Building From Ashes (12 page)

Declan scowled and released the young man. Jack walked over from his perch by the television screens and put a hand on the back of Sean’s neck as he walked him out to Angie’s office. “Look her up tomorrow, Brigid. You’ve got the best contacts at the clubs. It’ll be your job.” Declan called out to Jack, “Tell Angie I’ll need a new set of hands! Connor, in the meantime, get over here. You can type for me.”

She sat at the desk and followed Declan’s instructions as Jack came back in and began to speak to Tom in a low murmur.

Declan barked, “Pay attention. This is what I want you to look for…”

Hours later, after her eyes had begun to water from staring at the computer screen as she searched shipping manifests with Declan, Brigid walked to the elevator and hit the button for the fourth floor. It was close to two in the morning and she was exhausted.

She had to admit, part of her loved living where she worked. The other part felt like she mostly never quit working. But that, she decided months ago, was fine. The last thing she needed in Dublin was spare time.

Just as the doors were about to close, a small hand with pink fingernails slipped through and a familiar voice called out, “Hold the lift!”

The young woman was laughing as the doors opened, clearly coming home from a fun night out. But when Emily’s eyes rose and met Brigid’s, she gasped.

“Brigid Connor?” Emily’s mouth spread into a broad, friendly smile and she stepped inside. “You have normal hair now!”

Brigid was at a loss. It was the first time she’d run into any of her old crowd. “Emily… hello. I—I didn’t know that you—”

“I can’t believe this! I’m so excited. Everyone thought you’d disappeared. No one asked questions, of course, but I had to admit I was worried when you didn’t come back to school. And then Mark told us about meeting that vampire—”

“What vampire?”

Emily giggled. “I don’t know his name, silly. Mark said… Well, you know how he was. I think he was jealous.”

Brigid’s mouth dropped open. “Who?” She suddenly remembered that her old boyfriend had been with her that fateful night by the Ha’Penny Bridge Inn when Carwyn had discovered her drug use. “Carwyn? Mark… he never mentioned anything to me. I’d forgotten he even met him.”

“So…” Emily’s smile turned mischievous. “Is that why you disappeared? Ran away with a handsome vampire, eh? Mark thought you’d had a history with the guy and hadn’t told him. Said he was older and—”

“No!” She blushed bright red as she thought about Carwyn at Christmas. The wink he’d shot in her direction as he pulled off his shirt made her feel like a nervous schoolgirl, and her heart raced thinking of the furious crush she’d entertained from a distance when she was young. Then there was their conversation on Christmas morning she still thought about.

Carwyn
. Her mind turned too often to the unattainable immortal.

“It’s nothing like that.” She cleared her throat. “So, Emily, do you work here now?” Brigid straightened her shoulders and faced her old friend, reminding herself she was no longer the awkward girl from Parliament House. Emily had never had a problem with drugs. Not like Brigid. As far as Brigid knew, she’d always toyed around the edges of the scene. Smoking some pot. Taking Ecstasy when she went out. And Brigid had been very good at hiding her use from her friends.

“I’m working in the accounting department.” Emily rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the fifth floor. Her eyes saw Brigid’s floor and widened. “Fourth floor. Posh! And secure, eh? I suppose your family is still—”

“I’m working here, as well. I’m in security. That’s why.”

Emily grinned and leaned against the back wall of the lift. “This is so cool. I wondered so many times over the years. How long has it been? What, two—”

“Three years now. It’s been almost three years since I was… well, since I quit school.”

Emily looked a little confused, but happy, too. “It’s so great to see you.”

“Have you…?” Brigid shifted. “Have you heard from Mark lately?”

Her old friend gave her a soft smile. “London last I heard. He and Jenny Daly were married last year. Pretty sure they moved to London.”

She nodded. “That’s nice.” Brigid tried to think of anyone else from that time that she cared about asking after. There really wasn’t anyone, which made her a little sad. “So, Emily—”

“We should go out to catch up, eh? Just girls?”

Brigid blinked in surprise. “Oh, sure. That’d be fun.”

“There’s this fun club—” Suddenly, Emily broke off. “Oh, do you like dancing now or not?”

