Borrowed Souls: A Soul Charmer Novel

by Chelsea Mueller

  “Talk to him. When you’re ready to help—and I will take care of you, Callie—come find me.”

  She couldn’t help herself. “Where would I do that?”

  A cheshire grin on a woman like Tess was terrifying. “There’s a tarot reading shop north of the city near the Desert Outlets. You know it?”

  “I know the Outlets.” Callie shrugged.

  “I’ll be there at midnight for the next week.”

  Why was she even entertaining this? Oh, of course, because sinking deeper into danger was the Delgado way. She’d had a lifetime to learn it was smart to always keep your options open. “What if it takes longer?”

  “Then you’ll have missed out on the opportunity to help purify Gem City.”

  “‘Purify’?”

  Tess keened her head to the right. “Too many souls are weighed down due to his influence. We’ll help free them. You can have more details once you’ve sided with me. For now, talk to your employer, tell him you quit, and then come find me. I can help.”

  If the last year of her life was any indication, “I can help” were three words that could fuck with your head as badly as “I love you.”

  Tess was bad news. Callie’s bones screamed at the threat of the woman’s presence. But was she worse than the Soul Charmer? Maybe it didn’t matter. She was already in bed with two nasty men, the Charmer and Ford, no need to add a wicked woman to the mix.

  “You want me to talk to him? To tell him about this conversation?” Now she was avoiding the Charmer’s name, too.

  “I want you to have the truth. You’d be surprised how freeing it can be.” Knowledge lay behind Tess’s eyes. Tantalizing secrets were being offered on a plate of promises.

  Truth was a privilege. One Callie felt like she would forever be excluded from. She did want to know the Charmer’s motivations, and what he planned on doing with her once she’d worked off the debt, but what was the risk? Tess knew more than she should about Callie as it was. What did she really want?

  Truth might set others free, but secrets kept Callie safe.

  If Gem City were bigger, Callie would have found a way to get lost. Running from her problems hadn’t ever been her style, but the appeal of disappearing was beginning to become clear. Especially when she parked her car outside her apartment building, and spotted Ford’s henchman Nate parked a couple spaces over. Was Tess the type to update Ford on Callie’s comings and goings? How closely were the two of them working together?

  The windows of the black sports car were rolled down. Clean guitar riffs caught her attention, but the music faded into the background as Nate spotted her. His stretched arm hooked outside the window to wave over the top of the vehicle at her.

  She shuffled to his driver’s side door, knowing she didn’t have another option. The passenger’s side was closer, but she was too aware of the threat of moving to Crime Scene B to get into this asshole’s car. The encounter with Tess had drained her, though she was fairly certain the woman hadn’t literally sucked her energy. Though it wasn’t impossible. “What do you want?” she asked, not caring about the bratty tone for once.

  “That’s no way to treat a friend.”

  “You’re not my friend. Pretty sure we established that the other night.”

  “Don’t see your boyfriend here.” He sneered at her, but she wasn’t about to talk about her sex life with Nate.

  Taking the high road took work, but the less-traveled too-tired-to-give-a-fuck bridge was equally effective. “I’m tired. Tell me what you need or I’m leaving.”

  “You’re still pissy about the other night? C’mon.”

  Ford might have sent Nate over as a test, to see if she’d fall in line. There had to be more to it than that, though. Nate was leveraging a second chance to talk to Callie. She mentally crossed her fingers he wasn’t going to be a double dick after the scene with her and Derek at the Indian restaurant.

  “It’s not about you. It’s about me being tired and cold and wanting to go inside.” Bad breakup lines were the best she could conjure today.

  “Fine.” He fumbled through a pile of wrappers and newspapers on the floorboard until he produced a legal-sized envelope and handed it over. “This is for you.”

  She took it from him with the same care she’d handle a bomb. Reluctant and gentle. “What is it?”

  “Oh, now you’ve got questions for ol’ Nate?”

