The Judah Black Novels Box Set

by E. A. Copen

  The women’s room was on the other side of the lobby, and I stormed through the door and straight up to the sink. Somehow, I’d torn open a knuckle, and blood was running down my fingers and dripping onto the floor. I turned on the tap and ran cold water over the back of my hand before leaning down to splash more on my face. Two knuckles were swollen and the one was torn open and bleeding everywhere, turning purple. Once the bleeding stopped, I flexed my hand and tested the joints. Good. It didn’t act broken. A little heat would help with the stiffness and I’d be good as new.

  I walked toward the automatic hand dryer and paused halfway there when I realized Sal was standing at the entrance to the women’s room, leaning against the wall. I gave him a hard look and went back to the sink to run hot water over my knuckles instead. “What do you want?”

  “You busted her up pretty good,” he pointed out.

  “She deserved it. And you should be thanking me. Whores like that, they aren’t date material, Sal.”

  “I never said it was a date.” He folded his arms over his chest.

  “Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t worth it. What is it Mara says all the time? Sorry, not sorry.” I grabbed a paper towel and started wiping up the blood on and around the white porcelain sink. “Well, are you going to say something or just stand there like a big, dumb idiot?”

  “This big, dumb idiot saved your life earlier today.”

  I tossed the brown paper towel into the trash and stepped up to Sal, rising up on my tiptoes to do the best I could to get in his face. “Guess we’re even.” When I tried to sidestep him, Sal moved in my way and stared me down, expecting me to back down. I didn’t. I stood toe to toe with him and glared right back. “Get the hell out of my way.”

  “Not until you admit it.”

  “Admit what?”

  His mouth twitched. “You beat the shit out of Kandie because you were jealous.”

  I laughed, lifting my eyebrows in disbelief. “Kandie? Her name was Kandie? I’m never going to admit I’m jealous of a girl named Kandie.”

  “Admit it.”

  “No.” I tried to slide around him but he blocked me again, putting a hand out in front of me. “Come on. I don’t have time for this.”

  I tried to push on through. He pushed me back at half strength. I’ve seen Sal fight enough times to know he could have pushed me through a wall if he wanted. He paced forward, the stance telling me he was ready to push me again if I tried that trick one more time. But that son of a bitch, there was a smug little smile on his face. He was challenging me, daring me to get past him.

  Against every urge in my head to take him up on his challenge, I stepped back until I couldn’t anymore. My palms pressed flat against the cool wall, but I didn’t shrink up. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. “Cut it out,” I said. “It’s not funny.”

  He didn’t say anything. He just rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. As if that was supposed to be intimidating. Okay, so it was a little. Or those butterflies in my stomach were from something else. Either way, it didn’t stop me from being pissed at him.

  I waited until I thought he was just out of arm’s reach from me and then darted forward, thinking I could duck away from him. But Sal’s a werewolf, which means his reflexes are twice as fast as a normal human. He caught me easily, wrapping an arm around my waist and lifting me off the floor, pinning me against the wall by pressing one hand hard against my shoulder. He was standing so close I felt like I couldn’t breathe without taking in some of his smoky scent, his eyes bearing tiny flakes of gold. My heart was pounding as he leaned toward my face. I thought at first he was going to yell at me some more but, as he came closer, I realized that wasn’t where this was going.

  He's going to kiss me. Panic worked in my throat. Should I stop him? Do I even want that? Even as I argued with myself, though, I knew I did. I had wanted it for a long time, dreamt about it even. Wanting something didn’t mean I could have it, though. The last time I had let myself fall for someone, I had to watch as our friends and neighbors hung him from a tree by the neck until all the life went out of him.

  The memory came rushing back full force from wherever I’d buried it. I pushed it away, further down. Now wasn’t the time for me to deal Alex’s murder. Right now, I had to stop this thing with Sal before it went too far, before I let him kiss me. Before we both did something we regretted.

  I did what every girl ought to do when a werewolf is about to kiss her. I balled up my fist and clocked him good and hard across the jaw.

