by Shona Husk
She shoved her hands into her coat pockets and wished spring would hurry up and get here. While she pretended she liked sightseeing, in truth it wasn’t much fun by herself. Plus she didn’t have that much cash to splash around. It was just a question of which would happen first: Cory finding her or the money running out.
She stopped walking. People moved past her on the street, an endless tide of bodies going somewhere, doing something, and she had nowhere to be. Her life was out of reach. Damn it, she wanted it back. Rachel drew in a breath. Instead of worrying, she needed to ring her parents and find out if Cory was still in town. What were the odds that he’d follow her to New York? She could’ve gone anywhere.
Rachel sat on a bench and dialed her parents’ number. Her mother should be home; however, she didn’t expect any sympathy. This was just to make sure that her parents were fine and that Cory was still in Liberty, and to feel that, for a few minutes, she wasn’t alone in the world.
A person could be lost forever in a city this size. So many strangers. She wasn’t used to feeling like no one. In Liberty, she’d known someone everywhere she went and they knew her…because of Cory.
The phone was picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
Rachel stopped holding her breath; at least he hadn’t gone after her parents. “Mom, it’s Rachel.”
“You’re alive! You’ve had us all so worried. Please tell me you’re going to stop this silliness and come home.”
“I’m staying with a college friend.” And her father would be threatening to wash her mouth out for that lie if he knew. “I’m not going to move back in with Cory.”
There were several heartbeats of silence before her mother replied. “He loves you. He was going crazy with worry when you left town. I think you are making a mistake. You promised for better or for worse and you’re leaving him when he needs you.”
And what about what she needed? Their whole marriage had been about Cory, no one else had realized what he was like, hell even she’d been able to excuse his controlling behavior. The recent fits of rage, though, were different. He was different, and it was more than the injury. She shivered, remembering the look in his eyes and the cold smile.
“He’s not as nice as you think he is, Mom. He has anger issues.” But Rachel knew it would fall on deaf ears.
“Then don’t provoke him.”
Rachel clamped her teeth together. Her mother was still stuck in the era where women should love and obey while the husband did whatever he wanted and blamed his wife for his failings as a human being. “I deserve to be happy and not living in fear. Do you want me to be happy?”
“Of course I do, but you were so happy with Cory.”
Yeah, she had been. She’d been the envy of all her friends, the wife of a rising star. They had plenty of money and were never short on social engagements. It had been fun, but gradually he’d started to suggest she dress differently—nothing obvious at first, just a little less flashy so he was the center of attention—but even that she was rationalized away as she’d enjoyed the trappings of his success.
“Not all marriages last forever… Is he still in town?” She hoped she sounded casual, even though her heart was hammering at what felt like a thousand beats a minute.
“No, he left yesterday, said he was worried about you and that he was hoping to talk to you. He wants you back.” Her mother sounded happy about that, but it sent chills down Rachel’s spine. Cory was looking for her and she was sure he wouldn’t take no for an answer. And if she went back, he’d make sure she never left again.
“Not going to happen, Mom.”
“Rachel—”
“No. Look, I have to go. I’ll call you soon. Take care.” He’d managed to con her parents into thinking he was the perfect son-in-law.
“You, too. Please hear him out.”
She didn’t want to get close enough to hear him speaking. “Love you.” She hung up and sat there frozen for a moment. Cory was looking for her. She tried to think of anything that could give away her location but came up blank. She’d set up a separate account and had only used that while in New York. Before that she’d drawn cash from their joint account…but not while she was here. She was over reacting. How could he possibly find her here, one among millions?
She couldn’t just hide, though. She had to get the divorce papers reissued; she had to find a way to live again. A crow flapped around the rubbish bin looking for scraps. Raven, crow, carrion birds. She shuddered. Why would a business name themselves after a raven? Wouldn’t eagle be better?
The Uncommon Raven Agency was expecting her to go back. Noah was expecting her to come back and get some advice…would that lead into a request for payment if she wanted more help? Nothing there had smacked of a scam, but there was something about the place. A taste, or a smell, or just something that made the hair on the back of her neck lift. Uncommon Raven Agency. Even thinking about the place conjured a sense of safety.
Noah had acted as though he cared, and he hadn’t brushed her off the way the cops had. If nothing else, it was nice to be taken seriously. She stood up and stretched, then started walking. While the advice was free she might as well see what he had to say, even though she had no idea what to say to him. No doubt he’d expect more details from her.
The two-block walk warmed her up. Finding the door in daylight was much harder and she almost walked past the plain, brown door.
How did they make a living if they weren’t drawing attention to themselves? She shook her head and pushed on the door, half expecting it to be locked, but it swung open. No bells rang announcing a potential client, but the desk was occupied.
The blond guy who’d been training with Noah last night was at the desk working on the computer; his hair was almost chin length but he was anything but feminine. If he’d had short hair he would’ve looked too hard, like a knife edge.
