by Melody Raven
“Melanie had better take the entire team for drinks after this,” I muttered.
“Tell you what. When this is over, I’ll even tell you what I really am.”
My eyes lit up. “Really?” The struggle to keep myself from screaming in excitement was real. I loved secrets. Boy Scout secrets were even better. “All right. Lead the way. The second the window is down, I’m going in.”
Carter nodded. I tried to sense any fear in him, but he seemed so cool and collected. He had to know this was a risky situation. Maybe not a fool’s errand. We had a good plan, and it was still three against one if we got in and out quickly.
But Carter wasn’t sweating or shaking, and I couldn’t even see his pulse pounding away in his neck. Which was even more telling because we’d just come up a lot of freaking stairs.
I’d have to hope that calm was contagious, because Carter motioned for me to go up first.
Well, I supposed taking point meant going first. And once the window was down, I’d be the first one in. I gripped the Taser tighter in my hand and flipped it on. Good guys. I was saving lives here. I was in the frontline of this war. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment, I got a hit of men’s deodorant. It was familiar and had my eyes snapping right back open. I looked over my shoulder at Carter, but the wind was going the wrong way. It was just in my head. Some sort of phantom smell.
Shit. I didn’t need my mind losing it now. But there was no time to worry.
Carter lifted his gun and took aim.
The next minute went by so fast, I barely remembered the exact sequence of events. I don’t remember any of the glass hitting me, but considering I was picking it out of my hair for the rest of the night, I know I got showered. Now, seeing a running Vopura is hard. They run so fast that they’re almost impossible to narrow down. But if you know you’re looking for a blur, it’s not too hard.
And sure enough, that blur was going right for the front door. I tried to beat him there, but I never really stood a chance.
But that was why we’d planned for this. Because when he opened the door, Nico was ready and waiting. I couldn’t see exactly what Nico had done, but one moment Dodge was a blur and the next there was a flash of light and he shot across the room. I climbed on top of him and hit him on the side of the neck with the Taser so he’d stay down. And by then Carter was behind me, laying two shots over my shoulder and into his chest. I flinched each time, the cracking of the shots way too close to my ear. I might be a badass, but it was never easy seeing any creature in that kind of pain.
“Nico and I are getting him over the edge.” Carter started to drag Dodge away. “Do a walk through the place and film the entire floor plan on your phone. We aren’t going to have long before the sun is down, and we want to collect as much info as we can while we’re here.”
Right. I was a detective now. I made sure the Taser was turned off before I took out my phone. I thought I was handling everything okay, but my shaking hands proved otherwise.
But we’d won. We’d come in and took out one of the head Vopura. And we took him alive, which would give the DMD a lot of insight into other nests. This was a victory. We’d passed our audition.
It was hard for me to be happy as the adrenaline still pumped through me. And that victory abruptly left when I reached the back room. All my sympathy for Dodge fled as I stared in dismay at his collection of dead and drained women.
13
“You tased him! That’s so badass!”
I was glad Gabbie was so excited with the win because I still felt decidedly underwhelmed with the whole experience. It was a mixture of adrenaline, pride, joy, and utter disgust. And as I’d heard that Vopura’s body hit the ground so many floors below, I hoped he felt every single broken bone. How many women had he killed since he’d gotten here?
I knew the ones in his apartment had just been the tip of the iceberg.
“Nico primed him and then I shot fifty thousand volts into the sucker just to make sure he stayed down.” I filled the words with much more bravado than I felt. Everyone else seemed happy. I didn’t want to bring them down.
“Did he cry?” Flora’s soft voice really didn’t match the gleeful way she’d asked such a dark question.
“I, um, I think we got him too fast for any crying.” I don’t think he really had any idea what happened and then the pain had kicked in.
“I wish I could be a fly on the wall for his interrogation. You know, I had a cousin in Seattle during the siege.”
And now her fury made so much more sense. “I’m so sorry.”
“She’s never been found. I don’t know if I prefer if she was turned and is still alive or if she got a quick death.”
Of course, the other alternative was that she got a slow death, but I wasn’t going to say that out loud. “So that’s why you joined the Dangerous Magic Division?” I asked, hoping I could pivot the subject away as quick as possible. “To get back at the Vopura?”
Flora smirked as she brought a red Solo cup to her lips and took a drink. I knew Melanie had brought a bottle of wine, but the contents of that glass smelled a lot stronger than wine. Maybe that was why she was being so friendly for once. “I’m here because I know I’m smarter than them. And I like being smarter than my enemies.”
I raised my bottle of water to her and clicked the plastic against plastic. “There’s something we have in common, sister. So, I haven’t got it figured out yet. You’re some kind of supernatural. Melanie told us so. But what are you?”
She took another sip and let out a little shiver as the liquor made its way down. “It’s so weird to be asked that. I’ve spent so much of my life hiding it.”
Hiding it from humans? Or hiding from others? I bit back my questions as I waited for her to continue. This was her story to tell.
“I have a death touch.”
My first instinct was to step away from her, but I got myself to stay still and hold back any fear. “Wow,” I said casually. “That’s intense.”
