Oath Bound
Page 106
“Yeah. I figure that’s the best time to catch him unaware.” Also, I didn’t want to wait. I was kind of eager to put a few bullets in the bastard who’d taken everything from Sera.
“Catch who?”
“Sera’s smiling man,” Olivia said, and I realized I’d have more luck appealing to her, even though it was Cam’s Skill I needed. “She ID’d him?”
“No, I did. With Van’s help. Not that she knows she helped yet, but she will.”
“Sit,” Cam ordered. “Drink your damn soda and calm down. Either you’re skipping entire sentences, or I’m only hearing half of them.”
“I have a name. Chance Alexander Curtis. I need you to Track him, so I can go get the bastard.”
Cam looked suddenly interested, despite the hour and his general disinterest in me as a human being—turns out it’s difficult to replace that vital first impression. “No fourth name?”
“Not that I found. I don’t think he’s Skilled.” Most unSkilled people didn’t have that second middle name. Their parents didn’t know they needed it.
“Why are you doing this at four in the morning?” Liv asked, while the coffeepot gurgled and ticked. “And why are you doing it alone?”
“It’s kind of a surprise,” I admitted, and her frown looked almost amused.
“Most men surprise their girlfriends with roses,” Liv said, and I didn’t bother telling them that Sera wasn’t my girlfriend. Or the type to want worthless clipped flowers.
“This is what she wants. This is what she needs, and I’m going to give it to her.” I turned back to Cam. “Can you just tell me where he is? Please? I’ll owe you.”
“You already owe me.”
“Fine. You can punch me in the face, and I won’t duck or fire back.”
Cam frowned, and I was starting to think that was the only expression he had. “What am I, fifteen?” He drank from his can again, then set it down harder than necessary. “Chance Alexander Curtis?”
I nodded.
“Fine. Give me a minute.” He closed his eyes, and I sank onto the stool next to Liv, silently sipping from my can as she opened the laptop on the counter in front of her and began to type.
It took less than a minute.
“Strong signal.” Cam opened his eyes and met my gaze from across the peninsula. “East side, about two miles from the river.”
“Here in the city?” I’d expected him to be closer to where Sera’s family was killed. Closer to where he lived.
“Yeah.”
“Got a street name, or a neighborhood?”
“That’s not how it works,” Cam said. “There’s no GPS in my head. Just a signal, coming from a certain direction. I can gauge distance based on the strength of the signal. I could lead you to him....”
“That would take too long. But thanks.”
“6141 Holloway, apartment 4C. On the corner of Fourth and Holloway.” Olivia turned her laptop to face me. “A man named Glen Curtis has an apartment there, and his social profile says he has a brother named Chase. I bet that’s where he’s staying.”
“How did you find that?”
“Van’s been teaching me some tricks I’d rather Ruben not know about...” she said, and I nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was give Ruben Cavazos information he didn’t have to work for.
“Thanks.” I stood and drained my soda. “Can you get the lights?”
Cam turned off both lamps and Olivia closed her laptop. I stepped out of the thick shadows in their living room and into an alley near the corner of Fourth and Holloway.
There are very few circumstances under which I’d walk down the street in Julia Tower’s section of town in broad daylight. Fortunately, 4:47 a.m. wasn’t quite broad daylight, and the walk from the alley to Curtis’s apartment building only took a couple of minutes.
I jogged up three flights of stairs and made a mental note to stop ignoring cardio in favor of weight training—sometimes, even a Traveler has to run. And if Sera decided she wasn’t done with me after one night, cardiovascular stamina would certainly come in handy.
I paused on the landing to catch my breath. And double-check my clip. Fully loaded, with one round in the chamber. Then I found the door to apartment 4C, halfway down the hall.
If I’d ever been there before, or was more than passingly familiar with the area, I could have Traveled right into the apartment itself, assuming the Curtis brothers had left any of their lights off. But since I wasn’t, and this was an important job, I’d decided to play it safe and check the place out before popping in unannounced.
From the hall, I could hear no sound coming from 4C, but then, most of the building’s residents were probably still sleeping. So I closed my eyes and felt for a dark pocket within.
The whole damn place was dark. So dark I knew the Curtises were either completely unSkilled, or not at home.
I closed my eyes and shadow-walked into the living room. A single step later, my shin smashed into something hard, and I cursed in the darkness. Then cursed silently over my own stupidity.
Something clicked, and a single bright light flared to life, momentarily blinding me. Something moved on my left, but I couldn’t focus on it.
I pulled my gun, blinking furiously, but couldn’t see to aim. “Who’s there?”