  Sal’s head whipped to the side. Oops, I thought as I realized I accidentally put a little magick wallop in my punch. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even noticed. Oh, shit. That was a mistake. I don’t want… I don’t know what I want. Dammit, Judah. Make up your goddamn mind.

  He blinked hard. “Ow! What the…”

  “Fuck it,” I said, grabbing a fistful of his hair at the scalp, pulling his face down to bite his lip.

  Sal bit back.

  I was suddenly aware of the stubble on his chin scraping against my face like sandpaper. His skin smelled like a bonfire over wet earth, sweet, exciting, dangerously warm. And when he opened his mouth against mine, the taste of him was more intoxicating than any drink they could have mixed at the bar.

  But, as much as I wanted—no, needed—where this was going, I needed to get back out there and help Abe get ready for his duel more.

  I turned my head away and gave Sal a push. “What’s wrong?” he asked me as I paced into the center of the bathroom. “Hey, I didn’t mean…”

  “It’s Mara,” I said quietly without looking at him. “It’s…It’s a work thing.”

  “Shit,” he said. “Vampires and ice giants and stuff?”

  I nodded.

  “You need extra hands?”

  “I need Aisling to be empty.”

  Sal sighed, put his hands on his hips, and shrugged. “I could try to clear us out, but they’ll want a reason, and you can bet ‘because I said so’ isn’t going to fly.”

  “Well, if they hear about vampires and ice giants, they’ll want to stay for the show,” I answered, crossing my arms. “And I can’t allow that. Someone’s going to get hurt.”

  “Someone’s always getting hurt.”

  “Mara could get hurt. Crux has her.”

  That set him off. He let out a loud string of curses ending with, “That son of a bitch. Is this his doing? You’d think a broken jaw would’ve taught him a thing or two. Stubborn prick.”

  “That was you?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. I mean, if I thought about it, it made sense. Sal did bounce at Aisling on occasion.

  “Not me but one of the guys, yeah. We have a sort of standing deal with Kim and Robbie. They let us drink for free, we throw out the trash and help him keep the girls safe. Escort ‘em home and stuff. Everybody wins.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “And before you ask again, yeah, I knew Mara was working here. I didn’t tell you because she made me swear not to.”

  “Does Ed know?”

  “He knows. It’s just a job, Judah. Pays better than flipping burgers.”

  My mouth fell open. Everyone but me knew Mara was a stripper. I was too tired to be mad about anything else, so I just let it go, deciding to focus on what was more important. “Okay, so now you have your reason. You and your biker buddies need to clear out.

  Sal rubbed his chin, thinking. “I think there’s a way to work this to your advantage, actually. You can vacate the place and keep from pissing off the Kings.”

  “Kings?” I said, shaking my head.

  He pointed to an emblem on his chest, the icon of a feathered tomahawk resting inside an embattled crown. “Tomahawk Kings. All those guys at the table are members. The other guys are friends in other clubs.” I started to say something, but he cut me off before I could complain again about him keeping secrets. “Anyway, you could hire us.”

  “Hire you?” I raised my eyebrows and leaned back in surprise.
>
  “Istaqua—that’s the guy with the sunglasses you met earlier—he’s not going to clear out for you. If you kick him out, it’s going to cause you more trouble than it’s worth. I’m sure you’d rather put your effort toward whatever it is you’re going to do to defeat the actual bad guy, am I right?” He shrugged. “So, hire us to watch the doors or something. If people have a job, they won’t feel like you’re throwing your badge around. They’ll feel useful. And they’ll be happy to watch a good fight. Plus, it’s a show of goodwill on your part. Shows them you aren’t going to be a total hardass, that you can be reasoned with.”

  The more and more he said, the more it made me worry about cutting any kind of deal with these so-called Kings. They must have been locally based. Otherwise, Sal wouldn’t have joined up. Any action I took now could have consequences that echoed through time. I had to tread carefully, but I couldn’t let them think I was willing to take a bribe, either. I would have to shell out real money, my money because BSI sure as hell wouldn’t approve funds to placate a bunch of bikers.

  I looked down at my watch. It was inching toward seven-thirty now, meaning time was ticking down. Creven would be here any minute. It was almost time for our real preparations to begin. Every minute I stood there, arguing with Sal over his biker friends, could cost Mara her life.

