Turns out my former lover wasn’t the only one with a little suntin’ suntin’ up his sleeve.

CHAPTER SIX

I stood in front of my closet, completely at a loss. What do you pack for a vengeance quest? I didn’t have time to rewatch my Tarantino, and from what I remembered, Uma’s wardrobe wasn’t going to work on me. Imagine yellow pleather on a girl who was half-seal rather than pure Viking. Not pretty.

I sat down on my bed, feeling nauseous as I realized what I’d gotten myself into. I was determined to help find my mother’s killer, but I hadn’t really thought this through. First of all, my mother was dead. She was dead and I was… packing. Furthermore, I didn’t want to go anywhere with Ryu; I wanted to pull out his toenails and poke them into his eyeballs. That said, I kept thinking of the look of horror on his face when Ryu realized I was no longer just a walking, talking snack bar. It felt good. Less good, however, was the fact that, despite how Anyan had reacted, I knew he had to feel the same way, on some level.

So, running off like this probably wasn’t the best idea. It meant that I wasn’t dealing with my grief, I was launching myself into imminent danger, and I was about to embark on a trip for who knows how long with my ex and the man I had a crush on.

Which brought me back to packing. Should I pack my safety razor and nice panties? Or the kitchen knives and a balaclava?

I sighed, glancing at the clock. Which informed me I now had but thirty-five minutes to figure out how to pack for revenge, tell my father that I was disappearing with three random dudes, and find someone to cover for me at work. Keeping in mind that I was already helping to cover for my pregnant boss.

Well, Jane, I thought, you were just complaining about being bored. You’ve read your Mercedes Lackey. She warned you about wanting to live in interesting times.

I yanked open my old duffel bag and shoved in a few shirts, a zip-up hoodie, two pairs of jeans, and about eighteen pairs of underwear. I was terrified of running out of clean panties, which I realized was completely ridiculous. So I unpacked ten pairs and threw in a small bottle of Woolite for handwashing instead. Then I reconsidered, pulled out the Woolite, and put back in the undies. I repeated this process about eight times before I nearly pulled my own hair out.

Get a grip, Jane True! I threatened myself. Your underwear is not the priority!

I sighed and added the Woolite, removed five pairs of panties, and packed some bras. And what the hell was I going to sleep in? I had flannel pajamas, a couple of T-shirt nighties, and some hoochtastic sexiness. My libido, ever irrepressible, suggested the black teddy for Anyan, while my temper, still simmering over Ryu’s behavior, suggested I go naked and bring a taser, just to torture the vampire.

I went with a long T-shirt.

Finally, I packed socks to wear with my Converse, a toothbrush and toothpaste, my face wash and lotion, and a pack of travel razors. For makeup I brought my concealer, blush, and some mascara. I didn’t know if makeup was appropriate for vengeance quests, but I decided to file it under “war paint” and let it go at that.

Everything ended up being a ton of shit, and my old duffel was bulging. I couldn’t think of anything to unpack, so I just forced shut the zippers and prayed it would hold. Now I had to deal with my dad. I had fifteen minutes to explain to him that I was leaving and that I wasn’t sure where I was going or when I would be back. I also had to articulate to him how much I loved him and how much he meant to me, just in case I died while I was gone. All without making it seem like I was scared that I might, indeed, die. Fuck.

I took a deep breath and walked downstairs, clutching my backpack. My dad was in his old recliner, watching the Food Network. I laid my pack by the door and went in to talk to him.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, honey?”

I paused, stricken. What the hell was I going to tell him? I imagined myself blurting out the truth: that Mom was dead and that I was going to help find who killed her. Because I was magical, and stuff.

That’d go down well.

“Jane, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Daddy…” I breathed, my voice in my throat.

Just then the doorbell rang. Watching me with concern, my dad stood to answer it. I was rooted to the spot, incapable of figuring out how to get out of that door without breaking my father’s heart.

“Mr. True,” Ryu’s smooth voice echoed from the doorway.

Shitpissbugger, I swore. Why was he early? He was never early.

“Ryu. Well, that’s a surprise. How are you?”

