“There’s no way to tell.” Jessica sighed. “Apparently, they’re moving in and out of the place on rotation. I’d say a safe bet is two dozen, give or take.”
Anthony let out a low whistle. “This dude better be worth it, Jess.”
She gave him a tight smile that felt like a grimace. Was Leandras worth it? Not in the way Anthony meant when he raised his eyebrows like that.
Jesus, he thought she was dating the half-dead fae hiding out in her bank lobby. And she just didn’t have the heart or the time to correct the misconception.
Yes, Leandras was worth this kind of high-stakes job. Because if they didn’t retrieve his gúlmai from his apartment, he’d die. And if the fae man died, Jessica wouldn’t have a chance in hell of knowing how to prepare for whatever came next, now that the first phase of the reckoning was complete—now that everyone and their magical mother wanted to get into her bank and break down the Gateway door to get their hands on whatever existed behind it.
The completely different world behind it.
“We can handle two dozen,” Rebecca said blandly. “Right, Damian?”
The Umbál still glared at the tiny sheet of paper in Jessica’s hands. “Or more. No problem.”
“They’re not low-level assholes, either.” Jessica dipped her head in concession. “I’m assuming well-trained in all areas. And prepared for an attack, most likely. Though they’re only expecting this friend of mine to return for his…for the item, and they think he’s vulnerable and tapped out. So at least we’ll have the element of surprise in that way.”
“Is he?” Rebecca asked. “Vulnerable and tapped out?”
Jessica nodded. “Extremely.”
Anthony narrowed his eyes and leaned toward her. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Yep.” She swallowed. “I don’t know how the targets got through, but chances are they sealed everything back up again once they got inside. And we’ll have to break through the same thing.”
“Spit it out already, Jess.” Cedrick leaned away from the table, gripping the back of the chair in front of him with both hands. “Security networks never stopped us before, in case you forgot. We can handle it.”
“Complicated security network.” Jessica studied each of her old friends—each member of what she’d once called her family—and pressed her lips together.
Just rip the band-aid off right here and now. There was no point in dragging this out any longer. Either they were all-in, or they’d tell her to fuck off and find somebody else.
“Pretty advanced web of activated wards. The deadly kind. Plus…necromantic hexes.”
“Fuck me.” Anthony rubbed his mouth and stared at her with wide eyes.
Cedrick’s high-pitched laugh blasted across the coffee shop, and this late at night, the sound drew more than a few looks from the other patrons. “You said life-or-death for your friend, but you didn’t mention this being life-or-death for us too.”
Chapter Two
Jessica wiped her clammy palms on her black jeans and didn’t even bother to try a reassuring smile. Now that her friends knew the danger and the stakes, she was sure they’d tell her no thanks and good luck, she was on her own.
Rebecca let out a long, hissing sigh. “Jess…”
“I know. It’s not what any of you want to hear. Trust me, I almost killed this guy myself when he told me what I’d have to do to get this item for him.”
“It’s not like we can’t do it,” Anthony offered with a shrug. “We totally can.”
“Obviously,” Damian added.
“Are you sure this is what you wanna do, Jess?”
She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath.
No. It wasn’t what she wanted to do at all. She’d spent the last seven months trying to reinvent herself—without Mickey, without Corpus, without her magic. But if they didn’t break into Leandras’ home through wards and necromantic hexes and what would most likely equate to a magical shootout before the end, she’d be moving forward as the owner of Winthrop & Dirledge Security Banking without Leandras. The fae was already at death’s door. If he kicked the bucket before he could fulfill his end of their binding and tell her everything he knew about the Gateway, Jessica was screwed. So was everyone else, most likely.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said this is life or death, and I really need this…friend to not die.”
Rebecca smirked and raised an eyebrow. “That kinda friend, huh?”
“What? Hell no.” Jessica surprised herself with how quickly she broke into a grimace. “That’s not even remotely an option. He’s a pain in my ass and causes more problems than he fixes. But I need him. As much as I hate to admit it.”
