Hold the Line by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Connor made an odd little sound and looked uncomfortable when Carlton glanced at him.

“I don’t love that expression, Connor,” he told the skinchanger. “What’s up?”

“Well, it’s a little awkward, isn’t it?”

“What’s so awkward about it? Fill me in.”

“You’re making all your plans with the detective here, but as far as I can tell, those plans depend on me. After all, how will you track down the people spreading these rumors about the auction unless I give you their names?”

“That’s true enough. Maybe I was relying on your civic-mindedness.”

Connor stared at him. For such a sarcastic guy, he didn’t appreciate it when other people used the same type of humor.

“Okay, then what about Mabel? I know you have a sense of loyalty toward her. Think about it, Connor. She’s being held prisoner by Amber and Esther right now. You won’t leave Mabel to her fate, will you?”

“You don’t know anything about my history with Mabel, and if you did, you wouldn’t make such simplistic assumptions about it. Yes, I have some loyalty toward her, if that’s what you want to call it. For all you know, she’s already dead. I can’t think of any reason for Amber to keep her alive.”

“If she wanted Mabel dead, she could have killed her at the ambush site. Esther choked her unconscious, and they threw her in the back of a truck, so something tells me Mabel is still alive, for whatever reason. Now are you going to help us or not? If you don’t, the streets of Miami will get pretty lonely for a guy like you. After Amber kills off all the other supernaturals, you’ll wander around alone for a long time.”

“Be reasonable, Carlton. I want to help. I fear that giving away too much information will compromise my position. Why would people talk to me unless they think they can trust me?”

Carlton looked at him. He’d already asked the question and intended to wait until Connor answered it.

Connor squirmed.

Informers always wanted to control the exchange. They wanted to tell you enough to keep themselves out of trouble or maybe to get paid if that’s what they were in it for. They never wanted to tell you everything because an informer who didn’t hold anything back would soon be in a position where he had nothing of value left to trade.

Connor’s motivations were maybe a little different from that, but his instinct to hold back on the truth was still strong. At last, he sighed.

“All right. I’ll tell you what you want to know. First, it’s only been a few hours, but word is already getting out to all the city's darkest corners. The guys whose names I’m going to give you are not supernatural themselves. They’ve only been used to spread the word of the auction.”

“If they’re not part of this supernatural world, how do they know anything about this auction?” Detective Brujahs asked him.

“In this city, as in many others, there are certain links between the criminal underworld and the supernatural underworld,” Connor replied.

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