by E. A. Copen
“Do you know where your master is now?”
He shook his head. “But I bet he is angry. I missed being there to feed him. He’ll be very cranky.”
Never mind he’ll give you the beating of a lifetime for failing to kill me, I thought. And then kill you.
“Why did Crux tell you to attack me, anyway?”
“Because you were looking into the missing fae and questioning Kim and the deal. And you refused him his blood debt. No one ever tells master no.” He shifted in his seat. “Can I leave now? I’d like to go back to my master.”
“It’ll be a little while more. Just one more thing, Sven. The giant you sent to protect Tammy… What exactly did you tell it to do?”
He thought for a minute, putting a finger to his bottom lip. “Protect Tammy.”
Well, there was a spark of hope, but it was also a little worrying. Clearly, the giant thought Harry and Kim were a threat to Mara. The mess at Mara’s place told me it also thought Crux was a threat when he showed up to abduct her. Mara must’ve taken down the wards protecting the place to let it in. Did she know Sven had sent the giant to protect her? Had she figured it out before me? That was the only thing that made sense. She did have more puzzle pieces than I did.
But it also meant the giant could show up wherever Crux was holding Mara and cause even more collateral damage. It didn’t seem to care who it killed as long as it got to its target.
I swallowed and asked Sven, “Are you able to call it again or control it?”
He shook his head. “I tried. It won’t listen.”
Looks like calling the thing off isn’t going to work, I thought. Once it got its orders, the giant was bound to complete its task or die trying. That complicated things.
“Thanks, big guy,” I said, reaching across the table to pat him on the arm. It felt like patting steel.
Sven blinked. “Sven. My name is Sven.”
“Of course it is, big guy. Stay here. I’ll send someone in to keep you company.”
Out in the hallway, I stopped the first cop I saw. “Make sure he doesn’t leave,” I told them. “But don’t handcuff him, and whatever you do, don’t make him angry.”
“Yes, ma’am. What should I do if he gets agitated?”
“Call Agent Helsinki or me immediately.”
I stole a glance through the one-way mirror at the gentle giant whose good intentions had murdered countless innocents. What kind of punishment was fair? If I arrested him, the best-case scenario had Crux filing a petition to deport him, claiming Sven was property. Then Crux would kill him because there’d be no way to proceed without making it a public fact. If I let him go, he’d just go back to Crux, who would kill him.
The big man found the remote and changed the channel to some cartoons. His face lit up with glee when he saw it, and booming laughter echoed out of the room. I turned away, knowing there was nothing I could do.
Chapter Twenty-Three
In the next room, Abe was grilling Robbie, as I expected. Robbie wore an expression of cool rage, watching Abe stalk across the floor with the patient hunger of a tiger on the prowl. I knocked on the door to Robbie’s interrogation room and then popped it open.
Robbie butted in before I could say anything. “There she is. Tell this git to sod off and get my lawyer or else bloody process me and put me in a cell so I can get my bloody phone call.”
I stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind me. I must have looked as pissed as I felt because Robbie’s demeanor shifted. His back straightened, and he folded his hands in front of him as if he were in Sunday School instead of an interrogation room.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me Mara was dancing in your club?”
Robbie narrowed his eyes. “Who?”
“And I know about the loan you took out from the Stryx on Kim’s behalf. That’s why she’s so pissed at you.”
“What’s this?” Robbie sat up. “You’re off your nutter. I called for my lawyer. I’ve got a right to legal representation.”
“Why? Have you got something to hide?” Abe asked, leaning on the table.
Robbie looked from me to Abe. “You’re mad, the both of you.”
“What do you know about Kim’s deal with Crux?” I said.
“Kiss my arse, copper.” Robbie rose out of his seat.
Abe pushed him back down. “Sit down. You are not nearly as threatening as you think you are.”
Robbie’s eyes were on fire with defiance. “What say you take off these irons and we go out back and settle this like men? You can show me those half-blood fangs of yours aren’t just for show, and I’ll teach you why my name, my true name, is a black curse in Faerie.”
