I had to appreciate a woman who knew how to treat her staff, but really, Griselda had simply listened to me try to avoid this meeting for a few minutes, not headed negotiations with foreign dignitaries. I didn’t roll my eyes though because I wanted whatever was in that glass. Normally I considered myself a tequila kind of girl, but booze was booze. At Delmy’s gesture, I walked forward and took the heavy-cut crystal glass.
Griselda came over, took the glass, and downed it, grunting her appreciation. As Griselda took her place again behind me, Delmy inclined her head. Instead of downing the liquid like Griselda had, I followed Delmy’s lead and swirled the liquid in my glass before taking little sips, allowing the charred oaky flavor to coat my tongue.
A sip of liquid courage was all it took. I wanted this job for the money despite self-preservation sending a tinkling little alarm through my brain. I didn’t want to think about those bells too hard. “So, I find the ones responsible for helping Grant steal from your son. Let’s say for the sake of argument, that it was your brother or one of his people who helped that human trash invade Deval’s home. I’m not comfortable meting out any form of punishment. I may be part goblin, but I don’t think it’s appropriate and, forgive me if this is rude, but I’m not willing to be a potential patsy.” My knees trembled but maybe the dim lighting would hide it. I continued to meet Queen Delmy’s gaze.
That habit of single brow rising that she and her son shared made another appearance. Meeting my gaze she leaned back against the bar gracefully and took a healthy swallow before setting the glass down and pushing back off the bar to stand straight. “I do not need a patsy. I need proof. When you find the perpetrators, I would be very displeased if you were to confront them yourself. I need evidence from you, not justice.”
She came forward and took my hand that was not holding my whiskey glass in a death grip. Staring into my eyes she continued, “I do not value you less because you are only part goblin. It has been long since I have had a halfling in my court, and I look forward to the mischief you will no doubt stir.” With that, she dropped my hand abruptly, strode over to her throne, and sat, her arms draped over the arm rests, legs crossed, leaning into the chair. The air it gave it off was decidedly regal. “Give me your answer, Peg Darrow.”
With that queenly demand, I slugged back what remained of my whiskey and said, “Yes,” with more conviction than I felt. Guess we knew who the fool was.
2
The hood made a return appearance for the drive home. Again, I napped, drooling in my sleep. Feeling a little guilty, I handed Griselda the damp hood, but it really wasn’t my problem. Kidnappers should launder their own hoods. It was just common courtesy.
I marched from the car up to my front door, but hesitated when I saw what waited for me. My stomach dropped. Sitting on the bench that adorned my porch was one of the loveliest arrangements of flowers I had ever seen. Two months ago it, would have been the hands-down winner. But in the process of catching a murderer and thief of goblin treasures, I’d come into direct contact with Fane Dimir, resident sociopathic vampire, and now my not-so-secret admirer.
Girding my loins, I walked up to the arrangement and picked them up. The large holiday arrangement was done admirably in greens, reds, and whites, with glittery ornaments protruding at tasteful increments. At least as tasteful as glitter could be. My sister referred to it as the bed bug of crafting. It showed up when you least expected it and was hard to dispose of. Unlocking and then opening the door with one hand, I walked in and deposited the flowers on my small kitchen table.
Before I’d left for training in Illinois, there wouldn’t have been a place to put them. But, my being Fane’s object of affection meant new bouquets arrived every day, sometimes twice in the same day. Thanks to that schedule, I now knew that Marty, the flower guy, had three daughters and a son who was, in his opinion, a little “too good at arranging flowers,” but hadn’t come out yet. Marty thought I was one lucky lady to get so much attention. Because Marty was human, I didn’t clue him in on the fact that in all actuality Fane wanted to torture, rape, and kill me because that was how he showed his affection. A shiver ran down my spine.
The flowers served as a reminder to keep training and get better at protecting myself, my friends, and my family. Lola, my best friend who’d been house sitting for me while I was gone, had felt the best way to protect me was to throw the flowers away. Whether they stayed or not didn’t bother me because the flowers, and Fane, were part of my current reality.
