by Ciara Graves
Bowen and I hustled through the storm. I was surprised he wasn’t taking off in a blur of speed. It was almost like he didn’t want to go back to the inn quite yet, but had nowhere else to go. He said he and Mercy had gotten in a fight right before she was attacked. He might’ve said it had to do with the case, but there was more going on there. A part of me figured he had feelings for her, but she didn’t return them.
All emotion aside, this case just got more serious.
I had to call Nor with an update and let him know Mercy agreed to his one condition of my not arresting her. Any day now, Nor was likely to show up and cause trouble. I heard the disbelief in his voice even after I told him Mercy had been attacked and nearly killed. He claimed it was her covering her tracks and I’d almost lost it. He threatened to pull me from the case if we didn’t make some headway soon and prove that Mercy was indeed an asset more than a hindrance.
By the time we reached Mercy’s room, there were another few inches of snow, and thunder was rumbling almost non-stop. The lights flickered a few times, but thankfully stayed on.
“So?” Mercy asked, curled up in the armchair with a blanket pulled around her.
“The stream where the trail ended is on vacant land,” I told her. “Used to be owned by the Nightshade Furs, but there was a dispute between Colton and Jaxton. There’s a ton of buildings out there. If our killer is hiding out, it wouldn’t be a bad place to start looking.”
“Great, so we head out at first light.”
“No,” Damian growled from behind Mercy’s chair. “They head out. You’re going to keep your reckless ass right here in this room where I can keep an eye on you.”
“I’m fine. How many times do I have to say it?” she yelled back. “And you do not have a say over what I do.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it is, so back off, or I’ll make you back off,” she warned, nostrils flaring with anger.
The tension between them was thick enough I felt if I moved, I’d walk right into it.
Gigi sighed heavily from her place on the couch, sipping her tea. “Enough, children,” she admonished.
Damian arched his brow at her.
“Hey, don’t give me that look. Remember who got you here without being caught. Everybody calm down, or I’ll start casting.”
I growled at her threat to use magic, and she beamed at me. “I’m going back to that property as soon as the storm clears,” I announced. “Bowen, if you would care to join me, you can.”
“What about your partner?” he hissed. “The siren.”
Mercy was suddenly very interested in picking at her nails. “Iris will stay behind. I’ll send her back to question Colton and Jenella about the land dispute. She won’t be a problem.”
“And she won’t try to arrest me in your absence?” Mercy asked.
“No, our orders have changed.”
“You sure she’ll listen to you?”
“She will, or she’ll have me to answer to,” I promised. “Besides, no one else knows where you’re staying. The Feds won’t make a move on you.”
“Well, there’s one problem solved,” she mumbled. “Anyone else want some tea?” She got up slowly and walked toward the kitchenette, shoving hard into Damian’s shoulder as she passed.
He rolled his eyes at her but remained silent.
I found myself moving without realizing it and then I was there, watching Mercy fill up the small pot with water, then set it on the burner. “You look better.”
“Thanks. Still feel like shit, but Gigi said that’s normal after direct contact with the worms for so long.” She tugged on her long sleeves, leaning back against the counter. “What’s the story with your partner anyway?”
“Iris? Why do you ask?”
“Dunno. At the reapers’ ball you two seemed pretty into each other, and then you weren’t, but every time you mention her, you get this furrow on your forehead.”
“No, I don’t.”
She smirked and reached up, poking the center of my forehead. “Yeah, you do. Right there.” Her hand fell away as she shrugged. “So? Look, I need something else to talk about. Other than the person trying to kill me. Or being under house arrest by Warden Damian. Tell me about you two. Or you could tell me something about yourself?”
“I recall you reminding me about a little deal we made…” I trailed off as she cringed.
“Right. You’re right.”
“But I’ll tell you about her,” I said giving in, sensing she needed the distraction. “Not that there’s much to tell. We met at work, got along well enough that our boss made us partners and then… We dated, if you could call it dating.”
“Knew it,” Mercy said with a laugh. “How long?”
“A year. Until she grew sick of me and left,” I admitted. “Moved to California.”
“Wow. You’re that bad, huh?” She meant it to be teasing, but every word Iris flung at me the day she up and left came rushing back.
I wanted to leave the room, so my discomfort would not be noticed.
“Rafael? Sorry. I don’t know what happened. Shouldn’t have said anything.”
“S’kay. I don’t have feelings for her, not like that, but everything she called me is all true. I told her over and over again who I really was, but she insisted I could change. Thought she could… I don’t know…”
“Save you?” Mercy supplied quietly.
“Yeah. And when she couldn’t, she blamed me for it and left.”
“And now she’s back?”
“Long story,” I said roughly, “one involving my boss. Apparently, I can’t get along with anyone else, and it was time I had a partner again. But she’s trying to save me all over again, and it's infuriating. Thank god her damned power doesn’t work on me.”
Mercy offered up a crooked grin, but her eyes told me she wasn’t fully focused on our conversation anymore. “Fun letting people down, isn’t it?”
“Not the word I’d use. More like sucks.”
