Revenge & Rapture: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 4)

by Deborah Wilde

  Arkady raised his hand. “Which is where I came in. For the past couple of months, I’ve been working at Allegra doing general office admin. It gave me a chance to get close to staff, especially the Head of Accounting Olivia Dawson. Very smart woman. Workaholic Mundane, divorced, no kids, not easy to get close to. But I wore her down.”

  Miles rolled his eyes.

  “We went out after work a few times,” Arkady said. “She was fond of unwinding with a drink or four and amenable to a sympathetic ear about how her entire life is bound up in the company. She also got very hostile whenever Jackson’s name came up in the course of chatting about current events. Apparently, there was no love lost between them while they worked together. Last week, she made a throwaway comment about an ‘insurance policy’”—Arkady did the air quotes—“and that certain people weren’t as smart as they thought they were. Frieden is dead, so it’s likely she was referring to Wu.”

  “If she collected evidence to protect her butt,” Priya said, “she may well have named names.”

  “So lean on Olivia,” I said.

  “We intended to,” Miles said. “But she died late last night in a car accident.”

  “Foul play?” Rafael asked.

  Miles shook his head. “Drinking and driving. Not her first time.”

  “She didn’t deserve that,” Arkady said.

  Miles spread his hands wide.

  “You’ve searched her home and office, I take it,” Rafael said.

  Arkady nodded. “Thoroughly.”

  “There may be another way to find this proof, should it exist,” Levi said. “A Bookworm, but they’re so rare as to be an urban legend.”

  “What’s a Bookworm?” I said.

  “They have the ability to burrow into any printed material anywhere in existence,” Levi said.

  I raised my eyebrows at Rafael, who’d rolled his eyes. Hard. “If you’re going to impersonate a fifteen-year-old girl, Attendant mine, you might want to wear less tweed.”

  Rafael glanced down at his brown blazer with the elbow patches. “Tweed is a perfectly adaptable fabric and Bookworms are barmy as hell.”

  “Do you know of one?” I said. “Why aren’t we using them to get more intel on Chariot? We could gain access to Isaac’s correspondence and find out where they’re hiding the scrolls.”

  “Did you not hear the part about them being exceedingly rare? And we did use one. Or rather, attempt to,” he said. “About thirty years ago when Vishranti was the Jezebel. This was the first Bookworm we’d found since we learned of their existence about three hundred years ago.”

  Priya tugged on his sleeve. “Thirty years isn’t so far back. Could you find this person again?”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t. He was murdered by parties a little too interested in his skill set.”

  “Damn,” I said.

  “While it’s true that Bookworms can find any information printed that is currently in existence,” Rafael said, pushing his glasses up his nose, “the important caveat is that their skills don’t apply to anything digital.”

  “Even printed information had to yield something on Chariot,” I said.

  “Certainly,” Rafael said, “but it was about a hundred years out of date. Chariot knows about the existence of Bookworms as well, no matter how rare they are, and took appropriate measures to cover their tracks.”

  “And the barmy part?” Miles said.

  “Data overload,” Rafael said. “Their lucid moments are far and few between. Sad, really.”

  “All that notwithstanding,” Levi said, “exceedingly rare doesn’t mean nonexistent.”

  I shifted, stretching out my back. “If Olivia’s insurance policy was stored on a laptop or something, you’re shit out of luck.”

  “It’s not,” Priya said. “I searched every device she was connected to.” If Priya couldn’t find it with her badass hacking skills, then it didn’t exist digitally.

  “Based on things Elke’s heard,” Levi said, “she’s of the opinion that a Bookworm currently exists. If one is alive, there’s someone who’d be interested enough in their abilities to have their location.”

  “The Queen?” I said. “Ask her yourself.”

  “I tried. She denied knowing anything, but knowledge is power, right? You have a more personal relationship with her, and she might share information with you that she’s reluctant to hand over to me,” he said. “Pursue that avenue. Find me a Bookworm.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, then caught himself, like he’d exposed some chink in his armor.

