by Lola Gabriel
He wished she would just tell him that. They could slow things down, if that was what she wanted. He wasn’t the most patient of men, but he would wait forever for Lexi. He moved his cell phone back to the cabinet and pushed the duvet back angrily. He got up, took a shower, got dressed, and then he found himself checking his cell phone again. Still nothing.
Lexi had even avoided coming for her car yesterday in case she ran into him. He had forgotten about her car and run out to the pack meeting. Two of the pack members had spotted some unusual activity in one of the bars they frequented, and they had reported it. They believed they might have a hunter on their hands. It turned out that they were just “supernatural tourists,” as Mitchell called them: people who had learned something of the supernatural world and wanted to see it for themselves. They seemed harmless enough, but Mitchell had called the alpha of the vampire pack of his district and arranged for them to have their memories of the supernatural world erased.
When Mitchell had returned home and seen her car still parked outside of his house, he had remembered she had left it there last night, and he had meant to take her for it that morning. At first, he had thought she was angry with him, and that was why she wouldn’t take his calls, but as the day went on, he had begun to think there was more to it than that. She wasn’t petty, and she wasn’t shy. If she had an issue with the car situation, he would know about it.
He went over to the window now, expecting her car to be gone. It wasn’t, and Mitchell felt the first stirrings of worry in the pit of his stomach. Had something happened to her? It had only been one full day since they had spoken, but the thought did nothing to put his mind at rest. A day felt like an eternity after the way they had clicked together, after they had begun to talk about a future together.
Almost angry at himself for feeling both helpless and needy, Mitchell picked his cell phone up again and tried to call Lexi. His call went straight to voicemail. He debated leaving her a message, just saying he was worried and asking her to call him back, but he decided against it. If he had come on too strong and frightened her off, a message worrying about her safety after one full day of not seeing her wasn’t going to help him. He went downstairs and made a pot of coffee, trying not to think of Lexi. It was as impossible for him as telling himself he wasn’t going to bother breathing anymore. He had to speak to her. He had to.
He thought for a moment, and then he realized what he could do. He would call her at the office and ask her if she had found anything on his case yet. That was reasonable and wouldn’t seem to be coming on too strong, and she could hardly refuse to take his call as a client. It would be damned hard not to demand an answer about why she was ignoring him, but he could do it. At least then he would know she was okay.
He finished his cup of coffee and checked his watch. It was almost nine. He knew she was often in the office earlier than that, but he decided to wait to be sure she’d be there. In the meantime, he poured himself another coffee and went into the lounge, sitting where he could see Lexi’s car, in case she turned up for it on her way to the office this morning.
The time dragged, and at three minutes past nine, Mitchell couldn’t wait any longer. He dug Lexi’s business card out of his kitchen drawer and dialed her office number.
“Hughes and Watson, Lexi Lord’s office, Samira speaking, how can I help you?”
“I need to speak to Lexi, please,” Mitchell said.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lord isn’t here right now. If I may ask what your call is regarding, I can pass you through to someone who can help,” Samira replied.
“Do you know what time she’ll be in? I’m a client of hers, and I need to speak to her about something important.”
“One moment, please.” Mitchell could hear papers rustling for a moment, and then Samira’s voice came back onto the line. “Ms. Lord is taking some vacation time. I can—”
“What do you mean, she’s taking some vacation time? When will she be back?” Mitchell asked.
“I’m sorry, I’m really not allowed to give that information out. All I know is she rang yesterday morning and said she needed to take a few days off.”
“Okay, thank you,” Mitchell said, biting back his anger at Samira and hanging up.
He couldn’t work out what the hell was going on here. It was like Lexi hadn’t just walked away from him personally, she had walked away from her whole life. And his case, presumably. But Samira had said she had only asked for a few days off. Mitchell knew that these cases could drag on for months, sometimes over a year. Normally, he would think a day or two wouldn’t make any difference, but Lexi’s boss had given her a deadline. Was she cutting him out of her life so completely she was even dropping his case without telling him? That seemed to be taking ghosting someone a bit too far.
It didn’t sound like she was in any sort of danger, though, or had had an accident, or any of the other worries Mitchell had. She would have told work the truth, and surely, they would be allowed to say that she was out sick or whatever.
He had to know. It was as simple as that. The uncertainty was already driving him crazy, and he couldn’t just sit around all day wondering about it. He would go to her place. He would get an explanation, and then, if she thought he was a crazy stalker type, he would leave her alone.
He stood up, feeling a little better and a little less lost now that he had a plan of action in place. He went into the hall, and as he was putting his shoes on, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He felt relief wash over him. Lexi was messaging him. Samira must have told her a client had called, and she had realized he would be worried, or that she at least owed him an explanation as his lawyer about taking time off from his case.
He hesitated, one shoe on and one shoe off, almost not daring to look at his cell phone now. He didn’t know what would be worse. If it was Lexi telling him they were done, leaving him heartbroken yet at least knowing she was okay, or if it was Samuel or one of the other pack members, leaving him with the tiny hope of reconciling with Lexi, but still not knowing if she was okay.
