“We need to talk,” Preston stated.
Erik gave Monique a smile. “I’ll be right back.” He followed Preston outside, so Monique walked to the bar.
Jess watched her with a cocked brow. “What are you waiting for?”
“For everyone to leave us alone.” She let out a sigh. “Can I get another drink?”
Jess pushed a fresh Cosmo her way. “Don’t keep waiting. He’s already given up, and you’re about to miss your chance.”
Tears burned her eyes. “I’m trying. I hate admitting I was wrong. And there’s so much to tell him.” Monique gulped down the drink, and Jess pushed her another.
“Relax. You still have time. Not much, but you need to open your mouth and tell him how you feel.”
Monique nodded.
It seemed like forever passed before Erik found her at the bar. “Still want to dance?”
She nodded, fear fluttering through her as she stood. She’d never been able to drink much, and five drinks left her wobbly.
He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. His heart was a steady beat she missed. God, it had been so long and she wanted him in her life.
She leaned back. “Take me home?”
Erik nodded, sadness in his eyes again. He led her back to his car.
Chapter 17
Banging on the door caused Erik to roll over. He fell on the floor with a thud and stared up at the ceiling. Right, he was at Monique’s and the moment he thought she finally let him back in, she passed out.
He gripped the edge of the couch and pushed himself to a stand. After shoving the blanket under the couch, he made his way to the door and swung it open, expecting to find Dustin ready to beg Monique for another chance.
Same damned thing I’m doing. What the fuck is wrong with me?
She asked him out to protect her. Like a sucker, he did. And to keep her safe, and alone, he slept on the couch after she passed out on the way home. Whatever he thought had changed hadn’t. She might trust him to keep her safe, but she didn’t trust him with her heart.
Fucking stupid sap.
He rubbed at his face and blinked. The magister and lieutenant of the Silver Council enforcers and Diversified Special Forces or DSF. Robert stood on the porch in a suit. Preston wore jeans and a T-shirt.
“Need me, or Monique?” Erik asked.
“You, but she’d help in this matter,” Preston offered with a smirk. “Tell me you were in her room all night, or this might take a hell of a lot longer than any of us want.”
Erik’s brow pinched. “What?”
An arm draped around Erik’s waist as she peeked around him. “He was with me all night.” Monique didn’t specify the couch, but he had to wonder why the hell she would play along now. To deter Dustin, sure. But this was Robert and Preston. They knew the score.
He glanced over at her, and she met his stare, challenging him to argue.
Robert was the magister now, Preston his lieutenant. They ran the enforcer program as well as the DSF. Whatever brought them to him couldn’t be good. Not this damned early in the morning.
“All righty then.” Preston looked at Robert and back, then asked, “Can we come in, Monique?”
“Yeah.” She stepped back, and Erik followed. He turned to find her in his shirt and a pair of boy short panties.
What the ever-loving fuck?
“Be right back.” She dragged Erik down the hall to her room.
As soon as the door shut, she turned to him and waved her hand around like he was supposed to know what that meant.
“Silencing spell,” she insisted.
Frowning, he did as she asked. He couldn’t help remembering how he used to do the same when they were kids and he would sneak into her room at night.
Monique’s dark eyes locked on his. Words began flowing. “Druciela was right. It’s happening again, only this time you’re the target. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. Let me be yours again.”
Erik took a step back, holding up his hands. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“They’re about to accuse you of something only a necromancer could supposedly do. You’re lucky Robert and Preston found you first. I’m sure they’re on your side. But you know as well as I do there are plenty of mages who don’t want you or any other non-mage caster to be part of the Silver Council. Someone is waging war, and the rest of the Council will try to throw you under the bus.”
Right, that made sense. Only, he didn’t want to play games. That would only make him look guilty. “I’m not pretending to be your—whatever. Don’t need the hassle. You’ve made it clear you don’t want me, don’t do me any favors.”
She caught his face, pushed up on her toes, and planted her lips on his. He gasped and her tongue swept in.
His first instinct was to pin her against the wall and take over, but after waiting this long he didn’t buy the sudden desire. It was too convenient, and if she felt she owed him, which was highly likely, it was all a farce. His heart was too fragile for that bullshit.
Erik gently pushed her back, his chest heaving. “Not like this, Monique. No.”
“Let me do this for you. You’ve done so much for me, and I’ve been an ungrateful bitch over the years. I’m not letting you go down for something you didn’t do.”
“You don’t even know what they’re going to accuse me of.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re a necromancer, Erik. It’s going to be something heinous that would tear apart Robert’s experiment with letting in Other casters. And he’s gotten so much further than Draecyn ever did. Someone wants any non-mage caster out of the picture. Probably more than one.”
“Monique, you know how I feel about you, but I’m not pretending just to get my ass out of trouble. I’ll let the proof speak for itself.”
“Damn it, Erik. I was wrong. I’ve been wrong for a long time. Let me fix this part. You don’t have to say we’re doing anything more than feeling out what’s between us. You were in my house. Does it hurt to say you were in my bed? Especially if you’re in my bed tonight?”
