Playing with Fire (Judah Black Novels Book 4)

by E. A. Copen

“We should break off contact,” Warren said.

  “When we’re so close to a breakthrough? We are not about to walk away because of a nosy werewolf and two overzealous police officers.”

  “Are you really going to the police station tomorrow, Hector? They’ll just twist your words. They are the enemy for a reason.”

  “We must be in the world, Amanda. Not of it. I will oblige them as far as I’m required, but no one else is to speak with the police.” There was a short pause before he repeated. “No one, Amanda. And that means you, too, Warren.”

  “I’ve said my part,” Warren said.

  “What about the lieutenant’s card?” Amanda asked.

  “I’ll burn it,” Hector offered. “Go and tell everyone else to go back to bed.”

  A moment later, Hector made good on his word. The connection cut out and the dull glow coming from the business card faded.

  “Well, at least he’s coming to the station tomorrow,” Espinoza said, raising his eyebrows.

  “But we’re no closer to finding out why Reed attacked Ed.” I sighed.

  Espinoza started the police cruiser, adjusted his mirror to look back at me and said, “Hey, Agent Black. Did I see a for-sale sign in your car window?”

  ~

  Espinoza and I talked about cars all the way back to the crime scene. Apparently, he was a collector of the classics and was interested in purchasing my car. We’d just started haggling on the price when we pulled in.

  Tindall stood with Ed near the squad. Bran waited nearby as well, Mia still sleeping in his arms. I got out and Ed immediately started across the grass to meet me. “Any luck?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing you’ll like,” I told Ed. “As far as I can tell, Mara’s there of her own free will. Without a warrant, there’s no way I can get into that compound to investigate. Everything I have that might get me a warrant is sketchy and limited to your testimony. I need more.”

  Ed dropped his head, sulking in silence.

  We stopped just short of the squad. “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  “Sal. He changed a short while ago after Bran said something to him.”

  “Dammit, he shouldn’t change yet. Not until he’s healed.”

  “That’s the thing,” Ed said as we picked up the pace toward the squad. “He’s not healing.”

  I looked down at my watch. We’d arrived at the scene somewhere close to ten and it was inching toward midnight. Even with a cut that deep, he should have been completely recovered by now. Whatever magick that had been worked on the blade of Reed’s sword, I hoped it wasn’t going to lead to any further damage.

  We reached the squad and I leaned in for a look. Sal was back in human form, lying on the gurney holding a wad of gauze against his ribs just under his arm. The EMT pulled the gauze away and blood rushed out of a wide, gaping hole that was definitely bigger.

  “No dice, wolfman,” said the EMT. “We can’t wait for your friend to come patch you up. Have to transport you out to the hospital.”

  Sal ground his teeth together. “I said no.”

  “Doctor Ramis is on his way,” Tindall said.

  “He’s losing a lot of blood and the longer we wait, the worse the damage could be.” The EMT looked at me as if I could tell him what to do. “I’m not even sure how he’s still conscious. His body must be working overtime to keep him awake.”

  “He’s drawing heavily on the pack bonds,” Ed explained with a frown. “But it’s not an endless well. Right now, that’s pretty shallow.” He turned to me, his face pained.

  I nodded. “Sal, you need to go. Let them do triage at least and put a bandage on. I’ll call Doc and send him to the hospital.”

  Sal didn’t look happy but, once he tried to move and fell back, woozy, he decided a band aid wouldn’t hurt. The EMT nodded his thanks, closed up the squad and they sped off, lights and sirens blaring.

  I turned to Tindall as soon as I could hear myself think again. “Did Espinoza bring you up to speed?”

  “Close enough. Hector Demetrius, huh? He’s going to stonewall you so I hope you’ve got a lead.” Tindall started back across the field toward the parked cars and I followed.

  “I’ve got nothing,” I said. “The best I can hope for is to find something useful at Reed’s house tomorrow. It should be easy enough to get a warrant to search there. We can’t go into that compound without ironclad evidence, Tindall. They’re going to hide behind their status as a protected religious group.”

