The King's Gambit

by A. L. Kessler

  Levi’s phone rang, and he looked up from his paperwork. One day, he was going to hire an assistant to handle all the papers that covered his desk. He picked up the phone and glanced at the number, it wasn’t one he knew, but he answered anyway.

  “Levi speaking.”

  “Hello Levi, this is Michele from Abigail’s coven.”

  Interesting that she’d be calling him. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m looking for Abigail. I have reason to believe that someone is after her life.”

  That wasn’t news to him. “I know all about the threats of the Cult, Michele. Abigail has them handled.”

  “Someone called the coven and threatened to kill anyone that had to do with her current case. She needs to come to the coven so we can protect her.”

  Oh, he bet Abigail just loved that. “I’m sorry, I haven’t heard from her all night. I don’t know where she is, or why she isn’t answering her phone.”

  “I know better Levi. You know exactly where all of your people are at all times.”

  “I’m sorry Michele, I can’t help you.”

  She hung up without another word. Mario came running into the room. “Have you seen the news?”

  What on earth was he so excited about. Mario grabbed the remote from the desk and flipped on the television.

  There on the screen was a car encased in a fireball. Not just any car, Abigail’s. “What on earth was she doing that got her car blown up?” He could even hear the panic in his voice. “There is no way that vampire did that.”

  Mario stood there with an amused look on his face.

  “What the hell is so funny?”

  “This is the second thing to blow up since she started this case.”

  Levi counted to ten in his head. “Mario, don’t make me put you on Abigail duty.”

  Mario raised a brow. “And ruin all the hard work you’ve done to keep us from meeting each other?”

  He had a point. Levi snatched up his phone and called Abigail. He didn’t even wait for her to say hi.

  “Your car blew up!”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, it’s gone. You want to know another fun fact? Apparently, it was the murderer who tried to blow it up. Great, huh? Oh, better yet, he’s a rogue Cult member.”

  How could she be joking about this? “I’m being serious, Abigail. How did your car get blown up?” She could have died in the explosion. He stared at the screen and saw the flames arch up higher to the sky. His heart sank as something crossed his mind for a brief moment.

  “As far as I can tell, the rune was scratched into my back window. It activated when I was sideswiped by Jack and Sean.”

  “From the coven?” Levi confirmed. “Michele called me looking for you. I had no idea where you were. She thought maybe you had made it back here.” Of course, even if Abby had, he wouldn’t have given her that information.

  “Tell her to fuck off if she calls you back.” Ah, Abigail and her hate of the coven. “I’m not going under their protection.” She hesitated for a moment and then away from the phone said, “I’ll be right back.” Levi heard the sound of a door opening and closing. “Levi, we have a couple bigger problems.”

  “What is bigger than someone trying to kill you?” She really had a funny way of comparing things.

  “The murderer is an Elemental.” He heard her take a deep breath. “I met him at a coffee shop by coincidence. He didn’t know who I was and I caught him by surprise. The fire flared.”

  He was silent. There was no way this was happening. Abigail didn’t need anything else to worry about. He didn’t need anything else to worry about.

  “Levi?” she prompted.

  There was only one way to find out if her own elemental abilities were surfacing. “Did you touch him?”

  “Yes, and then something happened at the fire of the car. You’ve known all along that I might hold that ability?”

  Caught hiding more information from her. One day she was going to think he wasn’t trustworthy. “I did. It wasn’t something I was going to introduce to you until later.”

  “This isn’t something someone can teach me to control.”

  There was one person who could help her, but there was no way he was going to let them get closer. “I know, you’ll have to practice in the chamber.” He sighed. “You have too much on your plate.”

  “Levi, I am not a child.”

  He hated when she pointed that out. “No, but you are still young. Most witches don’t reach your power before the age of forty,” he growled. “I am doing the best I can to help you control your abilities.”

  “If you had warned me, then I could have avoided shaking hands with strangers.”

  Because that was a possibility in life, especially in her job. He bit his tongue. “I know. We’ll deal with it when we can. Where are you now?”

  “I’m at Simon’s. I couldn’t get ahold of Clarissa to drive me up to your place. I was hoping you could come get us tomorrow night.”

  Interesting, Clarissa almost always answered her phone for Abigail. He’d much rather have her up here. “What are your plans for the day?”

  “Some literal footwork, sleep, and wait for Mason to tell me we have a warrant on Devon.”

  At least she’d be working, and Simon would most likely be with her. That was good. He could get to her right after dusk. “I will be there after sundown.”

  Levi carefully picked the vehicle to take to Abigail’s. It was the smaller of the three SUVs he owned. The gas mileage was decent, but it wouldn’t tempt Abigail to ask for the keys because she preferred the Hummer. He was about to pull out of the driveway when his phone rang.

  “What?”

  “What a way of greeting, Levi.” Greg’s voice came over the line. Levi was expecting a call from him eventually.

  “What can I do for you Greg?” He kept his voice even. “It’s been a long night already.”

  “I saw Abigail’s car exploding, her current case, her hanging on my wolf.”

  Levi had missed that last part, but it gave him hope for a relationship between the two of them. “Again, what can I do for you?”

