A lot.
A helluva lot.
“This is my last day,” he said quietly. “I am leaving Savannah.”
I leaned forward. “What? Why?”
He shook his head, took a piece of paper and scribbled two words on it.
Shadow world.
His hand trembled as he picked up his phone. “Officer Burke, could you come back to me, please?”
Jon hung up before the other person could answer. “Officer Burke can help you, I think. She worked with me on a few cases in that . . . area.” He gave me a pointed look.
“Did someone spell you?” I whispered. Holy crap, had Douche Canoe paid him a visit too? How deep did this thing go?
His head didn’t move, but his jaw ticked and he blinked once, slowly. Yes. Someone had spelled him, someone was pushing him out.
“Are you okay?” I continued to whisper, afraid that I’d trigger some sort of booby trap.
He did nod in answer to that, just as the door behind me opened, banging into my chair.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that Jon had company.” The heavy Southern drawl was thick with irritation.
I stood, turned, and put my hand out. “Officer Burke, my name is Breena O’Rylee. I’m an old friend of Jon’s.”
Officer Burke was a woman about my age, the lines at the side of her mouth and eyes deeper than they should have been. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a tight French braid, not a single strand out of place, and not a single one of them gray. Sharp brown eyes regarded me, sweeping me over from head to toe and obviously finding me lacking.
“Jon, what do you need help with?” Her voice had that deep Southern swell that I’d had at one point in my life.
“Ms. O’Rylee might need information from time to time. Pertaining to certain things.”
I watched Burke’s eyes, seeing the way they sharpened further, even though she didn’t so much as blink.
“I see.”
Yeah, I didn’t think I’d be getting any help from this quarter. Damn it. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone was actively cutting off any and all help I might have. But why, when no one really knew who I was? Or was this all just a coincidence?
First the Hollows.
Now Officer Jonathan.
And maybe . . . maybe even Gran? My heart constricted. “My gran’s death, it wasn’t natural, was it? Hattie said it wasn’t. I thought she was just being mean, but now . . . I’m not so sure.”
Jon’s eyes shot to mine, his mouth working soundlessly, and then he gasped and clutched at his chest. “Jon!” Burke yelled his name, and we both shot around the desk, getting him to the floor.
She pressed the button on the walkie-talkie attached to her shirt. “Officer down, we need medic in Jon’s office!”
I didn’t wait for her to tell me we needed to perform CPR. I pulled a knife, cut his shirt open, and started compressions, counting them out loud, pausing for her to give him mouth to mouth, then starting up again.
I counted through three rounds before the ambulance attendants showed up, pushing us out of the way and taking over. For a few minutes, the room was an assault on the senses: people moving around and directing traffic, furniture screeching as it was shoved out of the way, and the gray pallor of Jon’s face.
Then quiet fell on the room, and suddenly Burke and I were all alone.
“You moved quick,” she said, the hardness slipping from her eyes and her voice.
“Jon trained me.” I scooped up my knife, lifted the side of my skirt, and put it away. “Let’s hope we moved fast enough.” I would not cry, I would not cry, I . . .
Damn it. I dashed a few tears away and took a hard, trembling breath.
Burke cleared her throat and her eyes were watery. “He trained me too. If there is something I can help you with, I will try.”
I swallowed hard. “I think my gran—Celia O’Rylee—was murdered. And I think he knows who did it.”
She gave a slow nod. “He’s been dabbling in the dark stuff too long. He knows more than he’s able to let on, I’d agree with that.” She paused and looked me over again. “You aren’t human, are you? You moved too fast, you knew what was happening almost before it did. And you’re far too pretty for just being human.”
I startled. “Of course I’m human. I’m forty-one and feel every inch of my age. And I wouldn’t say I’m pretty. I’m probably average at best. But thank you?” Maybe I shouldn’t have said all of that, but her comments had caught me off guard. It was funny she should see me that way. Maybe a bit of Gran’s magic had rubbed off on me after all.
