work—or shall I say worked—for a branch of the State Department …” Lilly paused as if weighing something, then said, “What the hell, I’ll tell you. It’s called B.O.S.P. Ever heard of it?”
Takala knew of B.O.S.P. Fala’s husband, Stephen Winter, a warlock, used to work as an agent there, but she didn’t know if she wanted Lilly Smith to know that, so she lied and said, “No, I haven’t.”
“Not surprised. Most people haven’t. They try to keep all humans in the dark about what goes on right under their noses. They’d probably have congressional hearings for the next century if they found out about all the paranormal activities in government.”
“The human zeitgeist can’t handle it.”
“But they got that television series, Supernatural, pretty on the mark.” Lilly laughed softly, a detectable forced note in her voice.
Lilly seemed to work hard at being sociable. Was this just her standoffish personality? Takala had hoped to find something warm in her, but as yet she hadn’t. “Sam’s my favorite,” she said flatly.
“Dean’s mine. So hunky, with that edge of evil.”
Okay, she might just have disagreed with her own mother for the first time. She didn’t know how she felt about that, so she lapsed into silence.
Lilly broke it. “That strength of yours is pretty impressive—” she considered Takala, her eyes sparkling like shards of blue glass “—but you seem human enough to me.”
“I am, in basics.” Takala turned the conversation back to Lilly. “So, you can inhale the powers of other creatures. Pretty interesting.”
“Only for a few moments. Too bad I can’t keep them.” A power-hungry glint shifted in Lilly’s eyes.
A cold chill gripped Takala. This woman could be her mother, but Takala didn’t know if she liked her or trusted her. “Why were those agents after you?”
“They want me dead.”
“Why?”
“I was working undercover for them. Some agents got killed, and I was set up to take the fall for it.”
“Know who set you up?”
“Nightwalker.”
“Who’s that?”
“The vamp who just attacked me.”
Houdini. Nightwalker. A vampire. The image seemed to fit. “Why’d he set you up?”
“He must have wanted me out of the picture.”
“He’d kill his own men just to take you out?”
“You sound skeptical. Believe me, he’s capable of a lot worse.”
Takala didn’t know if Lilly’s story was credible. Why not just go after Lilly? Why kill your own men? None of it seemed practical, but then a lot went on in classified government agencies that would probably make her hair stand on end. Not until Fala hooked up with Stephen had Takala found out that witches had infiltrated government positions. Some duly elected officials were possessed by demons. Others were just plain demons. Shifters, too. You name it, and you could find all manner of paranormal creatures in high places. And people thought Watergate was bad.
This Nightwalker vamp could be a real mean dude with limitless power to back him up. She knew little about vampires, other than the ones she’d dealt with in her line of work. Her clients were mostly human with human problems. Occasionally she was hired to protect women from a stalker, who sometimes turned out to be a vampire. She had helped Fala, her sister, the Guardian, the most powerful shaman on the earth, take out a few evil vampires and their dens. Mostly, though, vampires operated below the radar and stayed to themselves. Takala was glad she’d never come up against this Nightwalker vamp. She wondered why Stephen had never spoken of him. When she had some alone time, she’d have to call Fala and Stephen and get the skinny on Nightwalker.
“This Nightwalker dude must be a badass,” Takala said. “Never seen a vamp out in daylight. Thought they had to sleep during the day.”
“This one’s unusually old and powerful. Sunlight only weakens him.” Lilly’s brows met in a frown, and she said, “So, how is it you showed up when you did? You’re not working for B.O.S.P., are you?” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she studied Takala.
Takala took her attention off the road long enough to stare squarely into Lilly’s eyes. Then she lied with ease. “I was casing a house—cheating husband.” Takala shrugged nonchalantly. “Saw you were in trouble, so I helped.”
“I’ve ruined your case.”
“Nothing I can’t rectify. He’ll probably be there for a while anyway. He’s a bigamist.”
Lilly chewed that over for a moment, then said, “I don’t even know your name.”
Takala supplied her usual bogus moniker. “Tonya Richter.”
Lilly considered her a moment as if wondering if that was Takala’s real name. Then she said, “I’m Lilly Smith.”
Only one of her aliases. Takala grinned and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Lilly bobbed her head in kind. “Since I’ve disturbed your case, you have to let me compensate you.”
“No big deal.”
“I don’t like owing people.” Lilly thought a moment, the red of her lipstick making her mouth gleam as if it had been doused in shellac. “How does five hundred sound for your trouble?”
Takala had to find a way to keep Lilly near her. The sign for Interstate 95 appeared, and she hopped onto the highway to Richmond. Finally she said, “I don’t want to take money I haven’t earned. What about you hire me for protection?”
“I don’t know.” Lilly tapped her painted red nails on her arm and stared at the traffic ahead of them. “You might end up being more trouble than you’re worth.”
“I saved your life, didn’t I?” Takala sounded as insulted as she felt by this woman’s lack of trust.
When Lilly didn’t say anything right away, and before she could come up with a reason to say no, Takala said, “I could use the work.” She tried to sound more desperate than greedy.
“The economy. It’s killing everybody.” Lilly shook her head in disgust. “I guess I can hire you. If it doesn’t work out, then you’re gone. And if you’ve lied to me about being a B.O.S.P agent, you’ll regret it.”
Takala ground her jaw together and passed a Corolla blocking her way. Then she said, “Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m not lying, and I don’t appreciate your threats.”
“Noted.” A superior grin toyed with the curves of her red lips. “You must understand that in my line of work I can trust no one.”
“I get that.”
Her tone turned dismissive