  Levi was desperate. Provincial parliament was disbanded for the summer, but that hadn’t stopped the Untainted Party from strengthening alliances for when the bill went to First Reading in the fall session. His best chance at derailing this ploy to remove Nefesh self-governance was to stop the legislation before parliament was recalled.

  I worried my teeth against my bottom lip. If Levi wasn’t after a Hail Mary, would he have brought me in at all? He hadn’t requested assistance with any case since he’d dumped me, so how strong was our professional alliance?

  “We’ll do our best,” Rafael said. “Right, Ashira?”

  “Yup.” This stupid new sofa hurt my ass.

  “Thank you. Do you have any updates to share?” Levi said, without bothering to look to me for the information. Rafael had become the de facto liaison between Team Jezebel and Levi.

  Rafael finished his tea. “Ash found a possible new member of the Ten.” His synopsis on Deepa Anand didn’t mention how I’d found out about her, but from Levi’s assessing gaze, he suspected.

  “Priya,” Rafael said, “can you look into her?” He shared my theory about each of the Ten bringing something valuable to the table. “Deepa’s death may expose more of them.”

  “Sure.” Her shoulders slumped.

  “Tell them, Priya,” Arkady said.

  I leaned over Rafael and tapped her knee. “Pri?”

  She spun her empty mug in her hands. “There’s only one of me, and I feel like I’m being pulled between the House and Team Jezebel. I can’t do it all.”

  She’d confided in Arkady about this instead of coming to me? My magic danced under my skin, but my emotions were tempered by how warily Priya watched me.

  “You shouldn’t have to,” I said. Priya had every right to set boundaries. “We had a deal, Levi, and it wasn’t that you monopolize all her time.” Was this his plan? Undermine me by taking my team members out of the picture?

  “I allocated my resources to the most pressing threat,” he said. “The legislation.”

  “The digital trail is dead,” Miles said. “And overloading Priya to the point of burnout doesn’t do anyone any good. Least of all, House security.”

  I smirked and Levi’s expression hardened. Bitten in the ass by his Security Chief’s devotion to his duty.

  “Priya is all yours. Are we done?” Levi arched an eyebrow.

  Rafael glanced at Priya, who gave him a wan smile and nod. “I believe so,” he said. He didn’t know about Nicola and the bamah yet. I’d fill him in after I told Levi.

  I raised a hand. “I need a word.”

  “Give me a moment with Miles,” Levi said.

  “Are we okay?” I said to Priya.

  “You’re my best friend, but navigating between you and Levi is exhausting, and I haven’t been able to take on any outside clients because I’ve been pulling such long hours. This wasn’t what I signed up for, Ash. I believe in your cause, but the House is where my professional opportunities lay right now.”

  “Next time, say something.” Priya’s normal usual vitality had dimmed to a lackluster waxy sheen, and looking back, she’d been coming home and crashing most nights.

  “I’ve tried,” she said gently.

  Arkady strode over to us. “Are you going to keep ignoring me, pickle?”

  I stood up so he’d tower over me slightly less. “Are you going to share whatever it is you’re lying about?”

  “We have this a
mazing process called innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “Do you have any proof that I’ve done something wrong, or are you so hyped up on your own self-importance that you’ve decided everyone is out to get you and I couldn’t possibly have moved in next door because I needed a place to live?”

  My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms. “Excuse me?”

  Priya jumped up between us. “That’s it. I’m invoking forced socialization. Tomorrow night, the two of you are going to work this out.”

  Arkady and I gave similar sullen stares.

  “Pout all you want, but I’m done with this. Rafael?”

  He looked up from his phone.

  “We’re going out tomorrow,” Priya said. “Come with us. You must be going crazy having basically only Ash for company.”

  “Serving his Jezebel is an Attendant’s greatest joy,” I said.

