The inside smelled of disinfectant and lemons, and the shelves were cluttered with goods as if the owner had panic-stocked. Speaking of the owner, where the heck was he?
Tay walked off down the aisle, but I hovered by the counter. No bell to summon anyone. “Hello?”
A man popped up from behind the counter—at least he looked like a man, even though he was almost a head shorter than me.
“How may I help you?” His gaze flicked to the aisle that Tay had just headed down.
“Don’t worry, the big guy’s with me. He’s harmless.” Not entirely true, but ... “And I’m here about what I can do for you.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I have a supplier. Happy with the current setup. No need.”
Huh? “Um, no. I’m here about your ghost problem.”
“Oh.” His eyes widened. “You see ghosts?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes. If they let me. But I can sense them, and I’m sure I can help you get rid of yours.”
He sagged against the counter. “Please. That would be wonderful. The damn thing’s been stealing stock all week.”
“Stealing stock?”
He nodded vigorously. “I find empty packets of food, cans, and wrappers. You name it.”
Huh. A ghost who ate food? Yeah, that wasn’t happening. “Um, Mr. ...”
“Bradley.”
“Yeah, Mr. Bradley.”
“No, my first name is Bradley.”
“Okay, Bradley. Ghosts do not eat.”
He blinked up at me blankly.
I stifled a sigh. “Did you by any chance tell the reporter who interviewed you for the Daily Vine that your ‘ghost’ was stealing food?”
“Well ... no. I didn’t think to mention that.”
If he had, he’d have saved the Vine some ink and me a trip across the city. I leaned in, crooking a finger to beckon him closer. “Bradley, my friend, you don’t have a ghost, you have a thief.”
“A what?”
Seriously? “An intruder, a filcher, a flesh and blood problem, and what you need is the police.” I glanced up at the corners of the room. “And a security system.”
“Oh. Oh, dear. No, I have a security camera. But ... look, I’ll show you.” He retrieved a tablet from beneath the counter and flicked to video footage before shoving it under my nose. “See. One minute, food is there, next it’s gone.”
Something whizzed across the screen leaving wrappers in its wake, back and forth, leaving empty slots on the shelves. Ookay, this was new.
“Ghost,” Bradley said, crossing his arms. “I put the video on the infoweb to see if anyone could help, but you’re the first to come see me.”
Most definitely not a ghost, but it was something, and it was a case. Tay came up behind me, watching the screen over the top of my head. His hand cupped my hip, drawing me against him.
Heat bloomed in my abdomen. “Bradley, we can help you. If you’d like to hire us.” Needed to make it clear this wasn’t a freebie.
He nodded eagerly. “Yes. Yes, I will hire you right now. Tonight. It comes after hours.”
Shit, I had the gala with Noir tonight, but the look of hope on Bradley’s face was too much.
“We can do both,” Tay whispered. “Stake out the place for a few hours, catch the thing doing this, and make it back in time for the gala.”
He made it sound so easy. “Okay, here are my terms ...”
***
We crouched behind the till in the dark, but my night vision seemed to have improved with whatever changes my body had been undergoing. Better add that to the list Gilbert was keeping—if he was talking to me again.
Tay squeezed my hand. Man, he looked awkward folded into the tiny space. Heck, would he be able to get out quickly enough to nab the thief? What if the thief didn’t make an appearance this evening?
Tay’s eyes gleamed in the dark, and his head was cocked as he listened for any invasive sounds, but his attention was fixed on my face, drinking me in, savoring me.
Stop it, I mouthed.
No, he mouthed back.
