by Jayne Faith
“I can’t produce something that I don’t have,” Alexandra said.
“Don’t patronize me. I know you don’t have it. You’re supposed to get that shifter husband of yours to figure out who’s guarding it.”
“Like I said, I’m working on it. I need to get back to my patrons.”
There was some shuffling and the sound of chair legs scraping the floor, and I realized Alexandra and the man were about to leave the office. I whipped around toward the bathroom, but didn’t have time to duck in and hide, so I just froze there with my clipboard.
Alexandra didn’t look my way as she turned and hurried toward the curtain.
When the man stepped out into the hallway, he turned toward me and stopped short.
My heart jumped into my throat.
It was Isaac O’Malley.
My blood chilled as he shot me an angry look. But then he looked past me down the hallway.
“Where in the hell is my guy?” he demanded, swiveling his gaze both ways, apparently searching for someone. He zeroed in on me again. “Have you seen a stocky man with a shaved head?”
“Uh, no, sorry,” I said.
Muttering under his breath about how hard it was to find dependable people and how a bodyguard wasn’t much use if he disappeared all the time, O’Malley took out his phone and began swiping at the screen.
He seemed to be intending to go out the back, and I took a step after him.
I licked my dry lips. “I’d like to speak to you, Mr. O’Malley.”
He turned, lowered his phone, and peered at me.
“Do I know you?” He tilted his head. “Yes. I believe I do know you.”
My heart was beating so hard I could feel the racing pulse in my ears.
Just then, the bouncer from up front came through the curtain. He turned toward the kitchen, but then his eyes snagged on me.
“Hey, you were just out front. What are you doing back here?” he demanded.
I shrugged. “I got lost?” He wasn’t Fae, so the lie slipped easily from my lips.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You said you were going around the corner for a smoke.”
O’Malley stepped in between us.
“Don’t worry about this young woman, Bert,” he said smoothly. “She and I are going to have a chat. I’ll make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble.”
“That’s fine, but she needs to get gone, Mr. O,” Bert said. “She snuck in the back.”
“Of course,” O’Malley replied. “The two of us will go out the way she came.”
Through the short exchange, I’d felt my phone buzzing a handful of times. Ray was probably wondering what the hell had happened to me. I didn’t want to reach for my phone, though. Not when I had O’Malley right there in front of me.
The two of us stepped out into the night air that was a welcome ten degrees cooler than the stuffy club.
O’Malley turned to me and folded his arms. “I remember you, lass,” he said in his lilting Irish accent. He examined my face for a moment, and I didn’t like the cold gleam in his eyes. “You’re one of Shaw’s people. Tara is your name. Tara . . . ?”
“Knightley,” I supplied.
Had I told him I was one of Shaw’s people? I couldn’t remember.
“Yes, Tara Knightley. Did you follow me here?”
“No. I heard you frequent this club.”
“Were you listening to the conversation I was having in the office?” he asked.
“I heard some of it,” I said carefully.
He took leaned forward, and somehow the tiny movement felt menacing. “What, exactly, did you hear?”
“You and the woman were arguing,” I said. “You were referring to something you want her to track down for you, but she said she didn’t know where it was.”
“Do you know what we were speaking about?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t catch any specific reference to the object in question.”
My heart was thumping uncomfortably, and my hands trembled slightly with adrenaline and apprehension. I didn’t think O’Malley was going to murder me there in the alley for eavesdropping, but the warnings about him were ringing through my mind like alarm bells. Particularly the part about how he wanted to take out Grant Shaw. My Fae boss was the kind of man who wouldn’t hesitate to make someone disappear if he thought they’d learned something he didn’t want them to know. If O’Malley wanted to be the next Shaw, I guessed he’d be at least as ruthless. It was best I kept that front of mind every second I spent dealing with this man.
“Why do you want to speak with me?” O’Malley asked.
I swallowed drily. This was it. If I continued the conversation, there’d be no going back.
“I’ve heard you’re a man of growing power,” I said. “And I thought I could—I wanted to offer you something that could further your . . . goals.”
He took a step closer, putting him within arm’s reach. He leaned over until our eyes were level.
“Why would one of Shaw’s people want to help me?”
My eyes widened, but I stood my ground.
“Because we might have a goal in common,” I said.
My hands were shaking so badly I had to curl them into fists.
“And what is this something you offer that you think could further my goals?” he asked.
“The Dullahan skull.”
His face tensed, and his eyes bored into mine. “You have it?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet. I’m going to start hunting for it.”
A slow smile stretched the corners of his lips. “But you’re not supposed to be, are you?”
My eyes widened as I suddenly realized O’Malley knew exactly who I was. He remembered my name, and he knew Shaw was trying to keep me out of the hunt of the Dullahan skull. He probably knew all about my ability to sense magical objects and most likely the work I did for Volkov Retrieval, too. He’d looked into me after I’d introduced myself at McStaggers Tavern.
“No, I’m not supposed to be hunting this bounty,” I said, my voice dropping to a near whisper.
He gave a low chuckle. “You’ve got your own plans, then. I like that.”