  “Set it up,” I told him. “But I don’t have the cash on me.”

  “I’ll tell them you’re good for it.”

  I nodded and made for the door.

  “Judah,” Sal called, and I turned around. “Let me take you to dinner once all this shit is behind us.”

  “Don’t try to wine and dine your way out of trouble,” I said, pointing a finger at him. “Your name is still mud in my book.”

  “You must really like the taste of mud,” he answered with a wink.

  I hauled it out of the bathroom, wishing I’d at least stopped to splash some more water on my face. The whole place suddenly felt like it was on fire. I was fanning myself when I made it to the exit of the women’s room and had to pause. A big Asian guy armed with a katana was standing guard. Just a few feet away, Kandie was sitting on a folding chair, nose in the air, while another, older woman worked to patch up her face. The older woman shot a look of daggers at me between placing bandages.

  The Asian guy uncrossed his arms, put them stiffly at his sides, and bent himself in half. And I thought Sal was tall. This guy rivaled Sven in height. He could’ve been a pro basketball player if he didn’t look so much like a pro football player. “Agent Black,” he said and gestured with his right hand. “This way.”

  Sal came out of the bathroom behind me and jogged on ahead, presumably to tell Istaqua about the deal. By the time my escort and I made it back to the VIP lounge, the mood had shifted. Kim and Robbie were in there, talking to the people at the head table. Kim was up on the table, one leg crossed over the other, leaning back on her hands and laughing. Robbie was by the door, handing out little paper coupons to the bikers who decided to file out voluntarily. Abe stood up front next to Kim, holding one side of his coat wide and gesturing to some of the spells he’d worked into the leather.

  As I approached, Istaqua lowered his sunglasses. “Ah, there she is. Sal tells me you’re interested in a compromise.”

  I nodded and watched my escort go and stand beside Istaqua, hand on the hilt of his sword. “I know this is an inconvenience to you. I’d like to make it worth your while. The one thing we’re short on is bodies to make sure no one goes in or out of the club that we don’t approve of.”

  He placed a lit cigar in his mouth and puffed on it. “Why don’t you just call more police?”

  “Because this isn’t a police matter,” I said.

  “You mean because you pissed off EPD by backing his rival in the election.”

  I nodded. “Then there’s that. Yeah. They kind of don’t like me much right now.”

  “A fed who’s made enemies with the police…” He tapped some ash into a dish. “They say you can judge a man best by examining his enemies. I wonder if that’s true for women, too?”

  I put my hands flat on the table and leaned forward. “So how about it? Will you do it, or am I going to have to remove you from the premises?”

  “How dangerous of a job are we talking about here?”

  “It’s guarding doors. How dangerous do you think?”

  “I’m not stupid, Judah Black. I know you want the place cleared to minimize civilian casualties. I respect that.” He stood. Istaqua wasn’t tall, not like Sal or Valentino, but he had a way of filling up space. “But don’t think your badge means anything to me. Money talks. I listen.”

  We stared at each other for a minute before I decided to sweeten the deal. “Drinks are on me when the bad guys are down.”

  Istaqua grinned. “Girl, we haven’t discussed our fee. How do you know you’ll be able to afford drinks?”

  “How much then?”

  He looked around. “There are seven of us here. For the standard fee plus hazard pay, we’re looking at…” He shrugged. “Twenty grand in cash.”

  “Holy hell,” I said before I could stop myself. I didn’t have that kind of money, and there was no way I was going to be able to pull it together, either.

  “Ten grand,” Abe countered, patting his coat, and Istaqua glared at him. “You and your gang are hardly doing any work at all, and it is not specialized work. I could pull any idiot off the street to do the job for half of what I am offering you.”

  “Eighteen,” said Istaqua. “Not every bum on the street is going to stand his ground when whatever you’re expecting charges through those doors.”

  “Fourteen. That is two grand per person for standing in a doorway all night and pretending to see nothing. It is more than you’ll make if we throw you out.”