I ducked my head. How was it that he could turn me into a blushing schoolgirl with just a look and a wanton, scarlet woman in the bedroom with just a touch? The way he made me feel was so different from the attraction and connection that Azren and I shared. Tay made me feel safe; he wrapped me in his solid frame and the world melted away. Tay was a slow-burn heat, forever present, ready to flare at a caress. My connection to Azren was wild and new and confusing—the push and pull of our relationship exhausting but inevitable. He both repelled and drew me. Valance was the wildcard. I’d taken several steps on a path with him that I didn’t fully understand, but he was under my skin, in my head, and there was no denying that my heart and body craved him. And then there was Noir. It was easy with Noir. It was easy to be unguarded with the Arcana, because even though he was one of the elite, one of the creatures who oppressed the nephs of the city, he wasn’t like them. He was different, but still bound by their rules, and that was something that we couldn’t forget. Noir was out of bounds, and my heart needed to deal with that.
Tay squeezed my hand again.
Something rustled and then there was a whoosh and a crackle.
Tay’s body tensed, ready to leap over the counter. I grabbed his bicep and jerked my head toward the left side of the counter, trying to convey that we needed to exit on either side for a better chance at grabbing the thief.
He nodded.
Another whoosh. Damn, this thing was fast.
One. Two. Three.
We burst out from behind the counter to floating crisp packets and empty biscuit packets and a blur whizzing back and forth across the shop and down the aisles. I broke into a sprint after the thing, catching the smudge of a face, the flap of a coat. The figure was tall but slender, and damn, it was fast. There was no way I’d be able to—thunk.
The blur bounced off Tay’s chest and fell backward, materializing in a tangle of limbs. He glared up at Tay, his lips twisting in anger as he braced to stand.
Tay slapped a boot onto the neph’s abdomen, pinning him to the ground.
“Get off me.” He squirmed like a bug desperate not to be squished. His voice was rough but tempered by youth. A boy. He was just a boy, fifteen, maybe sixteen?
“Easy, Tay.” I rounded them and crouched by the kid. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that stealing was bad?”
He scowled up at me. “I don’t have a mother.”
Shit. An orphan. “Where do you live?”
“None of your goddamn business. Now let me go!” He twisted beneath Tay’s boot.
“I’m sorry, we can’t do that. You’ve been stealing from the owner of this store and giving him quite a fright.”
He slumped back onto the floor, blinking hard, his jaw tight. “I won’t come back. I promise.”
Oh, man. I glanced up at Tay to see the same indecision painting his features. This was just a kid. A lost, lonely kid, probably homeless if the scruffy clothes he was wearing were anything to go by. But he was a new breed, something I’d never seen before with the whizzing about.
“What are you?”
The scowl melted and something else almost cunning and calculating crossed his chiseled features. He’d be a heartthrob someday with the high cheekbones and the pout. If he survived that long.
“You can tell me.” I softened my tone to coaxing and confident.
“I don’t know.”
Ding, ding, ding. That was a lie. “Look, we don’t want to hurt you. In fact, I know a place you can stay if you need somewhere to crash, but I need to know what I’m dealing with first.”
Longing flitted across his face and then his beautiful sapphire eyes widened in panic. “Let me go. Please. You need to let me go!”
I registered the sounds a moment later—the clatter of boots and the click of safeties being disengaged—and then we were surrounded by black-clad neph.
“Step away from the boy.” I knew that arrogant asshole voice.
I turned slowly to face Rowan, elite operative extraordinaire and general stick-up-the-butt. “What? You’re kidnapping kids now?” I shifted to block his line of fire.
Rowan’s jaw tensed. “That’s no boy, Miss Bastion. That is a very dangerous, very volatile creature that could kill you in a heartbeat.”
“Really? Funny how a boot to the chest managed to incapacitate him.” I pressed my hand to my chest and widened my eyes. “And, what do you know, several heartbeats later I’m still standing.”
“This isn’t a joke, Miss Bastion.”
“You could have fooled me. I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’re not hurting the kid.”
Rowan made a sound of exasperation. “That thing is not a kid. Until a few weeks ago, he wasn’t even a child.” He lowered his weapon. “He’s already killed three neph, and if we don’t take him in, then he’ll kill more. Let me show you. Harris!”
