Alterant (Belador #2)(64)

So Evalle had broken a rule and held his hand longer than the allowed one minute, which could result in her suspension from VIPER. She couldn’t bring herself to regret helping him after seeing his unbridled happiness last night.

Considering her current list of supposed transgressions, holding Grady’s hand too long was a minor one.

“Stop lookin’ at me like I’m a ghost,” he grumbled.

“You are a ghost, sort of.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “What else has changed after that handshake?”

“You mean besides me gettin’ better lookin’?” He grinned, his teeth a soft white against his raisin-brown skin. He scowled at her. “Only lasts a few minutes when I do it on my own, so it ain’t like I’m gonna be walkin’ around all day like this.”

She smiled, though it was a sad one. “I wish you could.”

He angled his head, looking her bike over. “What the hell you do to your ride?”

The paint job on her GSX-R motorcycle would have been ugly even if she hadn’t been in a rush. “I sprayed black over the gold to camouflage it so no one would recognize my bike, but I can clean off the paint when I’m ready. I covered the tag with pieces of sticky vinyl numbers.”

Grady crossed his arms. “That because you got ambushed this morning?”

Not really, but she could talk to him about that. “Got jumped right before the Tribunal meeting. I think they were working for someone else, almost like bounty hunters, but I’m sure I smelled Noirre majik.”

He lowered his voice. “Glad you bein’ careful, but don’t know if that paint job will hide you. If those men that jumped you this morning are still around, they ain’t gonna be happy about losing their prize for the Medb.”

So the Medb had been behind her ambush. Grady had a point about the paint job, but she’d abused her Gixxer’s beautiful finish for another reason—to prevent being spotted easily by VIPER, Quinn or Tzader.

Grady said, “I heard some of the Nightstalkers tried to warn you.”

“I realized that later, but at the time I couldn’t stop to talk to them. I was trying to not be late for that blasted Tribunal meeting.”

“Those men were bounty hunters.”

Grady normally bartered hard for a handshake before he gave up any information, but he seemed content with his current semi-human form, so she wasn’t going to question this gift.

She asked, “Some of Dakkar’s bunch?” She had a serious issue with Dakkar if he’d sent them. VIPER allowed Dakkar’s people to track down bounties as long as they didn’t interfere with VIPER business.

“Nah. Freelance mercs for the Medb. They’re looking for Alterants.”

Evalle needed help finding Tristan, but she had to be clever about how she asked questions or she’d get Grady caught between her and the Tribunal. He’d almost died at the hands of the Kujoo when he’d interfered a few days ago.

Okay, he was dead already, but the Kujoo would have done horrible things to him, and she doubted he’d fare any better if he ticked off the Tribunal.

She tapped her handlebar. “I wonder if the men who ambushed me were hunting just me or any Alterant.”

“Could be both. Heard they were after a female Alterant, but they think she’s with a male they’re hunting for, too.”

Who would that be? Evalle asked, “Did those men find any other Alterants, or are they still around?”

“Not a word on the bounty hunters since this morning.” He lifted his head, sniffing, then looked at her. “You know about that stinkin’ yellow fog come to town?”

“Saw it on the way here. Making people crazy. Have you heard about the fog anywhere outside of Atlanta?”

“Yep. It’s on the West Coast, too. Humans think the Alterants are some kind of Bigfoot gone Frankenstein. They think someone’s been experimenting and created these things. You better be careful.”

“I haven’t shifted into a beast.”

“No, but I hear VIPER’s declared open season on all Alterants.”

“All? But not me, right?”

“Don’t know. You be careful.”

She had to get moving, but where was Tristan? Snapping her fingers, she realized how she could find out if Grady had any idea where Tristan had gone after he’d teleported into the subway tunnels. “Do you know anywhere the men from the Medb could hide underground, like around the MARTA rail stations in downtown?”

Grady looked away, his lips pooched out as if pondering. “Underground, you say? I heard once about tunnels the old Nightstalkers say the subway disturbed when it was built.”

She wanted to laugh at his reference to “old” Nightstalkers. Grady had died thirty years ago when he’d slept exposed to the elements on streets near Grady Hospital. “Where are the tunnels?”

“What you got for me?”

She muttered, “Unbelievable,” and pulled a bottle of Old Forester from her tank bag. She stuck it out to him. “Here.”

He broke out a real smile for that, then looked at her expectantly. “That’s it? No hamburger or french fries?”

She’d kill him if he weren’t already dead. “I’m in a hurry. I had time to make one stop, and McDonald’s didn’t offer an Old Forester Happy Meal. I need information, Grady.”