There were just as many drinks as there were dishes. After a half a dozen toasts made by different fey, she was starting to feel a little tipsy.
Marissa stood for a final toast. "To Chloe and Brittney!" she rang out. The others all applauded. When this had died down, Marissa turned to the betrothed. "We want to invite you to host your wedding here. You are both members of the fey, and it makes sense that you should be married in our forest."
"I'm sorry, but we can't," Chloe said. "Brittney's family isn't fey, and they know nothing of the supernatural world. They wouldn't understand. We want to invite you all to our wedding, though. You should all be there, because you're all my family. I neglected coming home for so long that I had forgotten that, but I remember now, and I want you there."
"Marissa and I will be there," Mikael said. Others quickly added their sentiments.
"If you can't marry here," Marissa said. "Perhaps you would at least let me officiate the wedding. I am the leader of the fey and it falls to me to handfast the children of the forest."
"That would be wonderful," Brittney said quickly. She glanced at Chloe. "If you're alright with it, that is."
"I'm fine with it," Chloe said. "I think it would be fantastic, Marissa. Thank you."
"When is the wedding?"
"I have no idea yet," Chloe said with a laugh.
"Me either," Brittney said. "But as soon as we set a date, you'll be the first to know."
"Good," Marissa said. "Now go home, you two. And I don't mean to your regular homes. You're both too tipsy to drive away from the forest. You'll sleep here tonight. Sarah, you're welcome to stay as well."
Sarah, who hadn't drank at all, shook her head. "I have some things to get done," she said. Brittney looked curiously at her. "I'll explain later, Brittney, Chloe. Congratulations, you two. And remember, Mikael and Anastasia -- no wheat."
They both nodded.
"Come on," Brittney said to Chloe. "Let's go home."
FOURTEEN
The following afternoon, Harper met Brittney at the police station. They were both dressed in slacks with button up tops and had their badges hanging around their necks.
"You look a little hungover," Harper said.
Brittney shrugged. "The fey really know how to throw an engagement party."
Harper blinked at her. "You had an engagement party and didn't invite me?" She felt a wave of hurt wash over her. "We're best friends. And I'm your maid of honor. I'm the one that's supposed to be throwing your engagement parties."
"It wasn't like that," Brittney said. "We weren't planning an engagement party. It was more of a feast anyway. They insisted on throwing one for us when they found out that we were engaged. Or betrothed. Who uses that word anymore?"
Harper shrugged. "You could have called me and I would have came."
"We were a little distracted," Brittney said. "One of Chloe's friends' son was sick, and we had to call Sarah in to figure out why because they don't believe in going to doctors. Some of them don't, anyway. Turns out he has Celiac Disease."
"So, Sarah was there," Harper said pointedly.
"Harper, you're making too much of a big deal of this," Brittney said. "There are going to be times when you're not involved. I'm not inviting you on the honeymoon after all."
Harper could tell that Brittney was getting impatient, but she couldn't help how she felt. She turned her back on her friend. "Let's just go get this over with."
Brittney let out a low sigh, but didn't argue. Instead, they went inside. Ryan was waiting for them over by his desk. They went to him and shook hands, like usual.
"Harper, I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Ryan said. "I was worried about you. Most of the station was."
"I appreciate your concern," Harper said. "I'm glad to be up and moving around as well. It was the second closest thing to hell, being stuck off my feet when I wanted to be up and moving."
Ryan nodded. "I can understand that. When I was on vacation with my wife, I was itching to get back. Too many cases left unsolved. My wife was irritated with me every time I brought up work though."
Harper laughed.
Brittney cleared her throat. "Well, let's talk about the plan for the zig zag scammer."
"Yes," Ryan said immediately. "We've had two more cases since the last time we met. Tourists again, both male. Both of them reported that they were scammed out of thousands of dollars. The ATM thing is getting hard to explain away. I understand what you told me, Brittney, about how this particular demon can use machines to work his magic, but how am I supposed to explain that to the others?"
Brittney shrugged. "When we catch him, we'll spin a story about how he knew how to override the ATM's protocol because he worked in bank management before, or something like that."
"Alright," Ryan said, a bit hesitantly. Harper couldn't blame him; the notion seemed silly and a little flaky, but there wasn't much else they could do but try and come up with a cover story.
"How many officers have volunteered for staking out the casinos?" Harper asked. "Brittney and I will be two of them, of course. What about Detectives Livingston and Grady?"
"Well, George is still out on paternity leave," Ryan said. "Marcia is willing to help out though. We've got another dozen volunteers. Do you think that will be enough?"
"It's going to have to be," Brittney said. "I've narrowed down a list of casinos that I think he'll try and hit up, so we can station the officers at them, right in the front with their lights on, where it's obvious that they're watching the place. I chose the Picasso and the Beast for those that we're going to try and lure him into."
"I've been thinking," Ryan said. "I should be at one of those to help lure him in."
"No, it's too dangerous," Harper said immediately. "You don't have the persuasive powers that Afterlife has."
