Heart and Soul by Jackie May (reading list .TXT) 📗

curtain draped across a doorway. Don’t follow him, Jay. Don’t you dare follow him. But of course he does. Jay stops to look around, making sure nobody’s watching him, and then he slips behind the curtain.

Frantic, I spot the nearest demon at the bar—a pixie-haired succubus. I caress her arm. “Wanna party?”

She licks her lips with a forked tongue. “Lead the way.”

When the bartender sees me eyeing him, he says, “Drinks?”

“You know the ones with the whipped cream on top?”

“Of course.”

“Gimme that, but hold the drink.”

“So…just whipped cream?”

“Now you’re getting it.”

The succubus coos with delight, snaking her tongue up my neck.

“In fact, we’ll need the whole can,” I add. With a devilish grin he slides a can of whipped cream across the bar to me. I stuff it in my clutch bag, then I brush my fingertips down the woman’s cheek. “Save room for dessert. Meet me in there. I’ve got to freshen up first.” She purrs like a cat before slinking into the shadows of the back rooms.

Back at the curtain, I make a quick check that nobody is watching me, and then I sidestep behind it. In near total darkness, I can just make out the shape of steps leading up a narrow passage to a door. It’s slightly ajar, letting in moonlight. I know what this is. It’s the roof access.

As I pad up the steps, I hear a man’s voice on the other side of the door. “Yes, sir, on my rounds just now. A guest on the roof, north side. Yes, now. I’m staring right at him.” Peering through the narrow opening, I can see Jay at the edge of the roof, looking down at something, oblivious to the fact that he’s been spotted. I hear the metallic click of a bolt action.”

I throw the door open and swing my clutch in a wide arc to my left, where it connects with a demon guard’s face. The full can of whipped cream makes a cracking sound against his skull. He staggers back.

Now there are rapid footsteps flying up the stairs behind me. I pounce on the guard, locking his head in the crook of my arm, and drop all my weight against him. He crumples to the rooftop. I lift his hand—which is still gripping the assault rifle—aim it at the access door, and pull the trigger just as the silverback wolfman bursts outside. With a deafening rip of shots, he is knocked clear off his feet and over the side of the roof, a three-story drop. Good night. I knock the guard’s head against the tile, and it’s lights out for him, too.

Jay’s gone. Rushing to the roof’s edge, I spot him climbing down to the rooftop of the adjoining building. I want to call down after him, but we’re not alone. I hear voices down on the street directly below us, where two big-rig trucks are parked, their long, white box trailers lined up with the curb. Pinstripes and Bowler Hat are both down there, barking orders at men in the back of the trucks.

“Let’s go, clear outta there,” Bowler Hat says. “We got a thirty-second window to hit. One too many red lights, and we miss our target.”

The men shut and secure the trailer doors as Bowler Hat climbs up behind the wheel of the lead truck. Pinstripes takes the second truck, starting it up with the throaty growl of its massive diesel engine. When they both pull away, my fear is confirmed—Jay leaps off the roof into a tree and climbs down. He’s going after the trucks on foot. I have no idea how, but he’ll find a way.

And he’s right to abandon us. The mission priority just changed. Whatever those revenants are up to with those trucks, it’s something big, it’s something soon, and it’s something out there in the city. My city.

It takes every ounce of willpower not to follow Jay. The others have no idea what’s happening. I’ve got to get them out, and fast. Problem is, the instant I turn back toward the access door, I hear a gaggle of footsteps coming. I scramble up the slope of the roof and dive to the other side just as several men burst from the access door.

“Rocky’s out. Not shot. Just banged up.”

“What about Nash? No way somebody took him down.”

“Oh, he’s down all right. And I mean all the way. Look there, in the alley.”

“You gotta be shitting me. Who the hell bodies a werewolf his size, just like that? What exactly are we dealing with here?”

A voice I recognize—Capra, the golden boy revenant with the black chin—says, “Uninvited guests. Four of them. One obviously went after the trucks. The others must still be inside. Get down there. Look for a court jester mask or a fox. Go!”

Panic threatens to overtake me. They’re on to us, and I’m stuck on the roof with a revenant and no way to communicate with Russo and Hillerman. Can’t climb down through a window—they’re all boarded up. Try my luck with golden boy? Vampires are crazy strong and supernaturally fast. I’d never take one on without a gun and/or a Brenner.

I hear his light footsteps crossing the roof to the edge where Jay descended. From there, he could see me if he turned around. Crawling on all fours—hard to do in this dress—I take up a hiding spot behind a wide brick chimney. There’s a muffled sound of a phone ringing. Peeking around the corner of the chimney, I see him holding a phone to his ear. If I’m going to make a move, it’s got to be now. I can bolt for the—

Hold on.

I take a step back and peer up at the chimney. Chimneys come from somewhere. They come from fireplaces. Down in basements.

Without another thought, I high jump, gripping the top lip of the chimney, and pull myself up. The opening is plenty big, leading down into pure darkness. I’m in clear view of the revenant now. He is