“That’s the understatement of the millennium.”
I’d never met anyone with a death touch before. They tended to not reach a very old age. Mainly because they were usually killed before they could get that old. People were too threatened. And death touch messed with the wielder’s psyche. It was hard to control. Having that much dark energy usually kept the bearers secluded and not always right in the head.
I was searching my mind for something I could say to take the tension out of the conversation when a pretty blonde caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.
Amy was here. I straightened and averted my gaze as quickly as possible. I made sure to not immediately give Gabbie a warning glance. We were bound to see Amy at some point. I was actually grateful it happened while we were together, so if Gabbie fell apart under the pressure, I could cause some sort of distraction.
But I didn’t have to worry. Gabbie took a deep drink out of her own Solo cup as Amy and Carter approached. As soon as the cup was down, she had a pleasant smile plastered on her face. I mean, it looked fake. But who didn’t fake a smile whenever they had to meet a coworker’s loved one?
“You must be Amy,” I said smoothly as the woman approached. She wore a white silk blouse with black trim, and her hair was in perfect waves that I would only be able to get with glamour or a triple-digit salon bill.
“And you must be Sonia.” She smiled and showed a line of perfectly straight and shining white teeth. “Carter’s told me so much about you.”
Yeesh. Then she must hate me already. “That’s funny. He hasn’t mentioned you to me at all.”
Gabbie choked on her drink, but I kept my neutral expression in place. Let her come to her own conclusions about how I knew her name if Carter had never mentioned it. “Wow,” she said as she kept her smile up the whole time. “It was nice meeting you, Sonia.” She kept eye contact with me a moment too long before she turned around to wander back to Carter.
I squeezed my water bottle ti
ghter. “I think I need something stronger.” I excused myself from Gabbie and Flora. I walked across the office to the drinks and poured myself a glass of wine. I studied Carter and Amy out of the corner of my eye. They seemed so happy and innocent. Was I really going to keep pushing this? But what choice did I have? I promised—
“You did good today.” Melanie slid in next to me to refill her own glass.
I gave her a halfhearted smile. “I live for your approval.”
“You might not care about it, but you have it. I know how hard this transition was for you.”
“You really don’t.”
Melanie pursed her lips. She was nice enough and her heart was in the right place, but if she wanted to be friends or anything, she was barking up the wrong tree. We were just too similar. She was used to being a boss; I was used to being a bitch. Those two personalities really didn’t mix.
Besides, she thought that because she knew more about me than anybody else, it would make us closer. If anything, that just made me want to stay as far away as possible.
“And even though you don’t care about anyone’s approval, I know Carter was impressed with you today too.”
My fingers tightened on my glass. “Does that mean he’s not going to keep requesting my termination?”
“It means he told me that he was happy to have you on the team today.”
I scoffed. “There is no way he said that.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. He’d be stupid not to be happy to have you on the team. I recruited you because I knew how much good you could do. And I do like being proved right.”
“Does that mean we secured funding for the Dangerous Magic Division?”
Melanie’s smile widened. “Oh, yes. I hope you’re not sick of us yet, because I foresee many jobs in our future.”
I wanted to be annoyed, but a rush of anticipation shot through me. I’d been scared out of my wits today, but dammit, it had been fun. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll help you catch your bad guys. You just keep sending the paychecks.”
“And modest too,” said Melanie with laughter in her voice. “Who knew how virtuous you could be.” She walked away before I could tell her exactly how wrong she was.
Modest? Was it being modest? I just didn’t care. There was a difference. I shook my head. This whole day had been way too weird. I needed to stop socializing with these people who would probably never really be my friends. It was only a matter of time before they got sick of me or decided I wasn’t worth the trouble.
I quickly made my exit. Everyone was celebrating and happy. I didn’t have to let my ping-pong emotions get in the way of their joy. Besides, I had a mountain of paperwork to do, and if I didn’t take it piece by piece, I was going to end up burning the whole thing in annoyance.
I’d just sat down at my desk when a shadow came over me. I tensed as my fingers curled around the pencil, stupidly reaching for a weapon. The silhouette was dark and hazy, but I recognized that perfume. I turned around and tried to look pleasant. “Amy! What are you doing here? Are you lost?”
She smiled and shook her head, glancing around at the empty desks and cubicles around us. “Not lost. I was just hoping the two of us could have a moment alone. Girl talk.”
I think I would’ve been happier had she just taken a gun out and shot me in the head. “Girl talk! How fun!” Dammit, I hated when I was a bad liar. There was no redo when you told a bad lie. The moment you messed up, you just messed up.
“I know you and Carter haven’t been getting along that great, but I want to let you know you have my full support. I even brought you a little present.”
If I wasn’t suspicious before, I sure as hell was now. She handed me the large manila envelope. Not once in my life had I ever received something good in a large manila envelope. I didn’t even bother holding my fake smile as I flipped it over and a four-by-six photo fell out. As soon as I saw the picture staring at me, I officially knew I didn’t have to lie. The jig was up.