  “I need Simon back. We have some pack things that need to be taken care of, and I need my second in command to be there.”

  Levi sighed. “Of course, what are you guys dealing with?”

  The wolf hesitated on the other end.

  “If you want an alliance between us at some point, you need to share the information, Greg. I don’t deal well when you keep secrets.”

  “There’s a wolf we caught trespassing. We think he’s involved with crimes against our pack.”

  Interesting. “I shall let him know that he is needed. I’m taking him and Abigail a car here in a few minutes.”

  “Make sure he knows that he’ll be away for a couple days. So he can make arrangements for the clubs as well.”

  “I’m not your messenger. Why don’t you call him?” Levi asked, trying not to sound irritated.

  “I would, except for some reason he tends to answer to you more than me.” The phone went dead, and he snarled.

  Fine, if the alpha wanted to play that way, then Levi would make sure the wolf showed up.

  He jumped in the car and headed down to Simon’s to pick Abigail and him up.

  The drive was silent and the most human thing Levi had done in a while. It wasn’t often that he needed to take a car somewhere. He usually just used his ability to pop in and out of places. This was almost…nice. Relaxing even.

  When he pulled up to Simon’s house, he wondered what he’d be walking into. Would he be interrupting a moment between the two of them? If Abigail could find another supernatural creature to marry, to take care of her, then he wouldn’t have to worry as much about the vampire politics that would eventually invade her life. She could be part of the world without the threats Levi knew were coming.

  He got out of the car and went to the front door. He could hear the soft sounds of the television, and he fou
nd himself hesitant to knock. Listening closely, he waited to see if he could hear Simon or Abigail talking.

  Nothing.

  He knocked and waited for the wolf to answer. Simon swung the door opened and looked at Levi. “Hey.” Simon stepped to the side and motioned for him to come in. “Abby’s taking a nap.”

  “As is to be expected. I doubt she’s slept much the last few nights.”

  Simon shook his head. “No, she really hasn’t. I’m worried that if she doesn’t get any sleep, she’s going to go crazy.” He turned to go down the hall.

  Levi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “One moment. Greg called me.”

  Simon turned around and raised a brow. “I’m sure he’s not happy about how much time I’ve been spending with Abigail.”

  “He’s not. He wants you to return to help deal with a trespasser.”

  Simon sighed. “I’ve heard the rumors that there was a wolf. I think it’s the one that’s related to Abby’s case.”

  Levi tried not to growl. “You aren’t going to take her to him.”

  Simon didn’t answer, but walked away and went to knock on a bedroom door.

  Levi paced the living room. Abigail on pack grounds meant that he couldn’t protect her, and she’d be stupid to try and interfere in pack justice. Of course, as a PIB agent, she couldn’t turn a blind eye.

  Simon came back out. “Look, I don’t want to involve her, so if I can keep from it, I will.”

  “If she goes, she goes as one of my people. Not PIB, understood?”

  Simon nodded. “Of course. A PIB agent wouldn’t be welcome on grounds through this.” He rubbed his eyes.

  They both looked up when Abby walked in, and they stayed silent.

  “Secrets don’t make friends,” she teased. “I need to get to the mansion and do a tracking spell. Then I need to come back into town. There’s a warrant out for our killer, and I need to be close to help take him down.”

  Levi and Simon both nodded. “Then shall we go? We have a long drive.” Levi stood, he purposely ignored her comment about the murderer because he didn’t want to think about her going after him.

  “Sure.” She grabbed her bag and went to the door.

  Levi watched her go to the SUV. When she was out of earshot he turned to Simon. “You have to go to the wolf pack tonight and deal with whatever it is.”

  Simon motioned to his phone. “I can tell you now that it’s pack justice. Something about a three-legged wolf, and that’s someone Abby’s been looking for.”

  Levi was silent for a moment. “With any luck, she’ll be busy taking down the suspect.”

  “I hope so because Greg invited her for the fun.”

  Of course that damn Alpha would do something like that. “That works to our advantage. She can go as one of my people that way.”

  “Yes, but Greg doesn’t like witches.”

  “You’re afraid he’ll try something?”

  Simon nodded. “I know he will.”

  Levi sighed and walked out the door. He really had nothing to say to that. He knew Abigail would go because of the connection to her case. There was no stopping that woman when she was on a mission.

  Levi climbed into the driver’s seat. “Simon has some pack stuff he needs to take care of, so you’ll be without him for a couple nights.” There was no reason to beat around it. She probably picked up on the tension. He started the car and backed out of the driveway.

  “That’s okay. He’s not going to want to be there for the takedown anyway. It could get nasty.” Nasty was probably putting it mildly.

  “Nastier than the car being blown up?” Simon joked.

  Abby chuckled. “Let’s hope not. I don’t think I can handle anything else exploding.”

  “Did you kill the drug dealer?” Levi changed subjects.

  She nodded. “He’s dead.” There was something different in her tone, not quite a lie, but not really the truth.

  “Good,” he said, and the whole car went quiet, and that was the way it stayed until they arrived at the mansion.