One of the other elite team members stepped up to me and held out a small tablet showcasing images that my brain took several moments to comprehend. But when it did, the blood drained from my face, leaving me cold. Blood and limbs and carnage. This boy had done that.
“Get off me.” His tone was deeper now. “Get off me, or I will hurt you.”
“Get out of the way, Miss Bastion!” Rowan ordered.
And then Tay’s roar ripped through the room. Someone body-slammed me, and the shop erupted in a blinding white light.
When the light dissipated, the boy and the elite team were gone.
Chapter 4
“What the heck was that?” I brushed off my coat and flexed my knees.
Tay rubbed the back of his head. “He threw me off like I was a rag doll.”
“What? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know, but I get the impression he could have knocked us both out if he’d wanted to and gotten away.”
But he hadn’t, which meant ... “He didn’t want to hurt us.”
Tay nodded.
“But the pictures ... they were awful.”
“We don’t know if he actually hurt those people.”
“But he’s capable.” God, my head was spinning.
Tay pulled me into his arms. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. The Collective has him, whoever he is, and we have enough on our plate without adding going up against the Arcana to our list.”
He was right, but it didn’t make me feel better, it didn’t stop me from wondering if we’d taken away that boy’s freedom, and what the heck The Collective would do to him.
“Let’s go collect that check and then get you home.” He picked some fluff from out of my hair. “You’re gonna need to clean up before you go mingle with the toffs.”
Stepping over the toppled displays and empty packets of food, we made our way to the exit.
***
The fire was flickering in the grate in the study, and a fresh pot of tea had been laid out. Gilbert had known I’d come visit, and relief flooded me.
“I’m sorry,” he said from behind me.
I slipped into the comfy chair by the fire. “Don’t be. I was reckless. I’m glad you came down to the basement when you did.” But was I? Was I really?
I poured the tea to cover the confusion between the words coming out of my mouth and those trapped in my heart. Lying to myself was a novelty that grated.
“I have better night vision now, though. Can you add that to your list of new abilities?” I was rambling to change the subject, to get onto solid ground.
“I’m worried about you,” Gilbert said. “I’m worried that whatever is down there has gotten a grip on you.”
Great, he wasn’t going to let this slide, was he? I sipped the tea. “I’m fine. There is no grippage going on whatsoever. No gripping, no ... Urgh, you get what I mean, right?”
“Nevertheless, Trevor and I strongly feel that you shouldn’t go down into the basement again. Not until we know for sure what it is we’re dealing with and have a way to get rid of it.”
My heart sank, and a split second later, anger flooded my chest. “What do you mean you discussed it? Since when do you two get to decide what’s best for me?” The tea sloshed over the rim of the cup as I placed it back on the table. “This is my home.” My tone had hardened, deepened, abrasive like gravel.
“I thought this was our home, Wila. The three of us,” he said gently.
The fog of ire brought on by his earlier declaration faded. “Shit, Gil, of course it is. I’m sorry. I just ... I’m so close to finding out what he is, who he is. If the guy who owned this place was related to me, if he was the one who locked him up down there, then surely this creature is my responsibility.”
“He’s an unknown factor. We need to do more research on him.”
“We did that already, remember? The first few months after we found him.” I’d gone back to the law firm that held the will for Mr. Karper, my benefactor, but it had vanished into thin air. We’d searched for the firm but it was as if it had never existed. Gilbert had resorted to scouring the infoweb and poring through every book, trying to figure out what we were dealing with. “The only way we’ve succeeded in learning anything about him is by my talking to him.”
“And what is it that you’ve gleaned, Wila?” Gilbert asked, not bothering to hold back on the sarcastic tone.
The words spilled from my lips before I could test them. “I know that he needs me.”
Oh, shit ... Where had that come from?
Gilbert’s presence sharpened like a knife poised not to attack but to defend. “Please, I beg you. Don’t go back down there. I have a bad feeling about it.”
He’d never steered me wrong, he’d always been there with advice and support. Gilbert and Trevor were my family, and the voice ... I didn’t know what he was, who he was. I didn’t owe him anything.
