Addict (Hunter #2)(54)

Sure enough, the lights were off. It didn’t surprise me. Most of the buildings were closed down for the day. The minute it started snowing, all of the news channels had begun their apocalyptic countdown. There was five inches of snow on the ground. It was a winter Armageddon in Texas. Everything shut down. It was Saturday, and this wasn’t a residential district. There was an apartment building at the end of the block, the only place where I could see people out and about. There were some kids out on the sidewalk yelling and throwing snowballs at each other. At this end of the block it was quiet, the streets relatively empty, and that was helpful because I was about to commit a big old crime.

“I guess we’ll have to come back when they open up.” Casey didn’t sound terribly disappointed. I got the feeling he would prefer to be back in his cushy room watching TV.

Liv and I shook our heads and crossed the street. I’d been hoping the place would be closed. I didn’t want to run into anyone who could ID me later. I studied the clinic as we approached it, noting the security camera attached to the outside of the building. I had learned from my young thief friend. It wasn’t moving, but I could see the light on.

Silently I pointed up, and Liv nodded, making sure she stayed out of range. I had to pull Casey back though. He was going to walk straight into the shot and perhaps preen for a close-up.

“Camera,” I said shortly.

His mouth made a silent O, and he nodded. He gave me a thumbs-up. I remembered what Henri had told me about him. He was a technohead. That could work to my advantage.

“Can you take it out?”

“Where would I put it?” Casey asked.

I had to hope he was better with technology than he was at listening. “I meant can you render it useless without shooting it or causing a whole bunch of noise?”

A look of recognition passed across his cute boy face. “Oh, yeah. I can do that. It looks like there’s an electronic lock on the door. I can probably break in. That’s a bad idea though, right?”

I gave him a pointed stare.

“All righty then.” Casey laced his fingers together and his knuckles cracked. “Let my criminal life begin.”

He went still for a moment, breathing deeply and seeming to go inside himself.

“Hey.” Liv looked around. “Where did he go?”

Casey moved past the cameras carefully. He studied the range of the camera and twisted his body to stay out of it. He was shielding. Most people wouldn’t be able to see him. The camera wouldn’t be deceived, of course, but we had other considerations. No one would think it strange that a couple of women were standing, talking on the street. A guy fiddling with a security camera might raise some questions.

“He’s handling it, Liv.” I watched him work. He couldn’t shield from me. Liv’s eyes would slide over a vampire when he was in that state. My senses were a bit more finely tuned.

“You can still see me?” Casey jumped gracefully onto the window ledge under the camera.

“Clear as day, buddy,” I replied.

His fingers worked quickly to pull off the back of the camera. He started to study the wiring system.

“Cool.” He gently pulled and tugged on the inside of the gadget. “Henri said you were a badass. Actually, he said something about you being an incredibly rare and powerful creature, but mostly, I just heard badass.”

It might be nice to have someone on the team who actually spoke my language. “You’ll have to help me translate when it comes to Henri and Hugo. I’m pretty good with Marcus. It’s all in the eyebrows with Marcus. He can say the same thing in the same way, and it means something completely different because he arches that one aristocratic brow.”

“I can help out with the professors. I’m starting to get what they’re saying,” Casey promised. He pulled a wire and then nodded back my way. “Camera’s out. I’ll have the door open in a sec.” He pulled out the phone he’d been using in the autopsy room and connected some computery looking wires to it.

Liv stared at the place where Casey had disappeared. “It’s freaky. He’s invisible and you can see him. What am I here for?”

“You’re pure muscle, Livvie.”

She shook her head. “Obviously. I don’t feel any wards on the building. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any on the inside.”

The door clicked open and Casey smiled as he showed us the way in.

I patted him on the head as I walked through. He was a good boy. “I didn’t realize cell phones could be so useful.”

He put it back in his pocket and dropped his shielding. “I might have modified it in a way the manufacturer would not approve of.”

“Well, I approve.”

The clinic inside was cool and quiet. It smelled of antiseptic. The East Side Clinic was a model of clean efficiency. It had a small waiting room with functional seating and a desk for reception and triage. I glanced around and saw two more cameras. Casey nodded and quickly dispatched them.

“Liv, check those files, and see if you can find Alan’s,” I said quietly as I turned the blinds to a closed position. Now it would look like the clinic was merely closed, not being burgled. I tossed Casey a thumb drive. “You know what to do.”

He did. It was the good thing about having a supergeek around. Marcus would have stared at me and asked what this strange thing did. Marcus appreciated many of the things technology had to offer, but he was useless when it came to electronics. I had to teach him how to use the remotes on our entertainment system, and half the time, he still erased my shows.