“Hmm. Bet she loves my being in the picture. Sirens are the jealous type.”
“Come to think of it, it does drive her a bit mad. You should work more cases with me,” I said lightly, and her gaze shifted to mine. “You seem to always catch the assholes before I can get to them anyway.”
“Perks of the job.” She leaned in closer, and the strong smell of apples wafted under my nose. “And I’m just that much better than you.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe it is. What do you say to a friendly wager on who catches the killer first?”
“What did you have in mind, as far as who wins what?” I asked, intrigued.
“Bragging rights for starters,” she said as the water boiled and she readied a mug with a fresh tea bag. “And if I win… if I win, you let me drive your ass all around Nashville on the Banshee.”
I grunted at the thought of being on the back of that damned bike again. “And if I win?”
“What would a demon want?” she asked, turning off the burner and poured the water into the coffee mug. The steam cast a haze over her face when she held the tea in her palms, waiting. “Rafael?”
“You’ll owe me a favor,” I suggested.
“A favor? Like what?”
“Don’t know, but I’ll put a time limit on it. Say I have two months to collect and I swear it won’t be anything that’ll put your life at risk.”
“Ha. Have you met me? My life’s always at risk,” she muttered, then held out her hand. “Deal.”
We shook on it, and she returned to her chair in the living room. I stayed in the kitchen. Damian joined me.
“You are staying the night again?” Damian asked, taking Mercy’s spot.
“Don’t have anywhere else to be. So yeah, I am. Problem?”
“Word of warning, you’re getting in over your head with her,” he warned quietly.
“I can handle myself, but thanks for looking out for me,” I muttered sarcastically.
I made
to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me. I opened my mouth to snarl at him, but his gaze was focused on Mercy. Not for the first time, I sensed she meant more to him than just an employee. Much more.
“She trusts you, demon,” he uttered. “God knows why, but she does. Do not make her regret it. She’s been betrayed enough to last a lifetime.” He backed away, said something about going out to grab smokes, then left the room.
I wasn’t the only one shooting him a confused look.
Mercy seemed ready to go after him, but stopped herself.
I took the same spot I had for the last couple of nights, in the other chair near the balcony door, and watched the lightning shatter the storm clouds which stubbornly remaining in place.
If the attacker was going to come after Mercy again, he’d have a hell of a time getting through me. Or Bowen, who stood at the other door.
Damian’s words stayed with me even after he returned.
Mercy was sound asleep in the other room.
Gigi reported that her wounds were nearly finished healing.
“Tomorrow morning,” Bowen said to me from across the room, “we’ll head for the vacant land. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“And if we do find the attacker,” he hissed, “you be sure to turn away.”
If we did find the attacker tomorrow, I’d be calling in backup to take on, not just the werewolf, but Bowen, too.
I needed the bastard werewolf alive, and that was exactly how I was going to drag him into the Fed building.
Alive.
Chapter 14
Rafael
Glowing yellow eyes glared back at me intensely as a blade appeared in the attacker’s hand. He aimed it downward, slashing for my face. Then the face shifted from a werewolf to another face. One that was more familiar, and I staggered backward, shaking my head at the impossible sight. The demon cackled madly as he came at me over and over, blade in one hand, hacking and slashing at the air when he missed my body.
“You won’t escape me forever,” he snarled as the blade slashed through my arm. “I will have my revenge!”
I caught his wrist in my hand and threw him backward. “I didn’t kill you.”
“No? And yet you find yourself with a mage and a witch. You said you would kill them all. Remember? You promised as I died in your arms. One day, you’ll have to keep your promise. One day, you’ll kill her.”
“Rafael?”
I jerked awake when a hand touched my arm. Eyes wild, I looked around.
Mercy frowned down at me.
Morning had come, though the sun was hidden behind more dark clouds. I rubbed furiously at my eyes then sat up in my chair.
Gigi and Mercy both eyed me strangely.
“What?”
“You were talking in your sleep,” Mercy told me. “You alright? How about some coffee?”
“Coffee would be great,” I mumbled, shaking out my hair. I got up to use the bathroom, and when I came back, the smell of fresh coffee permeated the air. I sucked in a deep breath, and the last remnants of the nightmare faded away. He wasn’t here. He could never be here again. The final words he’d shouted at me were gone. Along with the rest of the horrible nightmare I hadn’t dealt with in years.
I thanked Mercy when handed me a full mug. “You look good today,” I added.
“All thanks to Gigi. Feel almost back to normal. A bit wobbly still, but I’ll survive.”
I sipped my coffee then frowned. “No.”
“No what?” she asked innocently.
“You are not going with us today. Damian wants you to stay here. I’m on his side.”
“Oh, come on,” she ranted. Her cheery morning demeanor gone in a shot. “I’ll be with both of you. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“He gets past the two of us. We’re strong, but we’re not invincible. No.”
Gigi giggled on the couch.
Mercy glowered at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing at all.”
The balcony door opened. Damian and Bowen stepped inside, shutting it quickly behind them, but not before letting in a frigid gust of wind.