“Okay, Gil. You win. I’ll steer clear.”
But now it was me who had the bad feeling, because, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my word.
***
The pale pink dress set off my tanned skin and made my green eyes pop. I’d piled my hair up into a messy but chic do, leaving tendrils escaping to frame my face. My cheeks were tinged pink, and my skin glowed, but not from any makeup. It was some inner change, an awakening that was still out of comprehension’s reach.
Someone rapped softly on my door.
“Be down in a minute.”
I blew out a breath and then abandoned my reflection. This would have to do.
Tay and Noir were hovering in the foyer, Tay in his sweats and his favorite soft gray T-shirt and Noir in an elegant suit that emphasized his swimmer’s build. His hair was slicked back. And as he threw back his head to laugh at something Tay had said, his gaze fell on me and his laughter died.
Tay looked up, his nostrils flaring, and then his gaze grew misty. “Fucking hell, Wila. You look ...”
“Beautiful,” Noir finished. He inclined his head. “I’m honored to escort you to the gala.”
I swept down the stairs in my kitten heels, excitement bubbling in my chest, not just because we were finally going to get answers about the fate of Valance, but also because I was in a pretty pink dress and going to a party.
I gave them a twirl and Noir offered me the crook of his arm. Tay looked pained but covered it quickly with a smile. Shit, this couldn’t be easy for the troll in him, more so now that we’d made love again. The addiction was stronger now, not just on his end but on mine too.
I took Noir’s arm but reached up to run a hand over Tay’s jaw, reveling in the scrape of his stubble. How would that feel against my skin, between my thighs. Whoa, back up there, Bastion, PG thoughts only.
But Tay’s eyes had darkened as if in response to the flare of desire that had lanced through me.
Noir cleared his throat. “Shall we?”
Tearing my gaze away from Tay’s luscious mouth
, I allowed Noir to lead me out into the brisk night air.
I paused on the step. “Are we atom scattering?”
He grinned as a limo drew up. “Not tonight, Bastion. Tonight we travel in style.”
I pressed a hand to my chest. “Oh, Noir, you do pamper me so.”
His eyes twinkled, and he grinned, flashing the dimples in his cheeks. “Only the best for my date.”
Date. This was a date, but not really, he was simply playing, but still, flutter, flutter went the butterflies around my heart.
He held the door open for me, helping me to sweep the skirt of my dress carefully into the vehicle. Oh, wow. This was a first. The ride in Valance’s limo didn’t count, not like this. This time, I was dressed like a princess and being escorted to a ball—okay, gala—and there were no glass slippers in sight. Fine, so it was not a fairytale, but it damn sure felt like one.
Noir climbed in beside me and then the limo pulled away from the curb.
***
The ballroom was draped in cream and blush organza, pink and white flower arrangements were dotted everywhere, and guests glided about like they had wheels under their shoes. The scent of money and magic saturated the air. There was Loraine Vincent getting cozy with Kelter, and Sanguinata standing in a cluster imperiously holding opaque goblets probably filled with blood, and every eye swiveled our way as we entered. Noir cut an imposing figure in his tailored-to-fit-like-a-fucking-glove suit. The lights shone off his golden hair and accentuated the dark shadows cast by his thick lashes. Seriously, did all the guys in my life have epic lashes?
I leaned in to Noir. “What is this gala in aid of again?”
“An opportunity for the elite to compare wallet sizes,” he said as he smiled and nodded at the greetings he received. “And to pretend to care about the little people by collecting pocket change to be donated to some cause they care nothing for.”
Oh, man. “So, pretty much the same cause as the last event?”
“Yep.”
But we weren’t here for any cause but our own. We were here to find and charm the new Draconi ambassador. Correction, I was here to charm the Draconi ambassador.
I squeezed Noir’s arm. “Can you see him? Do you know what he looks like?”
Chronicles of Arcana (The complete collection books 1-4) Page 39