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probably warned him about my mouth, which begged the next question.
    “Where’s Cash anyway?”
    Disco had a cigarette in his hand, moving so fast I didn’t see him pull it from the pack. He lit it and took a deep drag. I felt compelled to tell him second hand smoke kills, but he spoke before I could impart my health care advisory.
    “Cash vanished the last night he came to see you.”
    Okay, that wasn’t good. Cash, for all his flaws, had grown on me in that week he pestered me. “I liked Cash,” I said softly and Disco’s head snapped up.
    He read the truth in my words, and his face changed, becoming almost sad. “Everyone liked Cash, which makes this all the more difficult to understand. We run in our own groups, and sometimes we don’t get along or see eye to eye, but there wasn’t one single person who wasn’t taken with him. No vampire would hurt Cash, but only a vampire, or something as powerful as one, could get close enough to him to cause any harm.”
    “Then what could hurt him? What kind of things can kill a vampire?” I was concerned for Cash and beginning to worry for myself.
    Disco’s eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a harsh line. “That’s what we’re going to find out, and once we do, we’ll take care of it. Everyone is rattled by these recent occurrences. Vampires are vanishing at a rate of one or two every other week, and it’s been ongoing for weeks.”
    “And you.” I nodded at Goose. “What have you seen?”
    “I’ve tried to see whatever is available, but I can’t see the twice deceased. Perhaps if I visited their place of death, I could. But as it stands, they don’t appear to me.” His voice betrayed his frustration, and his face mirrored the sentiment.
    We were dealing with something powerful enough to overcome vampires. The knowledge freaked my ass out. Anything that could kill a vamp would rip me a new one.
    I peered at Disco through my lashes.
    He could rip me a new one, too. It was the lesser of two evils. While I didn’t trust Disco, I knew I had something he wanted. As long as I delivered, I could return to my blissfully peaceful and mundane life of bartending.
    “Where do you want me to go and what do you want me to do?”
    “You’ll visit the last locations they were seen, as well as the places they normally frequented. You saw Jacob at Shooter’s, so I know you can see them,” Disco said.
    “Jacob?”
    “The man you so kindly told to get away from the pocket at Shooter’s. You described him the night we spoke—twenties, long hair…” Disco watched me, allowing the words to soak in. I could see the undead-dead. Those who bit the permanent gravy train just like the rest of us saps.
    “When do I start? I wanted to finish this yesterday.” I spoke while I still had my nerve. That steel backbone of mine had turned into a pliable swizzle stick.
    “When are you available?”
    “Depends.” I thought about it for a moment. “I’m on at the BP four nights a week, sometimes more. Day’s are better for me, but I know you shrivel and burn in the sun.”
    His lips turned upward mockingly. “That’s why Ethan will be accompanying you. He’s a professional. Pay attention and you could learn a few things.”
    “Goose is a professional, huh?”
    “My name isn’t Goose,” Ethan corrected me. “And I have free time tomorrow.”
    “Your name is Goose now, like it or not. And tomorrow is fine. I can meet you after I hit the gym.” That would work out nicely. I could get my burn on and then get this shit over and done with ASAP.
    Goose ignored my ribbing, reached into his pocket, and produced a little metal box. He flipped the lid and produced a card, which he tossed on the table. “There’s my number. Call me when you’re ready.”
    I spun the card on the table with my fingers.
    Ethan McDaniel, Paranormal Investigator.
    Wow. The guy actually made a living from this crap.
    The atmosphere in the club charged, and I frowned, turning my head in the