Anger flashed through him. Love, that was what he wanted. Not some bullshit obligation to save him. Last night he’d been ready to walk away and let her go. Now she wanted to play games? He couldn’t do it anymore.
“Are you insane?” Erik demanded. “When they find out it’s all bullshit I’ll still look guilty. Let the proof speak for itself.”
She gripped his chin, staring into his eyes with such intensity he froze.
“Insane?” Monique demanded. “No. I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for a while. About us. I’m just—I’m scared it will all go up in flames. But then you go and do something like you did last night. Play along to keep Dustin from harassing me. I wasn’t playing last night. I wasn’t pretending. When I kissed you, I wanted to. And yeah, I drank too much and passed out on you, but I would have brought you back here if you hadn’t tucked me in and crashed on my couch.” Her other hand spread on his chest. “Let me do this.”
There was a knock on the door. “Hurry up, man. We need to talk,” Preston said.
“Shit, this is all kinds of fucked up,” Erik muttered.
“Please, Erik. I’m not bending the truth. I’m ready to try again. You’ve been nothing but good to me, and I don’t want to keep hurting myself by pushing you away.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fine. But if this is only because you think you owe me something, you don’t.”
“You’ve done it for me.”
“Because I never stopped loving you, Monique. I’ve tried, but look at me. I’m a pathetic asshole who can’t let go.”
“You never were an asshole. And don’t let go, because I’m ready to hold on.”
He didn’t know what to believe, but when she pushed him toward the door, he didn’t argue.
Preston and Robert sat on the couch, and Erik wasn’t sure
what to do from there.
Monique took his arm and pulled him toward the love seat. She curled close, wrapping her arm around him again. It felt like a lie. Years of pining, of chasing, of trying to get her to let him in, and now she was acting like she’d never shattered his damned heart.
Robert leaned forward, watching Erik. “Look, this is more a formality than actual questioning, but you’re being accused of a ritualistic killing in Seattle.”
Erik shook his head. “When?”
“Last night, early this morning. Doesn’t seem right to me, which is why we came to you. Tarek attempted to take the case, but we stepped in, forcibly removing him from the scene.”
Erik snorted. “He’s not even an enforcer. He’s barely an investigator, and I still don’t understand how with all the bullshit he always pulls.” If Tarek had his way, there would be a new great witch hunt to kill any caster who wasn’t purely a mage.
Preston drew in a breath. “Yeah, which is why we need your help. To prove it couldn’t be you.”
Erik rubbed at his forehead. That didn’t make a damned bit of sense. “You want me to go to the crime scene where I’m the lead suspect? Did everyone wake up with a dose of psychedelics?”
Seriously? First Monique and her game. Now Robert and Preston taking the prime suspect to the crime scene?
Robert smoothed his hands down his lapels. “No. Look, you’re the only one I trust to get to the bottom of this. We can find someone to claim they find whatever you did, but that can wait. Besides, you can get answers from the dead.”
“Maybe. Depending on the ritual, they may have bound the victim’s spirits to something else.”
Preston stood up. “Let’s hope it’s a set-up like we believe and not a ritualistic killing someone else committed. I’m hoping you can identify the symbols or at least prove they aren’t necromantic.”
Erik stood up, rubbing a hand over his face. “Wait, how are you taking me there? Tarek probably has his own people watching for us to arrive.”
Preston smirked. “We’ve already sealed the house magically. No one can get in, including his team. They can’t even see inside. After we’re done, we’ll have to release it for more investigators, but we need you there first. Then, we need to find a necromancer, or a medium who can back up what we learn.”
Monique nodded, meeting Preston’s gaze. “I know someone who may be willing to stick their neck out as long as you offer protection.”
“This should be interesting,” he quipped.
Her eyes narrowed. “Consuela Bordeaux would be able to confirm anything Erik finds. She may even be able to prove what we find is bogus.”
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
“That she’s also a master symbolist. She’s studied every arcane language she can find. However, she won’t help if she thinks the elitist may come after her.”
Preston’s brow arched. “And you’d vouch for us?”
She turned toward Preston with a smirk. “For you, Robert, and Erik, yes. There are a handful of others, but you both know how much I distrust the Council as a whole.”
“Where is she?” Robert asked.
“New Orleans. You ready?”
Robert tapped his fingers on his leg. “You’ll willingly let me in your head to find the place?”
“You did help me when the rest of the Council wanted to crucify me. And it was a mage who committed the crimes.”
Preston sighed. “We aren’t all the same, Monique. There will always be assholes who see things one way, but more mages are open-minded now than they used to be.”
She nodded. “I said I’d help. Erik was here the whole night.”
“I’m not even asking. We clearly woke him up and you’re wearing a whole outfit between the two of you,” Preston offered. “Maybe you two should get dressed, then we can go.”
Monique stood, pulling Erik back to her room again.
He had no clue what to think. Nothing was going the way he expected.
Chapter 18
Monique shut the door behind Erik. “The spell,” she whispered.