  “Horrors.” He shivered. “I’d be delighted.”

  Priya clipped the leash back on Mrs. Hudson with a nod. “I’ll get started on Deepa’s financials. See where that leads.”

  I reached for the leash. “Can I have my puppy back?”

  “No.” Priya batted her lashes at me to show we were good, but the dog was non-negotiable.

  “Can I ask for one more favor?” I said.

  “It depends.”

  “Talia is being blackmailed.” I watched Arkady for his reaction, but he whistled softly under his breath. His shock seemed genuine.

  Priya gasped. “What?”

  “Bloody hell,” Rafael said. “Who would do such a thing?”

  “She wields power within a controversial political party,” Arkady said. “Is it tied to the legislation?”

  “Could be,” I admitted.

  After Priya heard the details, she said that she’d examine my mom’s phone for any clues as to the sender from either the text, the unknown number, or the video file itself.

  Miles came over and squeezed Arkady’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  The two of them, Priya, and my dog all left together, while Rafael said he’d meet me down in the House Library. He wanted to speak with Elke, the librarian, about resources pertaining to Bookworms.

  Rafael shut the door, leaving me with Levi.

  “Is this going to take long?” he said.

  You insufferable bastard. “Your mom wants to leave your father.” I brushed off my hands. “There. All looped in.”

  Levi’s mouth fell open, then he frowned. “How would you know?”

  “Nicola allocated the best resource to help her.”

  His expression grew more and more glacial as I recounted our conversation. He could rent himself out for parties, stuff beer down his shirt, and market it as a way to save on ice.

  “Put a guard on her in case she isn’t able to keep up the status quo charade or Isaac gets suspicious and she has to be pulled out immediately,” I said. “Oh, you’re our go-between.”

  Levi pulled out his phone. “Then I’ll tell her you’ve changed your mind.”

  “I haven’t.”

  “My mother isn’t equipped to deal with you like I am. If you go scorched earth on her—”

  “I went scorched earth on you?” Not only was that the furthest thing from the truth, but after our entire history, he’d reduced me to some destructive force? I clapped my hand over my mouth, pressing down to physically prevent a hateful response. Or a wounded noise.

  I grabbed my purse to leave, needing distance.

  He sighed and placed the phone on his desk. “I’m asking you not to do this.”

  I searched his face but there was no trace of the man I’d made love to and shared my secrets with. “Your ‘ask’ sounds more like a decree.”

  There was a knock on the door and Veronica entered with some file folders. “These require your signature.”

  “Thank you.” Levi smiled at her as she left. It even reached his eyes. He flipped between emotions so quickly. Was this another mask? Did he ever take them off?

  He used to with me…

  “If you find this bamah,” Levi said, leaning over his desk to sign the documents, “Isaac will suspect, if not know outright, that Nicola gave him up. You can’t even be certain it concerns the Sefer.”

  I ruthlessly shoved my pang of sympathy away. “Of course this concerns the Sefer.”

  “What if my mom meets the same fate as Adam?”

  “We’re going to make sure she doesn’t. And if I don’t help her, she’ll find someone who has no idea how carefully to tread. You didn’t see her. She’s going through with this and, as such, I’m her best and safest option. No harm will befall her on my watch.”

  “Can you swear that her trust in you will be sacrosanct?” There was a weight to his words and the way he watched me, his mouth in a grim line.

  Were we talking about Nicola anymore?

  Levi clicked the pen a couple of times, and the moment passed. “I’ll talk Mom out of her plans and I’ll make sure you have cases to occupy you besides finding the Bookworm.”

  “Thank you, O Great and Beneficent One, for throwing me a bone.” I picked up a magazine, Business Insider, raised an eyebrow, and smacked it back on the coffee table. Since when did Levi care about Mundane business? What mask was this? My voice lowered. “Look, you know it doesn’t work that way. I’m a Jezebel. You want me to ignore my purpose?”