  I noticed Ed trailing behind with Bran and Mia and paused. Tindall and Espinoza stopped with me. “Go on ahead, you two,” I said to the cops. “I’ll catch up.”

  Tindall eyed Bran and frowned, but walked off with Espinoza, making for where his car was parked.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Bran as he came closer. I held out my arms and he passed Mia to me. “Is it club business?”

  Sal hadn’t been very active inside the Kings since bringing home Mia. He’d given up his officer position as road captain, passing the duty to a guy named Phil. He still went to their meetings once a week and their social functions, but that was it. I couldn’t see why anyone would call him from the club unless it was an emergency.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear your problem,” Bran said. “Legally, you’re back is to the wall. The club may be able to help. We can go places you can’t, find out information you’d have to get a warrant for. If you want us to get the girl out, all you have to say is the word.”

  I stopped walking and turned to face Bran. Bran stopped with me. He meant well, but I couldn’t take him up on his offer. I’d made it a point to distance myself as much as possible from the Kings lately, hoping that, eventually, Sal would get completely out.

  “Thanks, Bran, but I’d rather handle this the legal way unless I have no other options.”

  He nodded. “I understand. We will be here if you change your mind.” Bran inclined his head and the three of us started walking again. “I will load my bike into the back of Sal’s truck and drive it back to your place. If you’d like, I can also take Mia home and put her to bed. I’ll stay with the children until you return.”

  “You’re not going to the hospital?”

  Bran shook his head. “I avoid going there in my club colors, especially when there will be a heavy police presence. Whenever I can avoid it, I prefer for my personal life and professional life not to clash. Besides, I have an early shift tomorrow and could use at least a little sleep.”

  By day, Bran was a prison guard. I’d never seen him in that role, which I suppose meant he considered me a friend on the club side more than the law enforcement side. “I guess that works. Did Sal leave you his keys?”

  He lifted his fingers and the truck keys dangled. “What about you?” Bran jerked his chin toward Ed. “What are you going to do?”

  Ed looked at me and then quickly dropped his eyes to the ground. “I think I’ll stick with Judah if she’s going out to the hospital.”

  We walked back to the cars and I buckled Mia safely into her car seat in the truck. She woke up for a minute, yawned, asked for something to drink, and fell back asleep before Bran got into the front seat. “Make sure you relieve me by five thirty,” Bran said, adjusting the mirrors. “I am up for a perfect attendance award at work.”

  I promised him I would, kissed Mia on the head one more time, and shut the door.

  “You’re getting pretty buddy-buddy with the Kings.” I turned around. Tindall stood behind me, arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. “After everything that happened last year?”

  “The shooting wasn’t their fault, Tindall.”

  “No, but you know the Kings are in bed with Marcus Kelley.”

  “So are you,” I snapped back before I could stop myself.

  Tindall’s shoulders heaved with a sigh. “I don’t have a choice and I ain’t doing anything illegal, Black. So far, the Kings have done a good job staying off my radar, but it’s only a matter of time before that changes.”<
br />
  I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Things have settled down. The Vanguard have been quiet. This is the first major case to break in nine months. I’d call that a good thing.”

  “The quiet’s what I’m worried about.” Tindall lit another cigarette and took a long drag. His eyes traveled over the open field and settled on the smoldering remains of the house. “It’s not a good quiet, Black. It feels like the last deep breath in before you drown or the moment when you can see the car’s going to crash, but it’s too late to stop it. Last time I felt this way was in the days leading up to the Revelation Riots. Something big is coming. I just wish I knew what direction it was coming from.”

  Tindall was right. I’d felt it, too. Even though I enjoyed the quiet, something about it felt wrong. Most of my focus had been on my family and preparing for whatever it was Seamus was going to throw at me, so I hadn’t had much time to worry about it. But it was there, lurking under the surface. You could see it in people’s faces, the fear, worry and paranoia that everyone felt but no one spoke about. It had been that way ever since the shooting downtown.