Erik cast it.
She turned to walk to the closet. “Come here. I have something for you to wear. Make it look like you planned to stay here.” This wasn’t the way she wanted to have the conversation.
And now he was ready to walk away. Probably a miracle he hadn’t by now. She couldn’t figure out why she waited so damned long to fix things.
He huffed. “Do I even want to know whose those are?”
That hurt, but he had every right to be skeptical. “They were meant for you. I made the clothes, enchanted them. Planned to give them to you once I got the courage to fix our mess.”
“This shouldn’t be what gives you the courage,” he muttered.
“Yeah, well, I ran out of time to find a better way.”
His tone softened. “What do you mean?”
“By the time I found the courage, you were already shutting me out, pushing me away. Last night I went to In 2 Deep knowing dumbass would be there so you would come with me. I planned to tell you then, what I’ve been thinking for months but was too afraid to admit. Then you went off with Preston for an hour, and I sucked in as much liquid courage as I could, only to fall asleep.”
Sighing, she turned and pushed a rack of clothes aside to reveal the cubby system where she stored most of the special order clothes she designed. Monique pulled out a stack of clothes and a pair of leather shoes. “These will look good on you. Try ‘em on.” She turned around, pulling his shirt over her head.
His hand curled around her hip as he traced the raven tattoo with the other fingers. Erik whispered, “Why?”
He’d always been her raven. Before his choice tore her heart out. She’d been so damned stupid, throwing love away out of fear and a sense of betrayal, when in reality, he’d always been right.
She turned, meeting his onyx stare. Such emotion stared back. Touching the tattoo, she smiled sadly. “This was my reminder you were right about my mother and everything. And that I shouldn’t have given up so easy when I came back and misread the situation.”
“What situation?”
She sucked in a breath and bit her lip hard. “Were you ever with Gwen Fate, romantically, sexually, anything other than a friend?”
His brows drew together as he shook his head, clearly confused.
“See? My own stupidity. I was so sure you’d turned to her after I left you.”
His brow pinched. “Gwen? She’s like a sister. God, why would you think I would ever be with her?”
“After the funeral, I went back to London. Didn’t take long for me to realize everything I needed was back in New York. When I finally found you, you were in a bar, in Gwen’s arms. You seemed so happy, and I fell apart.”
His jaw clenched. “Our first case. We were celebrating taking Coltrain in and stopping his reign of terror. That was before he escaped and they shut the program down. I swear on my life I was never with her.”
She nodded. “I’ve come to realize that, but I was stupid.”
He swallowed as he looked down at the ink.
“Fallon?”
She smiled. “Yeah. I’ll tell you more later. Right now, we need to get dressed. Need to make sure we find whoever is setting you up.”
“Willing to bet Tarek is involved,” Erik muttered. He turned, starting out of the closet.
She caught his wrist, pulling him back. “Come here.” Her hands went to his pants.
He stepped away. “Not like this. We don’t have time anyway. And if you’re serious, I want to be sure why you want me.”
“Because I love you, and I don’t want to deny it anymore.”
“Your timing blows.”
That hurt and she huffed. “Get dressed.” Hiding the tears, she spun to find a comfortable dress and heels.
“Monique, I’m sorry.” Erik walked away with a sigh.
She couldn’t
help watching as he dressed. Erik had always been gorgeous. More so now. She wanted to inspect his tattoos but never had the opportunity. The timing was never right.
Forcing herself into motion, she went to the dresser to apply light makeup. Today was about ensuring Erik didn’t have to sit through a bogus trial like she had years before.
Erik appeared in the mirror behind her. “Thank you. Fits like it was designed for me.” One corner of his wicked mouth turned up.
She turned, pushing him back to take in the outfit hiding his gorgeous physique. “I knew the clothes would look good on you. Now let’s get out there before they lose patience.”
He shook his head. “Robert and Preston are on my side. They know better.”
“Yeah, but so was Draecyn, and you were still kicked out of the enforcer program.”
“With every other caster who wasn’t purely mage. If I am this time, I’ll go back to being a cop. No big deal.”
“Bullshit. It will gut you the same as it did last time.” She snorted. “You were the best thing that ever happened to the Council, and had I been you, I wouldn’t have gone back the second time.”
“You wouldn’t have gone the first.”
She sighed. “You’re right about that.”
“Damn it, Monique, if they can accept me, they can accept you.”
“Why? I’m no better in their eyes than you.”
His lip curled in a snarl. “I wish. But I’m a freak of nature according to most mages. What I can do scares the hell out of people. There was a time necromancers were killed on sight because our capabilities go against nature. Not enchanters. No, you’re safe at least. You don’t bring the dead back to torment people.”
Anger flashed through her. “And mages are capable of roasting whole towns alive. They could destroy an entire city. They are no better than you. And when they go dark, they feed off other people’s magic, draining them dry.”
Erik paced away. “So what, Monique? Everyone is capable of good and evil. That’s my point. They have to learn that it’s one’s actions that define a person, not their abilities. Most are learning. Some are stubborn.”
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