Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(79)

“Five steps, and you’re at the table.”

Niko bumped into the corner and felt around.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to sit next to me on the bench.” Christian scooted over to create a buffer between them.

Flecks of snow that clung to Niko’s coat were finally melting. “Apologies for intruding. I rode with Claude on his way to work and asked him to drop me off. I have news.”

Christian shifted in his seat and rested his right arm on the table. “I hope you didn’t come here just for me. Wyatt said he’d call with any updates.”

“Gem spoke with Hooper this morning. He had a message to deliver.”

“What message?”

Niko reached inside his coat. “Viktor’s already seen it.”

Christian took the small card that Niko handed him and read the note. It was handwritten with Raven’s name at the bottom. “Clever. She doesn’t have a Mercedes.”

“Exactly. Wyatt collected her notes from cold cases, and that’s not her handwriting. He’s certain it belongs to a woman.”

Christian examined the note for a while longer. “The cryptic reference to a car means she wants us to keep searching. How did you get this?”

“That’s why I came here. I thought you should see it in person. Now that we know she’s alive, what you’re doing here is important.” Niko glanced over his shoulder as if he could somehow tell if the butchers were listening or not. “A woman gave Hooper the note—probably the same woman who wrote it.”

“What are you blathering about? If Raven had someone helping her, don’t you think she’d be free by now?”

“Hooper said the woman gave off weird vibes on the paper. Paranoia, fear—it sounds like she’s afraid for her life. Otherwise, she would have given it to the authorities. If all this is true—”

“Then it means the lass has seen Raven in person.”

“Precisely. Hooper described her as having short hair, like how a man wears it. She was average height and build, no distinctive marks, and had large green eyes. He said they really stood out, probably because of her pale complexion.”

“And her style?”

“He didn’t recall anything distinct about her attire. Just a jacket and boots. He also noted that she didn’t paint her nails and kept them short.”

Christian faced forward and scratched his fingers through his short beard. “I’d wager she’s his Learner. That would explain her fear and connection to Raven. What color was her hair?”

“Brown. I didn’t ask the shade. Is that important?”

Christian hadn’t even noticed the two men standing in line. An old woman hobbled over to the bench near the door and sat down. Time skipped like a broken record as he processed this new information. “Who did the Enforcers question at the hospital?”

“Viktor can probably get us that information. You don’t think she works for him, do you?”

“I bet that ambitious bastard created a Learner to fill his personal needs and do his bidding. Not everyone has the balls to escape. Some people are sheep.”

“Come back again,” the butcher said. “Next!”

Christian racked his brain, trying to remember if he’d seen a customer in the past few days who fit the woman’s description. If Fletcher had a trusted Learner he allowed to leave the house, then maybe she was the one doing all his errands. It was possible the woman was his lover, but that didn’t sit right with Christian. It seemed like acquiring a slave would be the deal breaker in a relationship.

“One pound of lamb shanks, please. I called in my order.”

Christian glanced toward the counter and saw the back of a woman in a brown coat. His eyes scanned down to her thin legs and furry boots. It had almost slipped his mind about how Fletcher liked his lamb.

A guy wearing a pub cap knocked on the counter. “How much is the veal?”

“Jaysus wept. I think that’s her,” Christian whispered, still looking at the woman. “Surely the heavenly angels didn’t just place her in our laps.”

“Don’t intimidate her,” Niko said. “Her light shows signs of nervousness.”

“Worry not. I just want to get the lass to do a twirl so I can see her face.” Christian knocked his bottle of water onto the floor, and it made everyone turn around to look.

He casually bent over to pick it up, smiling at the young woman with short hair and green eyes. She turned back around when the butcher appeared from the back room.

“I think we have a winner,” Christian said quietly. “Care to join me?”

“Are you certain it’s her?”

“For feck’s sake, of course I’m not certain. Unless you have her name and license plate number, this is all we have. She came in yesterday, but I’ve been busy looking for a bald-headed Viking. I didn’t see her face, but I remember those boots.”

When she collected her paper bag and headed out the door, Niko and Christian rose to their feet and followed swiftly behind. Christian put on his dark sunglasses, protecting his sensitive eyes from the sun. Winter was his least favorite time of year because of all the bright snow. Thank Jaysus for the twentieth century. Mass production made sunglasses popular, and everyone wore them. Back in his day, Vampires didn’t have dark shades to protect their eyes, so they’d mostly come out at night.