by E. A. Copen
“What do you mean?”
“Crux,” I said, sliding into the seat across from Robbie. “Blackmailed her into letting him take your people.”
“I can bloody well guess why.” Robbie lowered his head to wipe a thumb over the side of his nose. Then he showed us his red thumb. “Do you know what this is worth to men like Crux? There’s a fortune running through my veins.”
“So you wanted him dead,” Abe said. “Him and Kim but you got Harry and the girl instead, is that how it went?”
“Everyone wanted them dead!” Robbie shouted. “Even his own family hated that prick. I was in the back of the line as far as murdering Harry Continelli went.”
“It wasn’t him,” I said, stone faced.
“What do you mean it was not him?” Abe spat. “He is fae, Judah. If anyone can open a portal, it has to be another fae. We recovered enough illegal spellcraft supplies from his office to make a convincing argument he summoned the ice giant you are so concerned about. He sent it after Kim. He killed Harry!”
I got up out of my seat. “Can I speak to you outside, Agent Helsinki?”
Abe’s eyes were slits as he glared at me. But he didn’t fight. He went over, jerked the door open and said, “After you, Agent Black.”
Once we were both outside in the hall, he slammed the door shut. “What was that?” Before I met Abe, I didn’t think it was possible to both yell and whisper at the same time but, somehow, he managed it and it was more threatening than it sounds. “You cannot just barge in here like you know everything and ruin my whole case. I have more than enough to charge him and juries have convicted on less.”
“Robbie is a criminal but he’s not a killer.” I pulled Abe to the window next door. “There’s the man who opened your portal and helped a giant through to kill Harry and Kim.”
I pointed at Sven, who was still smiling and giggling at his cartoons. We watched as Sven took a carton of apple juice in one massive hand and sipped at it through a straw.
Abe looked at Sven, then at me, then back to Sven. “Bloody Mary,” he said in the form of a curse. “You cannot be serious. I have seen his file. That oaf is barely capable of wiping himself, let alone killing fifteen people. And he’s certainly no twenty-foot-tall ice giant, capable of turning people into... what did you call them?”
“Draugr.”
He stared at me. “You are not serious. This is a joke.”
“He’s got the chops, believe me. And he’s smarter than you think. He did it to protect someone. Abe, I don’t think he understands what he’s done, but he gave me a confession.”
Abe snorted and crossed his arms. “One that will never hold up anywhere. No one is going to convict a five-year-old in a man’s body. And Crux will protest if anyone tries. He will file a petition to have his property returned. The lawyers will argue, as property, Sven cannot be held responsible for his actions. And Crux is untouchable. He is a diplomat. I’ve seen this go through before. In the end, Sven gets killed. Is that what you want?”
I stared at the floor. “No.”
“Then let Robbie take the fall. He is a criminal and you know it. If anyone I have met in Concho County so far deserves to be behind bars, it is him.”
Robbie was guilty of half a dozen small crimes. I didn’t like the guy, and he’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since I came to Paint Rock. But he’d done good, too. He’d found jobs for all the displaced fae that he could. More importantly, he wasn’t guilty. I just couldn’t bring myself to put the cuffs on him for something he didn’t do. If I didn’t, though, Crux would kill Sven.
There was the slim possibility I could prevent it by having Crux arrested. He was, after all, involved in human trafficking... fae trafficking. Whatever. But it relied on INTERPOL doing their job. As he was here on a diplomatic visa, the best I could do was detain and deport his sleazy ass. I had to hope INTERPOL wasn’t in the Stryx’s deep pockets. I had no way of knowing.
“No, Abe,” I said at length and turned to him. “Robbie will get his, but not today. Today, we’re going to get the real bad guys.”
He frowned at me but, in the end, conceded with a nod. “If you are certain that is how you want to progress. I can let him go.”
“I’m not so sure I want you to do that yet, either.”
He raised an eyebrow and then reached up to adjust his big, floppy hat. “Why?”