Abe flashed his fangs and made a small growl. “I have nothing to prove to you.”
“You’re a coward, that’s what you are. A bloody mudak.”
In a move faster than my eye could perceive, Abe reached out and grabbed the back of Robbie’s head. With a loud grunt, he heaved it into the tabletop so hard the table split in two. Robbie, who was still cuffed to the table and stunned, went down, one arm going each way as the table cracked in half.
“Abe!” I shouted, going forward to stand between them. “Jesus!”
“I do not take kindly to being insulted in my mother tongue,” Abe said, flashing his fangs.
Robbie didn’t lose consciousness, but he did have a good-sized gash on his forehead. It didn’t stop him from chuckling in a dark tone. “Oh, I am so going to sue you!”
“No, you’re not,” I said, pulling Robbie up. “Because let’s face it, you deserve worse. After you sent us on a wild goose chase out to Kim’s, both of us almost got killed. This spat between you and Kim needs to end so we can get some answers.” I helped him back into his seat and adjusted the table as best I could. “That debt you got her into, that’s the whole reason your people have gone missing.”
Robbie looked up at me, wide-eyed, blood streaming down the side of his nose. From fear the sight of the blood would trigger something in Abe, I gave the half-vampire a wary look. But Abe just crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.
“What do you mean?”
“Crux,” I said, sliding into the seat across from Robbie. “Blackmailed her into letting him take your people.”
“I can bloody well guess why.” Robbie lowered his head to wipe a thumb over the side of his nose. Then he showed us his red thumb. “Do you know what this is worth to men like Crux? There’s a fortune running through my veins.”
“So, you wanted him dead,” Abe said. “Him and Kim but you got Harry and the girl instead, is that how it went?”
“Everyone wanted them dead!” Robbie shouted. “Even his own family hated that prick. I was in the back of the line as far as murdering Harry Continelli went.”
“It wasn’t him,” I said, stone-faced.
“What do you mean, it was not him?” Abe spat. “He is fae, Judah. If anyone can open a portal, it has to be another fae. We recovered enough illegal spellcraft supplies from his office to make a convincing argument he summoned the ice giant you are so concerned about. He sent it after Kim. He killed Harry!”
I got up out of my seat. “Can I speak to you outside, Agent Helsinki?”
Abe’s eyes were slits as he glared at me. But he didn’t fight. He went over, jerked the door open, and said, “After you, Agent Black.”
Once we were both outside in the hall, he slammed the door shut. “What was that?” Before I met Abe, I didn’t think it was possible to both yell and whisper at the same time but, somehow, he managed it and it was more threatening than it sounds. “You cannot just barge in here like you know everything and ruin my whole case. I have more than enough to charge him, and juries have convicted on less.”
“Robbie is a criminal but he’s not a killer.” I pulled Abe to the window next door. “There’s the man who opened your portal and helped a giant through to kill Harry and Kim.”
I pointed at Sven, who was still smiling and giggl
ing at his cartoons. We watched as Sven took a carton of apple juice in one massive hand and sipped at it through a straw.
Abe looked at Sven, then at me, then back to Sven. “Bloody Mary,” he said in the form of a curse. “You cannot be serious. I have seen his file. That oaf is barely capable of wiping himself, let alone killing fifteen people. And he’s certainly no twenty-foot-tall ice giant, capable of turning people into…what did you call them?”
“Draugr.”
He stared at me. “You are not serious. This is a joke.”
“He’s got the chops, believe me. And he’s smarter than you think. He did it to protect someone. Abe, I don’t think he understands what he’s done, but he gave me a confession.”
Abe snorted and crossed his arms. “One that will never hold up anywhere. No one is going to convict a five-year-old in a man’s body. And Crux will protest if anyone tries. He will file a petition to have his property returned. The lawyers will argue, as property, Sven cannot be held responsible for his actions. And Crux is untouchable. He is a diplomat. I’ve seen this go through before. In the end, Sven gets killed. Is that what you want?”