The men shook hands and I felt my own palms begin to sweat.

“I’m fine, sir. Just here to pick up Jane.”

I groaned inwardly as my dad’s face crinkled in confusion.

“Pick up Jane? Where are you two going?”

I shot Ryu a dirty look as I went to talk to my dad.

“Dad, I have to go somewhere. With Ryu and some other friends. I’ll be gone… a few weeks,” I hazarded. My dad looked as suspicious as I sounded. “It’s last-minute, I know, but something has come up. It’s important and I… I have to go, Dad. I’m sorry. I love you. Remember Nurse Ratched?” During the Boston debacle, Nell the gnome had guarded my dad for me. Anyan had roped her in, again, for while I was away. She’d make sure my dad was safe from Jarl.

My father blinked at me. “The short one?”

“Yup, that one. She’ll be staying here again. And there’s tons of food in the freezer, plus I’ll call the guys and make sure they come by for poker. You’ll be fine and I’ll be home soon…”

“Honey, where are you going? Are you in trouble?”

If my father had been pissed, I would have been okay. If he’d been angry, I would have muscled through my emotions and just gone for bluster as a way to cover my emotion. But he just sounded worried, and that hurt.

“Dad, I’m fine. Really. I just have something I need to do. But I will come back, I swear. I’ll come back and we’ll talk.”

“Honey, what’s going on? I don’t understand. I’ve never seen you like this…”

To my horror, I felt hot tears run down my cheeks. I was furious with myself for reacting this way, but I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t strong enough to keep it together around my dad, not after everything that had happened. I wanted to cry with him about my mom, not lie to him and leave him like this.

“I’m fine, Dad, really. I’ll be in touch, and I have my phone. I have to go now, but I’ll see you soon, I swear.”

I hugged him to me fiercely.

“I love you, Dad,” I whispered in his ear before I released him. Then I went and picked up my bag. I had to get out of there before I broke entirely.

“I’ll call you when we get to where we’re going. Or tomorrow morning.”

Ryu took my stuff and headed out to his rented SUV. I waved to my dad and ran to the car, then I changed my mind and ran back to give him one more hug and a kiss on the cheek before rushing back to the passenger’s seat.

“Drive,” I said before I’d even buckled myself in.

Ryu did as I asked, and I watched my father in my side mirror. He looked confused, lost, and lonely.

“No matter what happens to me, you tell him the truth,” I growled at Ryu, choking back tears.

“Baby, everything is going to be fine, you’ll…”

“Shut up, Ryu,” I snarled, turning to stare him down. “Just promise me that whatever happens, you’ll tell him the truth. He can’t just be left again.”

Ryu was silent, his face hard.

“I can’t promise that, Jane. He’s a human.”

“He’s my father.”

“And he’s human. We can’t risk exposing our kind. You know that.”

“Fuck your kind. And fuck you. Anyan will tell him, or Julian.” And I knew they would, at that.

Ryu just shook his head. He was angry now, but I didn’t care. I dug out my cell phone to start dealing with the fallout of my leaving.

“Jane, I don’t know what I did…”

“Yes, you do. Now be quiet while I deal with my responsibilities.”

As I searched through my list of contacts, I took one last look out the back window as we pulled out of my long drive and onto the main road. My father was still standing there, looking small and lost. My heart breaking for him, and for the family we’d once had, I dialed Grizzie and Tracy.

Ryu, smart for once, kept silent.

I woke with a start as we bumped to the ground at O’Hare. Our trip was on the Alfar, so we were in first class. At any other time I would have enjoyed the experience. But after staking out the seat next to Julian, to Ryu’s obvious consternation, I simply settled myself in, waited until the captain turned off the “Fasten Seat Belts” sign, then reclined my seat as far as it would go and forced myself to rest. That I fell asleep was a shock, but I guess I was even more tired than I thought.

I yawned, made a face at the taste of my own mouth, and pulled a piece of gum out of my pocket. It was rather linty, but it would do. I stretched, letting my brain shift into autopilot, something I’d learned to do long ago, after Jason’s death. I’d have tons of time to think later. For now, I just needed to keep it together and get through these next few weeks.