by Kat Simons
The woman nodded, her eyes still wide, her skin pale. “How did you do that?”
“Oh, I’ve just got the knack of dealing with his kind. No biggie. You okay to get home?”
“Y-yes. My cars just in the parking lot.”
“Tell you what, let me walk you there. You drive straight home, go into your house, and lock all the doors and windows. That thing about vampires not being able to enter without permission? That’s true. Little safeguard for us poor humans. So just don’t invite any strangers in, and you’ll be fine. Okay?”
Cary picked up her ice cream on the way back to the parking lot. She sighed, knowing it was going to be all melty by the time she got home. On the bright side, that did make it easier to pick out the little chunks of cookie dough.
At the blonde’s car, the woman spun around and hugged Cary with surprising strength given her size.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “You saved my life.” Then she dove into her car and careened out of the parking lot.
Cary winced at the sound of screeching tires and hoped the woman didn’t have far to go because she wasn’t sure the blonde would be able to hold it together much longer.
She smiled a little as she climbed into her own car. It was nice to have your work appreciated. While being a Protector still irritated Cary sometimes, the job did have its moments.
21
After pizza, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, a bottle of wine split with Sally, laundry, some ABBA, and saving the little blonde, Cary woke Monday morning feeling better and more refreshed than she had in days.
And she had a plan.
The face-off with the vampire, and the memory of her meeting with the former Master of Portland, had given her the idea. She would take Jon, under her protection, to talk with Holland. She’d tell Holland that Jon would listen to his job proposal, say yes or no—no if Cary had any say in the matter—and that would be the end of it. Once Jon’s decision was made, Holland wouldn’t be allowed to come after the kid again. On Holland’s honor, he would have to agree to leave Jon alone.
And why should she trust a demon’s honor?
Because the more powerful, the more treacherous the creature, the more likely they were to abide by such an outrageous deal as giving their word to a human.
Ariel had done it out of amusement and had stuck by and enforced her concession to Cary. The former Master considered herself “above” most creatures. Someone with her power took pride in their word, which they so rarely gave it didn’t often matter.
Cary had a feeling if she could get Oliver Holland to give his word of honor, he’d probably keep it.
At least that was the possibly-bad-but-it-was-the-only-thing-she-had plan.
Sally would still have to keep an eye on Jon. And there was always the possibility Holland wouldn’t give his word to leave the kid alone. But Cary would worry about that if it happened.
For now, she had a plan, a plan that most likely wouldn’t get anyone hurt or killed, and it might get Holland to go away.
Her only qualm was whether to tell Sally and Deacon. She didn’t want Sally anywhere near Holland if she could avoid it. So far, the demon was leaving her alone. The longer that continued the better. But Sally would be a good, grounding influence on Jon, to keep him from taking the job—the kid had let slip more than once during their mall trip that he could use some money. Unfortunately, given Sally’s overprotective nature, she might never let Cary take Jon to meet Holland.
And then there was Deacon.
He’d want to come with her. Would probably insist on it. But with his waning control, he’d be more of a liability than an asset. The last thing she needed was an out-of-control leopard shifter aggravating a proud and powerful demon while she tried to negotiate an end to this standoff.
The idea of not telling Deacon bothered her. It felt like lying, even though it wasn’t. And really, it wasn’t his business. This was her job. He didn’t have any say in the matter. But keeping secrets from him felt wrong.
Which was really annoying.
She rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, still working out her strategy. She had to find a way to talk with Jaxer because he’d know where to find Holland.
The fact that she still hadn’t heard from her mentor bothered her. Something was wrong. While she’d mostly accepted that she had to figure things out for herself this time, she was worried about her friend.
But she couldn’t go out faery-mentor hunting today. It was a school day.
She’d have to call Angie. At the very least, Angie could pass a message to Jaxer. And the woman had connections. She might even know where Holland could be found without going to Jaxer.
As Cary poured herself a cup of coffee—Sally had already put on the pot—she wondered why Holland hadn’t left Jon a card or something. Wasn’t that the kind of thing big important people did when they wanted you to get back to them? Or did he just assume Jon would be able to ask someone, and they’d know where to find him?
She shook her head, took a sip of coffee, and sighed. Very few things were better first thing in the morning than her first sip of coffee.
True to his word, Deacon didn’t bring over donuts again that morning, but he had brought bagels. She could probably afford to eat a bagel, even after her splurge last night. Besides, eating breakfast was important.
She found Deacon and Jon out back throwing the ball to Fred as Pickles and Buck sat on the porch watching. She set her cup down and walked outside to lay a kiss on Deacon’s neck.
He shivered and leaned back into her. “You can do that more, if you like,” he murmured.
“Good morning.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Since she stood on the step above him she was very nearly his height. “Thanks for the bagels.”
“You’re welcome. Did you sleep well?”
“Very well, actually.” Surprising, since she’d been having trouble sleeping for the last couple of weeks. Must have been the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. That stuff worked miracles.
“I could have slept better,” he whispered so Jon wouldn’t hear.