A card appeared in her hand and she snorted as she gave it to me. “That’s my private line. It’s secured so you can speak freely on it.”
The card was thick, made of a heavy cardstock with raised bumps all over it but no written words. Braille. Clever.
I didn’t have a card. “I’m next to the Sorrel-Weed house, if you need me. No phone on me. I’m out of minutes.”
“I’ll be in touch.” She turned her back on me, pausing in the doorway. “Soon as I know how Jon is.”
17
Stunned by the events in the police station, I all but stumbled out, shock rippling through me. Jon had been on the verge of saying something about Gran’s death before he’d had what looked like a heart attack. Only I wasn’t so sure.
What if it had been a spell? What if I’d triggered it by asking him that question he’d wanted so badly to answer? My thoughts raced along with my heart.
Which is my only excuse for why I didn’t notice the broad chest in front of my face until I slammed into it, bounced back, and would have ended up tumbling onto the pavement if not for the strong hands that caught my wrists and held me upright.
I blinked a couple times to make sure that I wasn’t imagining things. “Corb?”
He pulled me upright and looked me up and down. “What are you doing here?” No doubt the flowy, flowery dress was throwing him.
I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m doing nothing here.”
“Good, I was just headed out to grab an early bite. You hungry?”
I shook my head again, but my stomach betrayed me, growling so loudly that there could be no doubt it was empty.
Corb laughed. “Come on.”
Which is how I ended up having dinner with Corb. Of course, with my life, nothing could be that simple.
Corb took me to Vic’s above River Street, the same restaurant where I’d met the fairy queen what seemed like forever ago. I couldn’t help but look around for her, wondering if she was a regular.
Window seats looking out over the river with a pomegranate mojito in my hand, the smell of mint curling up my nose and drawing some of the tension away. Hell, it could have been a date if it hadn’t been Corb sitting across from me.
“Keep them coming,” I said to our waitress as I downed the first mojito like it was water and I’d been in the desert for three weeks. I wanted a good buzz on to banish all of the chills this day had rolled over me.
“Easy there,” Corb said, “or I’ll be carrying you home.”
I looked up at him, saw nothing of his cousin in his face, and wondered if this energy between us meant anything. If it was a spell. If it was a game. If it was maybe a little real.
I took a sip of the second drink, a chunk of mint leaf lodging itself at the back of my throat, which set off a spate of rather unladylike coughing. I excused myself as Corb stood, his voice reduced to a buzz in the back of my head as I tried to get the coughing under control. I made it to the bathroom before I coughed up the offending mint with a gack that left my eyes watering.
“Are you all right?”
I wiped my eyes and nodded as I turned around. “Yeah, thanks.” Blinking, I stared at the woman behind me, at her plaited hair and the same damn pantsuit as before. Did she not realize I’d notice? “Karissa? It’s really not a good look for a queen to just hang out in the bathroom here.”
She smiled. “It is a rathe
r convenient meeting place, especially if you do not want a man to overhear your conversation.” She tipped her head to one side. “Do you find that your period has changed now that you’re over forty?”
I stared at her, my jaw only partially hanging open because she tipped her head toward the door with a little more meaning. As if someone were standing there, listening in.
“A little,” I managed to say, though I had to admit discussing my flow with a virtual stranger felt weird, even for me. “Some days are worse than others.”
What sounded like footsteps hurrying away from the door made my jaw drop. Had Corb been listening in? Well he wasn’t there now. A little lady-talk was all it had taken to remove him from the situation.
She laughed lightly. “Isn’t that the truth?” Her eyes fluttered to half-mast and she leaned in close. “The timeline has been sped up. Things are getting far more dangerous at the fairy ring. I want you there full time. I will of course double the pay.”
She was so compelling, I found myself staring into her eyes and nodding before my brain caught up. “Why not send Kinkly to tell me?”
“I needed you to understand the importance of this.” She added softly, “Crash cannot have what his fae are digging out of my tree. You can stop him.”
