by Jackie May
I blink at him. Baffled. “How?”
His eyes stay on the road. It’s started snowing again. “By asking around.”
As he says this, I realize we’re almost to the club.
“You’d be surprised how much you can learn simply listening to local gossip.”
“So that’s why you spend so much time at Underworld, even when you’re on the clock,” I tease.
He laughs. “No one said business can’t sometimes be pleasurable.” He shoots me a wink and adds, “It also helps that I can’t get drunk, so having a drink on the job is no big deal.”
I shake my head and chuckle.
The club is just starting to fill up when Nick and I arrive. We come in the employee entrance and find Terrance in his office. “Not manning the entrance?” I ask, knocking on his open door, teasing in my tone. Terrance loves nothing more than standing out front of the club acting as a surly bouncer.
He sits back in his chair and scowls down at the papers on his desk. “I took too many days off in a row. I’ve got to catch up on stuff.” He gives me a grimace. “I’ve also got to find a new bartender now that you’re quitting. I can’t keep making Rook fill in when he’s got his own job to do.”
I wince. “Sorry. I wish I didn’t have to quit.”
Terrance frowns at me. “You’re needed elsewhere. The fey are counting on you, Nora.”
I sigh. No pressure.
Nick chucks his arm around my shoulders. “Well, can’t say I’m sorry to have stolen our girl from you. It’s fun having a partner. Never thought I’d care for it, but I’m actually enjoying it. Come on, Jacobs. Let’s go talk to our informant.”
“We have an informant?”
Nick chuckles and shoots Terrance a smile. “See you later.” He gives Terrance a salute and drags me out the door.
“Don’t be causing any trouble in my club, you two!” he shouts after us.
Out in the main room of the club, the dance floor is just starting to fill up. Nick drags me over to the bar, which isn’t crazy busy yet. Rook and Wulf are behind the counter, laughing and joking together as they fill drinks. A pang of sorrow hits me right in the heart. I’m really going to miss this job. But I can admit that last night with Nick, chasing down leads like real detectives was kind of fun.
As we find a couple of empty stools at the counter, I’m struck by how much the two alpha shifter brothers look alike. The family resemblance is strong. They’re both so handsome, and they have a lot of the same mannerisms. Not to mention, their personalities are so similar that they could almost be mistaken for twins instead of just family.
Rook spots us first. I lean over the bar and he meets me in the middle for a quick kiss. “How is it being on that side of the bar?” he asks me, filling two glasses without being asked—a beer for Nick and a water with lemon for me.
“Strange,” I admit. “And a little sad.”
Rook sighs, but the smile never leaves his face. “I’ll miss working with you, too, but you’ll make a great FUA agent. Your talents really are wasted behind this bar.”
Nick lifts his beer. “I’ll drink to that.”
I snort. “You’ll drink to anything.”
A light, tinkling laugh has me turning around with a smile. “Cecile!”
She leans in to hug me. “Hello, darling.”
“It’s been too long,” I say, and I mean it. As my one and only female friend, I don’t see her nearly enough.
“That it has,” she agrees. “Come sit with me and have a chat for a few minutes. We’ll catch up.”
I hesitate. “I’d love to, but I think, technically, I’m on the clock right now.”
She gives me a sweet smile and takes my hand. “A few minutes won’t hurt.”
She turns to Nick, who’s already on his feet. “Gorgeous, darling, won’t you join us in my suite for a cup of tea?”
A wide grin crosses his face, and he slides his arms around both my back and Cecile’s. “Lead the way, beautiful.”
We head upstairs, and my cheeks turn a little pink at the thought that most of the people in the club who’re watching us think we’re coming into Cecile’s suite to fool around together. Nick laughs at my blush. “Don’t worry, Nora. They’re all just jealous.”
I roll my eyes at him.