He smiled. “You’re back. Have a seat and I’ll let Noah know you’re here.” He picked up the phone, the silver ring on his left ring finger catching in the light. Married. To one of the women she’d seen last night? The younger, pregnant one probably. The other older kids had clearly been Mason’s. “He’ll be right down.”
“There’s an upstairs?” How many offices did they have?
“There are flats above.”
“Ah.” Did they all live above the office? Wouldn’t that get claustrophobic, always seeing your work mates? But instead of asking she perched on the edge of the chair opposite him.
He looked at her for a moment, as if quietly assessing. Did he sense her fear and desperation? There was no pity in his eyes.
“So what do you do?” He couldn’t be the secretary.
“Bit of this and that. You?”
“Teacher.” Or she had been before Cory had insisted that she quit. It had been embarrassing for him to be earning so much and yet having her work. She missed it. Missed the kids and the staffroom gossip.
There was a chime from down the hallway, followed by footsteps. Then Noah was there.
No sweaty gym clothes today. Today he was all style. Dark jeans and shirt topped with a black waistcoat. His short dark hair wasn’t plastered down with sweat; instead he looked like he’d stepped off a most-eligible-bachelor list. Her heart gave a reckless flutter.
She was in trouble, not dead. Of course she was going to notice that he was pretty…no, not pretty, but handsome wasn’t the right word, either. Like the blond guy, there was a hidden razor edge. It was something in his eyes. A glint of steel in the blue, something cold, like ice against skin…and yet it was nothing she could put her finger on. She swallowed. For a moment, when she’d first seen him working out, she’d wanted to put her fingers on more than one place.
Beneath all those clothes he had a good body. She liked good bodies. But that was all this was, attraction to a good looking guy with a good body. Plus it had been close to a year since she’d had any kind of contact with a man. Since Cory’s torn hamstring. She was alone, anxious and l
ooking for help. Noah was what she wanted, all in one package.
“Glad you came back. Come through.” Noah indicated down the hallway he’d just come from.
She stood and smiled at the blond guy, then realized she hadn’t even asked his name. How rude was she? No doubt he knew her name. They probably all did. What had Noah said after she’d left? How many details had he spilled? She was very glad she’d kept the details to a minimum. It didn’t seem right to be airing the dirty laundry of her relationship to strangers. Even strangers who could help her.
They sat down in the same office as they had last night. This time she noticed there was nothing on the walls. There was nothing personal at all. Was he hiding something, or was it so prospective clients didn’t learn anything about him that could jeopardize him later?
He opened up a file that had a few sheets of paper in it. “Oskar and I, the guy you were talking to out the front, have done a little work based on what you told me last night. Would this be the lawyer you mentioned?” He handed over a print out of a news article.
Her stomach flipped as she read the headline. Oh yeah, she knew the story, and now Noah knew where she was from. She nodded. The room became too hot, and she couldn’t breathe. She fumbled the buttons of her coat, trying to get it off before she suffocated. A trickle of sweat ran down her back and she began to panic.
Noah half stood. “Are you okay?”
She shrugged out of her coat and took big gulps of air.
“Do you need a drink?” He frowned, watching her as if she was more than a little odd. He didn’t know the half of it, but then he’d probably never had someone hold a jumper over his face to try and supposedly calm him down.
Cory had tried that when she’d talked to him about moving out three months ago. He’d tried to smother her, had smothered her. When she’d woken up in their bed—the one she’d been sleeping alone in for months—he’d told her that she’d fainted. She’d played along, but had known he was lying. That was when she’d set up her own account and started making plans. That was when she’d first seen the lawyer. Moving out was much harder. Her parents told her not to give up, that Cory needed her… No one saw through him. Sometimes it was almost as though she’d made up all the bad stuff and it was all her fault.
Now when she couldn’t get out of clothing, she freaked out. Cory had done that to her.
“It’s warm in here. Can I get some water?” She smiled and tried to act as though nothing had happened.
Noah got up and filled a plastic cup. She wanted to gulp it down but took a measured sip instead. Her heart was still pounding as if she’d been running and her skin was sticky. Panic attacks were the workout she could have without leaving her chair.
In less than twenty-four hours Noah had worked out who she was and who her husband was. There was still an odd vibe to the place. Maybe this was a really slick con. She took another sip of water and waited for Noah to speak.
He leaned back in the chair. “Is that your divorce lawyer?”
Rachel nodded. There was no point in lying about it.
“It was when you presented your husband the papers that things went bad?”
Again she nodded. “Cory, my husband,” there was no point in keeping his name out of it now, “refused to sign them. That’s when he said he’d kill me if I left him.” She watched Noah’s face for a clue about what he was thinking, but he was unreadable. “I know plenty of men probably say that, but there was something in his eyes.”
A look she’d never forget. It was as if it wasn’t him, but something else, something colder and…she wanted to say evil but evil implied thought and planning, it was just pure rage and jealousy.
“No, most men don’t threaten to kill their partner. What made you afraid that day, specifically, aside from his eyes?”