My eyes about bugged out of my head. “Um, no, I can’t stop him. Have you seen him? He’s massive and has muscles all the way out to here!” I spread my arms as wide as they would go. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me right off the bat that he was the one leading this whole shebang?”
Her eyes swept over me. “You intrigue him, and he likes you well enough that he won’t hurt you. I need you to bring me the item as soon as they dig it out. But they cannot see you, and they cannot know you are bringing it to me. Can you do that?”
I thought about the powder that Bob-John had suggested. His clearing powder had worked well enough, why not the invisibility powder? If I got desperate, I could always call on the skeleton horse for a quick escape. It struck me that the task had changed—it wouldn’t take as long, but now she was asking for an extraction, risking a possible fight with Crash, as well as guard duty. “You need to up the pay. Significantly.”
Now, now was the time to get her to sign something, but the thought fluffed out of my brain like a cloud on a summer day.
Her smile was sharp. “You will get all that I was planning on giving you for the full ten days multiplied by two.”
That was good enough for me, and the desire to close the deal and move on was strong. “Okay. Deal.”
“Good. Go there straight away.” Her eyes narrowed on me. “You aren’t who you think you are, Breena.”
She kissed me then, not on the cheek but on the lips, catching me off guard as a rush of energy whipped through me. “That will help,” she said as she stepped back, leaving me more than a little wobbly. “But it will only last while you are on the job for me. After that, you will feel every ache and pain you’ve gained, so be careful.”
I touched my lips. “What?” It only occurred to me then that I hadn’t stopped to ask how I was supposed to watch the fairy ring 24-7 when I was only human. When I was still in Suzy’s dress with nothing more than the two knives on me.
“You have to go now. Corb cannot follow you, and trust me, he will try. I will create a diversion, wait for it.” She patted my cheek and brushed past me. What did this have to do with Corb? Unless he was helping Crash? Shit, what if the two guys my libido was hot for were working together? Wouldn’t that be a kick in the lady bits.
I stood there and stared at the still-swinging door until another woman came in. She took one look at me and gasped. “Lordy, girl, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Maybe.” I gripped the edge of the counter as the other woman tittered next to me, whispering about Vic’s being haunted.
What the hell had just happened? The gig had changed, that was what had happened. But I’d get more pay, which meant I’d have a much better chance of getting Gran’s house back. Even if I had to face down Crash.
Jaysus lord, how was that going to work out if he found out I was the one who’d helped Karissa?
I frowned until the first BOOM shook the restaurant and a roar echoed through the walls, plaster and dust filling the air.
Well, I’d bet that was my distraction.
I bolted out of the bathroom with more pep in my step than I’d had in a long time. My lips tingled, reminding me of the kiss Karissa had bestowed on me.
Above all the screaming, through the dust and kerfuffle, Corb was yelling for me. I didn’t look for him, but headed straight for the front door of the restaurant, the light from the window guiding me out. I pushed my way through the people, not caring that they yelped and pushed back.
I felt none of it.
I burst out of the restaurant, dust flying around me as I paused just a moment to get my bearings. Kicking off my heels, I bolted down the walkway and raced across the main road, dodging cars like they were standing still, my skirt flaring and flashing the knives strapped to my thighs.
Whatever pep juice Karissa had given me burned through my veins. Minutes later I was back in front of Gran’s house, barely breathing hard.
Up the stairs, into the house, and up to my room, I’d stripped out of the dress and was yanking on my leathers by the time Suzy found me.
“Holy shit, what happened to you? You’re covered in dust and plaster!” She brushed some off the top of my head.
I grabbed her by the arms, my mind racing a thousand miles a minute, and in that moment I knew exactly what I needed to do.
“You need to keep the guys at the Hollows busy. Keep them there, all of them, but especially Corb. I’ve got to get out to the job I’m on. I’ll be staying there until it’s done, but it’s a good job, and it will give us the start we need for our group.” I yanked on my pants and grabbed my thigh holsters for the knives, strapping them on so fast that even I could feel my vision blurring over my own hands.