Anthony snorted. “Sounds like you finally found your perfect match.”
“Stop.”
“Has anyone called Mel?” Cedrick asked, and everyone stared at Jessica.
She slowly shook her head. “Nobody calls Mel.”
“Jess, she can help us—”
“She stays out of this. Got it?”
Cedrick and Anthony exchanged a quick glance. Rebecca closed her eyes and shook her head. Damian kept staring at the blood-stained list in Jessica’s hands.
“Have you talked to her?” Cedrick asked, his voice low and hesitant.
Like he thought Jessica owed it to her best friend—and whatever else Mel had been to her—when none of them had lifted a finger to check in on her after Mickey put her away for shit she’d never done. And it felt a lot like everyone else was trying to dredge up old memories of her and Mel she’d much rather leave in the past where they belonged.
“Yeah. I’ve seen her a few times too. She’s happy. Finally going after her dream, you know? And I’m not about to drag her back into this kinda shit when she’s obviously put it all behind her.”
Rebecca sighed. “So you called us instead.”
“Hey, if you didn’t wanna come, you wouldn’t have.” Jessica glanced at each of her friends in turn. “Seriously. I can’t do this without you guys, but if you’re happy and finally following your own dreams too and don’t want to get your hands dirty with me, I get it.”
“Nah, fuck that.” Anthony sniffed and lightly thumped his fist on the table. “I’m in.”
“Yeah, me too.” Cedrick nodded. “You know Mel would feel the same way—”
“Forget it, man.” Jessica shot him a fierce warning glance. “Don’t bring it up again. Please.”
“Sure.”
“Well I definitely didn’t get into Cedrick’s reeking junkmobile just to waste my time.” Rebecca went back to faking a public manicure session. “So are we doing this or not?”
Everyone looked at Damian. Without taking his eyes off the paper in Jessica’s hand, he grunted and vigorously rubbed his chin. “Read the damn list, Jess.”
“Okay.” She looked down at the slightly smeared paper and Leandras’ barely legible handwriting. “So here’s exactly what we’re looking at.”
After double- and triple-checking the address—which turned out to be one of downtown Denver’s high-rise apartment buildings—they had to circle around downtown Denver so Anthony could find an open parking spot in the closest garage. It shouldn’t have been that hard on a Wednesday night at just after 11:00 p.m., but somehow, the members of Corpus found a way to make jokes about this too.
“Man, I told you an SUV was a bad idea,” Cedrick muttered as Anthony turned the corner in the garage yet again to take them to the fourth level. “Should’ve gone with a compact.”
“Like yours? Please.” Rebecca gazed disinterestedly out the back window.
“Nothing wrong with my car.”
“Except for whatever died in there,” Anthony added with a smirk before he pulled into the next empty spot on the other side of a huge truck. “I’ll take searching for a parking spot over suffocating in a compact any day.”
Cedrick cleared his throat. “Nothing died in my car.”
“Yet,” Damian said.
; Jessica snorted and unbuckled her seatbelt, shooting the Umbál beside her in the back seat a quick sidelong glance. Damian returned it and winked before opening his door.
Just like back in the day. When they had a lot more to joke about and way less at stake. Only now, she was putting Leandras’ life in the hands of four other magicals she trusted. And yeah, she probably did still trust these guys with her life. She just hoped this wouldn’t turn into a life-or-death issue for her friends too.
Jessica wasn’t sure she could live with that on her conscience alongside everything else.
“Let’s get going.” The SUV let out a little chirp when Anthony locked the car and stuck the fob in his jacket pocket. “Your friend say anything about getting up to his apartment?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes and brushed a stray lock of blonde hair away from her face. “Unless he owns the whole building, I’m sure the elevators won’t have wards.”
