“Now, when I make my selection, I expect everyone to respect my choice. Your rules and regulations make me the arbiter here. Don’t forget that.”
The air fell still at my proclamation.
“At the same time, I’m going to charge each of you to make sure that your leader does only what is best for the pack, and that means what is best for the community as a whole.” All eyes were on me at this point. “If your leader does anything that will bring the law down on your heads, I would wager that I have selected the incorrect person for the job, and I’d hate to have to come back here and set things straight.”
Threats. That’s how you worked with the wolves. Power and control was what they responded to. Baseless threats did nothing, but they’d seen what I’d done to Rex, so they knew I could back up my statement.
“Are there any questions?”
There were none.
“Good.” I then took a few more steps away from them, spun around, and said, “I name Marissa as your next leader.”
Chapter 28
With the wolves out of my hair, I had to deal with something even more scary: Rachel Cress.
My inner voice was yelling at me to avoid any awkward hugs and to just say “farewell” and get the hell back to Vegas. She’d left to come to London because she needed to do that. It was wrong to argue with her about it, then, and it was wrong to discuss it now.
With that in mind, I said, “We need to talk.”
Seriously, sometimes I wondered why I had internal dialog at all.
“I agree,” she said, not looking at me as we walked over toward the London PPD HQ that was nestled in a null zone behind the National Gallery gift shop. “Alone.”
Hadn’t expected that.
“Harvey,” I called up ahead as he and Leland prattled on about their various hobbies and such, “why don’t you two head back to Leland’s headquarters? Rachel and I want to have a talk.”
He gave me a wink. “You got it, Chief.”
Ugh.
“Ugh,” agreed Rachel.
Once we were free of those two, we took a seat on the stairs of the National Gallery. It was a little cold out, but not horribly so. Since it had gotten pretty late, we had a decent level of privacy.
There were tons of fire engines running around and the town was glowing near the bridges and the park.
“What do you think is going on over there?” Rachel asked, pointing.
“Simon Strong and his pal Montague are in town.”
“Ah, say no more.” She then turned and looked at me. “So, what is it you want to say?”
Yeah, what did I want to say? I missed her? I cared about her? I wanted to put Harvey back in charge of the paddy wagon so I didn’t have to deal with his oddities?
“I want you back,” was all that came out.
“On the Vegas PPD, you mean?”
“No,” I answered, “…and yes. Both.”
I could tell from the gleam in her eye that she wasn’t planning on making this easy.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Ian.”
She knew full well what I was saying, but it was no fun for her to just accept that and move on. Honestly, werewolf challenge games were easier than dealing with the likes of Rachel Cress. Yes, wolves hit harder, sometimes, but Rachel dug her nails in. Actually, I kind of liked it when she did that.
I cleared my throat.
“Okay,” I said, standing up and walking in front of her and down a few steps. I didn’t feel comfortable seated when I was going to say what I was about to say. “These last couple of months have—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, her face losing every ounce of mirth. “Please tell me you’re not going to get down on a knee, Ian. I’m not ready for that.”
“Neither am I,” I breathed in horror as my libido passed before my eyes.
She grimaced. “You don’t have to act like it’s the worst thing imaginable, either. Sheesh.”
“Sorry, but both of us are way too young for that level of commitment.”
“I’m not,” she replied, clearly speaking from the position of maturity.
“Fine, but I am.”
I let out a long breath. If we were never going to tie the knot, why should I bother to tell her how I felt? Then again, our kind didn’t get married anyway. It just wasn’t the way things went.
“Well,” I said, building up my courage, “you know what I am. I can’t help being that.”
“A perv, you mean?”
“Sure,” I deadpanned.
“I know you can’t help it,” she remarked without inflection. “I also know you don’t have to flaunt it as much as you do. But you may recall that even when we were together, back in the day, we both continued playing the field.”
I blinked at her. “I didn’t.”
“Sure, you did,” she said with a laugh. “Remember—”
“No, I didn’t.”
The blood drained from her face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Remember, I’m very loyal when I make a commitment, Rachel.”
“Huh.”
“Apparently, you’re not as loyal.”
“It’s just that I thought we...”
I just shook my head at her as she trailed off.
“And you call me a perv.”
“You are.”
“Seems you’re more of one than I am, Rachel.”
Her arms uncrossed as mine crossed, signaling that the tables had turned. I wasn’t one who got all clingy when I was in a committed relationship, but if I was willing to turn off the hose—uh-hem—then I expected the same in return.
“Sorry,” she groaned. “I thought for certain you were playing around, too.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t.”
Part of me wanted to keep this angst going on, but that was years ago and this was a new day…or night, anyway. The point was that I wanted her back as my partner, but I also wanted us to give things a shot. A real shot. Not a married-level shot, but a real shot nonetheless.
I waved a dismissive hand. “Forget about all that. The fact is that I want you back as both my partner on the Vegas PPD and as my girl.”
“Your girl?”