Suzy’s eyes went wide. “Okay. Will your gran watch over Eric again? We shouldn’t leave him alone for that long with a shooter on the loose.”
Gran appeared beside her. “Bring him with you,” she said.
I grabbed my leather bag and stuffed Gran’s book into it, then double-checked that I had my silver talisman, settling it over my head. “I’m going to take Eric and Robert with me,” I said.
“Why not me?”
I frowned. “Because I’m pretty sure Douche Canoe put a tracking spell of some sort on you. O’Sean was following you that night at the caves.”
“What about the Hollows?” Suzy asked. “Should we go to them for help?”
I paused, for just a flash. “Eammon wants me to do this job. I don’t know why, but he knew I could do this.” That last bit was pure conjecture. But it felt right.
“Well, what if Eammon is in on this? We might not be able to trust him,” Suzy pointed out in a quick reversal of opinion. “You could be walking into a trap.”
Both good points.
I fought to slow my breathing down, struggling. Whatever Karissa’s kiss had done, I could feel it pushing me to my limits. “I know for sure that Robert and Eric aren’t affected. I don’t know with you, and Feish is tied to Crash.”
Feish stepped into the doorway. “I can try and slow the Boss down. He’s on his way here now.”
I swallowed hard. “Then I need to go. Eric!”
“I’m ready,” he said softly, “though I don’t know what good I can do.”
“You’re my hide-and-seek champion.” I smiled at him. “We need to stay hidden; you can help me with that, and you can come back for help if I get in too much trouble.”
“You don’t want me to fight?”
“Do you want to fight?” I lifted both brows, already knowing the answer as he shook his head no.
I grabbed him by the arm and ran down the stairs and out the front door. Eric skidded to a stop beside me. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Fairy queen kissed me,” I said. We needed a way to get to the fairy ring fast. Before Crash realized where we were going.
I thought about the skeleton horse, but I wasn’t sure we could wait for it to pull itself out of the ground. That wasn’t quite right, I knew in my gut it wasn’t, but I hesitated on calling the horse up for whatever reason. I sensed it would be best to wait.
“We need a way out to the wildlife reserve. You got a boat?” I asked.
I knew Feish had a boat, but if Crash figured out where we were, that we’d borrowed the boat, he’d be on us in a flash.
Part of me didn’t mind the image that whipped through my head of Crash being physically on me, the other part reminded me that I was working against him. Again.
Eric tugged me forward, and in no time we were running through the streets of downtown Savannah, our feet a blur. “This is much easier now that you can keep up!” Eric yelled with a grin as we passed the Hanging Tree square, the resident demon watching us go by.
I couldn’t resist, I flipped him off. He snarled at me, but we were gone before he could attach to us.
“Yeah, this rocks.” But Karissa had warned me that it would hurt once I was done. At least I wouldn’t have to pay the price until later.
Eric skidded to a stop at one of the outer banks of the river, away from the downtown district, and pointed to a small boat with a large motor on it. “I don’t come in and out through the downtown like Feish does.”
I wondered out loud how he had a boat here.
“Oh, that’s not mine. It’s a friend’s boat,” Eric said. He held out a hand and helped me in, and then he got it going. The engine was a beast, and we started flying up the river at a speed that Feish’s boat couldn’t match. Which was good.
Because I was pretty sure that it was behind us.
I watched as the boat that I was sure was Feish’s pulled out into the river—the prow of it curved like a diving dolphin—and headed our way. I ducked down. “Eric, I think that’s Crash behind us. Can this thing go any faster?”
He squeezed the handle, and our boat picked up even more speed, the spray of river water soaking us, but that was nothing to what would happen if Crash caught us and we had to explain our way out of this. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that he was even following us, but it was safest to assume that was the case. For all I knew he was just going out to the fairy ring to feel up the tree again.
Midlife Fairy Hunter: The Forty Proof Series, Book 2 Page 20
