Relief washed through Dave followed by anger. “And you let her go without anyone to watch her back?”
“Have you met your sister? She didn’t ask my permission—and someone had to stay here to talk to the police.”
Dave scrubbed a hand over his face as control reasserted itself. “You made the right call. How’s Alex?”
“He’s a tough kid. Julie wanted to keep him with her but there wasn’t room in the ambulance. He was more interested in what the cops were doing than going to the hospital, anyway.”
“Which hospital are they at? I’ll check on them then circle back to you.”
“Negative. Stay with your sister. When I’m done here, I’ll meet you at the hospital. They’re at Scripps La Jolla. Since it’s your name on the hotel reservation the cops want to want to ask you some questions, but they can talk to you there as easily as here.”
Pete was right—again. He needed to get his head in the game. “All right. I’ll see you when I see you. Wait—how many did you take down?”
“Three wounded.”
“What about the fourth guy?”
“Only three came at us.”
Shit. “Four left here.” The last guy had probably stayed with their vehicle. He could be on his way back—or headed to the hospital to finish the job. “I need to haul ass. I’ll call when I have an update.”
Tasha looked up from the dress she was sketching as Kellan made another circuit of the room. He’d been anxious to take action ever since Cassie had said she thought Jasper might still be alive. “I can’t be sure, but there’s a thread there, taut and unbroken,” she’d said. That had been enough to convince Kellan, who’d wanted to call Ana right away. Gideon had sent her text instead and she’d promised to join them when her shift at the hospital ended.
“Pacing won’t make the time go any faster. And Ana won’t be able to do anything until Cam gets here with the pillow, anyway.”
As if her words had conjured him, the kitchen door opened and Cam came in from the garage holding a green plastic garbage bag over his head like the head of a vanquished foe. “I came, I saw, I conquered, and I return bearing fluffy pillows,” he declared.
At well over six feet tall, Cam did resemble a victorious warrior returning from the battlefield. The red fox at his heels did nothing to dispel the image of a conquering hero.
“Thanks, Cam.” Jared shook the other man’s hand and relieved him of his burden. “Did you run into any trouble?”
“Not with this. The other matter took longer than I expected, though. That’s why I’m late.” Cam took a seat at the breakfast bar and looked around. “Gracie already in bed?”
“An hour ago. She wanted to stay up to see you, but we promised her that you and Bhodan would have breakfast with her if she went to bed on time.”
Cam smirked. “Did you now? And you were that confident that I’d be available?”
Bhodan yipped and Jared laughed at whatever the Gaian had said. “She does, indeed,” the Lightbringer said.
Tasha might be descended from one of Bhodan’s Gaian friends, but she couldn’t understand him unless he chose to share his thoughts with her. Jared understood because he was a Celestial, and Cam had no trouble understanding because he and Bhodan were bonded, though she wasn’t precisely sure what that meant. She hoped that Cam or the Gaian would explain a few things about what it meant to be Fey, now that they’d returned. Monique had made a study of the Fey, and taught Tasha what she could, but she couldn’t know the inside scoop.
Bhodan trotted over to her where she sat cross-legged on the sofa. He jumped up next to her, put a paw on her leg and yipped. This time she understood him perfectly. **Well met, daughter. Did you learn a lot while you were away?**
It had been six months since she’d last met the Gaian. It felt weird to know this creature that took the appearance of a European red fox was, in fact, an immortal like Kellan. No, not like Kellan. More like Jared and Gideon. U’dahmi magic was very different. Tasha swallowed, feeling like she was being quizzed by the principal. “I did, but I still have a lot to learn. Will you teach me?”
**What I can.** Tasha had the distinct feeling that he’d liked her answer.
Ana’s arrival interrupted her conversation with the fox, and Tasha sighed in frustration even though she was happy to see her sister.
“Hello, my love.” Gideon greeted his wife with a hug and a quick kiss, much like Ana and Tasha’s parents had at the end of the day. Tasha felt a small pang at the memory—and maybe a twinge of jealousy. She hadn’t thought about those happy times in quite a while.
“I kept the stew warm on the stove for you,” Cassie said. “Would you like to have some before you get started?”
“Please. I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” added Cam.
“Thank you for agreeing to help,” Kellan said half an hour later after Ana had finished eating. It had been all he could do not to pace as Ana had enjoyed the delicious stew and fresh bread Cassie had served. They’d all gathered downstairs in the ritual room.
It bore no resemblance whatsoever to ceremonial spaces in movies about witchcraft. About the size of a large bedroom, the ritual room was painted a cheerful yellow and had a polished concrete floor to make drawing and erasing magical symbols on it easier. Recessed lighting glowed warmly. High frosted windows would let in light in the daytime. Spells were written on all the walls near the ceiling to protect against negative influences. A white armoire stored a variety of tools from chalk to candles. Just what you’d expect for a Lightbringer’s workroom.
“Frankly, I’m not sure I should help you. Cassie thinks you’re going to kill this guy when you find him. I don’t know if I want to be part of that.”
Kellan glanced at Cassie. He wasn’t surprised she’d seen that, especially when it involved the man she’d been psychically tailing.