“Don’t take that as me being a chauvinist, Rachel. You know I don’t mean it that way.”
It was apparent that she was fighting to contain her response. At least that was something.
Finally, she glanced away. “Me too,” she mumbled.
“What?” I choked out, not sure I’d heard what I thought I heard.
“Me too,” she said more loudly, looking up at me. “I want to come back, too.” Then she rolled her eyes and added, “And I want to be ‘your girl.’” She actually put that last part in hand quotes.
“Seriously?”
She got up and wagged a finger at me. “Don’t make me say it again, Ian. I swear I’ll kick you in the balls.”
I smiled.
“Okay, but we have a few logistical issues to sort out here.”
“Leland, Harvey,” she rattled off as she headed down the stairs past me, “and the fact that you’re the chief and I’m your subordinate.”
“Exactly.”
We started walking over to the London PPD. I took her hand in mine. It felt odd. Right, but odd. She didn’t fight my holding her hand, which was a good sign.
“I can put Harvey back on handling jail pickups for now,” I said. “He’s been a decent partner, but I never expected it to be permanent. I was just hopeful that you’d eventually come back.”
“He’ll probably take it hard,” she said. “He seems kind of sensitive.”
“I know.” It was true, too. Harvey would see it as me dumping him. I’d have to let him down easy. “I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll put him with Serena or something.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to go over well.”
I laughed. “True.”
“As for Leland,” Rachel said, “I doubt he’ll have any issues with it at all. He’s one of th
ose who feels that ladies are meant to fall before him and grovel at his feet.”
“Yeah, he does seem to have a James Bond vibe going on.” I thought back to a few of the movies I’d seen. “At least Bond respected the level of strength women have.”
“Oh, so does Leland,” Rachel noted a moment later, “especially after I punched him in the gut when he told me he’d handle all the thinking during our time together.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t worry, he’s changed a lot since Bellows made us partners.”
We stopped just inside the null zone before stepping inside.
“As for me being the chief, Rachel, we’ll just have to agree that we’re all business when on duty. I promise I won’t treat you any differently than I do anyone else.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. And I promise this time to actually be loyal. Again, I didn’t know that you—”
“That’s old news,” I interrupted. “I’ll let it go and so should you.”
“Works for me.”
“One thing, though…” I said as we walked inside. “How do you feel about valkyries?”
Chapter 29
Chief Bellows was seated in his office, looking as grumpy as the first time I’d seen him. It made me wonder if the man even remembered how to smile. Looking at him, you’d find it hard to imagine he’d ever even learned how to do it in the first place.
Harvey and Leland were already there when we walked in.
“Good to have you back, Officer Cress,” Bellows said in his gruff voice.
“Thank you, Chief,” Rachel replied, showing him a level of respect I never got.
Bellows then motioned at Harvey and Leland. “Seems we have another problem here, though.”
“What’s that?” I asked before Rachel could.
“Uh, Chief,” Harvey coughed, “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way or anything, and I really don’t want to hurt your feelings. You’ve been great. Honestly. Just great.” He was shifting around and babbling. “You helped me out of a bad situation with Matilda, and—”
“Who’s Matilda?” said Leland.
“My wife,” Harvey answered. “She’s in prison, though. Long story. I’ll tell you later.”
“So you’re really not gay?”
“No, I’m not gay,” Harvey said, and then looked at Bellows. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay.”
Bellows’ eyes darkened. “Why are you looking at me when saying that? Are you implying something?”
“No, not at all, Chief Bellows.” Harvey was clearly beside himself now. “I was just making sure you were clear that I wasn’t one of those prejudiced types!”
“Oh, right,” Bellows said, coughing.
“Harvey,” I coaxed, “get on with what you were saying, will you?”
“It’s just that…” He trailed off and then took a deep breath. “It’s just that I think it’d be better if I worked with Leland. He and I complement each other’s skills really well. I’m a good fighter and he’s horrible at it, but he’s a great shot and I just don’t have a steady enough hand for it.”
“I’m not that bad at fighting,” Leland argued.
“You’re terrible,” Rachel stated with a laugh. “Sorry, Leland, but if it weren’t for my magic protecting you over these last couple of months, you’d be either in the hospital or the morgue. You’re great with a gun, but you couldn’t win a fight against a punching bag.”
Leland frowned in a pouty way.
“Anyway,” Harvey continued, “I’m kind of getting this feeling like you’re going to ask Rachel to come back to the PPD, so…” He must have caught the fact that Rachel and I glanced at each other because he got very smiley. “I knew it! Well, I think that’s great, but it leaves me stuck running the bad guys back and forth to the holding cell. That was cool at the start, but now that I’ve been on the beat for a while, I can’t go back to doing that, you know?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “I get it.”
“So what do you think?”
“It’s not up to me, Harvey,” I said, tilting my head toward Chief Bellows. “It’s his precinct.”