I stared at the floor. “No.”
“Then let Robbie take the fall. He is a criminal, and you know it. If anyone I have met in Concho County so far deserves to be behind bars, it is him.”
Robbie was guilty of half a dozen small crimes. I didn’t like the guy, and he’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since I came to Paint Rock. But he’d done good, too. He’d found jobs for all the displaced fae that he could. More importantly, he wasn’t guilty. I just couldn’t bring myself to put the cuffs on him for something he didn’t do. If I didn’t, though, Crux would kill Sven.
There was the slim possibility I could prevent it by having Crux arrested. He was, after all, involved in human trafficking…fae trafficking. Whatever. But it relied on INTERPOL doing their job. As he was here on a diplomatic visa, the best I could do was detain and deport his sleazy ass. I had to hope INTERPOL wasn’t in the Stryx’s deep pockets. I had no way of knowing.
“No, Abe,” I said at length and turned to him. “Robbie will get his, but not today. Today, we’re going to get the real bad guys.”
He frowned at me but, in the end, conceded with a nod. “If you are certain that is how you want to progress. I can let him go.”
“I’m not so sure I want you to do that yet, either.”
He raised an eyebrow and then reached up to adjust his big, floppy hat. “Why?”
I told Abe what I knew about Mara. Afterward, he leaned back, frowned at me, and said, “Well, a hostage certainly complicates things.”
“I was thinking a hostage exchange,” I said, gesturing to Sven. “Crux will want his blood slave back.”
“I thought you were against letting a killer go free?”
“I am,” I explained. “We do the exchange and then promptly detain both of them for questioning. The plan is to hold onto them long enough to get INTERPOL involved, arrest Crux internationally while we try to figure out what to do with Sven.”
“So, at the end of all this, you want me to take Sven into custody?”
“It’s not what I want,” I answered gravely. “But I don’t know what else to do.”
Abe gave me a long look. “Do you believe in fate, Judah Black?”
“I think fate is a cop-out. Destiny was invented so people didn’t have to take responsibility for shaping their own futures.” I turned to him, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. “Why?”
He slapped me on the shoulder hard enough I stumbled forward. “Perhaps a solution will present itself. As my father used to say, fortune and misfortune often live in the same house. Speaking of…” He gestured back to the interrogation room where Robbie waited. “Shall we go inform Mr. Fellows of our plan?”
I smiled. “Right after I have Tindall make a phone call.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I told Robbie I wanted to do the exchange at Aisling.
Robbie listened intently to what I had to say before sneering and saying, “No bloody way. Not on your life. I won’t agree to it. It’s my club, and if I let you wreck it, what’ll it get me?”
Abe, who was leaning against the wall, said, “It is a hostage exchange. No one is going to wreck the place. Besides, you do not have a choice. If you refuse to help Agent Black, I will arrest you.”
“What for?”
“Possession of several controlled substances with intent to distribute for one,” Abe said with a shrug. “And each one of those is a felony.”
Robbie lowered his head, but the expression he wore wasn’t shame. His eyes were boiling with anger. “You just expect me to stand by while you arrest Crux? I’ll gut him for what he did to my people,” Robbie spat. “If you’re too yellow to do it, give me the bloody stake. I’ll drive it straight through his scheming little heart and tear his head straight off for good measure.”
“We cannot let you do that,” Abe said.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s a vampire prince.” I sighed and sat down in the chair. “As much as I’d like to let you kill Crux, his head on a platter here means a lot of pissed off Stryx. They’ll start calling in more blood debts and, before you know it, it’ll be your head decorating their centerpieces on the table. Is that what you want?”
Robbie narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “I’m not about to just sit by after he’s taken my people and let the law handle it. He took four fae lives. He should be made to suffer.”
“We agree,” I said, nodding. “But killing Crux only costs more lives, Robbie, more fae lives. This retaliation needs to end here.”
