The Blood In the Beginning (31 page)

‘You haven't answered your phone.' He didn't seem happy.

‘I lost it over, um, at Cate's. Am I working tonight?' I had no idea what time it was. Hell, I wasn't really sure what day it was. Why was Bane at my door? And, was he picking up on these thoughts?

‘The meeting at CDC starts in forty-five minutes.' He looked me up and down.

‘The meeting?' I'd said yes to the CDC excursion. Stupid, maybe, if I trusted Rossi. But, did I? Daniel Bane seemed like the one normal thing in my life right now.

‘There's time for you to change.'

‘I overslept.' What with all the swimming I'd done the night before.
Don't think about that!
‘Cate had a party after work.'

He smiled. ‘Shall I make coffee while you quickly shower?'

I hid the bristles that skipped up my spine. I wasn't in the habit of being told when to shower, quickly or otherwise, but I had questions for him. Delicate questions requiring tact. It would pay to keep it light and breezy.

‘Coffee sounds good.' I pulled the packet out of the freezer for him. ‘You have to press the start button a few times before the light goes on.' I grabbed the last clean towel from the hall closet. ‘I'll just be a minute.'

He responded by looking at his watch.

After a quick shower, I emerged from my bedroom in my only pair of dress pants, black, and the only top I had with buttons. It was turquoise, raw silk. It made a good match to Daniel and his pressed charcoal slacks and pale-blue dress shirt. Definitely a step up from my camos and tank tops. My hair was down. Somehow, I didn't think CDC spelled
ponytail
and there wasn't time for an elaborate braid.

He placed a steaming mug in my hand. My guard had been up, as it should be, given all the facts, but strangely, I could feel it melting away. It felt comforting to have Daniel Bane in my kitchen, which I couldn't say of just any man. Rossi's accusations seemed as far-fetched as my underwater tour, in light of the new day. But that underwater world was real, and so might be Daniel's Shen affiliations, though I wasn't sure what it might mean. Even so, I couldn't muster much caution, or guard.
This is wrong, right?

‘Do you have a question, Ava?'

‘I'm worried.' I drew in a deep breath. ‘About Cate.' A roundabout way to the topic, but it was the truth.

‘Really?' Daniel searched the cupboards. ‘You have no food.'

‘Haven't shopped.'

He wrinkled his nose. ‘We'll grab something for you on the way.'

‘I'm fine.' I blew on the rim of the cup. ‘Cate's enthusiastic about her prospects at Poseidon.'

‘Yes, so am I.'

‘But I'm not.'

‘You disapprove?' He looked incredulous.

I took a sip of coffee before answering. ‘She's sensitive, unguarded and a little too open to drug abuse. If she doesn't pick her studies back up, what then? She can't be a siren forever.'

He chuckled at that, which I found inappropriate, unless I got the context wrong. ‘I'll take good care of your friend, Ava. She's one of our best sirens.' He looked again at his gold watch.

I gulped down the rest of my coffee and led him out into the midday sun. It felt like the height of summer already. Stinking hot.

Bane's Cadillac Escalade was parked right in front of the feature maple. Mrs Beal's cat, Snick, was sharpening his claws on the tree trunk, stretching up as high as he could reach. He took one look at us and bolted, a streak of ginger, heading around the back.

What spooked you?

Daniel didn't notice. He unlocked the Caddie with a beep and opened the passenger side for me.

‘We should still be on time,' he said as he took the driver's seat.

The air con blasted my hair, drying the sweat that had already beaded on my forehead. I started asking questions before we hit second gear.

Daniel Bane couldn't have been more reassuring. He denied any knowledge of free drugs before shifts and insisted that floor staff be urine tested, to be safe. With the ‘sensitive' nature of the subterranean club, and the elite clientele, they couldn't be too careful. He suggested that Cate's boyfriend was full of shit, not in those words, but that's what he meant. I tuned into his mental thoughts and picked up nothing to the contrary.

I knew there were other things I should question Bane on, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of them. When we reached the CDC, I let it all go, allowing myself to be swept up in my dreams for the future.