  “You’re a bunch of pessimists,” Ed said and both of us looked at him. He’d opened the trunk of my car and pulled on the spare pair of sweats I kept back there. They were too big, even with the drawstring pulled tight. “You killed a giant and gave a faerie king the middle finger. I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You realize you’re quoting the bad guy, right?”

  Ed raised a finger and wagged it. “Was he? Technically, he was the ultimate hero of the story.”

  “Right. I’m really interested to hear you explain that one.” I waved to Tindall and walked around to the driver’s side. “Go home and get some sleep, Sheriff. I’ll call you if anything weird happens.”

  Chapter Five

  The drive to the hospital wasn’t as tense as I expected. Ed put the window down and the whoosh of wind at highway speeds filled the car until we took the exit near the hospital. At thirty-five miles per hour in the middle of the night, the only sound was the distant wail of a siren as another squad headed out.

  Ed rolled his window up while we sat at a red light, waiting to pull into the hospital. “Am I going to be in trouble?”

  “What would you be in trouble for, Ed?”

  “The magick. I know I’m not supposed to use it. I’m not registered as a practitioner.”

  I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. Ed was a friend, and I didn’t generally turn in friends, but if he continued to use his magick during the investigation, I’d have no choice. “It’s dangerous, what you’re doing.” He began a protest, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “I know you know that. I just wanted you to know that I knew. Reporting what you can do isn’t my first choice. It’s not even a close second, Ed. If I have to, though, I’ll do what needs to be done.”

  “What needs to be done,” Ed repeated and shook his head. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way. I’ll go as far as needed to save a friend, but there are lines even I won’t cross. Torture is one of them.” I stole a glance sideways at Ed, whose face was serious. “It was never my intention that any of that happen to Mara. She made decisions and kept me out. I understand why she did. I understand why the two of you have spent the last nine months moving around in secret, but that has to end if we’re going to continue to work together. No more secrets, Ed. No more lies.”

  The light changed and still we sat, staring each other down. Ed took longer than I expected to drop his gaze, ending the power struggle. “Yeah, I want things to go back the way they were. I miss playing fetch.”

  I smiled and pressed my foot onto the gas as the light turned yellow. “Once we close this case, I’ll get you one of those squeaky geese to fetch. Promise.”

  “So, um, if I had questions about magick…”

  “I thought Mara was teaching you?”

  Ed shrugged. “Mara’s in a different league. Different abilities. She got me through the basics, but you saw. I’m still no good.”

  “That comes with practice,” I said as I drove around the drop off toward the parking lot. “And focus.”

  “You don’t use a focus.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t use a lot of magick that can be focused.”

  There was one spell, one that I still didn’t know much about. Fire and shadow, Chanter had called it, which seemed descriptive enough. Calling up the black fire was dangerous. The last time I had to use it, the spell felt sentient. Hungry. That had scared me away from calling it up again unless I had no other choice. That didn’t mean I had the best control over it. Sometimes, that magick had a mind of its own that made it rise to the surface almost unbidden. Ever since I’d started sparring weekly with Creven, it had been less of a problem. If I didn’t feel it lurking there, underneath the surface every time my emotions ran high, I would have said I had it under complete control. Maybe a good focus object would help.

  “I could use a wand,” Ed said, excitement in his voice. “How awesome would that be? It’s like built in cosplay. I already have my Hufflepuff scarf and everything. I wonder if I could get some yew. That’d be freaking sweet.”

  “This is Texas,” I reminded Ed as I pulled into one of the few empty parking spaces.

  “If you can find wendigos and ice giants, I can find some yew. It’s called Amazon Prime, Judah. You should join this decade and try it. Two words, Judah. Two-day shipping.”

  “That’s three words.”

  Ed held up two fingers. “Two. It’s hyphenated.”

  Inside, we inquired at the information desk about Sal. I expected them to be reluctant to tell us but the nurse at triage looked relieved. “Oh, Lord if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes, honey.”

  “Has he been a problem?”

