He was holding his sister, Monica, by both elbows as she twisted to get free in a storm of flying long, dark hair. She froze when she saw Claire. If Morganville had a queen bitch, it was Monica; she’d elected and crowned herself way before Claire had ever run afoul of her. It didn’t help that she was also pretty and had a huge budget for clothes and shoes. Monica’s lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. She tried to stomp on her brother’s foot with her high heels, but he was obviously used to handling her, and he must have been wearing steel-toed boots.

“Let’s all just be calm,” Hannah said. She was a scary figure, Claire thought; there was presence to her, a cool and competent sort of aura that made you instantly believe, in any situation, that she’d been there, done that, and written the how-to book. It was almost certainly not true some of the time, but it was impossible to tell that from her body language and expressions. She had her cornrowed black hair tied back in a messy knot, and although she was wearing her police uniform, she’d lost the hat somewhere. The scar that jagged its way down her face looked fearsome in the dim light, and her dark eyes were very, very steady. “I’d ask where’s the fire, but I’m guessing it’s upstairs.”

“It’s out,” Claire said. “Hannah, I have to go. Right now.”

“Not alone, you’re not.”

“Why is Monica here? She left with the others.” Morganville’s privileged elite—mostly vampires, but a few well-connected humans—had fled before the draug had really attacked in force. Monica had cheerfully boarded the bus.

“God, let go, Richard. I’m not going anywhere!” Her brother released her, and Monica made a show of smoothing down her entirely-too-high-priced dress, which ended just below illegal. “My brother’s all I have left, and he came running back here out of some misguided sense of loyalty to the little people. I couldn’t let him face danger without me, could I?” She hesitated, then shrugged. “Besides, I ran out of money. And my credit cards were frozen.”

“So you came back here?” Claire stared at her for a second, stunned by the magnitude of the void that was Monica.

Monica said, “Bite me, preschool. I don’t care what alligators you’re swimming with, anyway. I hope they eat all the best parts.”

“Whatever. I don’t have time. Shane’s been taken by the draug, and I have to get him back. I have to.”

Hannah’s whole body language softened. “If he’s been taken, you know how that ends, honey. I’m sorry about that, I truly am.”

“No, he’s strong. Shane is so strong. If anybody can survive, he can—I believe that. Hannah, please, you have to help me ….” She gulped back tears, because tears wouldn’t help. “Please.”

Even Monica had gone still now, and she’d lost some of her edge. Hannah considered all this in silence, and then slowly shook her head. “You’ve got no chance,” she said. “You don’t even know where he’s being held—”