The thought of being a fly on the wall at a meeting of this calibre was exciting enough, but realising Daniel's role made it even more so. He was a man who could make things happen. That wasn't lost on me. We walked through huge, automatic glass doors and waited in line for the security check. After being scanned, Daniel was handed a pass on a blue satin ribbon. It had his image on it, his own personal CDC ID. I was given a generic one on a white cord and we hurried up the elevator to the third floor conference room.

I soaked everything in. This was where I would do a four-year internship, if I was lucky enough to get in. Daniel Bane, for better or worse, could be instrumental in me landing that position. We paused at the conference room doors and were escorted straight to the head of a very large table, almost every seat occupied. Moments later, the meeting began.

Daniel Bane had a powerful speaking voice. No surprise there. He had me convinced of his argument, hands down. His donation to the CDC was going to change health standards for everyone in the State, and provide a model for global standards as well. After more discussion and a lot of gratitude for Bane going round the room, tea was served and the mood turned informal. Bane introduced me to the chief of staff, the board of directors and the department heads of hematology, bacteriology and virology, including Dr Ripley, who I knew was on the intern selection board. Not only did Bane introduce me, he added titillating comments:
A promising graduate. Keep your eye on her. She's impressing her professors at UCLA.

I wanted to kiss him.

I knew enough about men to figure out he and Rossi had some kind of a grudge match going on, but Daniel Bane was acting in my best interests. He walked the talk. The CDC was about to take
saving lives and protecting people
to a whole new level because of his donations. Standing there, mixing it up with the top scientific minds in the country, it became clear: I wanted in and Bane offered himself as a doorway. Whatever Rossi thought about Shen was yet to be proven. Besides, if Daniel was Mar, of any kind, wouldn't he be able to help me understand my origins just as much as Rossi?
And maybe without that crazy longlegs throwing me in the deep end.

The ride home felt more companionable than our earlier conversation in his car. Daniel insisted we stop at a sushi train for a quick bite. By then I was starving. I didn't ruin the meal by accusing him of atrocities or pressing for personal information.
Like, were you born, or did you rise from an underwater tomb?
When we parked outside my apartment, he leaned in to kiss me and for a second I was swept away. Energy tingled through my body like a low voltage shock. When he sat back, I was still purring with it.

‘Shall we have dinner tomorrow?' he asked, tucking a stray hair behind my ear.

‘I'd like that.' It felt like I was floating on clouds.

Once inside my apartment, the bliss lasted all of five minutes. I shook my head as if my brain had been abducted, and only just returned. The past twenty-four hours washed over me, and I felt a rush of anger. I just wasn't sure at what. I threw my gi into my backpack and changed into jeans, a black sports bra, white tee and my Converse high-tops. Time to head to the academy. Maybe after a few hours of going hard on the mats, things would make more sense. Besides, there was something I had to face. Right now it felt like the perfect distraction. I checked the time schedule and ran to the bus stop hoping my stalker wouldn't choose now to attack. I really didn't want to miss training.

* * *

The afternoon air was sultry. Inside, it wasn't much better. I paused at the door, swallowed the lump rising in my throat and entered. Time to apologise and join the regular classes again. I kept my eyes forward, feeling the stares on my way to the lockers. There were plenty of empties on the girls' side, nothing new there, but I sure wasn't expecting the bright chipper face looking up at me as she wriggled out of her short dress. ‘Zoe?'

‘Ava! You made it.'

What the hell is my ex's new girl doing here?
I sucked in a breath. ‘You're training now?'

‘It was my idea, but Tom encouraged me. He's so supportive, don't you think?'

I thought a lot of things, none I cared to share. ‘Today's your first day?'

She nodded, her blonde hair falling over her face.

I unlaced my high-tops, dropped my jeans and peeled out of my tee. While I tied my drawstring pants, I glanced at her again. ‘You'll want to braid your hair, or put it up.' I pulled a hairband off my wrist and handed it to her. ‘Lose the bracelets, necklace and the gum.'

She smiled, and did as I said, looking about ten years younger with a braid than she had a moment before, which, of course, made her practically pre-teen.

‘I hoped you'd come. Reception was majorly serious with all those release forms. Any tips?'