Brigid smiled. Though physical contact and crowded rooms no longer gave her the instinctive anxiety she’d once struggled with, she still wanted to avoid the scene. Besides, going to clubs felt too much like work anymore.

“Not really,” she said. “Maybe just lunch or drinks somewhere would be fun.”

“Sure.” Emily yawned. Her blinks were becoming longer and longer. Brigid realized that the lift had stopped on the fourth floor, but she still hadn’t slid the keycard that would open the door. She pushed off from the back wall and got it out, then swiped it and the doors opened with a hiss.

“I better go, Em. I’ll—”

“I’m in flat five-ten above, if you want to stop by whenever.” Emily was staring at the secured fourth floor with owl-eyes and gave Brigid a sleepy wave before the doors swiftly closed. Brigid spun around and started walking toward her flat.

Well, that was unexpected.

It was two weeks later when Brigid finally decided to ring Emily. She’d accessed her information in the security files. Jack had been relentless in teasing Brigid about her lack of a social life, and Brigid decided to take matters into her own hands. She could have a social life. She could. She already had an old friend to catch up with. If she didn’t date much, it just meant the men in Dublin weren’t all that interesting.

Much to Brigid’s relief, Emily did not insist on a club. She also didn’t ask how Brigid had found her number, but then the girl wouldn’t. She’d lived around vampires her whole life.

They met at a busy café in Ringsend. The lunch crowd was bustling, but the restaurant wasn’t overcrowded. It was one of the newer places in the neighborhood, and Brigid found the whitewashed walls, simple art, and mostly vegetarian menu a nice change from the dark rooms where she spent most of her days. She took a deep breath and smiled across the table.

She could see Emily looking around, as well. “Kind of nice to remind ourselves we can walk amongst the living, isn’t it?”

Brigid laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. I’m very pale, and I have no excuse for it.”

“There’s not many…” Emily glanced around. “Of
our
kind working in security, are there?”

“No, definitely not.”

“I won’t ask how you got the job, then, but you like it? The work?”

“I do. I’m very happy with it.”

“I remember you wanted to go into the police force. It’s much the same, then. So, are you the one behind the cameras? Should I wave the next time I walk down the hall?”

Brigid grinned. “Not me. I mostly…”
Give them information about what I remember from our college days. Try to avoid getting too close to any of the shipments that Murphy intercepts. Avoid thinking about those soothing little pills on my bad days…

She cleared her throat. “Lots of background checks. Clerical work. Computer work. Things they can’t do with their… condition. Stuff like that. Nothing terribly exciting.”

“Well, it’s still got to be more exciting than all the numbers that swim in my head.”

Brigid shook her head. “I never had a brain for those kinds of things. I still need help understanding my bank statement.”

Their friendly server brought two steaming plates. Salmon cakes for Brigid and a steak sandwich for Emily. The girl started to devour the sandwich, eating with gusto, which surprised her. Emily had always been the one worried about her figure, not that she needed to be.

Emily must have caught Brigid’s look, but she only smiled. “Never mind me. I’m trying to incorporate more red meat into my diet.”

“Oh?”

Emily blushed prettily, then swept her collar to the side to reveal two distinct marks that could never be mistaken for anything else.

Brigid’s mouth dropped open. “So… you’re seeing a—”

“Yes. Haven’t said anything to Mum and Dad yet.” The blush spread down her neck, sweeping over the marks that lay at the base of her throat. “You’re actually the first person I’ve told. I know… well, you’re not as judgmental as most people.”

“Who would have a problem with it?”

Emily waved a hand. “You know, so many people are willing to work for… them. It’s okay to take the good job and the security and such, but God forbid you actually socialize with them. We’ve known each other for years, and we’ve been dating almost six months, but he’s still worried about meeting my parents.”

Brigid frowned. In her experience, it was usually the other way round. Most vampires kept a polite distance from human staff or casual acquaintances. An understandable habit, as far as she was concerned. She couldn’t imagine losing human friends over and over again, but never growing older or aging. It was another aspect of immortal life that she’d never envied and another reason she never wanted to turn. She wondered what kind of vampire Emily was seeing. It couldn’t be…

“His name’s not Jack, is it?”

Emily blinked. “What, Jack? No.”