I told Abe what I knew about Mara. Afterward, he leaned back, frowned at me and said, “Well, a hostage certainly complicates things.”
“I was thinking a hostage exchange,” I said, gesturing to Sven. “Crux will want his blood slave back.”
“I thought you were against letting a killer go free?”
“I am,” I explained. “We do the exchange and then promptly detain both of them for questioning. The plan is to hold onto them long enough to get INTERPOL involved, arrest Crux internationally while we try to figure out what to do with Sven.”
“So, at the end of all this, you want me to take Sven into custody?”
“It’s not what I want,” I answered gravely. “But I don’t know what else to do.”
Abe gave me a long look. “Do you believe in fate, Judah Black?”
“I think fate is a cop out. Destiny was invented so people didn’t have to take responsibility for shaping their own futures.” I turned to him, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. “Why?”
He slapped me on the shoulder hard enough I stumbled forward. “Perhaps a solution will present itself. As my father used to say, fortune and misfortune often live in the same house. Speaking of...” He gestured back to the interrogation room where Robbie waited. “Shall we go inform Mr. Fellows of our plan?”
I smiled. “Right after I have Tindall make a phone call.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I told Robbie I wanted to do the exchange at Aisling.
Robbie listened intently to what I had to say before sneering and saying, “No bloody way. Not on your life. I won’t agree to it. It’s my club, and if I let you wreck it, what’ll it get me?”
Abe, who was leaning against the wall, said, “It is a hostage exchange. No one is going to wreck the place. Besides, you do not have a choice. If you refuse to help Agent Black, I will arrest you.”
“What for?”
“Possession of several controlled substances with intent to distribute for one,” Abe said with a shrug. “And each one of those is a felony.”
Robbie lowered his head, but the expression he wore wasn’t shame. His eyes were boiling with anger. “You just expect me to stand by while you arrest Crux? I’ll gut him for what he did to my people,” Robbie spat. “If you’re too yellow to do it, give me the bloody stake. I’ll drive it straight through his scheming little heart and tear his head straight off for good measure.”
“We cannot let you do that,” Abe said.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s a vampire prince.” I sighed and sat down in the chair. “As much as I’d like to let you kill Crux, his head on a platter here means a lot of pissed off Stryx. They’ll start calling in more blood debts and, before you know it, it’ll be your head decorating their centerpieces on the table. Is that what you want?”
Robbie narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “I’m not about to just sit by after he’s taken my people and let the law handle it. He took four fae lives. He should be made to suffer.”
“We agree,” I said, nodding. “But killing Crux only costs more lives, Robbie, more fae lives. This retaliation needs to end here.”
He didn’t seem completely on board, but I didn’t have time to do more convincing. There was a knock at the door and Tindall poked his head in. “She’s here,” he announced.
“Bring her in.”
Tindall threw the door wide, revealing Kim Kelly beside him dressed in a form fitting, off the shoulder black dress. She smiled at me, but the smile quickly faded when she saw Robbie. “What the hell is this?”
“Call it an intervention,” I said a
nd gestured for her to come in.
Her eyes drifted from me to Abe and back again before she lifted her chin and stepped into the room. I stood and offered her my chair. She took it, but only after pulling it as far away from Robbie as she could manage. “I don’t know what you think I could possibly—”
“Oh, stow it,” Robbie spat, rolling his eyes. “They know everything already.”
Kim swallowed audibly against silence.
“I can help you,” I said, sitting on the table and turning to Kim. “But you’ve got to help me first.”
“Help me?” She laughed. “Unless you’ve got two million dollars just lying around, I don’t think there’s much you can do. Even if this deal with Crux goes away, I’m still going to owe the money.”
“Perhaps I can help with that,” Abe interjected. “Agent Black has told me about your financial situation. Let me speak with my clan mistress.”
Kim’s eyes flicked up and down Abe. “You’re an Upyri?”