‘Yeah. Don't talk, unless you have a really good question.' Okay. That was rude, but the last thing I had in mind for when I delivered my apology was to have Zoe listening in. Super-size humble pie.

She dropped her eyes, looking like I'd slapped her.

Shit.
I put my arm around her for a nanosecond and pulled her into me before letting go. ‘I meant, pay attention to the professor, and don't worry. I'll keep you under my wing.'

She brightened, and kept quiet. When we bowed at the doorway, and onto the mats, Jeff and a few others greeted me. Of course, their eyes were popping at Zoe. It was like I'd brought them an after-school snack.
You dogs …
I nodded to them, glacier cool. ‘This is Zoe. She's here to
train
.' The emphasis was on the serious nature of our practice in martial arts. They didn't take the hint.

Jeff thrust his hand out to hers and shook it. He seemed to have completely forgotten the trauma of the other night.
If he only knew what happened after.
‘Great to have you here, Zoe. Don't let Ava give you a hard time. If you need a mentor, I'm your man.'

Oh puh-leeze!
‘Cool your jets,' I said to him under my breath.

The others closed in on Zoe, giving me a wide berth. ‘So how'd you two meet?' Jeff asked.

‘Don't answer that,' I said to Zoe.

‘I'm dating her ex,' she said at the same time. ‘You know him? Tom. He's dreamy.'

My face heated. I'd thought the hardest part of today would be delivering the apology. Guess I was wrong.

Rourke was there, and Dom. No sign of Jimmy. He wouldn't be back on the mats for a while yet, and by the look in Dom's eyes, he blamed me for it. Well, why wouldn't he? I hospitalised the bastard.
And he started it.

After warm-ups, Rourke called on me, as expected. He looked like he'd lost weight. I thought about that for a second, then shoved it aside to clear my head. Public speaking was not my thing, especially ad lib. I stood in front of the class and stumbled through an apology. They listened without any show of emotion. I returned to my place and class was underway, training as usual. I wasn't stripped of my belt rank and kicked out, so all in all, it went pretty well. Zoe looked at me with new eyes, putting it together, I guess. She'd walked in on me and Tom a few hours after I'd lost it in the cage. Weird thing was, in her expression, I saw respect.

Every guy on the mat volunteered for Zoe duty, but Rourke picked me, thank the demons and gods. Someone had to orient her and I wanted to make sure it was done right.
In other words, my way.
She was too old for the kids' class, but only just, and that was my domain. I taught her basic drills and showed her a few techniques. When it came time to spar, we rolled a bit. She used the ‘takedown' I'd taught, pretty damn effectively for her first try. Better than I'd imagined, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. Zoe was full of surprises.
Which Tom saw without looking, I guess.

Halfway through the class, Rourke ran off the mats and spewed.

‘Is he alright?' Zoe asked.

‘It happens.'
To white belts …

In the lapse before Dom stepped up, I caught a wave from the door. A woman with a clipboard and mic smiled, her camera crew setting up behind her. Oh hell! Jen Bradshaw, from LA-Live. The interview was today! I bowed off the mats and had a quick chat, camera rolling. She fired questions and filmed the rest of the workout. I gave her Zoe for the wrap-up. Nothing like a fresh face, full of enthusiasm to put shine in the story.

Jen followed us back into the locker room where she and Zoe chattered non-stop. The two couldn't seem to can the excitement, which was actually pretty cool.

‘Ava! That was amazing!' Zoe said after the news team left. Her face was flushed, her eyes shining, blonde hair limp with sweat. ‘I can't believe how good that class felt.' She took a big swig from her water bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘You were amazing! Wow. I had no idea I'd like this so much. It's … it's …'

‘Empowering?'

‘Hell, yes!'

I nodded. ‘You're hooked.'

‘I can't wait to tell Tom.'

I knew I shouldn't ask. It was none of my business, but the words were out before I could stop them. ‘How's that going, you and Tom?' We still hadn't talked since the other night and I missed my friend.

She beamed. ‘He's wonderful.'

‘Yeah. He is.'

‘Tom's been so into “us” lately, you know?'