by Lisa Olsen
Instead of concerning him, Carter merely looked intrigued. “Yeah? How much?”
“Enough that I might consider turning you in myself if you don’t watch it,” I teased. “Do you need a place to stay?”
“No, I’ve got that covered. What I mostly need is an in with the local cops so I don’t have to rely on a scanner to be kept in the loop. I don’t suppose you have one?”
I was going to end up owing Detective Mathis a whole string of favors. “Yes, I think I can point you in the right direction. Sit tight and I’ll get back to you when I can arrange a meet. Do you want to give me your number?”
“Check your phone, I’m under B.”
I didn’t bother to ask how he’d managed to get it into my phone already. “Does this mean I get to know what your real name is?”
“Someday maybe,” he grinned, backing away toward the mouth of the alley.
Looking down at my phone, I scrolled through the B’s, finding the new entry right away under Batman. “Seriously?” My brows rose as I looked up again, but he was gone. “I am not playing Batgirl,” I grumbled, going back inside the bar.
Chapter Fifteen
It was easier than I’d thought it would be to bribe Detective Mathis into helping me. That favor I already owed him? It turned out he was a sucker for baseball, particularly the San Francisco Giants, and all it took was a few phone calls (and a hefty price tag) to get him a spot at the Giants Fantasy Baseball Camp in Arizona. Never mind the fact that it wasn’t held until January, the guy was so stoked when I presented him with the glossy literature they provided, I was pretty sure I’d earned a few future favors which I intended to cash in on.
It was also easier than I’d thought it would be to shake my babysitters. With Rob focused on the new business more often than not, he didn’t blink an eye when I started working from home more than the office. After all, I had Lee and Gunnar there to protect me, as well as the house magic, and he felt comfortable enough leaving me behind to go attend to his own errands.
“Are you going in to the office today?” Maggie stuck her head into my study to ask, dressed for the mild summer nights in a long sundress the color of tangerines.
“No… I think I’ll stick around here tonight. You go ahead and take Gunnar with you for company, I don’t have any plans to go anywhere tonight.”
“Alright,” she accepted without argument. “Is there anything you’d like me to do while I’m out?”
The doorbell sounded then, odd for the time of night, and we traded looks. “How about you see who’s at the door?” But even though she readily agreed, I was right on her heels, curious about who it could be. Besides, I’d have to be the one to invite them in if it was a friend.
Gunnar was already in the entry way by the time we got there, peering through the window. “It look like a messenger,” he announced, pulling the door open. It was indeed a courier with a package for Maggie, requiring her to step out onto the porch to sign for it. We waited eagerly to know what it was when she came back inside with a fat packet.
“It’s from an attorney’s office. I don’t recognize the name, I don’t think we do business with them. Do you, Anja?” she asked, her brows furrowed together.
“Nope, I’ve never heard of them before, but the address is in Los Angeles,” I pointed out, looking over the large envelope with a critical eye. “Open it and see what it is. Oh, you can use my study if you’d like some privacy.”
“Don’t be silly,” she laughed, carefully pulling back the adhesive flap. “I’ve no secrets from any of you.” Inside were five folders with slick covers bearing company names I’d heard of before, but didn’t have a particular association with. Maggie glanced at them briefly and then set them down on the coffee table to focus on the enclosed letter.
While she read the missive, I took a peek into one of the folders. It appeared to be a report, the kind they sent to investors at annual meetings with a breakdown of all the company’s assets and how it performed that year. Flipping through the pages, I saw it covered the past five years and the numbers were impressive.
“Oh my Lord,” she breathed, her eyes leaving the page to stare off into space.
“What is it?” I prompted, even as Gunnar drew closer, a look of alarm gripping his features.
“Something is wrong?”
“No, not exactly, but there must be some mistake,” Maggie frowned, looking back at the paper again. “This says I am the sole heir to Marcus’ estate. I am to inherit everything, the companies, the stocks, the houses…” She looked green around the gills and I wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her to the sofa.
“Here, sit down. That’s got to be quite a shock.”
“Quite,” she nodded, her voice breathy.
“Gunnar, can you please get her something to drink?”
“This is a cause for celebration!” Gunnar beamed. “I will go find a suitable wine. No, champagne!”
While he bustled off to the cellar, I scanned the letter over her shoulder, and she was right, Maggie was now a very rich woman. A rich woman who looked like she was about to hurl. “Congratulations, Maggie,” I said, trying to distract her from the case of nerves. “It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
“I’m not too sure of that,” she murmured.
“You’re not happy about being independently wealthy?”
“I never asked him to do this. I never asked him for anything.”
“Hey, Marcus loved you, and this was his way of showing it. He wanted to provide for you in the event that something happened to him.”
“But I never wanted his money.”
“It’s yours now, to do with as you please. Now you really can do anything you ever wanted to. You can travel and see the world, you can start your own business, or blow it all on hats. It’s completely up to you,” I smiled, glad to see some of the color coming back into her cheeks.
“I suppose I could.”