“No, he didn’t say anything about it.” Jessica shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and headed across the garage with the others. Owning the entire building wasn’t exactly out of the question for Leandras, unless he spent all his money on silk suits and lived in a dump. That seemed even less likely. Despite the fae man being at death’s door back in her bank, though, she really didn’t think he’d leave out any of the important details. Because if they didn’t get into his apartment and successfully retrieve the gúlmai stashed there, Leandras wouldn’t stay at death’s door. He’d waltz right through it.
Chestnut Place was mostly empty and silent as they crossed it and headed down Inca Street toward the apartment building, moving quickly and purposefully and looking like they were exactly where they belonged at this time of night. There were plenty of shadows to stick to between the buildings and behind corners, especially with the street lit up in pools of yellow and white light. But Jessica and her friends weren’t trying to hide their entrance into the Ballpark apartment building. After all, they’d been sent by the fae who lived there. Stepping inside the glistening steel building with rows of apartment windows wasn’t the hard part.
No, that would be getting through Leandras’ front door without setting off his warded alarms and necromantic hexes—and without alerting the magicals inside who wanted the fae dead.
They stopped beside the directory in the building lobby, and Anthony ran a hand through his mussed hair, frowning at the apartment numbers. “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about the neighbors hearing us.”
Jessica pulled out Leandras’ list to double-check it. Sure enough, the address matched the number on the directory. “That’s a plus.”
Cedrick grinned and gently elbowed her in the side. “Some kinda friend, Jess. Puts on a little more pressure knowing we’re breaking into a penthouse.”
Damian grunted and stabbed the elevator call button. “No it doesn’t.”
“Yeah, he’s right.” The changeling shrugged. “This wouldn’t be the first.”
“Hey, maybe keep it down on the incriminating talk,” Anthony muttered, casting a quick glance across the lobby. The place was empty and silent, but that didn’t mean they weren’t being listened to or watched.
The elevator doors opened, and all five of them stepped inside. They’d been trained well with stuff like this—don’t look up at cameras, don’t fidget, don’t gape at the inside of their next target location, no matter how opulent.
Besides, they weren’t trying to break into the whole building. Just the penthouse.
Jessica couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the thought of Leandras sitting up there at the top of this building, sipping tea in his fancy satin suits and basking in the spaciousness of one of the most expensive apartments downtown Denver had to offer. She wondered what came first—his smugness or the money.
As the doors closed behind them, she leaned forward to punch in the access code that would take them all the way up to the penthouse floor. She didn’t realize she was blowing out a long, slow breath until Anthony chuckled.
“You look like you did on your first job with us, Jess.”
“What?”
Cedrick grinned at her. “I mean, you’re not shaking this time. But your eyes are just as wide.”
Rebecca lifted her chin and failed to hide her smirk when she looked Jessica over. “Not getting cold feet already, are you?”
No, she didn’t want to be here, breaking into a penthouse apartment to steal a valuable artifact, no matter who it belonged to. She didn’t want to be putting her friends in danger again, and she wouldn’t have wanted to even if this had been a high-paying job instead of just a favor. But even then, Jessica couldn’t help a small smile as she watched the floor indicator at the top of the elevator counting up as they slowly ascended. “No. Not cold feet. It’s just been a while.”
“Hey, we get it.” Cedrick gave her a playful thump on the back of the shoulder with his fist. “But it’s damn good to be doing this with you again. Just sayin’.”
“Yeah.” She rolled her shoulders back and nodded. “Good times, right?”
Anthony snorted. “Hell yeah.”
The elevator finally stopped with a light ding, and the doors slid quietly open to reveal the short hallway in front of Leandras’ apartment. The team filed out, and Jessica clenched her hand around the crumpled sheet of paper in her pocket. “You guys need another—”
“Nope. We got it.” Cedrick walked quickly toward the corner of the hallway beside the elevators, where he finally looked up at the bottom of the single security camera on the penthouse floor. Leaning back against the wall, he raised his hand toward the camera, his changeling arm growing impossibly long from the cuff of his jacket sleeve before he felt around on the head of the device and switched it off. The red light went out, and he nodded. “Time to move.”