One of his hands came up and slipped inside his gray corduroy jacket. I stiffened, not knowing if he had a weapon. But his hand emerged with a card between his index and middle fingers. He held it out to me.
I gingerly took the card and gave it a quick glance. There was nothing but a phone number on it.
“If you find the skull, or anything else of value that doesn’t need to fall into Shaw’s hands, call that number,” he said. “When someone answers, say the word ‘firefly,’ and a message will be passed directly to me. ”
“Okay.” I glanced down at the card again and then up at O’Malley. “What would you give me for something like the Dullahan skull?”
He reached out and grabbed my wrist so swiftly I gasped. Flexing his arm, he pulled me closer, until we were nearly toe to toe.
“I will make it very worth your while, if you bring me a significant prize. You don’t need to worry about that,” he said softly, his breath, which smelled of fried food, washing over my face. “But you will bring it to me and only me, you hear, my lass? No bidding wars. No games. That goes for anything valuable you find. In return, I won’t cause you any trouble with your boss or your associates in the organization over this little conversation. And if you’re very lucky, I just might aid you in your hunt. You understand me, lass?”
Part of me wanted to punch O’Malley in the nose. I wasn’t his lass, and he was being a demanding asshole. But he was also possibly offering assistance.
O’Malley’s grip on my wrist eased. He let go and stepped back.
I swallowed hard. I’d done it. I’d engaged with Shaw’s rival. But I wasn’t going to leave it at that. I couldn’t.
“At some point, I’m going to need protection,” I said, leveling my gaze at him. “And there’s another matter. It has to do with my family.”
I quickly explained my mother and sister’s illness and how the charms from Shaw were keeping them alive.
“If you bring me the prize, I will take care of all of that,” he said.
Surprise caused me to pause, but only for a split second.
“Shaw could take the rings back even if I don’t find the prize,” I said. “He might do it just to punish me for hunting. He’s not stupid. If he finds out I’m on the hunt, he’ll assume I’m planning to give the prize to someone else. And if I get close and he finds out . . .”
“Then you’ll have to be very, very careful in your hunt,” O’Malley said. “But set your mind on this: if you bring me the skull, I will make sure the charms remain with your mother and sister, and I’ll ensure all of you are safe from Shaw.”
I gave my head a small shake. “How can you say that? How can I know you have the power to follow through?”
“An oath.”
My stomach dropped. O’Malley was willing to swear an oath to me to back up his claim?
Like a clap of thunder, it struck me: Dullahan skull was even more valuable than I’d imagined. The realization made me sick to my stomach.
At the same time, I glimpsed a shot at freedom. If O’Malley actually managed to take out Shaw—to kill him—my obligation to Shaw would end. I’d be free, and Mom and Felicity would be safe.
I looked up at O’Malley. “Yes. An oath.”
Part of my brain screamed in protest at the thought of entering into a binding promise with another Fae mobster. I pushed back on that reaction with reason. This was different. I wasn’t promising anything to O’Malley. He was promising me something. And regardless of what happened, I wasn’t going to obligated to work for him.
Actually—
“I need an addendum to the terms,” I said.
He gave a short, amused laugh and made a small rolling gesture with his fingers, indicating I should make my request.
“I need you to include in the oath that you will never use my mother and sister’s cure as leverage to force me to work for you, and that any protection or alternative cure that might ever be provided by you comes with no debt.”
O’Malley inclined his head. “Wise of you. And granted.”
My shoulders lowered an inch in a tiny movement of relief. I wasn’t going to get out of this without being bound somehow to O’Malley, but the fact that he had no qualms about my stipulations took some worry off my mind.
While O’Malley listened carefully, I recited our agreement.
“I, Isaac O’Malley, do so agree to the terms of this oath as stated by Tara Knightley,” he said when I was done.
Silvery magic glittered in the air between us like Fourth of July sparklers and then faded.
With my hands still shaking and my breaths coming rapid and shallow, I watched O’Malley turn and depart down the alley.
I’d just pulled out my phone to see what the hell had happened to Ray when I heard the soft sigh of the delivery door moving on its hinges.
Chapter 25
I WHIPPED AROUND and lunged for the door, jerking it open. My heart pumped with sickening fast thumps. Had someone been listening in?
At the end of the dark hallway, the curtain swished as someone passed through it. I just caught a heel of an athletic shoe and the end of a purple-tipped lock of hair disappearing into the club.
I sprinted down the hallway. If someone had overheard my conversation with O’Malley, I needed to know who it was. My mind whirled as I tried to imagine the possible consequences. Maybe it was just an employee who’d gone through the curtain. Perhaps the movement of the door was only caused by an air pressure change.
Shoving the curtain aside, I stepped into the club. My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness in the alley, but the blast of noise and the crowded space temporarily disoriented me. I scanned the crowd for a ponytail, but the floor in front of the stage and around the bar was shoulder-to-shoulder.
Turning sideways, I started pushing into the throng, determined to at least get a good look at the woman who’d been in the hallway.
I got about three people deep when I spotted Ray’s head towering above the crowd. He was talking to someone. I raised a hand and waved at Ray. His gaze swung to me, and his eyes widened. Then I realized who he was talking to—or arguing with, it looked like. The bouncer who’d kicked me out.