“Sure, or you could stay right here and think about it for a while, there’s no need to rush into anything. You’ve always got a place here with us.” I covered her hand with mine to give it a brief squeeze and she smiled back.
“I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t working for you. I suppose I don’t need the job anymore, but I enjoy it. I like being a part of something, especially something Marcus believed in. And I don’t think I’d like living on my own, it’d be far too lonely. Perhaps… perhaps I won’t change a thing. Does that sound crazy?”
“No, not at all,” I assured her. “I don’t do this just for the paycheck either, though it does help pay the bills. I’ve probably got enough saved up now to last me quite a while.” Owning the house free and clear was a big part of that, but if I lived frugally, I probably wouldn’t have to find a job for some time. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the thought of seeing the world is mighty appealing too. There are places I’ve only read about that I’d love to go to, and truly experience other cultures.”
“Maybe you should be the one to take a trip around the world?”
Technically, I could. Felix could see to many of the day to day decisions and with the internet I could be in constant contact, but I didn’t want to be the kind of Elder who pushed things off onto others. And the kind of travel I was talking about would take more than a few weeks here and there.
I could show you my favorite places. There are churches in Europe that are so amazing, so beautifully constructed… when the music swells it could make the heavens weep.
Bishop’s words came to me and I felt a swell of longing, not just for him, but for the beautiful dream he’d offered. Part of me regretted not taking him up on it, but the rest of me was happy where I’d ended up. I would get there on my own eventually, forever was a long time.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” she prompted with a smile.
“I think about leaving it all behind to see the world sometimes, especially when I can’t seem to get through to some people,” I answered truthfully and
she sucked in a surprised breath.
“You mean permanently?”
“Someday, I think so, when I’m ready. I guess most Elders probably do this until someone takes the position from them or they die, but I can’t see myself doing this forever. Only for as long as I know I’m doing some good.”
“You are,” she assured me with a squeeze of the hand.
“Thanks, Maggie, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. And whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you. Like I said, you’ve always got a home here with us, and if you decide you want to spread your wings and try something new, I’ll help you any way I can.”
Gunnar came back with a bottle of pink champagne, something that tickled Maggie when Lee looked at it with suspicion, but he tried it to make her happy. Starting to get into the spirit of the news, Maggie made a list of things she could buy that she’d always wanted to try and we took turns adding our own suggestions to it.
Most of my suggestions seemed to center around chocolate, one of the few foods I could still savor as a vampire. Gunnar was in favor of adding a waterfall to the back yard, and Lee did his best to talk her into buying a big old Cadillac – the kind they didn’t make anymore. I could see the wheels turning in Maggie’s head and I guessed when the list turned into her Christmas shopping list for us. I was the same way. It always brought me more joy to buy things for others than myself and I took special note of what made it onto her list for ideas of what to get her the next holiday season.
As it grew later, I started to worry my plan to sneak off and meet Carter and Mathis might have to be postponed, but after the champagne was gone and the list tucked away, Maggie went to find her sweater to head into the office after all. All I had to do now was wait for Lee to toddle off to bed before the Late Show came on.
Carter’s text came as I was lacing up my boots. You’re late.
Patience is a virtue, I sent back.
So is punctuality.
Relax, he’s not meeting us for a half hour.
I like to get there early, get the lay of the land.
I wanted to call him paranoid, but I supposed it’d served him well over the years. Go then, I’ll meet you there. I texted the address, half expecting an argument.
But all he sent was, see you there.
I waited long enough to make sure Lee was completely out cold before I slipped out, setting off on foot to meet up with Carter before Mathis showed up and wondered who the heck he was. Putting on a burst of speed once I got out of my immediate neighborhood, it didn’t take me long at all to get to the rendezvous. For all Carter’s yipping about me being late, he was nowhere in sight when I got to the third level of the parking garage.
At least I thought I was alone on the level until Carter stepped out of nowhere and grabbed me from behind. He was ready for me when my instincts kicked in, avoiding my initial strike and pinning me into a particularly effective hold.
“That’s what you get for showing up late.”
“Carter! Let me go before I forget we’re supposed to be on the same side.”
“Just trying to keep you on your toes, sunshine,” he chuckled at my ear.
Maybe he was trying to prove a point about his skill, maybe it was a macho thing, but he didn’t let me go. He might be good, but I was stronger and faster. I didn’t try to break his grip, I didn’t try to slip out of his hold. All I did was grab hold of his wrist and squeeze until he let go, keeping the pressure on until he went down on his knees.
“Do my toes look like they need you to keep in shape?” I asked, forcing his head down for an intimate look.
To his credit, the only sign of pain he gave, besides being face down before me, was a slight tension around the eyes. “No, ma’am. There’s nothing wrong with your shape.”
I kept him there a few moments longer before I let go of him with a shove. “If I want to spar I’ll ask you to. In the meantime, do you think you could stop jumping me every time we meet up?”
“Sorry. You know you only got me because I didn’t want to hurt you though, right?”
Good gravy, was there no end to the male ego? “No, right, of course not,” I nodded, allowing his face a bit of saving.
