Once Bitten, No Longer Shy by Julie Steimle (chrome ebook reader txt) 📕

graduated a year before you did. His real name isn’t Chad, but something like Malcom. He said he was a material witness in a crime when he was around eight years old.”

Malcom? The only Malcom he knew was in Selina’s year, and he was this skinny, nerdy kid, Malcom Washington. Tom had called him ‘Urkel’ after Jaleel White’s character on the 90’s sitcom, Family Matters. And, yeah, he was a mafi—someone hiding from the mafia or the like. Troy had hardly paid him any attention at all. He never would have pegged that guy outside as Malcom from Gulinger, though.

“What’s he doing here?” Troy said, looking up from his manuscript.

“I told you. He’s a policeman. Undercover, of course. But he’s been doing Matt a favor this past month as Matt’s been targeted by a group connected with the Unseelie Court—or so Chad said.” Hanz then shook his head, sitting down next to him and unwrapping his sandwich. “Chad says they got some extra help to break the case. Something about finding JJ’s cousin, and a witch.”

“JJ’s cousin?” Troy stared this time. “I didn’t know JJ had a cousin.”

“No one did, apparently,” Hanz then bit into his sandwich, chewing. When he could swallow and take a breath, he added, “But Matthew wants me to meet her, possibly this afternoon.”

Troy raised his eyebrows.

“She’s been staying with her cousin, but Matt says she wants to meet me,” Hanz added, taking yet another bite into his sandwich.

“She wants to meet you?” Troy stared at him. “Why?”

Swallowing his mouthful, Hanz shrugged and said, “She knew Eve, he told me.”

Troy stared. He shook his head, saying before biting into his own sandwich, “Your girl certainly gets around.”

Hanz raised his eyebrows at that.

 

That afternoon they went to the police station where Joshua Johnson worked, and apparently where his cousin was currently in custody. She wasn’t under arrest, but as Matthew said, she was a material witness that needed special protection from supernatural enemies. She was way too old to go to Gulinger High, though, not with a valid excuse at least—and they did not have one yet.

When they arrived at the station, Troy noticed eyes of police officers and staff trailing sharply after him. Hearts sped up and pounded. He could hear a chorus of them as eyes rested on him and whispers spread. One steady heartbeat, though, approached. He turned to confront it then smiled at the familiar face.  

“So, they caught up to you,” Officer Johnson (Joshua’s father) said. The dark haired homicide cop sighed, shaking his head sadly as he gazed at Troy.

Shrugging, trying to be nonchalant about it, Troy (much to his embarrassment) found tears welling in his eyes. For a flash of a second it was like he was a kid again, facing Officer Johnson that day the man had saved him from the SRA (who had tried to use him after he had escaped his vampire parents).

Officer Johnson wrapped his arms around Troy, pulling him close. “It’s ok. We’re still on your side. You’ll get through this.”

Hanz had been politely looking away. Officer Johnson acknowledged him with a nod, allowing Troy time to regain control of his emotions. It was a good thing he had too, as Matthew marched up then with JJ, both of them slowing down to take their time since they did not want to get in the middle of an emotional moment.

Seeing Matthew, Troy hastily rubbed the wet from his face and straightened up. He looked to JJ instead, nodding.

JJ said to Hanz, jerking his head, “She’s this way.”

Nodding, Hanz followed him. Troy stayed back with Matthew and Officer Johnson.

“So… how’s it going?” Matthew said in a low voice.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Troy said. But his thoughts shouted that he really hated living with Art. He thought Art was a judgmental whack-a-do from some weird cult, though Hanz who was in the same religion was innocuous.

Matthew raised his eyebrows. “That bad, huh?”

Troy rolled his eyes. Though it saved time and maintained their privacy to speak to Matthew in this way, there were times he wished Matthew could not read minds.

“So how weird is he?” Matthew said.

Groaning inwardly, Troy really did not want to talk about it. Yet he said, “Please stop.” His brain, however, replied automatically with: The guy’s a morning person. They read thick scripture every morning, pray over everything, and he does not drink anything but water, milk, and juice. And he’s scared to death of me.

Matthew smirked at that, his eyes saying, ‘What did you expect?’

Rolling his eyes, Troy finally gave in. “I don’t know! Ok?” As his brain screamed, Rick stuck him with me on purpose to keep me from trying to commit suicide again. And I don’t want to owe that snotty rich kid.

Sighing, Matthew replied in a whisper, “For the umpteenth time, Rick is not a snotty rich kid. I can hear his thought just as much as yours. He’s really upset you tried to kill yourself. He cares about what happens to you. He thinks of you as a friend. What will it take for you to finally accept that?”

Troy inwardly moaned. “Is he that desperate for friends?”

Matthew sighed again, shaking his head. “One day you are going to figure out that he is more accepting of you than you are of him, and you are going to feel like an ass.”

He went on ahead, leaving Troy with Officer Johnson who had said nothing. The man was in general not one to interfere in ghoulie arguments. He was an ordinary man, after all. Just a homicide cop… who had a son who could see ghosts.

JJ’s cousin was in Officer Johnson’s office. She was resting on the sofa there, looking like she had been sleeping in that room since a particularly rattling event. Troy noticed how much she looked like JJ in coloring but was unlike him in so many other ways. She had a sort of French Noir appearance about her. Her hair was thick and twisty akin to a collection of black licorice, her mascara smudged around her hooded eyes from sleep. Her face was pale, almost tragic. But when she saw Hanz she rose and smiled.