Bellows harrumphed and started in on cracking his knuckles. This guy seriously needed some laughing gas or something.
Finally, he looked at me and said, “And I don’t suppose you have the room or the budget in the Vegas PPD for these two, right?”
“Sorry, Bellows,” I replied truthfully. “I really don’t. My jurisdiction is tiny compared to yours.”
He grumbled something under his breath as he looked around his desk.
“All right, all right,” he said as he pointed sternly at Harvey, “but you’re going to treat me with respect, young man. If you ever threaten to shove me into a bin again, I’ll have your balls for supper.”
I grimaced at that visual. “Why would you want to eat his balls for supper?”
“Agreed,” Leland stated with equal disgust. “That’s rather disturbing, sir.”
“I don’t mean it literally, you idiots! It’s just…” He paused, his face red as an apple.
“I know what you mean, Chief,” Harvey spoke up firmly, “and you’ve got my word that I won’t do anything like that. I only did that before because Chief Dex was my chief at the time…sir.”
The implication there was that if Bellows brought Harvey onboard, the werebear would be willing to snap me in two and shove me in the trash.
That was a lovely thought.
“All right, then,” Chief Bellows said, putting his hands up slightly. “Nobody else wants to work with Leland anyway, so he’s all yours.”
“That’s great,” Harvey blurted while doing a mini fist-pump. “And don’t worry, Chief,” he added as he looked back at me, “if you ever need me for anything, I’ll be there for you. Like I said, you helped me out a lot and I owe you for that.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Harvey,” I countered. “You’re a good officer.” Okay, it was a stretch, but he did have potential, and it could just be that Leland was the perfect partner to bring out the best in Harvey. “I’m sure you’ll do great.”
As for Leland, he just sat there looking confused. “What do you mean nobody else wants to work with me?”
Chapter 30
The Vegas squad was elated at seeing that Rachel had returned. Well, everyone but Lydia. She was a bit miffed regarding the fact that Rachel and I were an item again. I assumed that many people would be, truth be told. Dr. Vernon came to mind, and the valkyries, and this particular succubus who had been making a nice wage from working with me for the last couple of months.
“The Directors wish to speak with you, Officer Dex,” said Lydia through my office speaker, using the same pedantic voice she used with the other officers. “They are waiting.”
I shut my office door and sighed.
“Lydia,” I spoke in a calm voice, “you know that while Rachel is my girl in the tactile world, you’ll always be my digital babe.”
“Really?” she said after a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course,” I answered. “And Rachel knows it too.”
She didn’t, but I’d tell her in a few weeks, or possibly never. It wasn’t like I was going to do the naughty with Lydia or anything and Rachel was well aware of my flirtatious nature. That had never been called into question.
“Well, okay then, sugar plum,” she said sweetly. “Honestly, I couldn’t have held back anyway. You’re just so scrumptious, loverboy.”
I cracked a smile. “Thanks, baby.”
“You’d better get to your meeting, puddin’.”
“Right.”
I walked through the door at the back of my office and took the chair that sat before the Directors.
Something seemed off, though. One of the Directors was missing.
“O?” I questioned, trying to peer through the haze. “Is he not here?”
“He’s out screwing around with the plot of an author pal of his or something,” EQK answered. “
Makes no sense to me, but he sure seemed pretty excited about it. Fucking mages.”
“Ah, okay.”
One of the things that always remained a mystery to me was what mages did in their spare time. I assumed they just sat around reading spell books or something, but it seemed they weren’t just relegated to that pastime.
I knew that Rachel, specifically, would be occupied with me until we got into another colossal fight. Let’s face it, that was bound to happen. Until then, I’d do my best to keep us going. But when that eventuality did occur, she’d be off doing magely things again. I guess I should ask her to bring me along to one of the events at some point. You know, show a little interest in her profession and such. Beyond just work, I mean.
“We understand that you were able to liberate Officer Cress from her kidnappers,” stated Silver.
“Yes, sir.” Then, I added, “Officer Smith helped a great deal, too.” His strength had, anyway, so I wanted to give him proper credit.
Silver then asked, “He’s now part of the London PPD, yes?”
“Correct, and Officer Cress is back on my squad.” I thought to bring up the fact that we were dating again, but I decided to let it go. They didn’t care what we did as officers as long as it didn’t interfere with our work and as long as I treated her the same way I treated everyone else. “I think it’s for the best, and so does she.”
“Fine,” Silver said in an I-don’t-really-care voice. “As long as things continue to run efficiently, your crew selections remain yours.”
“Yes, sir.”
There was a tension in the air. I wasn’t sure if it had to do with O being out or something else, but it was pretty apparent. Zack hadn’t said anything yet. Maybe he was miffed about something?
“So, Zack,” EQK started, as if on cue, “I don’t suppose you knew any of the tree-markers who were responsible for kidnapping Officer Cress, do you?”
“Tree-markers?” Zack replied.
“You would rather I said hydrant-markers?”
The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets) Page 58