Abe conceded the point with a nod of his head. “And the mistress owes me a favor. Several, in fact. Help Judah find her friend and I will see to it your debt with the Upyri is settled.”
She rolled the idea around in her head, jaw shifting back and forth as if she were literally chewing on it. When she’d made her decision, she turned to me and nodded. “Tell me what you want, Judah.”
“Call Crux. Set up a meeting.”
“What am I supposed to tell him?”
I tapped my fingers on the table a minute, thinking. “Tell him we have Sven, and we’re willing to make a trade, Sven for Mara.”
Kim’s eyes widened. “Mara?”
“Tamara Speilman. You know her as Tammy. You should remember her. After all, you hired her at Aisling and then stood by and did nothing while Harry stalked her.”
“I couldn’t do anything!” Kim said, clenching her fists. “You have no idea what kind of connections Crux has. I could have lost everything.”
“And what if things had gotten out of hand? What if Harry had hurt her, or worse, killed her?”
Kim turned her head to the side. “One girl, one human, isn’t worth staking my entire business over.”
“That’s why I stepped in.” Robbie sank down further into his chair. “Once I finally heard what was happening. No one scares my girls. I had it handled.”
“All your leather-clad friends did when they beat up Harry was make it worse,” I snapped at Robbie. “Harry was even more fixated on her.”
I brought out Mara’s phone and showed her the texts.
“Bloody Mary,” Kim cursed. “If I had known the girl would be so much trouble, I never would have brought her in.”
“Why did you hire her?”
Kim shrugged. “She had a hell of a body and she could dance. Why wouldn’t I hire her?” She sighed. “It’s not my fault Harry had to be a stupid dick. He started following her. Cornered her in the dressing room one day and all but forced her to give him her number. The next day, the bouncers had to break them up. He had his hands all over her. Next thing I know, he wants her for his movie or no deal. What was I going to do? Say no? I had too much to lose. I told her to take the job or hit the street. I figured she’d quit, but she had to be a stubborn whore. She took the fucking job. I was trying to help her, the stupid bitch.” She crossed her arms.
“If you really want to help Mara, you’ll make a phone call to Crux.”
Kim stayed completely still for a moment, examining every face in the room.
“Best not to argue, love,” said Robbie casually. “She’s got her heart set on it and won’t listen to reason.”
Kim held out her hand. “I need a phone.”
Abe slapped his outdated cell phone into her palm and she stared at it for a moment before a bemused smile sparkled across her face. Then, she punched in a number and brought the phone to her ear. “Yes,” she said after a moment. “It’s me.” Pause. Her eyes fixed on me. “Yes. No, Crux. Not anymore. I’m here with Agent Black and she’s got a message for you.” There was a slight pause before she pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to me. “He says he wants to talk to you directly.”
With a little hesitation, I took the phone and spoke into it. “Crux,” I said.
“Where is Sven?” Crux’s voice was dripping with venom.
“He’s here. Alive, which is pretty generous considering he tried to kill me and found himself on the wrong side of a werewolf.”
“You will return my property at once!”
I hopped off the end of the table to pace. “You want him back? How about a trade? Mara for Sven.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Crux broke down into a laugh. “Oh, you think you have it all figured out, do you?”
“Do you have her or don’t you?”
“I have your human,” he acknowledged dismissively. “She is owed to me. The blood debt must be paid, a life for a life.”
I paused in my pacing. “You think Mara’s behind these murders?”
“Who else would it be? The little whore refused Harry, refused me, didn’t show up to film... And then that thing showed up to protect her when I confronted her. Now I find she’s had magick the entire time? She’s shown us nothing but disrespect. It’s time for her to pay. But I won’t trade her, not for something rightfully mine. Return my Sven and I will allow you to say goodbye to your friend.”
I swallowed and put my hand over the speaker of the phone. “He doesn’t want the trade.”
Abe rolled his eyes. “I told you it would not work.”