The bouncer turned to see what Ray was looking at and spotted me. Ray pushed past him, waving at me to run. I wheeled around and darted back through the curtain and down the hallway toward the alley exit.
“Right behind you, Tara!” came Ray’s voice.
I shoved through the door, and it banged open. Taking a hard left, I sprinted down the alley, quickly gaining speed. I didn’t bother to check on Ray, figuring with his athletic build and long legs he’d have no problem outrunning the much beefier bouncer.
Bursting out of the alley, I turned right and kept running. Ray caught up with me before I’d covered the block.
“What happened to you?” he panted.
“Long story,” I said.
We ran for four more blocks, making a few random turns. I doubted the bouncer would stray too far from his post even if he could keep up with our pace. I slowed and then stopped, and we both stood with our hands on our hips, breathing hard for several seconds.
“I was trying to get to the back door,” Ray said. “But the bouncer stopped me and started questioning me about you. He said you were gone, that a man had taken you out the back. I was just about to deck the bouncer so I could get to the back of the club when I saw you.”
I hesitated, debating about whether to tell Ray anything about what had transpired in the alley.
“I found O’Malley,” I said.
His eyes grew round. “And?”
“I did what I needed to do. I’m not going to say any more, for both of our protection.”
His mouth hardened. “I understand. Do you want to head home?”
“Yeah, I suppose we should.”
I took a deep breath, my pulse finally settling after our race from Hotel Bar.
Ray used his app to order a ride, and ten minutes later we were in a Ford Explorer, heading back to the doorway near the Santa Monica beach. The whole ride, I replayed my conversation with O’Malley.
There was no going back. I was working with an enemy of Grant Shaw. It could end up being the stupidest thing I ever did.
But if O’Malley took out Shaw . . . I shivered, hardly daring to imagine what life would be like if I never had to worry about Grant Shaw again.
When Ray and I stepped through the doorway and landed back in Boise, he drove me home, and I let myself into the mostly quiet house.
As much as I was itching to go after the Dullahan skull, coming home reminded me that I had to deal with the housing and money situation first. Upstairs, I poked my head into Dominic and Nolan’s room.
Dom was lying on his bed with the TV on. He wore headphones so the noise wouldn’t keep Nolan awake. My younger nephew was crashed out, one arm flopped over the side of his bed.
I waved at Dom, and he pulled his headphones off.
“Hey,” I whispered.
“Hi,” he said. “Were you working?”
“Kind of. How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Fine.”
“Trouble sleeping?” I asked.
“Nah, just wanted to watch TV for a while.”
I relaxed a tiny bit. Mom and Fel hadn’t told the kids about the move yet.
“Don’t stay up too late, okay? ‘Night.”
“’Night, Aunt Tara.”
I tiptoed into my bedroom, slipped out of my clothes, pulled on a soft t-shirt and old sweats I’d cut off to make shorts, and crashed.
I jerked awake the next morning in the middle of wild, unsettling dreams of Shaw and O’Malley playing a violent game of tug-of-war using my body as the rope. Something had pulled me out of sleep, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Tara?”
Feli
city was standing in the doorway fully clothed. Morning light filled the window. I could tell by the quiet in the house that the kids were already off to school. I must have been out cold to sleep through the morning commotion.
I sat up, blinking hard.
“Yeah?” I croaked.
“I think you’d better get dressed,” Fel said.
Taking in her dazed, wide-eyed expression, I threw the covers off as my heart gave a small jolt.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded, scrambling around the floor for clothes.
“Uh, I don’t think anything is wrong, exactly, but . . .” She trailed off. “Just come see.”
She waited while I pulled on my pants from the previous day and then yanked a sweatshirt out of my dresser and jammed my head and arms into it.
I followed her downstairs. When we got to the living room, I saw the front door was open and heard Mom’s voice outside. She didn’t sound alarmed. In fact, was that . . . ? Did my mother just let out a little laugh?
Fel and I went out onto the front porch, and I threw up a hand to shade my sleep-sensitive eyes from the morning sun.
Taking in the scene on the front yard and sidewalk, my lips parted, and for a breath or two, all I could do was stare.
“What the hell?” I asked faintly.
There were around twelve or fifteen people swarming the area. Some were hauling crates and flattened boxes out of vehicles, and others were taping boxes together.
“Morning, Rainbow,” came an amused voice from off to the right.
My head swiveled. Judah was standing in the grass with my mother.
In a daze, I went down the steps and joined them, the cold dew soaking my bare feet. Suddenly very aware that it was chilly out and I wasn’t wearing a bra, I hunched and folded my arms over my chest.
I looked back and forth between Mom and Judah and then twisted around to peer at all the people in the front yard.
“What’s going on?” I finally asked.
“They’re here to help us pack up and move,” Mom said just as two more pickups, the jacked kind with extended cabs and oversized tires, eased up to the curb. “Isn’t that the nicest thing you’ve ever heard?”
I faced her and took in her misty eyes. She gave me a watery smile.