But I wasn’t scared. It sucked that I could no longer covertly keep an eye on her, but at least I didn’t have to hide my intentions anymore. I leaned back in my seat and lifted my chin defiantly. “Wow. I really do take great photos from every angle.” I smiled up at her. “Do you want me to frame this for you, honey?”
Amy smiled right back at me, all the sweetness dripping from her face as a sternness took over. “Sweetie, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you’re fucking with the wrong woman.”
I shrugged. “I’ll tell you very simply what I’m trying to do. I want you to break up with Carter, and I want you to do it tonight. If you leave him alone, I’ll leave you alone. Easy.”
She let out a bark of laughter. “You have to be kidding. You’re doing all this because you’re jealous?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, if only you knew how wrong you were. I’m not jealous. I simply know that you’re an evil bitch, and now that Carter is my partner, I don’t want him involved with an evil bitch. Your options are simple. Break up with Carter or I’ll destroy your life.”
“Do you really think he’ll take a little street urchin witch’s words over mine?”
“I don’t need Carter to believe anything I say to destroy your life. If you have any idea the kind of creatures and beings I’ve taken down with just a nasty look, you wouldn’t look so damn pleased with yourself.”
“Oooo…. A witch who can’t even use her powers. I’m shaking in my designer heels.”
I opened my mouth, but before I could get a comeback out, heavy footsteps sounded. By the time Carter entered, we were both back with our pleasant façades on. “There you are,” he said as he approached. “We’re going to lose our reservation if we don’t head out now.”
“Oh darn, I was just having a most interesting conversation with Sonia here. Until next time.” She smiled.
I didn’t say anything as I watched them walk away. Fuck her, and fuck pretending to be nice.
Carter, the poor guy totally oblivious of what was happening, waved and nodded at me. “Good job today.”
I winked at him. “I got your back!” I called.
And I would have his back. One way or another, that bitch was dead.
14
I did paperwork as long as I could manage, but that wasn’t very long. I was too wound up. Too angry. I wanted to find Amy and confront her. I wanted to break into her house again to figure out what was really going on underneath that stupid blonde blowout.
But I couldn’t go tonight. For one, she obviously had cameras. But the picture she’d shown me had been of when I was snooping around in the bedroom. Why the hell would she have a camera there? Unless she and Carter were much kinkier than I imagined, Amy was up to no freaking good.
Eventually I was going stir-crazy in the office. But I couldn’t go home. I’d have the exact same problem. I needed noise. I needed energy. I needed to feed my chaos.
All this good, all this right… it just didn’t sit well with me. So I went to a very familiar location.
Delirium.
Maybe it was because I was kidding myself into thinking it was further research. Maybe I could get a read on how the Vopura were reacting to one of their powerhouses being taken down. Maybe I could hear where they’d be moving to.
But I really just wanted to get a little fucked up and be a little bad.
Even though it was a good twelve hours since I had walked in this morning, the hot siren bartender was still working behind the counter, spiky top and all. The moment she saw me, she gave me a wink and motioned me over to the bar.
As I sauntered over, I didn’t feel like a federal agent. I felt like a wicked witch. I saw men and women looking at me out of the corners of their eyes. Sizing up my threat and fuckability level.
And I liked it. Because I felt dangerous right now. I felt like I wanted to hurt Amy Craster, and my magic buzzed just beneath the surface. Through all of this, it had stayed dormant and behaved.
But tonight had pushed me too far. I
knew I needed to get some sort of release. I thought about finding pretty women and willing guys in Delirium, but I had a feeling that would only stir me up even more. The idea of letting someone else touch me was still… unthinkable.
So I’d start drinking and see whether the thought became more manageable after my blood became so mixed with alcohol that I’d be flammable.
Thanks to my magical genes, I’d have to drink a lot to be affected, but I was up to the challenge.
The bartender smiled at me as I straddled a barstool. “I knew you’d come back. They always come back.”
I didn’t even fake a smile. “I’m going to need less talky-talky and more drinky-drinky from you.” To make up for the rudeness, which I didn’t foresee stopping any time soon, I slapped two hundred-dollar bills on the table.
She snapped her fingers and the bills disappeared. Well, now she was just showing off. “Do you have a preference or dealer’s choice?”
“Something with no ice and a high alcohol content.”
“I’ve got you, girl.” She turned around and grabbed an unlabeled bottle off the shelf.
When she handed me the glass, it was glowing purple. That was new. “There’s nothing fancy in here, is there?”
She smirked. “Witch, it would cost you more than two hundred for something fancy.”
Couldn’t argue with that logic. I tossed back the drink and failed immediately to keep my cool. Holy crap, that was intense. “Another,” I croaked out as the shot glass fell out of my hand.
“Sure thing.” And a second later, she produced another drink. There had to be other customers who needed drinks, but the bartender seemed oddly focused on me.
“Where’s your friend?”
Oh my God. Leave it to Nico to get a siren to fall for him. “I don’t know.”
“If you could find out, I’d be willing to give you something even more special.”
I shook my head. The motion sent my vision spinning. Wow. That had hit fast. “I’ll tell him you’re looking for him. How about that?”