She shrugged. “I thought Ana should know.”
Some of the starch went out of him. “He’s my partner. I don’t want to kill him—but I may have to execute him. If Jasper went rogue and possessed someone against their will, he could be a danger to humans and U’dahmi alike”
Cassie flinched and Jared put his arm around her shoulders.
Ana nodded. “All right. I’ll need something personal of Jasper’s that he used often.”
Cam held the garbage bag aloft. “His pillow.” He’d already been in Phoenix so Jared had asked him to break into Jasper’s apartment to get something of his.
“No one saw you?” Jared asked.
Cam looked affronted. “I know what I’m doing.”
Jared held up his hands. “I only mention it because Jasper’s apartment was probably crawling with cops looking for evidence in the last few days. The neighbors are probably on high alert.”
“I may be big, but I’m sneaky. I didn’t even break the crime scene tape.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Kellan said. “I tried to get Jasper’s phone from Morgan, but he said it’s evidence and wouldn’t give it up.”
“The pillow is better,” Ana said, reaching for the bag. Electronics and magic don’t always work well together. “Unless he was sleeping with someone who might have used it. That could muddy the response.”
Kellan shook his head. “Not as far as I know. It won’t matter that he’s in a different body now?”
Ana shook her head. “His dreams will have left a psychic trace of his essence. Those probably don’t change. Do they?”
Kellan shook his head. He still sometimes dreamt of long-dead lovers and enemies he’d killed thousands of years ago. “We grow and change like all people, and we absorb some traces of those whose bodies we assume, but who we are at heart remains the same.”
Ana gave a sharp nod. “Good. Let’s get started, then.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dave strode into the crowded waiting area of the hospital emergency room and scanned the room for Julie, or at least someone who could tell him where she was. A reception des
k was crowded with supplicants three deep. One guy was holding a bloody towel around his arm. Time wasn’t on his side and he wouldn’t be allowed to push his way to the front of the line. His hands fisted at his sides. The security guard must not have liked what he saw because he intercepted Dave before he got halfway to the desk.
“Can I help you, sir?”
Dave’s worry flared into anger at the rent-a-cop impeding him. It would take him less than three seconds to disarm and take down the overweight, middle-aged guard, but that would create a panic and involve police and arrests and ultimately wouldn’t get him what he wanted. He schooled his features into an expression that looked less like he wanted to kill someone and more like someone who was scared for his friend and sister. Which he was.
“My friend John Helmann was shot. My sister and her son are here with him. Can you help me find them?”
The guard searched his face. He must have seen what Dave needed him to see because his posture eased slightly. “Come with me.”
The crowd parted for the uniformed man. He walked Dave through a pair of double doors and over to the nurses’ station inside the patient care area. “This guy needs to find his sister. She accompanied a GSW—John Helmann.”
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give out any information about patients unless we have explicit written permission to do so.”
“What about my sister? I’m her next of kin.”
“I’m sorry. The privacy law doesn’t allow me to disclose any information without permission.” The woman looked genuinely sorry to not be able to help.
“What if she’s not a patient?” The guard asked.
The woman looked confused for just a second, and then the corner of her mouth curled up. “Name?”
“Julie Hopkins. Julia,” Dave said.
More typing. “She’s not a patient here.”
That was a relief, confirming what Pete had said—that she wasn’t hurt. “Great! So you can tell me where she is?”
“I don’t know for sure, obviously, but she might be in the surgery waiting area.” The nurse looked at the guard. “Joe, would you show this gentleman where to go?”
Joe grinned. “This way, sir.”
Dave tried to contain his frustration at Joe’s deliberate pace, but he was glad for the escort when Joe took a short-cut through an area marked, “Authorized Personnel Only.” He was even happier when he found Julie and Alex in the waiting area.
Alex was curled up asleep at the end of an upholstered loveseat. Julie looked exhausted, but she rose and came to hug Dave as soon as she saw him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” Dave kept his arm around her as he faced the guard that he’d wanted to shove out of the way not ten minutes ago. “Thanks for your help,” he said as he offered his hand.
Joe’s grip was firm. “No man left behind.”
Dave nodded sharply. The man might be carrying a few years and a few extra pounds, but he’d served, probably in some conflict most Americans had forgotten. “Hoo-ah!”
“Hoo-ah!” the guard answered. “I hope your friend is okay.”
“Thanks.”
Joe acknowledged him with a brief nod and left the way they’d come.
Dave scrutinized his sister. “Are you all right? Alex?”
Julie nodded. “Freaked out, but fine.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “This is my fault. If Jack dies—”
“Whoa! This is not in any way on you.”
“This is all because I got involved with Chad! And then I didn’t answer my neighbor’s call because I wanted to keep talking to Jack. The way he listens…”
Dave blinked. “Why would not answering your phone make you responsible for Jack getting shot?”
