Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(57)
“Do I look like a fecking census taker?”
“He didn’t have an accent, and his name sounds foreign. That’s the only point I was making.”
“His Creator could have been Spanish. Now will you shut your gob and let me carry on?”
I gave him an impish grin. “Dazzle me.”
Christian faced Amber, his feathers ruffled. “Does Cristo have a last name?”
She shrugged.
“How do you know him?”
“He pays me to watch them,” she said in a monotone voice.
“Watch who?”
“The children.”
I jumped out of my seat and sat beside her. “Where’s the baby?”
She continued gazing into Christian’s obsidian eyes.
He narrowed them. “Has Cristo asked you to watch any babies in the past week?”
She nodded.
“Can you show me?”
Amber shook her head. “I don’t have him anymore. Cristo took him away this morning.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. The baby cried a lot. I’ve never taken care of a baby that little before. He always brings me kids.”
“Why would he trust her?” I asked Christian.
“It’s easier that way. Men like him prey on weak women. They distance themselves from the merchandise, and that baby would be a lottery ticket in the Bricks. And like I said before, it also keeps his hands clean if something goes wrong.”
I nudged the woman. “Where did he take the baby?”
Christian clucked his tongue. “It doesn’t usually work like that. Most of the time, they only listen to the one who’s charming them.” He patted Amber’s hand. “Can you tell me where they went or his phone number? Anything?”
She robotically shook her head. “He calls me. He goes to the club; that’s where we met. I left the baby alone the other night to find him and tell him I didn’t want to do this job. He got mad. Told me I needed to go back home and stay there until he called.”
Christian tugged on his earlobe, his gaze drifting off. “At least we have his name. Uncommon names make them easier to track.”
“Assuming it’s his real name.” I stood up and sat on the opposite bench.
“Did he pick up the baby in a car?” Christian asked. “Can you describe it?”
“White,” she quickly said. “I almost didn’t open the door when I saw it through the curtains. I don’t know anyone with a white car.”
“Was he alone?”
She shrugged.
“That’s good, Amber. I enjoyed our friendly conversation. Taking care of those children must have been frightening. Men like Cristo are dangerous, and they’ll creep into your house in the middle of the night and slit your throat.”
I kicked him in the ass. “Why are you scaring her?”
“You want to turn over a new leaf,” he continued, ignoring me. “What are you good at?”
“Sex.”
I belted out a laugh. “You two have fun. I’m just going to wait outside.”
“Stay right where you are. I want you to see this.”
“Why?”
He shifted around to look at me, the intensity in his gaze making the hairs on my neck stand on end. “Because you need to see with your own eyes what it’s like when I scrub memories.”
I swallowed hard. The idea that a Vampire could tiptoe around in someone’s head and erase things was disconcerting. I couldn’t imagine walking around with a piece of myself missing. But I knew why he wanted me to watch. This was what I was asking him to do to my father.
Christian locked eyes with Amber. “Remember when I first approached you in the bar? Do you recall the moment I spoke and when you looked up and saw my face?”
She nodded.
“That never happened,” he said, his voice smooth and suggestive. “We never spoke, and you’ve never seen the woman sitting behind me. You never walked outside in the snow to a black van and got inside. You never revealed any information about the baby or Cristo. When you walked away from the bar earlier, you sat down and watched people dancing. I’m going to take you to that table where you’ve been sitting for the past fifteen minutes. You’ll be warm, a little thirsty, and thinking about changing your life and getting a job. You’ve never seen my face before, and if you see it again, you won’t even notice me.”
I watched Christian get out of the van and lead her toward the front of the building. Then he stopped and whispered something in her ear, and she headed around the corner alone.
I shuddered.
A flurry of laughter erupted when four people abruptly rounded the corner and walked toward the parking lot. Christian casually propped his back against the wall, his head down. I rocked on my heels and pretended to look around as if waiting for someone. When the small group flashed toward two cars several rows down, I collected my thoughts about what we’d just discovered.
Wyatt couldn’t help us research this newfound information since he was busy trying to buy a baby. We also couldn’t go traipsing across the city when Viktor might need us at a moment’s notice.
I approached Christian. “Now what?”
He reached underneath my jacket and pulled out my hood. “We have a name. If Viktor wins the bid, we have a witness that links him to previous crimes. If Viktor loses the bid, we’ll have a lot of work to do.”