Brittney nodded her agreement. "Besides, we need all the man power we can get at the other casinos. Trust me, if we could be there at the Beast and the Picasso, we would be. We're not happy about being on the sidelines either, but that's the way things have to go."
Ryan frowned but ended up agreeing with a simple nod. "Alright. But if it ends up being another demon like Bartholomew, you call me into help. Marcia, too."
"We will," Brittney assured him. "Now have you found out anything about Councilwoman Stanley?"
Harper blinked. "What about her?"
"I asked Ryan to do some digging," Brittney said. "See if he can't find out something about her that we can use."
"And you didn't think to tell me this?" Harper asked.
Brittney frowned. "It slipped my mind."
"A lot of things have been slipping your mind recently," Harper snapped. Then she took a steadying breath. "Fine. It's fine. Have you found out anything, Ryan?"
"No, as far as I can tell, she's squeaky clean," Ryan said. "Any business she does that's not wholesome is kept very quiet. I mean, I guess she associates with demons, but we can't exactly expose that. As far as I can tell, it's only the supernatural bad guys that she's involved with."
"Well keep looking, please," Brittney said. "If she's willing to work with demons, there's nothing to stop her from working with something like Trinity. We just need some kind of connection."
Ryan nodded. "I'll keep asking questions."
"Oh, there's something else you should be aware of," Harper said. "It's unrelated to the zig zag, but still important."
"What's that?" Ryan asked.
"Well, you probably already know that Stanley has asked us to take out a few choice demons," Harper said.
Ryan nodded.
"Well, we're not going to be doing it," Harper said. "We've found that the only demons she wants to get rid of are those that aren't helping her with her schemes. They're innocent for the most part, and we're going to be sending them to Phoenix to keep them safe."
"I see," Ryan said.
"However, we have to make it seem like they're killed," Harper said. "This is to keep Stanley from coming after us."
>
"What are you suggesting?" Ryan asked.
Harper leaned in. "We're going to rent a chartered bus and send them out on it. In the meantime, we're going to implode the deserted house that's on Locust Lane. It's a hotbed for demons. That's where the ones against Stanley have been hiding."
"You want to blow up a building?" Ryan asked incredulously.
Brittney was staring at Harper too, and Harper realized she hadn't been around for the plan. She'd been with Chloe. As usual.
"It makes sense," Harper said. "Look, the building is one that's been set for demolition anyway. So we're actually doing the city a favor if you think about it."
"How are you going to do it?" Ryan asked.
"We're going to hire a demolition crew," Harper said. "They need approval from the city and if we tell Stanley that we're going to have her demons gathered there, then she'll rubber stamp it. It will look good for her image of cleaning up Vegas anyway."
"Well, if you can coordinate it, then more power to you," Ryan said. "You don't need the police for that."
"No, we don't," Harper agreed. "I just wanted you to be in the know."
"So when is this going to happen?" Ryan asked. "The zig zag scam, I mean."
"In two nights," Brittney said. "Will your men be ready by then?"
"Of course."
"Great," Brittney said. She and Harper shook hands with him again and then headed out.
Once they were outside, Brittney rounded on Harper. "You could have given me a little bit of warning about the implosion we're planning."
"You were too busy at your engagement party," Harper said. They glared at each other for a moment.
"Well, when is this happening?" Brittney asked.
"Three days from now," Harper said. "I'm going with Alec to talk to Stanley tonight about it."
Brittney nodded. "Well, I should get home."
"Me too," Harper said.
She quickly hurried to her car and hopped in. She saw Brittney watching her. She looked like she had more to say but Harper put the car in drive and headed off. She drove a bit impatiently but made it to Afterlife in one piece. She walked through the crowded club upstairs to where Alec was waiting.
"Are you alright?" Alec asked, looking at the expression on her face.
Harper shrugged. "I don't want to get into it."
"Are you sure?"
Harper nodded.
"I made you dinner," Alec said. He gestured to the table. There were two plates set up on it, each one with chicken and some pasta on them. Harper realized she hadn't eaten since breakfast and her stomach rumbled.
"Thanks," she said, going to sit down. Alec took the chair opposite of her. They began eating in silence. Harper managed to keep it until she was halfway done.
"Did you know that Brittney and Chloe had an engagement feast with the fey?" she finally burst out.
"No," Alec said. "Really? That was very welcoming of the fey."
"That's hardly the point," Harper said. "The point is, she didn't invite any of us to it. I mean, Sarah went, but that was only because she had to help someone with a medical condition, I guess. Brittney didn't even think that I might want to be there to help celebrate with her."
"You get plenty of chances to celebrate with her," Alec said.
"Oh, so you're taking her side?" Harper demanded.
Alec held up his fork. "I'm just saying that they might have wanted a night to celebrate alone with some of Chloe's people."
Harper frowned. "Oh, and Brittney's upset that I didn't tell her about our plan for demolishing that building until we were in with Ryan."
"Why didn't you?" Alec asked.
"I don't know," Harper said. "I think I was a little too focused on the fact that Brittney was off celebrating her wedding without me."
"Her wedding," Alec repeated. "It's exactly that, Harper. It's her wedding. Not yours."