“You two are going to have a hell of a time going out to that land today.” Damian rubbed his hands together. “Better you than me is all I can say.”
The cold rarely bothered me since I was so warm all the time. Demon blood and all that. As for Bowen, well he was dead. Couldn’t feel the cold at all. Mercy would freeze her ass off if she went with us.
I drained my coffee, the burn waking me up the rest of the way. My cell rang mid-gulp. Damian had returned it because Nor wouldn’t stop calling. So he finally demanded I answer it. He planted himself next to me, right by my shoulder, as my boss ripped me a new one. I stood my ground and got him to our current agreement. Afterward, I handed it back to Damian, but he waved me away and told me to keep it.
I drew my cell out of my pocket. “Nor’s calling.”
“Answer it,” Damian instructed.
I did so. “Sir?”
“Meet me at the Full Moon café in twenty,” Nor said without a greeting. “The situation has changed.”
“How so, sir?” I asked.
The room fell silent.
“Colton MacGallan was found dead this morning. Been dead for almost two days,” Nor muttered, disgusted. “We have much to go over there this morning. See you in twenty.” He hung up.
“What did he want?” Damian asked. “Well?”
“Wants me to meet him in the café in twenty,” I said slowly, mulling over what he just told me. “Colton MacGallan is dead.”
“What? When?” Mercy asked.
“He was found this morning, but according to the coroner, been dead for two days. While you were under,” I added.
This was not the time to smile, not at the news of another alpha being found dead, but Nor could not possibly believe Mercy was behind it, not anymore. She was unconscious and could not be awoken. She also had not been left alone for the whole time she was out. She was off the hook for the alpha murders.
I glanced around the room, hoping they understood my position. “I have to go meet with him, see what he knows.”
“I’m going, too,” Mercy said.
Bowen, Damian, and I all opened our mouths to protest, but she waved her hand at us as she retreated to the bedroom and slammed the door.
“You can’t let her go,” I told Damian.
“And what would you have me do? Tie her up? If she wants to go, then she’ll go whether I tell her she can or not.”
“But we’re supposed to check out the vacant land today,” I reminded him. “You weren’t going to let her go then, were you?”
He sighed heavily, looking more like an annoyed parent than a boss. “Clearly, you don’t know Mercy very well. She would’ve found a way to sneak out of here at some point and go herself. Trust me, just take her with you. You said it yourself, the Feds won’t touch her. Did you lie?”
“No.”
“Then she’s going with you. We’ll be nearby, watching.”
That did nothing to reassure me that this meeting was not going to go downhill fast. If Nor was there, Iris would be, too, and maybe even Todd. The werewolf gave off a strange vibe yesterday, like he was nervous about something.
The bedroom door opened pulled me from my thoughts.
Mercy stomped over, decked out in her typical black. Sword on one hip. Gun on the other. She closed up her long, black, leather trench, so the weapons were hidden and nodded toward the door.
“We going or what?”
“What’s your hurry?”
“One of the alphas who hired me is dead,” she explained. “If they get the other one, I’m out of a job, technically speaking. That, plus another dead body means more evidence. So let’s go. We have a wager on this, remember?” She was out the door.
I was left having to hustle to catch up to her in the hall.
“I know this may prove pointless for me
to say,” I said quietly as we walked downstairs toward the café right beneath our feet, “but keep the sarcasm in check if you can? Nor is a very by the book type of demon.”
“So he’s got a stick up his ass?”
This was a horrible idea. She was going to open her mouth, and then Nor would lose whatever confidence he had in me as an agent and would arrest her anyway. “He’s a good demon. Been like a father to me these last few years. Please don’t do anything to land your ass in a sling.”
She touched my arm with her hand. “I won’t. Unless he starts it.”
Figuring that was as good as I would get, I led the way down the rest of the stairs and into the café. It was completely empty, no employees or guests, and I stilled, reaching for my pistol as I put out my arm out to stop Mercy from going any further.
“Don’t shoot your boss,” Nor’s voice came from the corner booth.
I relaxed.
His voice was grim. “Cleared them out so we could have some privacy. I see you brought a friend.”
“She insisted she come along to see what news we had on the latest murder,” I explained. “Chief Nor, this is Mercy Temple.”
Mercy blinked oddly.
I worried I said her name wrong, but then she reached out a hand.
Nor looked at it skeptically, then took it and shook.
“Nice to meet the man who wants to arrest me for doing absolutely nothing wrong.”
I growled. “Sorry, sir.”
She shrugged.
“No, she has a right to say what she wants… to an extent,” Nor replied. “Have a seat. The others should be joining us any minute now.”
“Others?” I asked.
Mercy snagged a chair and sat.
“Iris and Todd.”
“How was the victim found?” Mercy asked, diving right into what would probably be a list of questions she wanted answered.
Nor’s brow rose a hair as he folded his hands on the table. “First, I would like to hear from you personally that you agree to the conditions laid out, so I do not have you arrested. Rafael explained it to you?”
Mercy smiled, but it was far from friendly. “He did. I agree to come in under my own volition to answer questions about Liam, and only Liam, and after that you let me walk out.”