  She rolled her eyes, and waited. She was done asking questions, but Ford wouldn’t be pleased if she stormed off. There was a lot on Callie’s plate, but keeping that butcher happy needed to be a top priority. The memory of his flashing a knife upon their first meeting was still fresh.

  “You’re really no fun, you know that? Probably why you’re going about renting a soul the hard way.” He glanced at his crotch and Callie somehow managed not to vomit. If she had, though, she’d have done it right into his lap.

  “And yet you keep trying.”

  Nate scowled at her, but their dynamic had shifted enough for him to drop the subject. “You’ve got blueprints of the target, code lists, and whatever notes Ford thought you’d need.”

  This was really happening. Holding documents with the layout of a secure police forensics facility made her officially a criminal. She had literally stepped over the line into conspiring to burgle. Yeah, there was probably a fancier term, and if she was better at this whole thievery deal she might know it. Her cheeks heated, but there was nothing she could do about the sudden rush of anxiety. “Do I really need these?” Her emotions choked her voice to a whisper.

  “Yeah, you do. And before you go getting any big ideas, your big, biker boyfriend isn’t allowed to do it for you. Ford gave you this job. You’re doing it.”

  “I don’t have experience with all this. Why isn’t Ford having you do it?”

  “Your brother made a promise. It isn’t about who is best for the job, it’s about honoring your word. Well, your brother’s word. Ford needs you inside on this job and with the Charmer. Extra eyes on the Charmer don’t come cheap, and there’s something about you he likes. Don’t ask why Ford does something. Just be happy he ain’t hacking your baby bro into pieces. Besides, we’re not making you do the dirty work with the science people on this one. Simple break-in? Fuck, my mom could do that. Understood?”

  She nodded. Nate didn’t scare her anymore, but the thought of stepping out of line with Ford sure as shit did.

  “Good.”

  The sense of finality in his voice spurred Callie back into the moment. Thank God. “I still have a couple days before this all happens.” That reedy quality had left her vocal cords.

  “You got photographic memory, baby?”

  It was her turn to scowl. “No.”

  “Didn’t think so. You can’t take a cheat sheet to the job with you. Memorize that shit, and be ready. The boss gave you a specific schedule when you agreed to cover for Joshy boy. Don’t fuck it up.”

  As if it were so simple to not botch the job, not get her brother killed, and not ruin her life completely. Breaking into a building that not only had security, but also housed actual police officers—when the biggest score in her life was three outfits from a department store—would be super easy. The urge to puke spiked her stomach again.

  “Anything else?” She regretted asking as soon as the words left her lips.

  He reached toward his belt, and she spun on her back heel and headed toward the apartment. His laughter followed her, but she didn’t look back.

  —— CHAPTER SIXTEEN ——

  “That dipshit from the other night is parked outside.” Derek’s first words upon arriving that afternoon were far from sweet nothings.

  Callie sighed. “I know. He’s been out there for hours.” Derek reached for the door he’d closed moments ago, but paused when she added, “I think he’s trying to remind me of my obligations to Ford.”

  “I don’t like it.” The hard set of his lips rivaled the cut of his jaw in severity.

  “I’m not
particularly pleased about it, either, but he has my brother. So chill.”

  “It’s not just that. They shouldn’t be using you for anything.”

  She’d had the same thought. Repeatedly. Coming from someone else, though, it was irritating. She’d already spent most of the day being told what she should and shouldn’t do. Derek’s remark, no matter how well intentioned, wasn’t needed or welcomed. “Am I not capable?” she snapped.

  “Whoa.” He took a step backward. “You’re fucking smart. You know I think you’re an asset.”

  “An asset? You out to use me, too?”

  “No. Fuck no.” Derek’s voice rose with each word. “It isn’t like that, and you know it.”

  Her mental armor was thin and dented. “Do I? What is it like then?”

  “You can’t expect me to be okay with Ford forcing you to interact with that guy.”