Cecile’s suite is much like a lavish studio apartment. She doesn’t live here—she has a great penthouse downtown—but she does entertain people here. She’s got an arrangement with Terrance. He lets her feed here, and she brings a certain desire to the club that no other club in town has. Most men don’t mind Cecile taking a little bit of energy from them if it means they get to be with a succubus. I guess being with an enchantric demon (a.k.a. a sex demon) is an unforgettable experience. I’ve heard Cecile referred to as a sex goddess on a number of occasions. She offered to be with me once, and I’ll admit it had me curious, even though I have no inclination toward women at all.
Cecile waves us to a small table near her kitchenette that’s already been set for three, and proceeds to pour us each steaming cups of tea that has already been made. It’s like she was expecting us. “So what’s the word, Cecile dear?” Nick asks, plopping two lumps of sugar into his tea.
I blink once as I put the pieces together. “You’re Nick’s informant?”
Cecile laughs. “Of course, darling. I spend almost every night here in this club, and people have a tendency to have loose lips when I want them to.”
I think about it and laugh. I’m not shocked that people are more than willing to tell her whatever she wants to hear. She’s as alluring as me when I use my siren’s song. Even if she can’t completely put people under her control the way I can, she can still influence them a lot.
I drop a sugar cube into my tea and stir it. “How devious,” I tease.
“Useful,” Nick says, sipping his tea. “So what have you got for us?”
Cecile sips her tea and sets it down with a sigh. “Everyone’s talking about this contract out on your clan. The good news is that most people are too scared of you to risk trying to take the contract.” Her lips quirk. “Kovros and Terrance were quite persuasive the other day.”
Nick snorts, and I laugh. “I’ll bet they were.”
“But no one knows who ordered the hit?” Nick asks.
Cecile shakes her head. “Word is there’s a new player on the field behind it all.”
Nick frowns. “I haven’t heard of anyone new in town.”
Cecily sips her tea. “There isn’t. Not that I’ve seen or heard. If there is a new player, he’s a ghost. No one has seen or heard anything about his identity, but he’s supposedly powerful and rich with a severe temper.”
I sit back and sigh. “We’ve guessed that much on our own.”
“It’s also being rumored that the man who ordered the hit on your clan is the same one who put up the reward for the mythics.”
Nick and I both nod. “Oliver pretty much confirmed that,” I say.
Cecile smiles and places her hand on mine. “I’m so glad he’s awake. Please give him my best wishes.”
“I will.”
Nick doesn’t let us get sidetracked. He starts rubbing his jaw, lost in his own thoughts. “Why?” he wonders. “What’s the connection between your clan and the mythics?”
“Nora,” Cecile says simply.
We both give her curious looks.
“Obviously, this man wants you. He’s ordered you to be brought to him alive and unharmed, and he’s put the hits out on your men because he knows they’ll stand in his way. They’ll protect you and come after you once he has you.”
“I figured.” I rub my temples. It’s no surprise that there’s someone out there willing to go to great lengths to capture me. Not after what I did in the club. To be honest, I’m surprised it’s taken this long. “But what’s with the mythics? What do they have to do with me? Oliver said it might be a spell.”
Cecile nods. “I had a sorcerer tell me that sirens are too powerful for sorc
erer magic.”
That doesn’t make sense. “But Mitchell used his magic on me. He spelled me so that I couldn’t talk.”
Nick raises an eyebrow. “Did you try very hard to break it? Did you draw on the full strength of your song?”
I think back. I’d tried to use my song, but when I realized I couldn’t speak, I stopped. It never occurred to me that I might be able to break it. I simply started panicking. “No.” I frown. “I guess I didn’t. But my siren tried really hard to break Parker’s compulsion earlier.”
“Were you fighting it?” Nick challenges. “Were you helping her, trying to break Parker’s compulsion?”
I frown again. “No.”
Nick studies me, sitting back in his chair, one arm folded across his chest, his other hand rubbing his jaw again. “Vampire compulsion is stronger than sorcerers’ spells unless the sorcerer is as strong as Oliver. And most aren’t. You probably could have freed yourself from Mitchell’s spell. But against a spell using mythic magic? You’d never break that no matter if you were the strongest fey alive.”