"I know that!" Harper snapped.
"Look, we can't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves," Alec said. "I'm not saying Brittney shouldn't have invited you, but try and cut her some slack."
Harper sighed and nodded. "Alright. You're right. I'm sorry I'm in such a bad mood. I just want things to stay the same and they keep changing."
"I know the feeling," Alec said softly. "Come on, finish your dinner. We need to go see Stanley soon."
Harper finished up the last of her meal and then went to wash the dishes. She had never been one for keeping up with cleanliness but since she was living with Alec now, she felt it was a necessity. He was meticulously clean, and she didn't want to irritate him by leaving messes everywhere.
Alec dried the dishes and put them away. Then the two of them made their way down through the club. They nodded to one the bartenders, and then headed for the door. On the way out, a woman came up to them. She was short with red cropped hair and a lot of freckles.
"Hi, Alec."
Harper raised her eyebrows as she saw Alec shift uncomfortably. "Hi, uh, Courtney."
"I didn't think I'd see you again," Courtney said. "I wanted to thank you for -- well, you know."
"Don't mention it," Alec said.
Harper cleared her throat.
"Oh," Alec said. He turned between the two of them and his usually pale face flooded with color. "Courtney, this is Harper. Harper, this is Courtney. She's someone I met at the club a while back."
Harper focused on the woman but there was nothing supernatural about her. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Courtney said. "How do the two of you know each other?"
Alec cleared his throat. "Oh, well, Harper's my -- we're -- she's a good friend."
"A good friend?" Harper repeated.
"Yes," Alec said. "And we have to get going. It was nice to see you again, Courtney. Enjoy the club. Tell that bartender, Ralph, I said to make you something on the house."
"Thanks," Courtney said. "It was nice to see you again."
The two of them went out to the club to where Alec's car was parked. After they climbed inside, Harper looked over at Alec. "A good friend?" she said again.
"I'm sorry," Alec said. "I didn't want to hurt her feelings. You know, I told you that I hooked up with a woman in the club. You said you didn't care. It was before we -- well, before what we have now."
"It's really that hard for you to say, isn't it?" Harper asked. "It's hard for you to admit that you have a girlfriend."
Alec shook his head and groaned as he started the car. "Just let it go, alright? She's nobody important, and like I said, I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Or make her think that I was cheating on you with her. It would have been a big deal, and I would have been there all night trying to explain the situation."
Harper rolled her eyes, but she couldn't really stay mad at Alec. She knew how difficult it was for him to be in a relationship at all. She would have to be grateful for whatever concessions he was willing to make -- like letting her live with him and allowing her to redecorate his apartment.
Once they arrived at Rebecca's house, they got out and went up to the door together. The usual guards were there, and they recognized Harper immediately. The vampire, John, led the two of them inside and sat them in Rebecca's office. He also brought them water before disappearing back with the rest of the demons.
Rebecca appeared within a few minutes. She sat down across from them. "What can I do for you this time, Harper? Alec?"
"This is about what we can do for you," Alec said.
"Oh?"
"Yes," Alec said. "You know the abandoned house on Locust Lane that's been set for demolition for years? But nobody has ever had the money to have it torn down? We want to pay to have it demolished. Under your name, of course. Because we need the city's approval."
"Why?" Rebecca asked.
"We found out that your men -- well, your former men -- have been hiding there," Alec said. "I spoke to them directly. They've made it their base. We're going to go in and make sure that they're the only ones there before the demolition. Th
en they'll die in the implosion."
Rebecca considered this a moment. "You're right, it would look good on me to rubber stamp the deal to get it torn down. What's to keep them demons from leaving before the demolition happens though?"
"We're going to trap them inside," Harper said.
"How?"
"I'm not only a gypsy," Harper said. "I've been studying witchcraft too. I've learned how to make barriers that demons have a hard time crossing. I'm going to link the barrier to the green tattoos on their wrists."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Show me," Rebecca said.
"What?" Harper asked.
"Show me that you can do this," Rebecca said. "Make a barrier line across my office door. See if John can cross it."
Harper shrugged. She took a sage stick out of her purse, got up, and went over the door. She had never attempted the barrier spell before, but she knew the basics behind it. She closed her eyes and focused on the different elements. Once she was sure that she was centered, she turned back to Alec. "Do you have a lighter?"
"Of course," Alec said. He pulled one from his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it deftly and then lit the sage. She made a few motions in the air and repeated an old incantation she'd read in a book. Once she was done, she shook the sage stick to put out the flames.
"There."
"John, come in here!" Rebecca called out.
Harper and Alec exchanged a look. She couldn't help but worry that it wouldn't work. John came to the door and then paused. Rebecca lifted her eyebrows. "Come inside."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Miss Stanley," John said.
"Now," Rebecca said.
John took a hesitant step forward and then stopped.
"What are you waiting for?" Rebecca said. "I gave you an order, now come inside."
"He can't," Harper said triumphantly. Alec smirked.
The Zig Zag Scam (Afterlife Book 12) Page 8