  The urge to ask for his reasoning burned, but going down that road required a towering emotional stockpile. Hers was depleted. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” He didn’t trust her quickly deflating anger. She couldn’t blame him.

  Callie shook her head to dislodge her ire instead of making another fear martini. “If you’re really just worried about me, then yeah. Okay.”

  “I am.” He nodded. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing for him?”

  “For whom?” She wasn’t supposed to answer, but her fuse was nearly burnt out. Talking could help. Confiding secrets to one mostly trusted person was different than exposing the truth to daylight.

  His pacing was going to wear a small circle into the carpet near the window. “Ford.”

  At least he was playing along. Callie certainly wouldn’t have been up for this kind of bullshit. “Don’t you want to talk about what you learned this morning instead?” The reply a clear sign to back off.

  He inclined his head toward her. The miniscule movement put her under scrutiny enough to make her arms itch. “More souls gone MIA, not really any big news. And I wouldn’t have asked about Ford if I didn’t want to know.”

  Her forearm was red and angry where she’d scratched too hard. Distractions were failing her, and deep down, she wanted to tell him everything. “Knowing about Ford complicates everything,” she said, and it was the truth.

  “Do I look like I’m scared of a little drama?” His arms hung loosely at his sides and earnestness wrinkled between his brows.

  She dropped onto the couch and beckoned him to join her. “It’s more than drama. This is bigger than catty coworkers talking behind each other’s backs. There are big consequences involved if I fuck up.”

  “He’s got your brother, yeah?” His nostrils flared in the same way they had before he’d broken a guy’s nose.

  She sucked her bottom lip to avoid giving voice to the quaking feelings hungry to escape. The cushion beneath her dipped to the left when Derek sat next to her. Oddly that off-kilter motion made her steady enough to nod.

  Derek curled his fingers into fists and released them a few times. Silence packed with truth and fear stretched between them. “I’m not going to let him hurt you or yours. Got me?”

  “But why? You haven’t known me very long.” What was wrong with her? Insecurity was bad enough, but caring for Derek made her strip it bare.

  “I want to know you more, and that’s enough. I don’t connect with people often. You and me? We connect. I like that.”

  “My brother, though. You can’t know about it. Or about Ford or—”

  Derek cut off her babbling. “Your brother isn’t the first person he’s taken. Won’t be the last. We’ll get him back, though. He’s important to you, though, and that makes him important to me.”

  She liked it, too. “You could—”

  “I could do a lot of things, Callie,” he said, cutting her off. “What I want to do is spend time with you that doesn’t require your damn hands turning into torches or you being scared to tell me why you’re on the verge of tears, all because of a jackoff like Ford.”

  “I don’t think I’m supposed to agree out loud with you calling him a jackoff.”

  “See? I’m therapeutic, too. I can call him all the names you’re not ready to. I know him, remember? And I’m not scared.”

  Callie grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. “You should be, though. Don’t you know what he does to people?” The word butcher pinged against the sides of her skull, but releasing it would mean stepping over a line she couldn’t walk back from.

  “You forget I work for the man who can take people’s souls—and that’s the part he openly advertises. Ford knows better than to poke at me, which is why I’m concerned about his guy staking a claim outside your place when he knows I’m involved.”

  Did Derek want to stake a claim? She’d let him sleep here. Did that count? Continuing whatever they had was appealing. No question. But she wasn’t a possession people could call dibs on. “No one is going to dictate my choices.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Not trying to take over, but from the little you’ve told me, Ford’s holding your family over your head. Is it so bad that I want to help?”

  “No,” Callie muttered, refusing to look at him. It was easier to be sullen when she avoided his earnest face.

  She still held his hand, and he gave her a light squeeze. “Good. Now what’s Ford asking of you?”

  “Asking makes it sound so polite.” She sighed, and went to retrieve the envelope Nate had given her. “I was specifically told you are not allowed to help me on the job.”