“Who do you think?” an unfamiliar voice asked. And as my eyes began to adjust, a man came into focus on the floor, his head slumped forward, sitting in a puddle of his own blood.
“Catch who?”
“Sera’s smiling man,” Olivia said, and I realized I’d have more luck appealing to her, even though it was Cam’s Skill I needed. “She ID’d him?”
“No, I did. With Van’s help. Not that she knows she helped yet, but she will.”
“Sit,” Cam ordered. “Drink your damn soda and calm down. Either you’re skipping entire sentences, or I’m only hearing half of them.”
“I have a name. Chance Alexander Curtis. I need you to Track him, so I can go get the bastard.”
Cam looked suddenly interested, despite the hour and his general disinterest in me as a human being—turns out it’s difficult to replace that vital first impression. “No fourth name?”
“Not that I found. I don’t think he’s Skilled.” Most unSkilled people didn’t have that second middle name. Their parents didn’t know they needed it.
“Why are you doing this at four in the morning?” Liv asked, while the coffeepot gurgled and ticked. “And why are you doing it alone?”
“It’s kind of a surprise,” I admitted, and her frown looked almost amused.
“Most men surprise their girlfriends with roses,” Liv said, and I didn’t bother telling them that Sera wasn’t my girlfriend. Or the type to want worthless clipped flowers.
“This is what she wants. This is what she needs, and I’m going to give it to her.” I turned back to Cam. “Can you just tell me where he is? Please? I’ll owe you.”
“You already owe me.”
“Fine. You can punch me in the face, and I won’t duck or fire back.”
Cam frowned, and I was starting to think that was the only expression he had. “What am I, fifteen?” He drank from his can again, then set it down harder than necessary. “Chance Alexander Curtis?”
I nodded.
“Fine. Give me a minute.” He closed his eyes, and I sank onto the stool next to Liv, silently sipping from my can as she opened the laptop on the counter in front of her and began to type.
It took less than a minute.
“Strong signal.” Cam opened his eyes and met my gaze from across the peninsula. “East side, about two miles from the river.”
“Here in the city?” I’d expected him to be closer to where Sera’s family was killed. Closer to where he lived.
“Yeah.”
“Got a street name, or a neighborhood?”
“That’s not how it works,” Cam said. “There’s no GPS in my head. Just a signal, coming from a certain direction. I can gauge distance based on the strength of the signal. I could lead you to him....”
“That would take too long. But thanks.”
“6141 Holloway, apartment 4C. On the corner of Fourth and Holloway.” Olivia turned her laptop to face me. “A man named Glen Curtis has an apartment there, and his social profile says he has a brother named Chase. I bet that’s where he’s staying.”
“How did you find that?”
“Van’s been teaching me some tricks I’d rather Ruben not know about...” she said, and I nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was give Ruben Cavazos information he didn’t have to work for.
“Thanks.” I stood and drained my soda. “Can you get the lights?”
Cam turned off both lamps and Olivia closed her laptop. I stepped out of the thick shadows in their living room and into an alley near the corner of Fourth and Holloway.
There are very few circumstances under which I’d walk down the street in Julia Tower’s section of town in broad daylight. Fortunately, 4:47 a.m. wasn’t quite broad daylight, and the walk from the alley to Curtis’s apartment building only took a couple of minutes.
I jogged up three flights of stairs and made a mental note to stop ignoring cardio in favor of weight training—sometimes, even a Traveler has to run. And if Sera decided she wasn’t done with me after one night, cardiovascular stamina would certainly come in handy.
I paused on the landing to catch my breath. And double-check my clip. Fully loaded, with one round in the chamber. Then I found the door to apartment 4C, halfway down the hall.
If I’d ever been there before, or was more than passingly familiar with the area, I could have Traveled right into the apartment itself, assuming the Curtis brothers had left any of their lights off. But since I wasn’t, and this was an important job, I’d decided to play it safe and check the place out before popping in unannounced.
From the hall, I could hear no sound coming from 4C, but then, most of the building’s residents were probably still sleeping. So I closed my eyes and felt for a dark pocket within.
The whole damn place was dark. So dark I knew the Curtises were either completely unSkilled, or not at home.
I closed my eyes and shadow-walked into the living room. A single step later, my shin smashed into something hard, and I cursed in the darkness. Then cursed silently over my own stupidity.
Something clicked, and a single bright light flared to life, momentarily blinding me. Something moved on my left, but I couldn’t focus on it.
I pulled my gun, blinking furiously, but couldn’t see to aim. “Who’s there?”
“Who do you think?” an unfamiliar voice asked. And as my eyes began to adjust, a man came into focus on the floor, his head slumped forward, sitting in a puddle of his own blood.
