Evading The Tempest (Tempest tales Book 1)

by Sandra Elsa

  "He just told me to turn myself in so your Father could test me."

  "Maybe he was warning you. You said he knows what you are. If he's telling you Father wants to test you, Father obviously doesn't yet know what you are."

  "I don't know. Even if that's all true, he's still a sergeant on the watch, and he likes his job." I grinned up at him. "Besides, I'm already engaged."

  "I wish."

  "Yeah, sure. You wish to warm my bed."

  "Already did that." He laughed at my frown. "You just weren't in it."

  I shook my head. "I'm in no mood for jokes."

  He stretched a finger out and pushed a wisp of hair behind my ear then ran his finger over my jawline, stopping on my chin, staring down. "I'm sorry. I guess this is my fault. If I'd just stayed where I belong, you'd never have been hired to tail the siphon. I wouldn't have tried to find those pictures after Mr. Ludovissy bragged about how he found me out. Father would never have gone down to Watch HQ, would never have heard your name, much less insisted on meeting you."

  I raised my hand to his, lifting it off my face, intertwining my fingers with his. "And you'd still be stuck in District Seven, doing his will. Your cousin would be dead, and the siphons would still be hunting. Too late to turn back time, we can only go forward. Since you told me what you could do, I've been trying to figure out how we can use that to our advantage. I think, as soon as I can get around, we should take a trip to the ocean. Get a couple of trees from Eighty-six and see if we can replant. Your father had a good idea, it just needs to be used for greater good than expanding his empire."

  "You mean to try making our own colony?"

  "Yes."

  "Father discussed his plans with me. Down to what he's determined to be the best places--"

  "I think maybe we want to look at his choices and see why he chose them and then find our own. It's doubtful he'll abandon his plans, even if your disappearance sets him back."

  "Most of it had to do with selecting places where the annual tempests won't completely devastate anything we start."

  "I suppose he'll have maps and charts under lock and key."

  "Downloading a bunch of them would probably attract his attention. But I have quite a few committed to memory, and looking at one or two at a time we could get away with."

  "Then let's plan for next week. I should be getting around and be off pain meds by then."

  "You don't waste any time." He grinned--a child’s excitement at vacation time filled his eyes.

  "Longer we stay around here, the more chance your father will find us."

  "Then I'll go find us someplace to stay. Buy a car big enough to transport some of the things we'll need to take along. Might be better to leave your car right where it is. If we try to sell it there's a chance it will draw attention."

  "Good thought. I really don't think you needed me. Why would you pay me so much?" Doubts insinuated themselves again.

  The grin faded as my thoughts aired themselves. "I'd just about been killed. Had the watch all over me, I didn't know people like Herm existed. I have the money; it seemed like a good investment. There's still a lot you can teach me. Things like district Eighty-Six has a magic suppression unit."

  I got the sense he left something out, but I didn't push. "That worked out so well for me."

  My sarcasm actually brought the edge of a smile back. "Making him walk in the wilderness probably pushed him over the edge. It was a good plan and he might not have thought anything more about it if you'd just met him in the parking lot."

  "I didn't know if the suppression field would be strong enough there. Whatever I think of him, he's a very powerful mage, and no fool."

  "Not telling me you were afraid of him."

  "Maybe a little," I confessed.

  He grinned down at me. "Did a good job of hiding that."

  "Doesn't do to let the client know you're anything other than confident."

  "I like you like this."

  "Saying you didn't like me before?" I kept my tone light, hopeful he’d recognize a joke. I made a living out of snarky and snide.

  "I liked you before too. But you're a little less prickly today."

  "That'd be the pain meds. Don't get used to it."

  "Wouldn't dream of it." Hissmile widened, as he chanced kissing me again. "I'll be back as soon as I have someplace for us to stay."

  He left and a nurse appeared. "Feeling all right, Mrs. Bromer?"

  Took me a moment to remember she was speaking to me. "I'm good."