He pushed his other shoe on and told himself to grow a pair. He pulled his cell phone out and looked at the screen. He frowned. It was a number he didn’t recognize at all. His heart sank for a moment, but then he thought of something else. Maybe Lexi had had a family emergency back home or something. In her panic to get to her family, she might have forgotten her cell phone. It would explain everything: the hasty vacation from work, her ignoring his calls, why it had taken her so long to contact him… This could be her on someone else’s phone.
He opened the text message. It was one line of words that made his blood run cold.
This is what happens to people who fuck with me.
There was a video, too. A video he almost didn’t dare play. This wasn’t about Lexi. It was about him, and he had a feeling he was about to find out who had set him up for murder. He had to watch it, and if it was anything that could help with his case, he would have to take it to Jared Hughes. What else could he do when his own lawyer was AWOL?
Mitchell pressed play on the video. He felt his knees buckle, and he fell back into a sitting position on the bottom of the stairs. This wasn’t about the case after all. It was about Lexi. And Joshua.
The video showed a metal cage. Inside of it was a terrified looking Lexi. Joshua was beside her, stroking her head like she was a fucking pet. Tears stood out in her unseeing, staring eyes.
If he’s fucking hurt her, I’ll kill him, Mitchell thought. He would find a way to do it. Whatever it took.
“Hello, Mitchell,” Joshua said. His tone was like he was greeting an old friend, and Mitchell felt his stomach rolling with nausea. He was glad he had skipped breakfast. “As I said in my message, this is what happens to people who fuck with me. You took a prize from me, and I have taken one from you. Now I really must go. Her buyer will be here soon, and I have to get her all cleaned up and ready to go.”
The video ended. Mitchell’s dragon was roaring inside of him,
threatening to burst forth. If it escaped now, with the way Mitchell was feeling, it would burn up the whole district. Part of Mitchell was tempted to let it. Anything to release this anger, this pain. But he fought it. Even as he felt scales erupting over his back, he pushed his dragon back down. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions overtake him, and he certainly couldn’t let his dragon out. He had to keep his head straight, think rationally.
Joshua had said he had to get Lexi cleaned up and ready to go for her buyer. That meant there was still time. Mitchell could save her. That was what Joshua wanted—for him to go running out there and likely get himself into even more trouble and end up watching Lexi being taken from him. But he was going to do it all the same, only he would find a way to defeat Joshua. The demon might be centuries older than him, making him much stronger than Mitchell, but he had managed to beat him once, and he would do it again.
He pushed himself up off the stairs and reached into the bowl on the little table beside him for his keys. He stepped outside and locked the door. He was almost at his car when he saw a police car turn the corner at the end of his short block. By the time he reached his car, the police car had pulled up, and Mitchell’s heart sank when he saw Detective Burns getting out of it and coming towards him. Talk about the worst timing in the world.
“I’m in a hurry, detective,” Mitchell said quickly. “Can I come to the station later on today to answer your questions?”
Detective Burns smirked at him. “Nice try, Mr. Cole. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to give you a head start on your escape?”
“My escape?” Mitchell asked, wishing Detective Burns would just hurry up and spit out whatever the hell it was that he wanted so that he could go to Lexi.
“Mitchell Cole, I’m arresting you for the murder of Lexi Lord,” Detective Burns said.
He kept going, reading Mitchell his Miranda rights, but Mitchell had switched off. What the hell was he talking about? Lexi wasn’t dead. How did the detective even know she wasn’t at work like any normal day? And if he had called her at work for some reason, how did “she’s taking a few days of vacation” translate to “she’s dead” in his mind?
Suddenly, it all fell into place in his mind. Samuel was still looking into the detective, but he had said he used to be a hunter. It was the detective who was setting Mitchell up. He had found a way to hunt immortals without getting his hands dirty. He had Mitchell’s prints from the station, and it would have been easy enough to get a hold of one of his hairs there. He had set Mitchell up for the murder of Lisa Malone, and he must have been watching Mitchell, even now, and by extension, Lexi. He knew Joshua had taken her, but he obviously didn’t know enough about Matchmakers to know she wouldn’t be killed but sold to the highest bidder. He thought he was getting a double homicide.
“Listen to me,” Mitchell said, frantically trying to get Detective Burns to see reason. “Lexi isn’t dead. But she’s in danger. You can’t do this. I have to go and save her.”
“A likely story,” Detective Burns said. That smirk again. What Mitchell wouldn’t do to knock it off the detective’s face.
“Please.” He took a step towards Detective Burns. It was a mistake. In his sudden moment of clarity, he had stopped paying attention to the detective, and he didn’t see the Taser in his hand until it was too late. The detective slammed the Taser onto Mitchell’s neck. Mitchell felt intense pain through his body, and he dropped to the ground, stiff and unconscious.
When Mitchell awoke, he was laying on a cold, hard floor. He blinked a few times and pushed himself to his feet. He was back in the same interview room where all of this had started, and Detective Burns sat watching him in amusement. Everything came rushing back to Mitchell. He had to get to Lexi before it was too late. Maybe it was already too late.
“How long was I out for?” he asked.
“Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty,” Detective Burns replied.
This wasn’t great news, but it gave Mitchell hope he might still have time to save Lexi, if only he could get the detective to listen to reason. He didn’t have much time, and there was no point in beating around the bush on this one. He sat down opposite the detective.
“I know who you are,” he said.
Detective Burns raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t try to interrupt. Mitchell knew he had his attention. He hurried on while he still had a chance.
“I know you know who I am, and I know you’re setting me up for murder. On some level, I get why you hate me. But why do you hate Lexi? She’s just doing her job. She’s not a part of this,” Mitchell said.
“You think I did something to her?” Detective Burns asked, looking a little shocked.
Mitchell took it as a good sign that he wasn’t trying to deny the rest. He had no reason to. They were alone, and Mitchell thought that a part of him probably wanted him to know he was behind this, that he had outsmarted him. It was probably all part of the fun for the bastard.
“No,” Mitchell said. “I know exactly who has her. But by keeping me here, you’re signing her death warrant. Her blood will be on your hands.”
“You really believe she’s still alive after a full day with that monster?”
Mitchell pulled his cell phone out and brought the video up. He handed it to the detective. “Watch the video and look at the time stamp.”
The detective watched the video, and Mitchell saw a flicker of doubt on his face. He was starting to see he had fucked up. Hunters generally thought they were somehow the protectors of humans, and he knew even someone as arrogant as the detective wouldn’t want Lexi to die when there was another way.
“You’re on the wrong side of this one, detective,” Mitchell said. “But it’s not too late to fix this. Just let me out of here, and I can save her.”
“I don’t think so,” Detective Burns said.
Mitchell slammed his fist on the table hard enough to make the detective jump a little.
“Then you go! Go be the fucking hero you think you are and save Lexi’s life!” The detective didn’t respond. He was starting to look decidedly uncomfortable. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to get your hands dirty, do you? You know Joshua, the demon in the video, is dangerous, so you stay away. You know I am a law-abiding citizen who wouldn’t turn on you, so you went after me. Basically, your little crusade is taking out immortals who don’t pose a threat to humanity and leaving the path a little easier for the ones who do. Nice job.”
“You’re all the same,” the detective said.
“No. We’re not. That’s like saying all humans are the same. Some are bad, but the majority aren’t. And let’s get one thing clear here, detective. I am not the monster here. Your job is to protect and serve. I have told you this girl’s life is in danger. Frankly, I don’t blame you for not wanting to go running out there to save her. I have no doubt that Joshua would kill you within seconds. But you’re preventing me from going.”
“So your plan is for me to release a murderer and just hope he comes back,” Detective Burns said.
“You and I both know I’m no murderer. You killed Lisa and blamed it on me.”
“Actually, Tyler Bowes killed Lisa, and I used the situation to my advantage. It was over some property dispute. He would have had to knock his garage down because it crossed over onto Lisa’s property line or something like that. They argued, and it got out of hand. After I heard his story, I just treated him like a witness, and he was only too happy to go along with that.”
“So what’s the problem with letting me out, then?” Mitchell demanded, shocked that the detective had told him so much. It didn’t matter though. All that mattered now was Lexi.
“Because to the world, it will look like I’ve let a murderer escape.”
Mitchell’s mind raced, searching for something, anything, that might persuade the detective to release him. The answer came to him in a flash, and as much as he didn’t like it, he knew it would be worth it to save Lexi.
&n
bsp; “No one knows I’m here. If they did, you wouldn’t be talking to me alone, and there would be a camera rolling. You don’t want Lexi to die. You just want me behind bars. So here’s the deal. Let me out. Let me save Lexi. And you have my word I will not only return, but I’ll plead guilty to the murder of Lisa Malone.”
Detective Burns went quiet for a moment. Time was running out. If it came to it, Mitchell would turn and fry the detective, but for all Burns was a total pig, he would rather not have to kill him. Doing so would only make other hunters think they had the right idea. That immortals were all crazy, dangerous, and murderous.
“This is a one-time offer, detective, and you have ten seconds to decide. Every moment we waste is a moment it might be too late for Lexi.”
“Go,” Detective Burns said. “But make no mistake here, Mitchell. There’s no Get Out of Jail Free card here for you.”
Mitchell didn’t waste any time replying to Detective Burns. He ran from the room, down the hallway, and out into the morning light. He blinked a few times, dazzled by the sun, and then he was running back home to get to his car.
I’m coming, Lexi, he thought. I’m coming to save you. Please still be there when I get to the cave. Please.
Once Mitchell left the city behind him, he drove like a maniac out to Joshua’s lair. He jumped out of the car almost before it had stopped moving and ran towards the entrance to Joshua’s cave.
Please don’t let me be too late. Please don’t let me be too late. The mantra went around and around in his head. If Lexi was already gone, he knew he would kill Detective Burns. And then at least his life sentence would be fair. Fuck what the hunters thought about that.
He ran into the cave, and his heart almost stopped beating when he saw Lexi in the cage in the corner. She was okay. He had taken two steps towards the cage when Joshua appeared in his path.