Pushing the blooms from my mind, I went back to the living room to begin the plans I’d had before being summoned. I had seven days to find the traitor, but nothing would get accomplished tonight. Delmy promised to send over a file tomorrow with all the relevant players, mainly Faxon and his sons. Tonight, I wanted to enjoy my freedom. A soda, a cat, and some TV were just what the doctor ordered. I even decided to go hog wild and order a pizza. Just when I was comfortably ensconced on the couch with Cheddar purring loudly on my legs, my phone blared a ring tone I really didn’t want to hear.
I used to like the song before, I mean there wasn’t rest for anybody let alone the wicked, and money certainly didn’t grow on trees. In what I thought was a brilliant move, I added it as a ringtone for my boss, the local witch sheriff. Now its only competition as the most hated sound my phone made was the tone used for my alarm. I did something I had never done in the short amount of time I had been a Fortune. I ignored the call. Not to say I sent the call to voice mail. Pammy was too smart to not to know what getting a voice mail after a couple of rings meant. I needed to be able to play dumb if she questioned me later.
When the song ended, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Only to jump when the song began playing again immediately. Cheddar clawed me through the throw over my legs before climbing off. Damn it, there went my kitty love time. Sighing, I answered the phone. “Hello.”
“Sug, why aren’t you answering your phone?” Pammy did not sound happy.
“I was in the bathroom,” I lied automatically.
“Hmmph.” Yeah, Pammy wasn’t buying it.
“Uh yeah, sorry, what can I do for you?” I mumbled into the phone.
“You can get your ass down to the Christmas party. The McAllisters are in town, and one of them seems to be pretty cozy with your friend.”
Huh? “Who are the McAllisters? And there’s a Christmas party?”
“Girl, you need to check your email. Of course there’s a Christmas party, or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Krampus, or get-drunk-on-Pammy’s-dime party. Whatever floats your boat. I myself like Jesus better than I like Krampus, so I’ve made my choice.”
Glad to know my workplace wasn’t discriminatory. Of course, since everyone else discriminated against us, we tried to be pretty open in our own community. “Sounds like a good time, but I had a long day. Besides I don’t know the McAllisters, so it would be weird to stop by and say “hi,” even if they know one of my friends.”
“Do you think I would drag you in for this if it wasn’t important? Do I need to call in your token?”
“Seriously?” I asked, incredulous. Tokens were part of the Soldier of Fortune contract. Every job we did was paid by the client. If the client couldn’t pay, but the matter needed to be addressed, the Benefactor would spot the bill. We were our own nation and policed our own through the mercenary system. A caveat of signing on as one of those mercenaries was that we agreed to grant the local sheriff one token job a year.
“You bet your ass I am.”
“I thought the sheriffs rarely collected tokens. Not to mention I’ve only been working for you for like three months!”
“Well, I only collect them when I need them, and these slimy motherfuckers have come to my town, and you’ve already got an in. Right now I need that in. Come down here, and I won’t make you the principal investigator.”
I sat forward, swinging my legs off so my feet rested on the floor, I pinched the bridge of my nose. With my new jo
b I didn’t have time to take on another investigation. “Who exactly is my ‘in’?”
“Lola.”
My heart began to race. Sure, I didn’t know who, or what, the McAllisters were, but if they bothered Pammy, I sure as hell didn’t want them anywhere near my best friend. “I’ll be there in fifteen.” I stood up. “Wait, where is the party?”
Pammy grunted into the phone. “No, you will not. You will be here in an hour and fifteen. It’s a holiday party, not a pajama party, and I want you to look festive. It’s at my usual location.”
“You’re holding your Christmas party at Bump and Grind?” I asked, referring to the local strip mall coffee shop that Pammy held court at.
“Course I am, but it’s catered, and we’ve set up a bar.”
She should have started with the three magic words “coffee, food, and booze.” If she had, there would be no need to threaten me with the token card. “I thought this was an emergency?”
“It’s not an emergency, it’s a situation, one I want your assistance with. Now, go put on some lipstick and come to the party.” Pammy hung up on me.
