Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4) novel Chapter 8

“No, someone else did. A woman. Some slow acting venom. He was doomed. She covered her tracks. That’s usually what happens to a teddy bear. They are short lived.”

“I need a phone and a knife,” Natalia said in one breath, thinking of the things she was going to demand from him.

“Okay,” he said.

She hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.

“I’m glad you came when you did,” she said in a slower breath.

“Tia said she had some meetings to go to so I miked you at lunch. I heard you when you said you needed my approval. No one from security should have been here.”

“Thank you for that,” she said, for once glad she was bugged.

“I already have a phone ordered for you. You’ll get it tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll fit you with a knife.”

The elevator stopped. Some people got on, ending their conversation. Once they reached the lobby, Uri led her toward a security station. The door opened just when they reached it, and they entered without a word.

“Over here,” a female security guard said once the door closed behind them.

To Natalia’s eyes this woman was also a Viperian. The woman led them to another door. She used a key to open it. Inside, there was a white screen on a wall across from a camera on a tripod. There were wires hooked onto it that ran over to a desk. Behind the desk was a rack of sweaters and jackets.

“Stand over there,” the guard said, pointing at the white screen. “Face the camera. No smile.”

The camera flashed. Both Uri and the guard looked at a screen that Natalia couldn’t see.

“That’s good,” Uri said.

The guard grabbed a sweater from the rack.

“Take off your jacket and put this on. Button it all the way up,” she said. “Rearrange her hair.”

This was aimed at Uri.

Natalia put on the sweater. Uri used a finger to push her hair behind her ears.

“Good. No smile. Stand still.”

Another picture was taken.

Uri and the guard looked at this new picture and both nodded at each other.

The guard moved to the desk. A machine whirled into action. From one end came a badge. From another end, came a card.

The guard slipped the badge on a clip, then handed both the badge and the card to Natalia.

“Sweater,” she said, holding out a hand.

Natalia unbuttoned the sweater and handed it over.

“Your security card for the building and your ID badge to move around the city,” Uri said in almost a whisper while she put her jacket back on.

The guard ushered them out. Natalia could see that there was now an ambulance out front. Two EMTs with a stretcher were heading for the elevator. Uri let them go first, waiting for another elevator. Natalia slipped the ID card in her jacket pocket and clipped on the ID for the bank.

“Follow me,” Uri said when they reached his floor.

He walked in the opposite direction of the storage closet, past his office to a conference room. Men were already unloading the boxes she had been sorting onto the table and floor.

“You have more room in here. We obtained the authorization to move the boxes since this room can be locked at night,” Uri said.

“Okay. Thanks.”

He left. The men finished unloading the boxes, and then they left.

Natalia took the time to take out and look at her two new ID cards. The one for the bank was the one with her in her suit coat. It looked professional. The other card, her official city ID, had the picture of her in the sweater which made her look more casual. She had seen her father’s ID, and hers was just like his. It had all the official wording and security markings.

“Nattie Osrisca. And you made me a year older. Nice.”

She assumed the address on the ID card was for the house in the city and not in Viperia. A shiver went up her spine with the thrill of having the card. She could walk right out of this building and freely move around the city.

Someone passed the conference room. Natalia noted it was a Viperian woman. Her joy of the card dissipated. Someone didn’t like her being around. This woman didn’t even glance into the conference room, but that didn’t make Natalia feel any safer. She wondered why this conference room would be any safer than the closet. The only advantage was she could see through the glass panes that made up one wall. There was still only one way in and one way out.

A security guard slowly strolled past, but he stopped just a few feet from the door. He stood there a long time before he paced back to where, she realized, he had been standing, just out of sight of the door. She figured Uri was able to get a guard posted. The guard probably thought he was guarding the files, while he was really discouraging anyone from bothering her.

Natalia felt a little safer. She turned her focus back to the files. With the expanse of the conference table, she was able to spread out the contents of the boxes and get more organized.

“It’s five o’clock. How was your first day?”

Uri was standing in the doorway.

“Fine,” she said. “Time went fast.”

“Let’s go.”

As soon as she left the conference room, the guard locked the door and resumed his position.

“Is he staying there all night?”

“There will be a guard there until the files are sorted and returned to the file room.”

The elevator dinged and opened. As they entered the elevator, Sophie joined them.