“He’s Irish. Young looking. Curly hair and dimples. Looked like a fecking choir boy, but has the tongue of Satan?” Jack would like Emily. He liked the cute, curvaceous ones that had pulses and didn’t ask too many questions.

Emily snorted. “No, I swear, it’s not Jack.”

“Good. He’s an ass.”

Emily slapped her hand over her mouth to smother the laugh. She looked around instinctively, even though they were out in broad daylight. “You talk about… them like that? Does he know that you like him so much, Brig?”

“He knows exactly how much I like him.”

“I always envied that, you know.” Emily took another bite of her sandwich. “You’re so bold.”

“Ha!” Brigid cleared her throat. “How… Why did you think I was bold? I was never bold.”

Emily shrugged. “You had the issues about touching and such—which it looks like you’ve totally conquered—but you always said whatever you thought. No matter who was listening. I envied that. Still do.”

“But you’ve no reason to be timid about things, Em. You’re a smart girl. And obviously pretty special to catch the attention of…” Brigid smiled. “Whoever he is. One of the choosy ones.”

“Oh, hush.” Emily shook her head, but Brigid could tell the compliment had pleased her.

“So, spill. Are the stories true? Is it really the best sex ever? Fabulous, earth-moving—”

Emily laughed. “Sadly, he’s not an earth… type, so there’s no earthquakes. Thanks for asking, though.”

“You have to give me some details. It wouldn’t be fair not to.”

Emily just leaned forward across the table and grinned. “The stamina is, I’ll admit, impressive. And no need for recovery time.”

“Lucky girl.”

“Oh”—Emily smiled—“you have no idea.”

“And I doubt I ever will.” She winked. “No prejudice, just unlikely that any one of them would take a chance pissing off Ioan and Deirdre by asking me out.”

“Not even Murphy?” Emily had a wicked gleam in her eye. Brigid couldn’t help but smile back. “If the rumors are true… he’d be well worth taking a chance.”

“He might be… slightly more bold. But he’s my boss, and he acts like it.”

“I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be unless there’s a reason. Murphy’s very proper with me. So, really, do I know him? I’ve met most of the people who work for Murphy.”

“Oh, he doesn’t work for Murphy. But he’s been in Dublin for some time. I think you met him once, ages ago.”

She frowned. It was possible. She’d met a lot of humans and vampires at one time that she had no memory of the next day, much less three years later. Emily was still talking.

“His name’s Axel. Tall, blond. He was at the club. You know, the first night. When you met Mark.”

The first night Emily had slipped her drugs. Brigid tried not to be resentful. She’d forgiven Emily years before. It wasn’t her fault that what had been a dangerous, but manageable, vice for Emily would spiral out of control for Brigid.

“Axel?” She frowned. “Oh, I do remember him. Scandinavian or something, right?”

Emily grinned. “You know what they say about those handsome Northern raiders.”

“Bad girl.”

“But a very, very satisfied one.” She giggled and started eating again. “He’s a water… you know. Does something with shipping. He’s old enough to do whatever he wants. We don’t really talk about his past much.”

“Most of them don’t.”

He was in shipping? And he worked in Dublin? Why hadn’t she heard of him? Murphy
owned
Dublin shipping, and Brigid had come to recognize most of the names of the people he had business with.

“But he’s great. Very considerate.” Emily paused and smiled. “Honestly, he’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. It’s kind of odd, if you think about it.”

Brigid decided that she worried too much. It was entirely possible that Axel used a different name for business than in his personal life. He wouldn’t be the first one.

“You should come with me a couple weeks from now,” Emily said. “We’re supposed to go meet a friend of his who’s visiting from out of the country.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, totally posh event. Penthouse in town.” Emily mouthed
‘water vampires’
and rolled her eyes. “But Axel said it was going to be a big party, and I could bring a friend, since I won’t know many people there. Want to come?”

“I’ll check my work schedule, but I can probably go.”

“Fun! And who knows, you might meet one of his friends that you take a liking to.”

That was doubtful, but she smiled anyway. “So, all Axel’s friends, huh?”

“Lots of international people. Mostly from Europe, I think.”

Brigid took another bite of her lunch. “Sounds fun. Like I said, I’ll check my calendar.”

Emily paused with a smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you again, Brig.”