Closer to an hour and a half later, I walked into the independent coffee bar in Tempe. Per Pammy’s request, I was suitably done up in a red sweater dress, with heeled boots. I pulled out all the stops, including some winged eyeliner, and the requisite red lipstick. The heels were already starting to hurt, but I didn’t think there was going to be a rumble tonight, and I rarely dressed up, so I thought it would be safe to wear them.
Scanning the room, I was glad I had taken Pammy’s demand seriously. There was quite a crowd, but one guest in particular caught my eye. Deval, the goblin prince, stood in the center of the room in a three-piece charcoal looking very handsome. My feet started to move of their own accord until a stunning raven-haired goblin glided to his side and wrapped her arm around his waist. My spine stiffened, and I stopped short. Deval reached to place his arm around his date when his eyes suddenly snapped to meet mine. Surprise sparked in his gaze, and his hand seemed to hesitate on her shoulder.
He’s not my boyfriend, I reminded myself. Not wanting to see, I turned away and shook my head. We had a hint of a connection, but I wouldn’t throw myself at someone who wanted someone else.
Lola, my best friend, appeared at my side. “I hate her.”
The rock forming in the pit of my stomach dissolved instantly as I bent over laughing.
“I’m serious, Peg. She’s a total snob. She used to date one of my brothers.”
Lola always hated her brothers’ girlfriends, but I knew better than to mention that. “Oh really, which one?”
“Arick, he always goes for high maintenance.”
I took in Lola’s perfectly arranged blonde hair, artful makeup, and silvery cocktail dress with shoes to match and arched a brow.
Her lips pursed. “Don’t look at me like that. I look good in khakis and work boots, too. Besides, I’m just as likely to shop at Target as at Nordstrom’s, and I don’t insist on diamonds as gifts from boys I’ve been seeing for two weeks.”
“She really did that?” My face scrunched up.
“Gold. Digger.” Lola pronounced, clipping each word.
“Oh now, love, I would never call you that.” Suddenly a handsome man was at Lola’s elbow.
She giggled, batting away his hand. “Peg, this is Michael McAllister.” She smiled up at the man with a look of adoration that usually went the other way.
I studied the tall, thin man with the wheat-colored hair a few shades darker than Lola’s. He was handsome, but the smile he bestowed on Lola didn’t reach his eyes. My stomach tightened with dread. I forced a smile to my lips and held out a hand. He grasped it in a bone crushingly firm handshake. Taken aback, I sent a little shock through my palm. Most other witches would have pulled back, but he gave me a pleased smile. It was creepy.
“Lola said you attended a Fortune Boot Camp recently. It appears to have gone well for you.”
My brow furrowed, other witches didn’t usually comment on another’s power level. “Uh, thank you. How do you two know each other?”
He let go of my hand, draping his arm across Lola’s shoulders. “This angel and I knew each other as children. When my family came back to Arizona I had to look her up.” He gave Lola another false smile. Her returning grin made it apparent that she didn’t see the act.
“Isn’t it great, Peg? Michael was my first love.” She mooned at him.
I worked to keep my face neutral. “I don’t remember him.”
He let out a laugh tinged with scorn. “Of course not. Lola and I knew each other before she moved to Phoenix.” Lola was originally from Tucson but had moved to Phoenix to live with her father’s best friend and his family, goblins, after her parents’ death.
“Oh, so you’re from Tucson then?” I prodded.
“No, my family are a traveling people. We don’t like to stay in one place too long.” He looked at his watch. “Speaking of which, look at the time. Lola, we promised mother we would stop by for a visit tonight.”
Lola pouted. “But Peg just got here, and I haven’t seen her for six weeks.”
“You said you would visit. It would be very rude of you to keep her waiting.” His voice hardened.
My face heated at his tone, and I waited for Lola to rip him a new one.
She blinked once but then smiled sweetly. “Of course, you’re right, Michael. That was thoughtless of me.” Turning to me, she kissed my cheek and enveloped me in a hug. “Can’t wait to catch up.” Just like that, she was whisked away into the night.