  "Will Mr. Bromer be returning?"

  "Yes. He just went to find us someplace to stay while I recover."

  She winked at me. "You're a lucky woman. I wouldn't send that one back to the source. We've had phone calls asking about Miss Leone. The watch was informed she was discharged at seven-thirty this morning. If they insist on checking our facility, Mrs. Bromer is here giving birth. Just follow our lead."

  "Yes ma'am." Helplessness brought meekness. Crap. I really, truly, disliked having my fate in someone else's hands. Never having been anywhere near pregnant or even a pregnant friend near term, I had no idea what they'd expect if somebody did happen to wander through looking for me. I gather there's a lot of screaming and cussing. That, I could probably do. However, Wally would recognize my voice and I didn't put it beyond his higher-ups to send him looking for me. At least the president and his lie detection magic were unlikely to be part of the search.

  With nothing better to do, I went to sleep, awakening some time later to the chirp of my phone. Wally again. I shifted the GPS and answered it with silence, again. The silence stretched on both ends and I flipped the phone closed. A minute later, it rang again. The moment I opened it I heard a brusque, "Quite enough games, Miss Leone. It's time we find you quarters in the appropriate district."

  "Hell hasn't frozen over yet, Drover." I flipped the phone closed.

  Chapter 15

  The phone rang again. I cast a thought at the GPS chip and sent the signal forty miles away before answering.

  "Who is helping you, Miss Leone? We know you're crippled. We know you checked out of District Fifty-five's hospital early this morning. The picket reported a young man drove your car when you left the district."

  "I have so many friends you wouldn't begin to figure it out. I'll clue you in so you don't have to bother them. The young man helping me stands six foot, maybe six-one. Blond hair like the moon itself kissed him when he was born, strong jaw, perfect cheekbones, and the eyes...what can I say...I adore the purple color the blue contacts give him."

  I swear I heard spittle land on the phone's speaker before the signal disappeared.

  "That description sounded like you were waxing poetic about a lover."

  I grinned at Harrison as he stood in the doorway. "As it was meant to. If he thinks I was using Wally as a pawn while I'm at it hot and heavy with his son, he may believe Wally doesn't know anything worth interrogating him about."

  "He'll trace the GPS."

  "The Global Positioning Spell? Really? It's easier to manipulate than the money transfers."

  He grinned. "The districts are probably lucky you never decided on a life of crime."

  "Well, if I wasn't wanted before, I am now. Guess it's time to hone those skills."

  I flipped the phone open and called Wally's desk phone. It was answered on the fifth ring. "Sergeant Wallin's phone, Trooper Rollick speaking."

  "Rollick. I assume since you're answering his phone he's in a pow-wow."

  "What the hell did you say to the president, Frankie?"

  "Was he frothing at the mouth?"

  "Like a rabid wolf under the full moon."

  I chuckled. "I love it when you say things like that. How's Wally?"

  "Between a rock and a hard place, Frankie. He's miserable."

  "If you get to speak to him alone, tell him I'm sorry I had to use him."

  "I can't tell him that, Frankie. He's broken. Leaving you on that mountain nearly killed him. If I tell hi
m you used him from the start, he's not likely to recover. Especially not when I was the one encouraging him to ask you out." His voice became a growl. "Don't call him again, Frankie. You don't have any friends left here."

  "That's fine Rollick. I can take a hint. Besides, Francesca's about to die and she could hardly do that and still talk to the guys who are supposed to find her body. Good-bye, Rollick."

  I barely flipped the phone closed when it rang again. I shunted the GPS signal to District One, just outside HQ. Wally's cell phone. "I want my son, Miss Leone."

  "He doesn't want you."

  "How will you survive? We've frozen both your accounts."

  "Day late."

  "Then we'll trace the transfers."

  "Will you? Where am I right now? And where was I the last time you called me?"