“Hmm…” When her breath brushed across his neck, he shivered again. “What are your plans for the day?”
“I’m going to try going into work for a few hours, if my sister will let me. Then I have a few people to talk to before I meet you and Jon.”
“You don’t have to come to the school if you have other things to do.”
“I thought we had this conversation already.”
“All right. Fine. I’ll stop trying to talk you out of it.” She shook her head. “You know, you’re more stubborn than I am.”
“Not quite.”
“Ha ha.”
“You’re in a very good mood this morning.”
“I enjoyed my night last night.” And she had a plan. But since she wasn’t going to tell him about the plan until after the fact, she kept that part to herself.
Deacon turned in her arms and hugged her. “I’m glad you had a good night. After yesterday…”
She shrugged. “A little wine and cookie dough ice cream makes Cary a happy woman.”
“Is that the only thing that makes you happy?”
The look in his eyes sent heat rushing to all those places on her body where she wanted to feel his hands. And his mouth. Embarrassment had her ducking her head.
“Deacon,” she hissed, glancing at Jon. He was far enough away he probably couldn’t hear them but still.
“What? I was just asking what else makes you happy?”
The wicked lift of his brow made her groan. “You are a very bad man,” she muttered.
He kissed her nose. “And I’m all yours.”
Her head spun at the thought, a combination of panic and desire rushing through her system. Part of her wondered why she’d been trying to chase him away yesterday morning. She’d had some pretty valid reasons. Hadn’t she? She couldn’t imagine what any of them were at the moment.
“He
y, would you guys stop kissing,” Jon shouted at them. “I’ve got to get to school soon.” He stomped up the steps, shaking his head. “Get a room.”
“Smart ass.” Cary swatted at him as he walked past.
He dodged her hand and grinned. “Better than being a dumb ass.”
She rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s a comedian.”
Sally was going to kill her for teaching him that smart ass comeback. She was kind of regretting it herself. She turned to follow him into the kitchen, but Deacon pulled her back.
“If we’re going to get accused of kissing anyway,” he said, and his mouth dropped to hers.
Her knees were trembling by the time he lifted his head. “You’re almost better than coffee, you know that?” she muttered.
“I’m flattered.”
“You should be. Speaking of which, my coffee is getting cold. So am I.”
He patted her butt, scooting her toward the back door. “Personally, I’m feeling pretty warm.”
She groaned. It was hard to walk with her toes curling.
Later that morning, after Cary had Jon safely ensconced in his first period class, she stepped into the hall to ring Angie. Angela Jordan was a green witch and a talented psychic who was paid decently for her skills. In her spare time, she fought the occasional supernatural bad guy and passed messages between Cary and Jaxer. She’d also become one of Cary’s best friends over the years.
“Who’s this guy Deacon Jones?” Angie said when she picked up the phone.
Cary closed her eyes and shook her head. “Hi Angie. Nice to talk to you, too. You sound just like Lucy.”
“Can you blame us? Lucy says this guy claims to be your mate? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated. Can we talk about it later?”
“If you don’t get around here soon to discuss him, we will come looking for you. And him. And there might be spells involved.”
“Stop!” Cary actually raised her hand to halt her friend’s litany, even though they were speaking on the phone. “Personal life later. I promise. First, have you talked to Jaxer?”
“Yes. But what I want to know is why I haven’t been talking to you?”
“Work.”
“And this Jones guy?”
Cary sighed. “I will go into great detail about him over a bottle of wine some night. I swear. I need to talk about all the mate business with you and Lucy and Marianne anyway. But right now, I have a situation and I need a favor.”
“I’m holding you to the full story,” Angie said, her voice firm. “I want lots of details. And I mean details.”
“Do you have a message for me from Jaxer?”
“Yes, but I’ll have to meet you in person because what he’s found out will take some explaining. I’m still not sure I understand.”
“Meeting you somewhere now is going to be a problem.”
“It’s okay, I was planning a trip to the school anyway.”
“Thanks.” Cary glanced through the window in the classroom door to make sure Jon was where he was supposed to be.
“So what’s this favor you need?” Angie asked. “You want me to do a reading about your new relationship?”
“No. Not yet anyway.” But maybe later. Cary hadn’t considered that before. “What I need is an address. Or a phone number. I have to set up a meeting with someone.”
“If this is the someone I think it is, you may want to hear Jaxer’s news first.”
“Oh, yeah, I want to hear what he’s found before I do anything. But I still want a phone number or address. Can you get that for me?”
“Sure. I’ve got a friend in the business, so to speak. He should be able to help.”
“You’re the best.”
“I know. Just remember. Details. I want details.”
Cary hung up and went back into the class. Another benefit to settling this situation with Holland would mean she’d have time to have dinner and girl talk with her friends. She needed that and soon.
She spent the morning standing at the back of classrooms, trying to look formidable, and considering the pros and cons of her plan. The biggest con of not telling Deacon was she’d have no back up. At least with Angie knowing what she was doing and where she was going, someone would know where to start if anything went wrong. Though that wasn’t entirely reassuring because if something went wrong, it might mean someone had died.