My mouth was still hanging open in shock when Pammy barreled up to me. “See what I mean, Sug?”
I managed to close my mouth after making a few guppy-like faces. I raised my hand, pointing at the door. “What the hell just happened?”
“You tell me. It may be a party, but we have work to do.”
I dropped my hand and thought for a moment. “Is something wrong with Lola?”
Pammy shook her head. “McAllisters are bad news. Reports of missing witches happen whenever they’re in town, but I scanned her to make sure she wasn’t under any spell that I could find without being invasive. There may be something, but there’s also plain old infatuation and stupidity at work.”
I swung back to face Pammy. “What the hell, Pammy? If they have that reputation, why would you let Lola leave with them?” My voice bordered on a shout. The volume of the party lulled as one song ended and another began. When I looked up from Pammy’s angry gaze, I found all eyes were on us, including Deval’s. He arched a brow at me that twenty minutes ago I would have found attractive, but now I wanted to punch his smug face. Before I could follow that train of thought, Pammy’s strong fingers dug in to my arm.
“You did not just speak to me like that,” she muttered, dragging me out the front door. A few people stood outside, sneaking drunken cigarettes. Pammy gave them a look, and they scattered, dropping the butts on the ground. Spectators gone, she turned the look on me.
I balked a little, wanting to run, too. “Okay, I shouldn’t have raised my voice in public, but how would you have felt if I told you that someone had a reputation for making witches disappear after your best friend had just left with him?” With a lot of will power, I managed to keep my voice calm and steady.
Pammy folded her arms over her broad chest. “Peg, do I take care of my own?”
My first thought was as long as they don’t oppose you, but then I really thought about it. Pammy did things I didn’t like, and she wasn’t the kindest to her opposition, but she wouldn’t stand aside while another witch was going to be hurt unless it was sanctioned.
“Yes,” I ground out.
“If the McAllisters are who I believe in my gut they are, they’re elusive. We need an in. Lola is our in. They won’t harm her when they publicly left with her. They’re careful. What did you feel when you shook his hand?”
“My bones being crushed,” I answered wryly.
“Y
eah he pulled that shit on me. So, I did it right back to him.”
“I zapped him.” My face heated a little.
Pammy tsked, shaking her head. “Bad form, Sug, but beyond etiquette, don’t give him a taste of your power.”
I frowned. “What do you mean give him a taste?”
“They’re rumored to be Drainers.”
A moment ago I felt heated, now I felt cold at the mere mention of the word. “Why are they still alive?”
“Can’t prove it.”
“That’s not good enough. If they’re even suspected, why are they allowed to stay here?”
Pammy was quiet for a moment. “You would want me to shove them off on some other city? Where maybe people didn’t suspect what they were?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes for a moment. “No, so what are you going to do?”
“We’re gonna be smart.” She emphasized the “we.” “Lola is our in.”
“Does she know?”
“Nope, and she wouldn’t listen anyway. She’s under his spell.”
“As in a literal spell?”
“I already told you, I don’t think so, but with that level of infatuation, she may as well be. We can’t go in guns blazing. We need to be careful. The McAllisters have been around for a long time. I first heard about them thirty years ago. They pop up in a place and then go underground for a while before too many questions can be asked.”
“We need to snag them before they move on, got it. How long do they usually stay in a place?”
“Couple of weeks. Sometimes they only pop up for a week. They usually send someone ahead of time to blend in and get the lay of the land.”
I nodded. “Michael mentioned his mother was here. He insisted that Lola leave with him to go visit her.”
“Mmhmmm, I’d bet good money that woman is using her maiden name. I’d like to invite her for coffee, if you’d care to pass the message through Lola. I know you’ve got a gig with the goblins, but remember, Peg, you’re a witch first. I’m not saying to offend Delmy, but if humans knew someone was draining people, it would drag up history from four hundred years ago. We don’t need another witch trial.”
Cursed Lines (A Peg Darrow Novel Book 2) Page 2