He didn’t seem completely on board, but I didn’t have time to do more convincing. There was a knock at the door, and Tindall poked his head in. “She’s here,” he announced.
“Bring her in.”
Tindall threw the door wide, revealing Kim Kelly beside him dressed in a form-fitting, off-the-shoulder black dress. She smiled at me, but the smile quickly faded when she saw Robbie. “What the hell is this?”
“Call it an intervention,” I said and gestured for her to come in.
Her eyes drifted from me to Abe and back again before she lifted her chin and stepped into the room. I stood and offered her my chair. She took it, but only after pulling it as far away from Robbie as she could manage. “I don’t know what you think I could possibly—”
“Oh, stow it,” Robbie spat, rolling his eyes. “They know everything already.”
Kim swallowed audibly against silence.
“I can help you,” I said, sitting on the table and turning to Kim. “But you’ve got to help me first.”
“Help me?” She laughed. “Unless you’ve got two million dollars just lying around, I don’t think there’s much you can do. Even if this deal with Crux goes away, I’m still going to owe the money.”
“Perhaps I can help with that,” Abe interjected. “Agent Black has told me about your financial situation. Let me speak with my clan mistress.”
Kim’s eyes flicked up and down Abe. “You’re an Upyri?”
Abe conceded the point with a nod of his head. “And the mistress owes me a favor. Several, in fact. Help Judah find her friend, and I will see to it your debt with the Upyri is settled.”
She rolled the idea around in her head, jaw shifting back and forth as if she were literally chewing on it. When she’d made her decision, she turned to me and nodded. “Tell me what you want, Judah.”
“Call Crux. Set up a meeting.”
“What am I supposed to tell him?”
I tapped my fingers on the table a minute, thinking. “Tell him we have Sven, and we’re willing to make a trade, Sven for Mara.”
Kim’s eyes widened. “Mara?”
“Tamara Speilman. You know her as Tammy. You should remember her. After all, you hired her at Aisling and then stood by and did nothing while Harry stalked her.”
“I couldn’t do anything!” Kim said, clenching her f
ists. “You have no idea what kind of connections Crux has. I could have lost everything.”
“And what if things had gotten out of hand? What if Harry had hurt her, or worse, killed her?”
Kim turned her head to the side. “One girl, one human, isn’t worth staking my entire business over.”
“That’s why I stepped in.” Robbie sank down further into his chair. “Once I finally heard what was happening. No one scares my girls. I had it handled.”
“All your leather-clad friends did when they beat up Harry was make it worse,” I snapped at Robbie. “Harry was even more fixated on her.”
I brought out Mara’s phone and showed her the texts.
“Bloody Mary,” Kim cursed. “If I had known the girl would be so much trouble, I never would have brought her in.”
“Why did you hire her?”
Kim shrugged. “She had a hell of a body, and she could dance. Why wouldn’t I hire her?” She sighed. “It’s not my fault Harry had to be a stupid dick. He started following her. Cornered her in the dressing room one day and all but forced her to give him her number. The next day, the bouncers had to break them up. He had his hands all over her. Next thing I know, he wants her for his movie or no deal. What was I going to do? Say no? I had too much to lose. I told her to take the job or hit the street. I figured she’d quit, but she had to be a stubborn whore. She took the fucking job. I was trying to help her, the stupid bitch.” She crossed her arms.
“If you really want to help Mara, you’ll make a phone call to Crux.”
Kim stayed completely still for a moment, examining every face in the room.
“Best not to argue, love,” said Robbie casually. “She’s got her heart set on it and won’t listen to reason.”
Kim held out her hand. “I need a phone.”
Abe slapped his outdated cell phone into her palm, and she stared at it for a moment before a bemused smile sparkled across her face. Then, she punched in a number and brought the phone to her ear. “Yes,” she said after a moment. “It’s me.” Pause. Her eyes fixed on me. “Yes. No, Crux. Not anymore. I’m here with Agent Black and she’s got a message for you.” There was a slight pause before she pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to me. “He says he wants to talk to you directly.”