“I don’t know. Things had been bad for a while, but that seemed to press a nerve and he lashed out.” He’d yelled at her for even thinking of leaving, vowed she would never have a life without him, that she was his. He’d set fire to the papers and left. She’d cleaned up and waited even though her gut had been telling her to run. She’d thought she’d be able to make him understand it was over when he’d cooled down, but she’d never gotten the chance.
“He hurt you?”
Not that day. “He stormed out.”
“And the next day the lawyer was found dead.”
“Yeah.”
His fingers tapped the table counting out the seconds. “You think he did it.”
The cops hadn’t believed that for a moment. Impossible for a man to do that, plus Cory had an alibi. “Didn’t we talk about this yesterday?”
“People sometimes remember more details.”
He thought she was lying about something. “Yes, I think he had something to do with it.” She knew he did because he’d told her that every man she ever tried to be with would end up the same. No one would have her except him.
“Were you sleeping with the lawyer?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Pardon?” Noah hadn’t even tried to work that into a conversation, just dropped it in there.
“Did you file for divorce because you were having an affair?”
“No. I never cheated on Cory.”
“Did he cheat on you?”
She hesitated. She wanted to say no, but she wasn’t entirely sure. “I don’t think so.”
“Your husband, is he a big man? You mentioned he has a gym, so he must be fit.”
“He plays football.” A half-smile curved the corner of Noah’s lips as if she’d just confirmed something he already knew. “I thought you were going to give me some survival tips today, not ask me more questions.”
“The more I know the more I can help. Right now I think you’re hiding something from me. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know why. You’re obviously afraid of your husband, although it hasn’t always been that way. You had a panic attack trying to get your coat off. You are sitting on the edge of your seat ready to run, so you don’t trust me. If I give you advice, will you listen?”
“Isn’t that for me to decide?”
“Here’s what I think. Something happened, and your husband’s personality has been changing. He plays sport professionally so it’s most likely drugs. I’m guessing his body has changed, too, maybe he’s bulked up, while his moods have become darker.” Noah leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. His shirt sleeves were rolled up enough that she could see the start of the vicious scar that crept up his damaged elbow. “He’s turned that on you, tried to keep you close, but at the same time he doesn’t want you to know what’s going on so he’s kind of freaking out. But it’s gone too far. You threaten to leave and he thinks you’ll start telling someone something and bang, his career is over. No you, no career, what’s left?”
She closed her eyes. She would not start feeling sorry for Cory again. He’d wrecked what they’d had with his obsession to get back on the field after being injured. “He wants to kill me.”
“I don’t doubt that for a moment. And I’m not suggesting you go back. I’d like to know what happened to make the change, but I also know you aren’t going to tell me because you don’t trust me.”
“Why should I?” She gritted out the words and tried to get control of her body before fear took hold again. This was a waste of time; Noah wasn’t going to tell her anything for free. She was on her own with nothing but a prayer. But where else was she going to go and who else would help her? At least Noah was showing interest and not blaming her. Plus it would be unlikely that Cory would come in here and start tearing off limbs. She tried to breathe calmly.
“I’m listening and I believe you.” His voice was perfectly level and yet it carried a weight and a ring of truth. She had nothing to fear from Noah.
Rachel opened her eyes and looked at him. There was no mockery on his face; he was taking her seriously and he’d even spent time looking into her case even though she wasn’t paying him. For the first time since this hell
had started she felt like she actually had someone on her side. She swallowed and let out a slow breath, remaining calm on the outside while inside offering up a prayer to anyone who was listening. Thank you. “So what do I do?”
For that there was no single answer or simple solution. Listening to Rachel, Noah had been ruling out hexes and black magic. It was hard to run from them, plus they were different. Exploding hearts, freak accidents, melting brains. The freaky shit that gave people nightmares. Algiz inked on his arm protected him against random attacks.
No, if Cory didn’t have a demon, Noah would eat his black belt. There was only one way a person could manage that kind of gruesome death and that was with a manifested demon helping—even if they didn’t realize where they were getting that extra juice from. Having a demon gave the manifester power. Usually rage, jealousy and hate.
A junkie with a demon was an entirely different beastie and usually harmless except to the junkie. When personal demons manifested, they sucked up all the good stuff so only darkness remained. Again, not harmful to the general population but still extremely hard to get rid of—that was the one thing all demons had in common.
The ones he specialized in were the ones out to kill and destroy, expressing the pent-up emotions of the person who’d brought them into existence. The devil made me do it was more than a casual turn of phrase.
Most of the time he never knew how the person had ended up with a demon. By the time he was called, he got there in time to see the death and destruction but too late to question the manifester and, sometimes, the victim. But not this time. Not that he had proof Cory had a demon, yet. The first thing he had to do was keep Rachel alive.
“I’m hoping that you aren’t using your cards and that you have a supply of cash.”
She nodded. “I also made a separate account that he had no knowledge of.”
Great. At least she wasn’t running around blindly. “When you take out cash you move on?”