“You’re just as strong as I thought though. What I couldn’t do with you after a couple months of training. You’d make quite a sidekick, we’d be invincible.” His eyes grew unfocused, no doubt a training montage spinning through his mind, until I decided to bring him back to Earth.
“Carter?”
“Yeah?” he blinked.
“You know I only let go of you because I didn’t want to hurt you, right? I could’ve snapped your wrist like a dry twig. Maybe it’s not such a hot idea to push my buttons. You get me, Kato?”
“Loud and clear.”
The elevator doors opened, and before I could blink, Carter had a gun drawn. Maybe it’d always been there, it seemed like such a natural extension of his hand.
“Calm down, it’s our contact,” I whispered, stepping into the light so the detective could see me.
Carter grabbed me by the waistband and hauled me back behind a pillar seconds later. “That doesn’t mean we can trust him. Let him see you, but don’t stand out there so exposed, for chrissakes.”
Detective Mathis took a few seconds to gain his bearings, his nose tilting up into the air before he started off in our direction. He moved with an easy loping gait, his strides more fluid than he looked capable of when standing still. A shorter guy, a couple of inches taller than me with curly brown hair and deep set brown eyes, he wore the same tan blazer I’d seen him in the last time, paired with a brown polo shirt and jeans with scuffed sneakers.
He slowed to a walk as he came closer, his eyes darting in a seemingly haphazard pattern, but when I saw him sniff again, I realized he was mostly relying on his sense of smell to tell him what he needed to know. I tried it myself, and caught a myriad of scents in the still air, but lacking a werewolf sniffer, I had no idea how to interpret most of them.
“Who’s this?” Mathis asked with a jerk of the head in Carter’s direction and the hunter gave him a smirk.
“An interested bystander.”
I cut in, thinking Carter might not want to identify himself to the cops. “It’s cool, he’s with me.”
“Like that makes it better,” Mathis muttered and Carter bristled with annoyance.
“I thought you said this guy was on board?”
“He is, he just has a few prejudices where vampires are concerned, you two have that in common,” I explained. “What happened, Mathis? I thought we were friends. I gave you something, now you give me something. That’s how it works. Unless you want me to cancel your reservation…”
“No, no, no… don’t get your panties in a wad, I’ve got what you asked for.” Mathis held up a thumb drive, but didn’t hand it over yet. “So, what’s the dealio, yo? Don’t you already have access to this stuff?”
“No, the Order does, not me.” I didn’t want to get into it any further than that.
“Same difference,” Mathis shrugged.
“The difference is we’re going to actually do something about it,” Carter said, snatching the drive to plug it into a small tablet he produced from his coat pocket.
“We can look at it later.”
“I just want to make sure Snoopy here comes through with what we need before we let him off the hook.”
Mathis let out a low menacing growl, but I easily held him at bay before he did anything rash. “Cool it, Mathis. Let’s play nice, huh guys? We’re all on the same side, so let’s be friends. All we want is to save human lives, right?”
“Yeah, you want to save them for later.” Mathis didn’t stand down, if anything he sounded more aggravated, and I could see how it grated on Carter’s nerves.
“I don’t think I like your tone, friend. If you were doing your job, the shit wouldn’t be this deep.”
“Oh right, like it’s my fault your kind is infesting my city…”
“That�
�s enough!” I barked, coming between both men, pushing at their chests as they puffed up, eager to assert their dominance. Ugh, men were such babies sometimes. “I get it. Vampires and weres are non-mixy things, so you can lay off the growly bits. You don’t have to like each other, but like I said, we’re all on the same side. You two can go off and get all manly and bash each other’s brains in all you want when we’re done cleaning up this mess, but for now I need the both of you to act like adults. Or is that too much to ask?”
Mathis shrank in upon himself at my tone, his hands coming up in surrender. “Okay, okay, you don’t got to squash my nuts about it.”
“What is it with you and squashing nuts? My hands aren’t anywhere near your nuts.” Nor were they likely to stray in that direction anytime soon. “Can you behave or not?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Carter?”
The corner of his mouth tilted up into a half smile. “No need to squash anything.” His eyes dipped lower for a moment to make his point. “I can behave.”
“Shiny, let’s get back to business then.” I let go of them both, taking a moment to straighten my top and take a breath. “I think…”
The elevator doors opened then and our heads swiveled in unison. I wasn’t prepared to worry too much about someone walking to their car, it was a public garage after all and the three of us weren’t doing anything wrong, just standing around talking. That is, until I saw who stepped out of the elevator and my heart clenched.
Instantly, I grabbed Mathis and Carter, pulling them into the space between the support column and the wall as Rob strode onto the parking level.
Chapter Sixteen
“What the…” Carter started to say and I clamped a hand over his mouth, pressing us all into the impossibly small space until it became clear Rob was walking in a different direction than us.
“I don’t want to complain, but you are squashing my nuts a little,” Mathis squeaked, and I let go of him with a whispered apology. Easing slowly out of my position, I spotted Rob cut over to the far aisle on the other end of the lot, lighting a cigarette as he kicked back to wait for someone. What were the odds of that?