  Istaqua grinned ear to ear. “You drive a hard bargain,” he said to Abe. “But can you put your money where your mouth is?”

  Abe leaned on the table. “My name is Abraham Viktor Helsinki-Upyri. I am the half-blood brother of Sora Upyri, Mistress of the Upyri clan. Money is not an obstacle.”

  I couldn’t help but be a little surprised. No wonder Abe had the power to negotiate on his sister’s behalf. As the half-brother of the clan leader, he must have been pretty high ranking in their hierarchy. What, then, was he doing working for BSI? He wouldn’t be in it for the money.

  Istaqua nodded. “I don’t play vampire politics, but I know that name. And I’m sure you know Marcus Kelley.”

  “I’m familiar with that name, yes,” Abe answered. “But this deal is between us for a relatively small sum of money. Accept my proposal or do not. I won’t negotiate further.”

  “Very well, half-blood. I accept your offer.” Istaqua turned to address me. “You have powerful friends, agent. Be careful not to make equally powerful enemies.”

  “Will it affect your judgment of me?”

  Istaqua chuckled and pushed up his shades. “It will shorten your lifespan considerably.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  We got to work turning Robbie’s office into a base of operations for the night, complete with radios, an assortment of emergency tactical gear, and of course, salt, iron, and wooden stakes. The office was meant to serve as a fall back zone, a place to make a last stand if everything went south. I didn’t think we’d need it, but I’d been wrong before. A worst-case scenario had Crux killing Abe and Mara both, causing the ice giant to lose his shit and just start smashing things. If that happened, my plan was to set everything on fire and get the hell out, hoping the fire took the giant down. We could play damage control later.

  Once the office was set up, we went down to the main dance floor and got it ready. It was here Abe had chosen to fight with Crux, and it was easy to see why. It was the biggest room in the club, giving them both lots of room to maneuver. Robbie and I stacked the tables and chairs against the walls with some help from a few of the bikers while Abe wandered up onto the stage and sat down, letting his feet
dangle over the edge. He’d offered to help, but I didn’t want him to wear himself out. After all, getting Mara back hinged on him clinching a win against Crux. If Abe lost, Crux would kill Mara, reclaim Sven, and leave the country, and there was nothing I could do about it. Even if he killed Mara right in front of me and I arrested him for murder, he would wriggle out of it somehow. Crux was a snake, but he was a snake with lots of connections. He’d never see the inside of a prison cell.

  Creven showed up an hour late. The elf waltzed into the area we’d just finished clearing, leaning on his stick as if he were right on time. Abe frowned at him and hopped down off the stage. “Who’s this?”

  “Creven O’Caiside,” announced Creven with a slight bow of the head. “I work for Mistress Kelley as her personal bodyguard.”

  I closed on Creven before Abe could and put a hand behind his back, pulling him away. “How did it go?”

  The elf checked behind him, making sure we were a safe distance away from Abe, and then answered in a whisper, “I can’t help but wonder if drawing his attention is a bad idea, even if it is to help you for the moment. This fae is not like any of the others you’ve met, Judah. He’s Unseelie. Unseelie are different.”

  “A little late for that warning, is it? Tell me what happened.”

  Creven sighed and then shook his head. “I gave the information to an old contact in Faerie. I’m sure it’ll get back to him if he hasn’t heard it already. If he makes an appearance, it won’t be to benevolently help you destroy a giant, though, lass. His quarrel will be with Crux.”

  “So long as the vampire doesn’t walk away from here scot-free and the giant goes down, I don’t care how it happens.”

  “Perhaps you should,” said Creven, his forehead wrinkled.

  “Don’t be so worried,” I said, slapping him on the back. “If all goes well, Abe will kill Crux in their duel, and it’ll be a moot point.”

  “Duel?” Creven whirled around to face Abe. “What duel?”

  Abe’s response was a smirk. “Crux may be a criminal, but he’s got his honor to defend. If he’d turned me down, I never would have let him or his family hear the end of it. He’d walk around ashamed. That’s the last thing Crux needs. Besides, the last time Crux and I crossed swords, he walked away the winner. He thinks he can beat me again.”