  “Three months ago, you didn’t even know you had a purpose. How much of this is about some noble cause and how much is revenge for Adam?”

  I froze, caught in his barbed sneer, and unable to stop the flash of anger that speared through me at his contempt. “Two months ago, you had no problem with me wanting vengeance for my dad’s murder. In fact, you promised to help me, so don’t you dare throw that back in my face now.”

  “I didn’t mean…fuck.”

  A curious calm settled over me. “Ah, but you did.”

  Levi held out a hand, his expression beseeching. “She’s my mother. Would you charge blithely forward if Talia’s life was on the line? If Adam’s was?” He paused. “Would you have pursued this if stepping back meant keeping him safe?”

  “There is no ‘safe’ anymore. Not for your family or mine. That ship sailed more than fifteen years ago and I have to do the best I can from day to day. So do you, and hiding your head in the sand isn’t going to change that fact. What do you think will happen if the Ten bring about immortality?” I said. “How safe do you think your mom will be then? How safe is she living in fear of that monster every day?” I hitched my slipping purse back onto my shoulder. “You want Nicola to remain trapped with him? Isaac murdered my father for daring to leave. Nothing short of a complete and utter takedown of that man is going to allow her to be free.”

  Levi made a dismissive motion. “There are other ways I can help her leave.”

  “Are there? Why didn’t you use them before?”

  Levi dropped the pen and turned away. His mother had protected him as much as she could during his childhood, and he’d promised himself that he would help her once he felt powerful enough to take on his father once and for all. But Levi had never felt ready, and while he hesitated, Nicola remained with Isaac.

  I reached out to touch him, comfort him, but I dropped my hand. I wasn’t the one he wanted comfort from anymore, and I had no idea if he was still the version of himself who’d even be open to it. “I shouldn’t have said that about her living in fear. Your mom is a survivor. She could have left once you were out of the house, but she wasn’t ready. Now she is.”

  “Please don’t look for this worship site. It’s too dangerous for her to get involved. I’m asking you to put people ahead of this mission.”

  “This mission is precisely about putting people first. All people. Keeping them safe from a bunch of power-mad psychos.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah. I do. Where was your deep caring for all people when you walked away from me?”

  Levi didn’t answer. No ma
tter. There was nothing I wanted to hear from him.

  “Nicola wants this,” I said. “She needs to reclaim her power where Isaac is concerned. You should take a page out of her book.” I fired my words into him like darts, reveling in his flinch. “Keep your mother safe and don’t get in my way.”

  Chapter 5

  Friday morning, I woke up ridiculously early and spent a couple of restless hours going through a stack of books from the House library containing mentions of Bookworms and bamahs. Rafael had his own homework searching through the Attendant archives on the subjects.

  Speaking of my teammate, I’d texted him with an offer to buy breakfast while we compared findings, but he’d asked to meet later, because he was visiting Gavriella’s grave. Levi’s people had taken away her body after she’d died in my arms and once he’d found out her name, he’d arranged for her to be buried in one of the Jewish cemeteries here under her alias of Gavriella Behar.

  I’d only learned this fact from Rafael who visited the cemetery often, claiming it comforted him to sit with her. He’d asked me to come along but I felt uncomfortable intruding on his private time with the woman who had been like a sister to him. Nor was I ready to face the grave of my predecessor.

  After reading the same page three times with still no memory of what was on there, I gave up, stretching my leg out on the sofa and shaking out the pins-and-needles feeling from having partially sat on it. Levi’s words kept replaying in my head. How had the one person I’d banked on being in my corner ended up standing on the other side of a gaping chasm?

  “Argh!” I ran my hands through my hair.

  Mrs. Hudson squeezed her squeaky cow toy sympathetically. It was sweet that my dog cared about me.

  The squeaks turned rhythmic.

  I sighed. “It’s nice one of us has an active sex life.”

  Priya wandered into the living room, wearing blue penguin pajamas and yawning.