“How did you like your first day?” Sophie said to Natalia.

“I enjoyed it.”

Natalia found she had actually liked doing the work. There was a feeling of accomplishment in being productive. She felt like an adult. This was the feeling she had thought she would feel in a job.

And you were right mother. I didn’t need to go to college, she thought to herself.

The limo ride was quiet. Natalia noted they weren’t heading to the club. They dropped off Sophie where they had picked her up. The limo, then, took them back to the house in the city.

“No club tonight?”

“Only on Thursdays and Fridays,” Uri said.

The limo pulled up the laneway and stopped at the front door. Uri didn’t pull her out as usual, allowing her to exit the vehicle on her power. Uri stood there as if waiting. Natalia, for the first time, saw the driver of the limo. The driver was a Viperian woman with her tattoos covered up. She had a box with her that she handed it to Uri.

“Thanks,” Uri said.

He reached out for her hand. The front door opened. He led her into the house.

“Knives,” Uri said in explanation. “But let’s change first.”

Natalia could now see that it was Mag who had opened the door.

He put the box down on a table before half dragged her upstairs.

“I am quite able to move around without you dragging me,” she said.

“Remember what I said about putting my scent on you?” he said.

He leaned in close.

“I like holding your hand.”

He kissed her cheek.

They changed out of their suits and put on jeans. She noted that he didn’t hold her hand when they went back down the stairs.

Mag was letting in Grazie at the front door.

“Evening,” Grazie said, looking to be in a good mood.

He was still dressed for work, but he didn’t have his suit coat or his tie on.

“Evening,” Uri said. “We haven’t even looked at the knives yet.”

“We can after dinner.”

She saw that the dining room was set for three.

As soon as they sat, Mag served the dinner. There was fresh sliced bread with butter in a bowl. The plates held a mix of steamed vegetables and a slab of raw meat.

Natalia didn’t feel happy about more raw meat. However, she did slice off a small bit. It was warm and tender.

“You always have a good kitchen, Uri,” Grazie said.

He attacked the meat with gusto.

“Zena is an excellent cook,” Uri said.

He too started with the meat.

“How do you cook raw meat?” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Grazie chuckled.

“She knows how to prepare an excellent meal,” Uri said as if correcting himself.

There was silence while they ate.

Natalia wasn’t feeling as hungry. She only ate half the meat and vegetables.

“You did have a large lunch,” Uri said.

He speared the remaining piece of meat off her plate and ate it.

“I still prefer my meat cooked,” she said.

“Cooking destroys some of the enzymes,” he said. “Enzymes we need to remain healthy.”

Grazie grinned and sipped his tea. They were all served sanguine tea.

“You, not me,” she said.

“Uri Jr, however...”

Grazie chuckled at Uri’s words, seeming to enjoy the conversation exchange.

Natalia rolled her eyes.

“You’re going to hold that over me?”

“For nine and a half months at least,” he said with a smile.

“Nine,” she said.

“Your gestation period will be a little longer.”

“Because Uri Jr is a Viperian?”

Both Uri and Grazie nodded.

“I hope it’s a girl.”

“Then it will be ten,” Grazie said with a grin.

He reached for the box of knives. From within, he pulled out a roll of cloth. He unrolled it, revealing six knives.

“I sent the weights where I figured she would be,” he said. “No use trying all of them.”

“Were there any check points tonight?” Uri said.

Grazie shook his head no.

“Authorities are a little busy and with egg on their face. Apparently, they’ve uncovered one of their own who had been killing sex workers and putting fake bites on them. Giving Hollows a bad name.”

“That’s how you’re covering up for Thomas?”

Both men looked up when she spoke, seeming a little surprised that she had caught on so quickly.

“We can’t let one of our bad ruin it for everyone,” Grazie said. “Most Viperians are good people.”

“So, I take it, you’re letting a teddy bear take the blame.”

“We’re doing a flush of teddy bears. Need to get rid of them somehow,” Uri said. “We’ve decided there are too many. There is now a ban.”

“What about that meeting to have teddy bears escort the delivery drivers?”

“Not working. It’s causing other issues.”

“Knives,” Grazie said, redirecting their attentions.

“Let’s do this in the garage. I don’t trust her with my woodwork in here,” Uri said, rising.

Grazie grinned while he rolled the knives back up.