She usually had Jaxer to watch her back, but she couldn’t count on him this time. He’d been too elusive lately. Until he told her what was wrong, she knew she couldn’t depend on him. A strange and depressing realization since she’d always counted on Jaxer. In fact, she’d relied on him a lot over the years. She had trouble coming to terms with the fact that she couldn’t now.
Maybe the news Angie brought would quiet her fears about her mentor. He’d probably just had to work hard to find anything. This was a tricky case. She was just overreacting. There wasn’t anything wrong.
Except she knew in her gut there was definitely something wrong.
“So what’s Jaxer’s message?” Cary asked Angie as soon as she’d slipped out of Jon’s math class. This particular period always put her to sleep, so she was glad for the distraction.
“Hello to you, too,” Angie teased. She was easily six foot tall, and a striking woman with softly curling brown hair and green eyes fringed by enviably long lashes. She was the kind of beautiful, slim woman who could easily have been a runway model. But she had neither the calling nor the patience for modeling. Witchcraft had called to Angie when she was very young and there’d never been any doubt which direction she’d take.
“Okay,” Angie said, launching into business, “Oliver Holland. Outside of gathering a wide range of paranormal talents to work for him, he seems to have some interest in the woods east of the city. He’s had people scouting large areas between here and Mount Hood but is concentrating on an area closer to the Multnomah Falls now, between there and the city.
“The only person Jaxer could find who would talk about Holland said he was trying to locate something, but this guy didn’t know what—he’s too low rung in the organization. He did say whatever it is, Holland is pretty desperate to find it. He’s laying out a lot of money in both the search and to keep his activities quiet. All the talents he’s hired relate to this search, but Jaxer can’t see how as the range is so diverse. Everything from shifters to psychics, witches, shaman, telepaths, and telekenetics. Apparently, he’s even hired one vampire, but Jaxer couldn’t confirm that.” Angie tilted her head to one side and pursed her lips. “Dangerous, though, if he has hired a vampire.”
“Why do you say that?” Cary asked. “Outside of the usual reasons.”
“Gabriel doesn’t like to share. So I’ve heard, anyway. He keeps a tight rein on the city. He’d consider it tantamount to treason for one of his vampires to hire himself out to anyone, nonetheless a demon.”
“Maybe it’s an out-of-town vampire?” Cary suggested.
Angie shook her head. “That’d be dangerous, too.”
True. “What the hell could Holland want with Jon?” She considered Jaxer’s news, absently scanning the surrounding corridor, watching for anyone who might overhear their conversation.
“Jon talks to animals, right?” Angie said.
“He can call them,” Cary said. “Even a shifter’s animal.”
Angie’s eyes widened. “Wow. Impressive talent. Must be a lot to deal with for a thirteen-year-old.”
“Hard to tell. He’s a teenager.”
Angie grinned. She had two brothers so she’d dealt with teenage boys before. “Maybe Holland wants him to ask the animals in the woods if they know where this thing is,” she suggested.
Cary nibbled her lower lip and finally outlined her plan for Angie.
“Do you think Holland will take no for an answer?” Cary asked when she’d finished.
“You honestly think he’ll give his word?”
“I don’t know. He see
ms pretty amused by me. That tends to work in my favor when powerful creatures find me a funny little thing. I don’t usually get hurt right away.”
Angie dipped her chin to look Cary in the eyes. “Doesn’t mean he won’t kill you to get what he wants.”
“Yeah.” Cary sighed. The hole in her scheme in a nutshell. “Could Jon’s talent be that important to him?”
“Depends on how desperate he is. And what he thinks Jon can do for him.”
“Damn.” She ran her hands over her hair, smoothing back the escapees from her ponytail. “I can’t keep Jon and his mother living with me indefinitely. Maybe not even as long as it takes Holland to find whatever it is he’s looking for.”
“I’m not sure it would be so good for him to find it, whatever it is, anyway,” Angie said.
“Why?” But Cary could guess.
“Anything a demon of Holland’s power wants this desperately could only make him more powerful. That can’t mean good things for the city. Maybe the world.”
Cary released a quiet groan. “What do I do?”
Angie raised her hands, palms up. “Your decision. Glad it’s not mine, though.”
Cary winced. She wasn’t really pleased about the decision being hers either. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a lot of options. “I’ve got to try something. Even if my plan fails, maybe the meeting will tell me more about what Holland wants. Information is always good. Right?”
“Yeah,” Angie said, “so long as you survive long enough to use it.”
22
Cary got Holland’s phone number from Angie—provided by a demon hunter friend, which Cary found very odd; a demon hunter with a demon’s phone number?—just before the end of the period. She promised Angie a girls’ night out sometime soon, and Angie agreed to act as backup if Cary met with Holland.
Cary spent the entire next period debating her intended scheme. By the last class, she’d made up her mind. She ducked out with an apologetic nod to Mr. Young. Time to make her phone call.