Cecile nods. “The sorcerer told me it was probably for a binding spell. If someone bound you to them using mythic magic, they would have complete control over you. You’d be their prisoner, and they would have full use of your siren power. There are a number of men who are obsessed with you after the club incident, and more still who are scared or envious of your power. Word has spread beyond the city now, too. It could very easily be someone from Cleveland or Chicago pulling these strings.”
Nick leans forward again and shakes his head as he sips the last of his tea. “I don’t think so. I think our boy is local. The drop-off location for Christov and pickup location for the cash were both here in Detroit, and they happened so quickly that it would have had to be someone here, ready to make the switch. If it were an outsider, they’d need help, and people would have noticed a new crew in town.”
My head is really starting to hurt now. “At least we know it’s probably a sorcerer. That’s got to narrow things down a bit, right?”
Nick grimaces. “It’s probably a sorcerer,” he admits, “but the truth is, it could be anyone. If you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to have magic to do a spell if you’re using mythic magic.”
I grind my teeth. “So basically we’re nowhere.”
Cecile takes our now empty teacups to the sink, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Well, the sorcerer told me that to perform such a binding spell he would need something from all four types of light mythics. Though, he wasn’t sure why the man needs the whole creatures and why he wants them alive.”
“But the good news is, he doesn’t have all four yet,” Nick says, getting to his feet. I follow his lead and stand up. “He still needs a phoenix, so we know where he’ll try to strike next. We can keep an eye out.”
“Shouldn’t we warn them?” I ask, heading for the door.
“They already know, dear, and they’re taking precautions. It’ll be nearly impossible for anyone to capture a phoenix now.” Cecile hands me my coat and air kisses my cheek. “It was so good to see you, darling. We really must get together outside of work sometime soon.”
I give her hands a squeeze. “I’ll call you as soon as we have this mess straightened out. I promise.”
Cecile says good-bye, and as Nick and I head back down into the club, Nick says, “I know a phoenix. I’ll give her a call and ask her to report anything suspicious to me. She can get the word out to the other flock in the country. If this collector tries to make a move, we’ll hear about it.”
“In the meantime, what do we do?”
He sighs. “Pray Oliver finds something, and have a drink.”
I slide him a sideways look. “You already had a drink.”
He leads me to the bar with a grimace. “I could use another one.”
We get to the bar where Rook and Wulf are still hard at work, and as soon as Wulf finishes with his patron, he flashes me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen and leaps over the bar. His wolf strength and grace make it seem like an easy feat. Before I can ask what’s going on, he scoops me up in a bone-crushing hug. “Welcome to the family!” he crows as he lifts me off my feet and spins me in a circle.
“Wulf!” I laugh. “What’s gotten into you?”
He sets me back on my feet and grips my shoulders, still smiling at me like a maniac. “Rook told me the news. Congratulations on the new mating.”
For a split second I think he’s talking about my having had sex with his brother, and my face catches fire. But then I realize he means Rook and I claimed each other. That’s a lot less embarrassing, but I still feel shy about it. “Thanks.”
Wulf’s smile widens again and he pulls me back to his chest as if he can’t help himself. He squeezes me again and kisses my head. “I’m so happy,” he says. “I’ve wished this for him since Lily was taken from him. I never thought it would happen. Thank you, Nora. You’ve made him so happy. More than you’ll ever know. You’ve saved him.”
“Wulf?” I croak with a laugh. “Can’t breathe.”
Wulf chuckles and lets me go, but he still grips my arms. His smile softens as he looks at me. “You’re perfect for him, Nora. I know you’re worried about him being unhappy because of the harem thing, but trust me. He’s happy. So happy.”
My throat clogs up, and my eyes start to burn. I really needed to hear that. “Thanks, Wulf.”
“I also talked to Terrance,” he says. He takes a breath, and his excitement turns into something softer. Affection. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you want me to join your clan.”
I ride out another wave of emotion. “So will you join us? I know you like being a lone wolf, but will you at least think about it?”
He kisses the top of my head again. “I don’t have to think about it. I’m in.”
I gasp. “Are you sure?”