Anthony pulled a vial out of his pocket and uncorked it, motioning with the other hand for everyone else to stand back. “Just to double check.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” Jessica watched the vial filled with a dark-blue powder.
The wizard dumped a small pile of the stuff onto his palm, where it gave off a faint pulse of the same blue light. With his gaze set intently around the front of the apartment door, he tossed the powder into the air.
The air ignited with a crackle of wavering energetic lines crisscrossed in different colors and patterns in front of the door. A growing buzz filled the hallway, followed by a flare of intense heat as the enchantment-charged powder illuminated every single security ward they had to bust through before putting a hand on the door was even possible.
“Damn. You weren’t kidding when you said complicated.” Anthony tossed another handful of powder at the other side of the door, which crackled and flared with magical light to show the rest of the wards.
Jessica gritted her teeth. “He painted a pretty underwhelming picture.”
“Nah, we got this.” Damian stepped forward toward the glowing matrix of wards in yellow, orange, red, and blazing gold. “Twenty bucks it takes me less than five minutes.”
Rebecca tittered. “You’re on. Let me know if you get tired.”
He looked over his shoulder to shoot her an unamused glance. “How about forty?”
“Deal.”
For the first time tonight, Damian smiled. The effect of seeing the rare and startling expression on the Umbál’s face made Jessica, Cedrick, and Anthony step back in surprise. Rebecca cocked her head and folded her arms.
“I always forget there’s a reason you don’t smile,” Cedrick muttered. “You look like you’re about to kill somebody.”
“Maybe I will. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Damian turned slowly back toward the wards and raised his arms, as if he meant to walk right into the deadly enchantments and embrace the destruction they promised.
Anthony puffed out a sigh and shook his head. “Always gets creepy when it’s his turn.”
Jessica met his gaze and offered a small smile. They were all smirking now, though it was more in hesitant exp
ectation than any real amusement. There wasn’t a ward or enchantment or hex Damian couldn’t get through, as far as they knew. But the work took its toll on all of them. Damian wouldn’t ever say anything about it, but moving in and out of existence like only an Umbál could—just to dismantle magical security—meant he’d spend the next few days even more short-tempered than usual.
“You have the shroud?” Cedrick whispered as Damian’s entire body flickered in and out of sight, slowly at first but gaining speed.
A dull silver glow emanated from his outstretched arms. “Stupid question.”
“Oh, sure.” Cedrick cleared his throat and glanced at the ceiling in exasperation. “Why do I even bother, right?”
The flicker of Damian’s body grew faster and faster until he strobed like a silver light in front of the door. Two seconds later, every part of him oscillated so quickly that only the outline of his figure remained as a blazing silver light. The rest of the team squinted against the glare, then Damian stepped forward into the crisscrossing matrix of security wards.
Jessica held her breath as the warning buzz of the revealed wards grew into a low hum, igniting a tingling of magical energy across her skin. Where the wards would normally have dispelled an intruder for stepping right into them, Damian’s ability to exist on multiple planes at once took Leandras’ magical defenses with it. Now the lines of wards flickered in and out of existence with the Umbál, and when Damian spoke, his voice came from all around them and simultaneously very far away.
“Now.”
Jessica removed Leandras’ handkerchief from her other jacket pocket. The thing was wrinkled and stuck together with the fae’s dried black blood, but it would do the trick. Gritting her teeth, she stepped up behind Damian and reached out to place her hand on his back. The second her palm touched the blazing silver light of his form, a rush of burning heat flooded up her arm and spread across her chest.
Too many times to count, she’d been the one to lend an extra burst of power and energy to him whenever they had to break through multiple layers of magical security. Jessica’s magic had withstood it every time, because that was part of its purpose. They’d come up with this little maneuver before a job that included busting into multiple safes paid for and stored away by multiple owners. Just to get the job done quickly—to hit all targets at once instead of risking a longer countdown by focusing on each one individually. It had worked so well, they’d decided to do it for every job after that over the next two years.
The Secret Coin (Accessory to Magic Book 3) Page 2