  I knew Sal didn’t like hospitals or enclosed spaces, but I didn’t expect for him to throw a fit or anything. That wasn’t like him.

  The nurse shook her head. “It’s the little guy who came in shortly after. Shooed everyone out and ordered a few of the nurses around like he owns the place.”

  “Little guy? Glasses? About so high?” I held my hand out flat just a few inches above my head.

  “He looked a little taller with the afro, but yeah.”

  She meant Doctor Ramis, the clinician Tindall had called in from Paint Rock. Doc wasn’t employed by the hospital, and tended to be high strung, but he was the best of the best when it came to supernatural medicine. He was also the only doctor Sal would ever trust.

  I thanked the nurse and stepped toward the entrance to the emergency department.

  “He’s in room five,” she called after me.

  Ed fell in line right behind me when we pushed through the double doors. Several doctors cast curious glances in our direction until I asked for directions to room five. Then, they seemed to get it and did all they could to get out of our way.

  The door to room five was open, but only by a crack. I pushed it open the rest of the way against a loud hiss of pain from Sal. He lay on a hospital bed with a pile of bloody dressings beside him. Doc Ramis had the nozzle of a bottle pressed into the wound, presumably a saline solution to clean it out. The water washed out a deep pink and splashed into a plastic tub under Sal’s arm.

  “Complain all you want,” Doc said, his forehead wrinkling in concentration. “It could have been a lot worse if these second-rate hacks would have gotten ahold of you. They’d have used silver to stitch you up.”

  Sal grimaced again and turned away.

  “What’s the prognosis, Doc?” I asked from the doorway.

  “It doesn’t look like the blade was coated in a physical substance, meaning whatever’s keeping him from healing falls on the magick side of things.” He withdrew the saline bottle and opened another package of sterile gauze, pressing it against the wound. “Hold this.”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t know the first thing about what Reed does with his sword to k
eep it battle ready,” I said, trying not to notice how pale Sal was. “Will he heal now?”

  Doc’s hair wobbled as he shook his head. “I doubt it. At least, not at an accelerated rate. I’m going to stitch it back together and check on it tomorrow when you two bring Mia in for her check-up. See what eight hours of rest can do.” He raised his eyes to Sal’s face and then added firmly, “And I mean rest, Sal. No heavy lifting, no shifting, nothing. These are regular stitches I’m putting in you and if you tear them, the damage is only going to get worse.”

  Sal shook his head. “I’m not going to sit on my ass for a day, Doc. I can’t. I got Mia to think of.”

  “Unless you want Mia to find her daddy bleeding to death, you’ll listen to me.” Sal growled at Doc, who leaned back and sighed. “It’s for your own good. Now, I need you to hold very still.”

  Ed slid past me and knelt at the end of the bed with his back to the wall. Plastic rustled as Doc fought to open more containers containing sterile forceps and other equipment I didn’t know the name for. As soon as he brought out the needle with attached thread, my stomach turned. I suddenly wished I’d gone home with Mia.

  Doc bent over Sal, his body blocking my view of his work. Sal sucked in a deep breath and ground his teeth. His fingers tightened on the edges of the bed. Beside me, Ed made a small sound and leaned forward. I didn’t have to look at anyone’s aura to know it was because Sal was drawing strength from the pack bonds. Ed, being in closest proximity, would have felt the brunt of it, but everyone in the pack likely knew something was wrong. I was surprised I hadn’t gotten a phone call yet. Then I remembered Ed had destroyed my phone. If anyone had tried to call, they were probably in a panic. No one outside of Ed knew that Sal was safe and alive.

  “I should call someone,” I said out loud. “The pack needs to know that you’re okay.” I took a half step toward the door, but hesitated when I realized I didn’t know who to call. It should be Sal’s second, but whether that was Shauna or Valentino wasn’t immediately clear to me. I knew Sal trusted Shauna more, especially since Valentino had challenged him for the position of alpha, but I didn’t know if she was officially his second. If I called the wrong one, there was sure to be hurt feelings somewhere. Werewolves with bruised egos tended to lash out violently.