He grins. “Your clan has none of the politics that a wolf pack has. Joining you guys is like getting only the best parts of pack living. I get to have a family again. I get to be with my brother, and my baby sister-in-law. And thanks to Terrance’s dominance, I’ll never have to worry about my wolf wanting to lead the pack. It’s perfect. Plus…” He smirks. “I can’t help but appreciate the lack of females in your clan vying for a strong mate.”
I laugh. “You’ll settle down eventually, and I’m going to love watching it happen.”
His smirk grows. “Not anytime soon. You have my word on that.”
“Good thing I’m immortal, then.”
We both laugh. He takes my hand in his and squeezes it once. “You won’t mind if I don’t move into the den, though, will you? I’m sort of in love with my place and, no offense, but the idea of living with you and my brother while you’re in the newlywed phase grosses me out.”
I snicker and open my mouth to retort, but there’s a quiet whizzing sound and then Wulf jerks back against the bar with a grunt. Something warm splats across my face. I wipe it off and see the red just as Wulf is shot again. He drops with a roar that suggests he’s in complete agony. Nick whirls around and is hit next, with enough bullets that he falls, too. A scream rips from my throat, but it’s cut off when a hand clamps around my mouth from behind me.
A tall man drags me away from the bar into the now panicking crowd of clubbers. I thrash in his grip, but he’s much stronger than me, and he drags me toward a fire exit with ease. A roar rips through the building so viciously the walls shake. Terrance has just figured out Wulf and Nick have been shot. A howl splits the air next. Rook.
I scream again, but the sound is muffled. The man throws me against a wall and, with his hand clamped over my mouth, says, “You will not scream. You will come with me.”
His compulsion settles thick in my head. Vampire. My instinct is to panic, but I can’t allow that to happen. My siren rages inside me. I want to let her out, but Parker’s compulsion holds strong. My life isn’t in danger—not technically—since the contract on me stipulates I�
�m not to be harmed. And I know this man means me no harm because my psychic senses are not warning me of danger.
I have to think. All I need is a minute for Rook and Terrance to find me. I just have to keep this man from taking me. He grips my wrists and jerks me toward the emergency exit. My feet force me to follow. “Where are we going?”
I get no reply, but that doesn’t matter to me. Talking and asking questions helps keep my head clear. The thing about compulsion is that it’s all in the wording. He told me I couldn’t scream, but not that I couldn’t talk. And he told me I had to come with him, not that I couldn’t fight him as I went.
I reach for the ash wood stake belted to my waist and take a breath as I get a good grip on it. I’ll only get one chance. I have to hit his heart.
A snarl has the vampire whirling around, and he shoots just as Rook, in wolf form, leaps at him. He lifts the gun in his hand that has a silencer on it and shoots Rook in the chest twice. To my surprise, Rook drops. He howls again, his voice laced with pain. The bullets must be silver, because I’ve seen Rook get shot before and it didn’t drop him so easily.
“Rook!”
“Come,” the vampire demands.
Yeah, right. Not if I can help it. As his eyes are on Rook and he’s holstering his gun, I lunge forward and slam my stake into the man’s heart. It slices through him with ease, thanks to Illren sharpening my weapons for me on a regular basis.
The man grunts, then gurgles and blinks at me in shock before he crumples to the ground. I know the man is dead because I’m freed of his compulsion. The weight of his commands snaps, and immediately a scream is ripped from my chest. “Rook!”
I rush to Rook, who is writhing on the ground. “Terrance!” He’s the only one here who didn’t get shot. What about Wulf? And Nick? I want to go to them, but I have to deal with one problem at a time, and right now my mate is dying.
“Hang on, Rook.” Falling to my knees at his side, I place my hand on his head. I can tell he tries to calm down. Some of his thrashing stops, and he whines at me. He’s been shot twice, and blood is pouring from the wounds. I reach for my dagger. I have no idea how I’m going to do this, but I have to get those bullets out of him, or he’s going to die. I suck in a deep breath, and just before I stick my blade into one of the wounds, Nick falls to my side. “You okay?” he asks, eyeing the blood splattered on me.