  There was a brief hesitation. "You can manipulate other people's spells?" Silence filled the air as he pondered deeper. Dismay crept into the generally well-modulated voice. “You can manipulate the governments spells—no one person can do that, Miss Leone.”

  "I can manipulate whatever I damn well please. Now aren’t you glad I never wanted your job?"

  "Who are you, Miss Leone? You seem to have sprung fully grown from no one and nowhere."

  "A good portion of my life has been spent avoiding your sort. It's why your son's travails appealed to me. If you think I'll tell you who I am now, you've lost your mind."

  "But manipulating other people's magic is rare indeed. You could be a rich woman, Miss Leone."

  "I am a rich woman. I got that way by helping people."

  "You charge people for your help."

  "Depending on the case, I spend as much as twenty-four hours a day on it. I'm sure you value your time."

  "And the young woman you helped find her boyfriend?"

  "I told her a hundred and fifty a day before I realized I'd just seen him. She paid for a day. I accompanied her to the hospital and I woke him up for her. Do you insinuate that's not worth a hundred-fifty dollars? I woke your nephew as well. Nobody paid me for that at all, and the moment he opened his eyes, I knew his relatives would have far more money than the girl who hired me."

  "And what did you charge my son?"

  "I took him on as a charity case. He didn't want to access his funds. Now that we've cleaned the account, we'll be reassessing, his payments." I felt a tug on the spell controlling the GPS. I closed my eyes and turned it off completely. "Now that you've kept me talking long enough to try to reclaim the positioning spell, are we through here?"

  "I could talk to you all day, Miss Leone. I find you fascinating."

  "So does your son, and he's waving me over now. It's near impossible to talk on a phone and hop on crutches, so I guess I'll speak to you later. Or not."

  "My son's with you?"

  "Of course he is sweetcakes. I can't get enough of looking at him."

  "May I speak to him?"

  "So you can persuade him to come home?"

  "So I can tell him he's not in any trouble, and invite him to come home."

  "Daddy wants to speak to you, my love."

  Harrison grinned and leaned down close to the phone. "I don't want to talk to him, Babe." His voice was husky. I almost believed we were about to make out. "I have better things to do with my time."

  I gave a moan of pleasure as I closed the phone. Harrison clutched the side of the hospital bed, shaking with laughter. "Oh my god, Frankie. That was fun. What he knows you can do with magic, I guarantee he wants to sleep with you. Do you have any idea how many of my girlfriends he stole in the past twelve years? Even if it's not true, it's going to eat at him."

  I ran my hand over his head, caught by the sensual fall of his hair. "Glad I could entertain you. But I did it for Wally. I'd rather he hate me, than have your father interrogate him. Stalk his every move...And I did it for me, because if your father interrogates Wally, he'll find out that on top of what I've admitted to, talent wise, I'm also a null."

  He leaned his cheek into my fingertips, lips brushed my palm. "Whatever the reason, thank you for my chance to jump in. The call you made, where you spoke to Rollick, what was the purpose of that?"

  "Same as the last bit. Taking the heat off Wally. I liked him. But I'm glad we never actually got around to dating. I'm sure they had his desk phone bugged." I pulled my hand away from his face. "I assume you found a place for us to stay since you're back here?"

  "I have. Even got two bedrooms. Nice little single family home right on the dome."

  "Oh jesus...how much did you spend, and how big is little?" I imagined the poor little rich boy couldn’t live in an apartment.

  "Relax Frankie. Probably didn't look around much last night, but there are more single family homes than apartments available here. They are more expensive, but they're not ostentatious."

  "How much?"

  "Eight hundred a month."

  "For a single family?" Disbelief flooded my voice. I paid more than that for my apartment. "How much floor space?"

  "Fifteen-hundred square feet."

  "For eight hundred dollars?"

  He nodded, grinning. "Lot of stuff is more affordable here, seems to be an up side to living someplace nobody else wants to."

  "Wish I hadn't left all my stuff behind."

