Her mother took another sip. “Have you heard about your father?”
The sludge in Nita’s chest rose back up, threatening to choke and overwhelm her. Her eyes burned, but she refused to wipe them in front of her mother. “Yes.”
Her mother nodded and suddenly she looked tired. Nita could see the shadows of grief under her eyes, and the new lines carved around her mouth.
Then it was gone, in one sharp motion, and her mother was her mother again, cold and cruel. “Well, good. I don’t have to explain, then.”
Nita pressed her lips together. “I want to know who the vampire is.”
Her mother tilted her head. “Vampire?”
“My father’s killer.”
Her mother’s gaze sharpened, and her casual demeanor was gone. “Explain. Now.”
Nita turned away. “A vampire came to see me while I was in the market. He wanted to know how to find you. He was between one and three hundred years old, I’d say. Hair was brown and white striped like a zebra.”
Vampires were Eastern European, fast and strong and long-lived. But the older they got, the more white their hair had. And the whiter their hair, the weaker they were, meaning the young were wildly strong and the old were weaker than kittens, but with centuries of knowledge to draw on. Usually around seven hundred years was as long as they could last before dropping dead.
“And how do you know this was your father’s killer?”
“When I went to INHUP, I tried to get them to call Dad.” Nita tried to push down the pain, the memories, and the oozing wound in her soul. She would not show weakness in front of her mother. “They had security footage of Zebra-stripes in the area when Dad died.”
Her mother’s fingers drummed on the table. “I see.”
Nita pressed her fists into her legs, trying not to tremble in rage. “INHUP told me he was a hit man for hire.”
“Yes.” Her mother nodded absently. “I know him.”
“Mom,” Nita snapped. “What is going on?”
Her mother waved it away. “Nothing.”
“My father is dead. It’s hardly nothing.”
“Nothing I’m willing to talk about.” Her mother’s mouth thinned. “It’s personal.”
“Personal.” Nita’s voice was deadpan. “Would this have anything to do with Fabricio Tácunan’s father? You know, the boy you kidnapped.”
Her mother mildly scolded, “I told you not to talk to him.”
“Yes, so I wouldn’t find out you were using him as blackmail.”
Her mother tsked. “If you knew half the things he’d done, you wouldn’t be so quick to judge.”
“Fabricio?” She already knew plenty he deserved to die for.
“No, his father.” There was an unspoken “obviously” in her tone.
Nita ground her teeth. “So you kidnapped his kid.”
“Nita, enough.”
Nita pressed her hands into the table and leaned forward. What the hell was her mother involved in? Vampire hit men. Kidnapping powerful people’s children. Something bigger was going on here.
She narrowed her eyes. “Does Fabricio’s kidnapping have something to do with Dad’s death?”
“You think Alberto Tácunan hired the vampire to kill your father?”
Nita hadn’t actually thought of it in those specific terms, but it made sense, now that she thought about it. “As retaliation.”
“I suppose it’s possible,” her mother admitted.
Nita couldn’t believe how calm her mother was. She’d basically started a turf war that had led to Nita’s father dying and Nita sold on the black market. And she didn’t even sound apologetic.
“Are you kidding me?” Nita rose. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nita, sit down.”
“No.” Nita took a step away, shaking her head. “I’m done. I’m done with this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Her mother took another sip of her drink. “Sit down and we can continue discussing this like normal people.”
“I’ve heard plenty.”
“Fine.” Her mother shrugged. “Once you’re done sulking outside, you can come back here.”
“I won’t be back.”
Nita was shocked when the words came out of her mouth. She’d never defied her mother to her face before. Always sneaking around behind her back, hiding her betrayals. Releasing prisoners in the dead of night, stashing college money under her mattress.
Not this time.
Her mother just raised an eyebrow. “You’re being ridiculous. Of course you’ll be back. You need me.”
“I don’t.”
“In case you’ve forgotten,” her mother hissed, finally rising, “your face is all over the internet, and all the wrong people know what you can do. You have a giant target painted on your back. You need me because those people will never stop looking for you. I can protect you. I can keep you hidden.”
“I don’t want to hide.” Nita’s voice was cold, and her spine straight. “I have plans for my life, and they don’t involve being hidden. I’m going to go to college. I’m going to become an expert in unnatural biology and present at conferences.”
“Oh, not this again.” Her mother rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “You’ll be kidnapped and murdered and eaten before that ever happens.”
There was truth to that. Nita knew it would be dangerous. She knew people would attack her.
So she was going to make sure everyone was so afraid of her that no amount of money would tempt them to attack her.
Nita let out a breath and turned to leave.
Her mother snapped her hand around Nita’s wrist. Blood-red nails dug into Nita’s skin.
“Who will give you bodies to dissect?” her mother hissed.
“I’ll find them myself.”
“And money?” Her mother’s lips curled up. “You do know you need money to live.”
“I know.” Nita didn’t have a cent to her name. “I’ll find a way.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. They stood, silent, staring at each other for long moments. Sweat beaded down Nita’s back, but she refused to lose this staring contest.
“If you leave, you will be annihilated.” Her mother’s voice was a whisper. “And I won’t lift a finger to help you.”
Nita suppressed a shiver. There was a cadence of prophecy to those words.
She clenched her jaw and twisted her wrist from her mother’s grasp. “I don’t need you.”
Then she left, her mother’s gaze burning a hole in her. But Nita didn’t turn back.
Eight
THE COOL SPRING AIR was bracing as Nita strode down the street, freezing her lungs until they burned. The crush of people had thinned, allowing her to walk faster, nearly jogging away from the restaurant. Her heart raced, and her whole body hummed with adrenaline. She felt like she’d chugged an energy drink—buzzed and nauseous at the same time.
She didn’t know where she was going, but she needed to keep moving. After a block, she looked back, half convinced her mother was following three steps behind her, shark smile on her face, ready to tear Nita apart for her defiance.