“She called me after you went by my place. I don’t know if you noticed, but she can be a little chatty. She’s very nice, and I love her, but she bent my ear about Chad, and snickerdoodles, and what a nice young man you are for thirty minutes. Getting her off the phone was nearly impossible. I haven’t been around for a few days, so she had a lot of gossip to share. When she called back, I let it go to voicemail. She was calling to tell me that four men were tossing my place and that she’d called the police. Then she called again to say they’d left before the police got there. I didn’t check my phone until about a minute before those men broke into the room. Jack and Pete barely had time to get me and Alex into the bathtub before all hell broke loose. If I’d answered when she called, we would have had more warning. We could have run. Jack wouldn’t have been shot.”
Dave hugged her shoulders. “You’re beating yourself up for nothing. Just because your place was tossed didn’t mean they knew where you were. And even if Jack and Pete knew about it, they wouldn’t have exposed you by moving you. You were on the seventh floor of a hotel with security cameras everywhere. Only desperate idiots would come at you there. The situation would have played out pretty much the same way even if you had taken the call—or worse. It might have taken her a while to get to the point and you could have still been on the phone when they got there. I am surprised the cops didn’t call you about the break-in, though.”
Julie wiped her eyes. “They did. I got a call in the middle of the shooting and let it go to voicemail. It didn’t seem like a good time to answer.”
“Let’s sit down.” Dave guided her over to the edge of the area away from the couple sharing the space, but where they could keep an eye on Alex sleeping.
“How’s Pete? He said he wasn’t hurt—”
“He’s talking with the cops. They should be here soon to ask you a few questions. I expect they’ll follow up pretty aggressively on this. Shoot-outs in upscale hotels probably aren't standard Saturday night action around here.” He lifted his head. “And here they are.”
Two men in plain clothes stopped before them. “I’m Detective Samson and this is Detective Draper. We’re with La Jolla P.D. How is Mr. Helmann?”
“We don’t know anything yet.” Julie teared up again.
Dave reached over to squeeze her hand, reassuring himself as much as her. “I’m Julie’s brother, Dave Hopkins. How can we help you?”
“We’d like to ask Ms. Hopkins a few questions while events are still fresh in her mind. And we’d like to talk to you, too.”
Dave glanced at Julie, who nodded. He wasn’t worried about what she might tell them. If they got Chad in trouble he wouldn’t shed any tears, and the more grief they could give The Lion the better. He’d sent men to threaten and kill his family. “Fine. What do you want to know?”
Draper pulled Dave away so they could question him and Julie separately. Standard operating procedure to see if their stories matched.
Dave liked that the detective didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “You’re from Arizona where you work as a private investigator. You have a valid California P.I. license and a permit to carry concealed. Are you armed now?”
“Yes.”
“Firearms aren’t permitted inside the hospital.”
Dave dipped his head. “I was in a bit of a rush when I heard about Jack and my sister. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Draper gave him a look that said he understood exactly how likely it was that Dave would leave his weapon behind the next time he visited Jack. “The hotel rooms were in your name. Were these guys after you?”
“I doubt it. This attack is probably related to the money my sister’s ex stole from The Lion.”
“The Lion? Kolos Szegedy?” Draper didn’t sound surprised. He’d probably already run the names of the guys who’d attacked Julie’s room and knew who held their leash.
“Yeah.”
“The ex’s name?”
“Chad Kavanaugh. Julie kicked him out after he hit her and her kid.”
“And he just happened to leave a huge amount of The Lion’s money behind?” Draper’s skepticism showed through his professional demeanor.
“My sister didn’t give him much choice. She didn’t know about the cash, she just put his s
tuff on the curb. He’d stashed the money under her trailer and when he came back for it he tried to make trouble. I scared him off. That was when my nephew told us he’d hidden Chad’s money because his mom works too hard and needs the cash.”
“Where’s the money now?”
“I gave it back to Kavanaugh after I made sure he understood that I didn’t want him to come back.”
“You gave it back. All of it?”
“My sister doesn’t need the kind of trouble someone like The Lion can cause. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.”
“Why’d you put your sister in a hotel?”
“We heard Chad left town and we thought maybe he hadn’t returned the money. I didn’t want Julie and Alex to be at home if The Lion’s men came looking for that asshole.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I suggested it. But Chad had threatened to lie to Child Services about Julie being an unfit mother, and she was scared. And let’s face it: most P.D.’s don’t have the manpower to give twenty-four-seven protection to a single mom living in a trailer park. Does yours?”
Draper’s lips pressed together.
“Chad’s too low on the vine to give you any actionable intel on The Lion. I doubt he ever met the guy. I hoped that if I kept Julie and Alex safe until The Lion’s men found Chad and the money, the problem would go away.” Dave rubbed the back of his neck. “It didn’t work out.”
Draper almost looked sympathetic. “Where were you when your sister’s rooms were attacked?”
“Picking up some mail from her place. I talked to the neighbor.”
“Ms. Hopkins?” A new voice caught Dave’s attention. A woman in scrubs was approaching his sister. Dave joined Julie in time to hear the woman say, “Your fiancé is out of surgery. He’s in recovery and doing well.”
Fiancé? Dave lifted a brow at his sister, but didn’t say anything.
“Thank God!” Julie pressed her hands together in front of her mouth.
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