  Abigail wasted no time in walking way from Levi the moment they got into the house. Levi followed her, trying to figure out how to say what he needed to. “Abigail, I have something to give to you.”

  She spun around, and he saw the anger and frustration in her face. “I have a three-legged werewolf to find. Can this wait?”

  He met her gaze, letting her know that her anger was misplaced and now was not the time to get an attitude with him. “Not particularly. Please. I know you’re angry with me, but you need this.”

  She hesitated for a moment. “Okay, but only because you said please.”

  Sometimes manners did get him what he wanted. “Thank you, Abigail.” He motioned for her to follow him. He led her through the main room and to the back where his office.

  “The day the murders started, I sent you to Clarissa to fetch a package,” he started. “You never asked what it was, which is what I taught you. To respect my business.”

  “I knew it was magical, that’s it. I could feel it through the box.”

  Tobias’ spell was active even after all these years. “It was something your father had left for you. It’s meant for you and only you. It has been in storage, and I sent someone to retrieve it. I was planning on giving it to you on your birthday, but, well, apparently things have changed from my original plans.” She deserved to have the book, even though he knew it would just solidify the lies he’s been telling her. He wanted to put it off longer because in some deep part of his soul it felt like he was giving up any biological connection he had with her.

  “What plans?”

  “The plans for you to learn about your family, your genealogy, and your abilities when you turned thirty. You’re a witch at your prime, but it’s time that you learned where you truly come from.” He opened the door to his office. On his desk sat an old leather-bound book.

  “Why have you been hiding so much from me? I thought we agreed when I turned eighteen that there would be no secrets between us.”

  If only she knew exactly how much he was hiding from her. One day this conversation was going to look very different. “This was part of your parents' will. I agreed with them that you needed to be introduced to things slowly. That being said, all of your father’s research that he did with those who have been killed, along with your family history, is in that book. Your father put a spell on it so only you could open it.”

  “Clarissa acted like something would explode.”

  He shrugged. With Abby’s luck, it was plausible. “It's possible. I haven’t tried to open it, but many of the answers you seek are in there, Abigail.”

  She walked over to the desk and ran her hand over the old cover. He saw her shiver and assumed that the magic reached out to her. Tobias and Elizabeth knew what they were doing when it came to protection. She laid her palm on the book and closed her eyes. Levi felt the magic in the air brush against him. It wasn’t just Tobias’ but Elizabeth’s too, and for a moment he swore he could feel her with him.

  Abigail slipped a finger under the cover and flipped it open. They both seemed to be waiting.

  No grand explosion. No fire. No hex.

  Abby let out a breath. “Thank you, Levi.”

  There was so much sincerity in her voice that it warm him. “You’re welcome. Now go find your three-legged werewolf and close this damn case.” He smirked. “I know you’ll bring him down.”

  She picked up the book. “Shame I don’t have time to start reading this tonight.”

  He chuckled. “You will soon, now go. I’m hoping it will help you with this case and your new abilities.” He waved her off. He didn’t want her to start looking through it in front of him. All the lies they weaved to protect her were in there. No signs of who she truly was, and in a way, he felt like he was betraying her by giving her the book.

  He watched her walk down the hall, holding the book to her chest. His heart ached a bit as she disappeared through one of
the doorways. She was completely independent, which was what he wanted, but part of him dreaded the day when she’d stop returning to the mansion to work her magic.

  His phone beeped, and he saw Mario’s text scroll over the screen. “Meet me at Acacia Park.”

  The place where the vampire was dealing drugs. Abby had said the vampire was dead, so what was Mario looking for there?

  Levi appeared in the park and found Mario standing in the middle of the open field. “What is it?”

  He moved to the side and motioned to a body on the ground. “Another victim.”

  “Abigail said the drug dealer was dead.” He frowned and went to the body. He checked the woman’s arms, and sure enough, there were needle marks along the veins and a few bite marks. “She was a donor of some sort too.”

  Mario nodded. “Do we call PIB in?”

  “No, the dealer is dead, but that doesn’t mean the drugs are gone. They’ll fade out though unless another dealer comes in.” He stood and looked down at the poor woman. Dark hair, pale skin, Abigail’s age.

  Mario cleared his throat. “One more thing.”

  “What?” He turned to the vampire. Mario handed him a card. “This was tucked under the girl.”

  It’d been years, but Levi knew the handwriting on the letter. Ira’s.

  “Are you going to open it?”

  Levi looked up. “I will eventually, but not here. Not where he or his minions might be watching.”

  They both looked around for a moment, and Levi swore he saw someone walking through the park. The light had to be playing tricks on him, because he swore that it was a man one moment and a cat the next.

  “Levi?”

  “Let’s get back to the mansion. Send out a crew to take care of the body so that we don’t have PIB here.” Levi looked down at the woman. She deserved a proper burial, and her family deserved to know what happened, but without getting PIB involved, that wasn’t going to happen.

  “I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you head back and see what that note is all about.”

  Levi nodded and took himself back home. He could trust Mario to take care of it all. They’d faced their share of dead bodies and murder coverups together. He waited for a moment in the hall to see if he could hear Abigail or Simon around, but his house remained peacefully quiet.