasant face. As he turned toward his apartment, his gaze swept me, moved past, then snapped back.

Sal had told me Keller liked his women black skinned and big breasted, which was precisely why the form I was now wearing was the complete opposite in almost every way but one—my breasts. I was banking on the fact that a man whose preference ran to ladies with large breasts was always going to look even if said lady did not fit his ideals in other ways. Given Keller’s reaction, it would seem I was right. I sashayed toward him. He didn’t move; he simply watched.

But as I got close, something strange began to happen. His face lost color, blood began to trickle out of the corners of his eyes, and bubbles appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Then, with little sound or elegance, he fell backward to the pavement.

Dead.

Chapter 4

I stopped, a curse on my lips, and both surprise and frustration rippling through me. No one else seemed to notice what had happened, and for several seconds people simply walked around his prone form. Then a woman screamed and two men squatted next to fallen Keller, loosening his clothes and attempting to revive him.

But I knew those signs. Keller had been poisoned. There would be no revival.

Which was frustrating, to say the least.

I walked on, around his body and the gathering crowd, and spotted

Seven Sins on the opposite side of the street. After waiting for several airscooters to zip past, I walked across and grabbed a table next to the window. A waitress appeared almost immediately, and after I’d ordered a coffee and one of the macarons Jonas had mentioned, I crossed my arms and watched what was happening with Keller’s body. The two men were still attempting to bring him back, and there were several people using their wristcoms, calling either medical, the corps, or maybe even the news. Everyone else seemed content to simply watch. I skimmed their faces, looking for anyone who either snagged my instincts or looked familiar. Despite what I’d said to Jonas, I did have some idea what one of Sal’s partners looked like. The day after I’d used my seeker skills on Sal, I’d asked Cat and Bear to shadow him and report back on everything he did, and everyone he met. While he’d spent most of the day working at Hedone, a high-end brothel he’d owned, he did make one journey outside—to meet a tall, thin-faced man with shadowed skin, dark hair, and magnetic blue eyes, deep in the heart of Winter Halo. My little ghosts hadn’t liked the alien feel of that stranger, and I really had no doubt that he was one of the two people who’d been caught in that rift with Sal.

So why had they killed Keller? Was it simply a matter of tying up all loose ends? It wasn’t likely to be coincidence that Keller had been murdered not long after several bombs were set off at the bunker. Whether they’d meant to trap me in or out of it really didn’t matter; what did was the fact that they were covering their tracks and would undoubtedly be extra cautious from this point on—and that meant I’d have to do the same.

It was a good thing that the only alterations I’d made to my natural body shape were to erase the black stripes out of my silvery white hair, and increase both my height and breast size. Sal’s partners might know I could body-shift, but my short hair and the simple tunic I was wearing were currently very fashionable in Central’s expensive heart. Even if they had been watching Keller’s movements, it was doubtful they’d have picked me out of the crowd. Not when there were so many other tunic-clad, silvery-haired women and men on the streets right now.

The waitress brought over my coffee and macaron. Once I’d swiped my RFID chip over the scanner to transfer the appropriate number of credits, I picked up the macaron and cautiously bit into it. I might have ordered it for cover purposes, but, by Rhea, it was good—thin and crunchy on the outside, softer than a cloud on the inside, and the absolutely most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. If I’d known exactly how many more credits I had left, I would have ordered a couple more. And probably would have made myself utterly sick in the process, given that sweet things and I weren’t always compatible. My taste buds tended to lean more toward the bitter end of the scale—a result, no doubt, of the fact that there’d been nothing like this offered to déchet in the military bunkers, and sweets had certainly been scarce in the shifter camps I’d been sent to during the war.