“You seem just the type Eve would fall for,” JJ’s cousin said.

Hanz blinked, his cheeks going pink.

She walked up to him and stuck out her hand. “I’m Deidre. Deidre Johnson. Eve and I went to high school together—briefly.”

“Oh…” escaped Troy’s mouth without meaning to.

When she saw him, she pulled back.

“He’s safe,” JJ said, putting an arm around his cousin’s shoulders. “Eve just saved him from the Order of Blood three days ago.”

Had it been three days? Troy was stunned by that notion for a second.

But Deidre eyed him with a nod, yet said to Hanz, “I’m sorry. It’s just… the time I knew Eve was when she took on all those vampires in the mountains where she lived.” She looked to Troy. “She did it for me.”

Matthew’s eyes widened. “When was this?”

Deidre smiled at him, blushing. “Oh, back in our junior year of high school. Around Halloween. I was only in Cliffcoast for about a month, dealing with a haunted house. I had requested that she go into the mountains to help me put some ghosts to rest by gathering up their bones so they could have proper burial. But that stirred up the vampires, as the ghosts were their feeding victims.”

JJ peeked at Matthew, then his cousin. A peculiar little smirk formed on JJ’s lips as he watched their exchange. Officer Johnson raised his eyebrows.

She turned toward Hanz again. “Look, I last saw Eve about three days ago also. And they told me you were searching for her. I’d like to help. I know a thing or two about death angels.”

Eyes widening, Hanz nodded to her. “No kidding… This is great. Do you have any idea where they may have taken her?”

Deidre shook her head. “Sorry. That, I don’t know. But I can tell you the signs of when death angels are near, even without seeing them. It can help you deal with them in the future.”

Hanz nodded. She tugged him to the couch where they intended to speak privately. The others took that as a hint that they were not invited into the conversation.

“So…” Matthew pulled Troy and JJ to the side with Officer Johnson. “I hear from Randon you met another vampire in a similar situation as you.”

Troy nodded, peeking once more over to Hanz and Deidre before saying, “Yeah, Mr. Lenox. A math professor at a night school. We’d like to start a vampire victim support group. If you can help us, all three of you, we’d appreciate it.”

JJ exchanged a look with his father then one with Matthew who was already nodding. “Ok? What exactly would you like us to do?”

“To be a legal resource,” Troy suggested with a shrug. “A cop who will believe them when they need someone to call in emergency. We might also need security at our meetings.”

“That’s a good idea,” Officer Johnson said. “I’m in. You can use my number.”

“Same here,” Matthew said.

JJ nodded.

“We can make up a business card,” Matthew said, peeking back at Deidre with a smile, his cheeks coloring.

Glancing that way also, JJ then looked to Matthew. He whispered, “It’s rude, you know, peeking into other people’s thoughts like that.”

“I can’t help it,” Matthew hissed back, finding it difficult not to smile. “I can’t turn it off. I just overhear.”

Troy stared. So did Officer Johnson.

Finally JJ asked, “What is she thinking?”

Innocently Matthew replied, “What makes you think it is Deidre I am listening to?”

“You are blushing.”

Matthew chuckled, shrugging. After a tiny stretch of silence, he finally said, “She thinks I’m hot. Ok?”

JJ stared back at his cousin who merely smiled at him, though her eyes did peek to Matthew again.

Matthew chuckled.

“Oh my gosh.” Troy said, blushing also now. “What is she thinking now?”

“She’s checking out my butt…”

Groaning, JJ slapped the back of Matthew’s head. He hissed near his ear, “Does she know you can read minds?”

Matthew shrugged again. Then admitted, “No.”

Tossing up his hands, JJ walked over to his cousin. He said loudly, “Deidre, control your thoughts, would you? My friend Matthew is psychic. He can hear your thoughts when you speak.”

She quickly looked to Matthew. Her face flushed deep red and she popped onto her feet. “I’m so sorry!”

Turning around, Matthew grinned. “Don’t be. I’m flattered.”

Blushing more, Deidre bit her lip, smiling coyly.

Hanz glanced between them, a little bemused though he was falling into comprehension as the exchange continued.

“I don’t know if this is allowed,” Matthew persisted with a glance to Officer Johnson and JJ, “But uh, do you want to have dinner with me sometime? I’ll bring it in if we can’t go out.”

JJ slapped the back of Matthew’s head again. “It isn’t appropriate. You’re working on her case.”

“What?” Matthew tossed up his hands. “You can chaperone.”

Officer Johnson laughed, but turned and left the room.

“I’d love to,” Deidre said. And she shot a look to her cousin, “And I don’t need a chaperone.”

Matthew winked at her.

JJ groaned, while Troy and Hanz exchanged an awkward look.

However, Deidre then promptly went back to Hanz and continued the conversation with “…And where were we? Oh, that’s right—”

“Anyway,” Troy said to Matthew and JJ, seeing that little weirdness was over, “For the group, we also talked about inviting the Holy Seven to get involved—”

“That should be a given,” Matthew said with a nod.

Troy halted staring at him. “And why?”

Matthew gazed levelly at him. “You’re kidding, right? After what happened to you this week, and you have to say that? I mean, why do you want them?”

Averting his eyes, Troy muttered that Art and Hanz had suggested it, but he thought it was not necessary.

However JJ (of all people) cut him off. “Not necessary? Troy, you should know full well the SRA will harass your group if they find out about it. And from what little I know about the Holy Seven from one of its members is that they