I ignored him for the time being, going back to my conversation with Crux. A hostage exchange wasn’t the only trick I had up my sleeve. Vampires, like every other thing, had an instinct for self-preservation. All I had to do was convince Crux he was safer away from Mara than with her, which shouldn’t have been hard to do considering she had a freaking ice giant as a guardian.
“Crux,” I said. “I know you didn’t get away unscathed. You ran into some trouble when you went to get her, didn’t you?”
“That beast broke one of my fangs. No matter, though, I got away with my prize.”
“Do you really think you beat the giant, Crux?”
“Beat it?” He laughed again. “No. But I don’t have to, do I? Eventually, you’ll do it for me. I’m sure you have a plan. You wouldn’t just stand by while it rampages through a city looking for me, would you?”
“Dammit, he’s not buying it, either,” I muttered to Abe.
Abe held out his hand. “Give me the phone. I will get you your meeting.”
I hesitated. If Abe told him Sven was the real killer, he would kill Mara just to piss me off. Crux had no regard for human life, and she was sure to bear the brunt of his rage at finding out he’d been betrayed by his own blood slave.
“Trust me,” Abe insisted. I tossed him the phone. “Allo, comrade Continelli,” he said with a chipper voice. “Yes, it has been a while.” I have no idea what kind of response Crux had but it must have been exactly what Abe expected because he smiled. “I see you do remember me! Can I also assume you also remember your way around a saber? Very good! Yes, and nothing would give me more pleasure than to repay you for that particular scar. What do you say we settle this as our blood dictates we should in a duel? If I win, you will agree to give us the girl and forgive Kim Kelley’s debts. If you win, we shall turn Sven over to you, no harm done, and you’re free to go. What? The debt?” He glanced over at Kim. “Should you win, which you will not, the Upyri family will concede any and all claims to... let’s say the portion of Hungary west of the Danube? No, that would not include Budapest. Very well, then. One third of Budapest. That is, if you win.”
Kim leaned in closer to me, resting her chin on her fingers. “Who is this man?”
I wished I could answer her. Abe was a pickle. That a half-blood vampire would have any authority to negotiate territory was surprising, especially given he was an American citizen. Then again, I knew only a
little about the clan from which he claimed lineage, the Upyri. I knew only they were based out of the former Soviet Union. It was unsettling, sitting there helpless while listening to a half-vampire negotiate away a million or more lives should he lose.
“No idea,” I answered Kim, containing my distaste for the situation as best I could. “I didn’t even know he could do that.”
“Very good,” said Abe, still in his cheerful tone. He checked his watch. “Midnight, then? Aisling? Of course. I look forward to it.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, pressed the antenna back down and pocketed it. “There has been a slight change of plans,” he announced.
“The original idea still stands,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “But you’ll need to beat him quickly once the giant shows up to settle things on your behalf. I’ll deal with the giant. Can you do that?”
Abe puffed out his chest. “I can. I will.”
Robbie let out an exasperated sigh and tugged on the cuffs he was still wearing. “So, you are going to wreck my place of business, are you?”
“He said a public place,” Abe answered with a shrug. “And the club is the collateral used in the loan. It only seems fitting.”
“And when the giant shows up to protect its mistress?” Robbie said, jutting his face forward and placing his hands on the broken table, palms up. “What then? Who’s going to pay for the damage to the club?”
Kim reached over and put her hand over Robbie’s. “If we humiliate Crux or, better yet, kill him, I’m sure my father will be grateful. Once he hears it was all your doing, I’m sure he’d forgive you. He’d have to.”
“But... It wasn’t my idea.”
I tugged the keys to Robbie’s cuffs from Abe’s belt, much to his displeasure. “If it stops the fighting and stops the bad guys, I don’t give a damn who takes credit,” I said unlocking the cuffs. “Only that it gets done.”
Robbie rubbed his sore wrists and looked up at me. “Ice giant, eh? Do you think once it realizes Kim isn’t a threat, it’ll leave her be?”