  “Well, did he say I couldn’t aid in preparations?”

  “You think semantics are going to cover our asses?”

  “Ford might work dirty, but he’s a smart fucker. As long as the job gets done to specs, he won’t care.”

  Maybe it was Derek’s confidence, or the way he kept protecting her, or maybe she was just sick of having to do this all alone. She’d have to do the job for Ford by herself, but at this point she’d take whatever help Derek could give her beforehand. “I’m sure you already know the police are working to get past the DNA muddling that soul renting creates.”

  He let out a loud huff of a laugh. “You could say that.”

  “Apparently Gem City PD is making progress, putting together some solid investigative work that could be used to pass new laws around soul magic. Ford thinks that’s bad news for him.”

  “It’s bad news all around, but they’ll have enough proof to outlaw soul magic in the next few years either way.” Times like this it was hard to forget how immersed in this world Derek was, and how small Callie’s involvement really had been.

  “Right. Well, Ford wants their research.”

  “Not saying the cops are rocket scientists, but they’ve got to be backing that shit up. It’s not like you can shred some papers and it all goes away.”

  “They do, but they aren’t allowed to use remote servers because of some state law intended to protect government information. So their back-up servers are in some room at the forensics lab.”

  “The satellite building off I-5?” He relaxed into the couch, but his lips tightened. His mind was going a mile a minute, she could tell, but sprinting alongside him wouldn’t be good for Callie’s health.

  “Yes, but I can see you’re getting ideas. You don’t need to be getting ideas. I have a whole pile of where to go and what to do from Ford.”

  “My ideas might be better than his.” He winked.

  “This isn’t a game, Derek. Yes, your ideas are probably a thousand times better than Ford’s, but if I don’t do what he wants, I get my brother returned in tiny, bloody packages. If you think I have issues now, imagine me after opening a box with my sibling’s severed foot.”

  Derek’s hands were gentle as he pulled her against him. “Sorry. Bad time to try and lighten the mood. Don’t let Ford’s reputation wreck you. We’ll get your brother back. In one piece. Let me help you get out of this.”

  She nodded against his chest, praying she could hold back the tears.
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  “What do they need you to do this for? His crew is aces at B&E.”

  She shrugged. It didn’t matter why. “My face isn’t on a wanted poster.”

  He arched a brow, but didn’t push the subject. “What about the people who did the research? They aren’t going to up and forget their projects.”

  Callie blinked back tears. “I’m trying not to think about that part, but Ford’s crew is ‘handling’ that part.”

  “He’ll probably just scare them.” Derek couldn’t even make the lie sound believable.

  Callie played along anyway. “Yeah. Sure.”

  “Which night do you they want you to do this?”

  “Friday.” Her answer was muffled against his worn shirt.

  She’d crumpled against a guy, and he wasn’t judging her. Her uneven breaths were obvious, but Derek carried on as though it was a normal conversation and the woman he held against his chest wasn’t fighting to not lose her shit. At least one person today was worthy of her trust. “That’s good. I’ve got an informant who’s a paper pusher for Gem City police. He works Fridays.”

  She left the safety of his chest. “Why do we need him? Ford gave me all these documents—” she pointed to the papers on the table “—and they detail schedules and locks and where to be when.”

  “Schedules are good. Having a guy on the inside to make sure people don’t change their schedules is better.”

  It sounded good on its face, but panic lanced her chest regardless. “What if Ford finds out what we’re doing?”

  “Ricky’s never going to meet you. He’s not going to know you exist. He’s not going to know what you’re after. I can incentivize him plenty without him knowing anything specific.”

  “Are you going to threaten him?” Not that she should care.

  “Nah. You forget about my charm a lot.”

  “I know you’re charming.” Her smile faltered.

  “Plus he likes cash, doll, and I have plenty of that available.”

  If she had money, Callie would have paid Josh’s debt instead of tying herself to the Soul Charmer. “I can’t afford that.”