  "That makes two of us. I did figure we weren't likely to return to your place anytime soon. So I gave the wards a little added juice when I left."

  "It's my weapons collection I resent leaving behind. I only have my nine-mil and a couple of silver bonded daggers. Most everything else is in my office."

  "If it makes you feel any better, I did grab two pistols and three daggers from your bedroom."

  "No shit? From the dresser? You got on a bus with them?" I think I managed not to permit the ‘You’re such an idiot’ thoughts show up in my tone. If he’d been busted carrying them on public transportation it would have been over…for him anyway.

  "I hope you're happy enough to have them that I don't get blasted for using my magic. Thought this might be one of those times I was allowed to."

  I nodded sharply. I was happy to have them but they weren’t worth the risk to a client. "Obviously nobody noticed, so I'll let you slide. Where are they?"

  "At our house. Doesn't seem like you're going to need to shoot anybody here at the hospital."

  "Unless I don't get out of here soon. Seems like your father's done playing phone games, I'm going to go crazy before long with nothing to do."

  "Can you sit up?"

  "I'm sure I can. Don't know if the doc wants me to."

  He stepped out of the room, returning shortly with a doctor in tow. The doctor looked at my leg again and said it needed more time, but as long as I stayed on the bed I was welcome to sit. With one of them on either side they helped me up with a minimum of jostling to the leg. The doctor left and Harrison went to the bag of clothing he'd brought for me to change into. He held up the brush he took out and sat on the bed behind me.

  The hospital staff had cleaned the dirt from my trek down the mountain from my face and body, but my scalp itched with dried sweat. "I'm perfectly capable of brushing my own hair. It's my leg that's broken, not my arm."

  "Allow me. Please."

  "Fine. Just don't pull it. Not even my mother liked brushing my hair for me."

  The stiff synthetic bristles tugged at the knots in my hair and I reminded myself repeatedly he was trying to be helpful. Although the number of times his fingers lay against my flesh where the hospital gown opened in the back, was too frequent to be accidental.

  Even with his secondary goal of touching and caressing, after the major rat's nests were removed, the brush sliding through my hair felt wonderful. With every stroke and caress, the tension that kept me animated when I needed rest, faded away. I leaned my head back on his shoulder, "If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd accuse you of using magic on me."

  He wrapped his arms around me and dragged me back from the edge of the bed then stood and went
around the other side, gently lifting my right leg back on the bed. "Nice to know I have the magic touch without using magic. At least I didn't get blasted."

  Chapter 16

  I sank back into the bed and he pulled the covers up to my chin then pulled the chair over beside the bed. I was nearly asleep when my phone chirped again. He placed a hand on my shoulder, picked up the phone and turned it off. In a soft voice he said, "You find conversations with my father, far too stimulating. Rest."

  Resentment flared. Nobody ordered me around. The warmth of his hand cupping my cheek soothed me, stopped me from speaking.

  "When you're back on your feet. You can turn the phone back on. Not saying you can't talk to him, just that we'll be out of here much sooner if you'll relax."

  I sought out the warm fuzzy place the phone had dragged me from, His hand moved, repeatedly stroking the curve of my scalp pushing hair behind my ear. Before long, I slept.

  When I awoke, his head lay on the bed beside me, eyes closed, gently snoring. A nurse stood in the doorway holding a tray of food. She entered the room and walked around the bed to set the tray on the table. Harrison startled awake, his eyes going first to the nurse, then up at me.

  "Sorry. Didn't intend to fall asleep."

  I touched his hand. "You've had a rough couple of days too. You're allowed to sleep."

  The nurse looked down at him and said, "This is her food. There's a cafeteria on the first floor if you're hungry."

  He grinned, "I'm not brave enough to try to take her food from her. Are there signs for the cafeteria?"

  "Take the stairs. Turn right." She walked out of the room

  He stretched, then leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Gonna grab a bite."

  "My phone?"

  "Right where you left it."