BANE

CHAPTER FIVE - BOUND (Part 2)

A few more days had passed, and Holden was uncharacteristically home alone. Layla was at work, and Callista had asked Corbin to meet her for lunch near the base; he would be gone for a couple hours, at least. Holden sat on the couch and flicked thoughtfully at the business card in his hand. He had found it in the pocket of his pants while doing laundry after the night they had gone to the club. "Lorelei..." The girl in the blue dress.

He felt guilty for keeping their encounter a secret from Corbin and the others, but he still did not know if he could completely trust either side. Both groups seemed like they had something to hide, and from what Corbin had shared about his previous roommate's death, even Victor was not the gentle giant that he first seemed. Lorelei and Stella were no doubt dangerous, but not necessarily more dangerous than the people he now considered his friends. More importantly, those women somehow knew his name and his past -- Holden had to find out how much they really knew about him. He texted the number on Lorelei's card. /Who are you?/

A few seconds later, a response came. /A friend. Let's meet./ A second text gave an address and instructed him to be there in twenty minutes.

Holden quickly scribbled a note explaining that he was going for a walk, in case Corbin or Layla were to get home before he returned. He grabbed his set of apartment keys, which Corbin had finally provided him with the day before, and rushed downstairs to catch a cab. The taxi pulled up in front of a sleek office building, and he cautiously stepped into the lobby, scanning the room around him.

"Punctual. I like that," He turned to see Lorelei approaching him from a few feet away. She extended her hand for a surprisingly strong handshake. "Lorelei Katzenburg."

"H-Holden... Douglas, but you already knew that."

"I do. Come pet, we can talk in my office," Her heels made a distinctive clack against the floor as she walked in strides as long as her pencil skirt would allow. They rode wordlessly in the elevator up to the eleventh floor and Lorelei led the way to a large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows. "I didn't expect to hear from you," She motioned for Holden to have a seat, and stepped around her desk, sitting down with her fingertips touching to form a triangle-shape with her arms. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

Holden braced himself, trying not to let himself be intimidated. "I want answers. How did you know my name?"

"As I told you the last time we met -– I know lots about you, pet... possibly more than you know about yourself."

"How?"

"I have my ways, but I'm not about to reveal my sources. I need some answers from you first."

"Why should I tell you anything?"

She leaned back in her chair and crossed one slender leg over the other. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

"No thanks. I've heard what your scratches can do," Holden recalled his conversation with Layla, when she had mentioned the unique toxin beneath Lorelei's nails. "Besides, I thought your kind didn't like associating with humans."

Lorelei laughed. "Now, we both know you're not your average human..."

Holden stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't be coy... I can help you hone your gift. Right now, you have no control. Your emotions take over and your memory blurs –- how many times have you woken up not remembering what happened the night before? Don't you want to know why you've started thirsting for blood? Or how you managed to emerge from a burning building almost completely unscathed? Don't you wonder why Layla suddenly refuses to touch you anywhere you have exposed skin? I have the answers... but for a price."