by Tina Folsom
“I told you about the fire that burned down my parents’ house and killed them,” Manus started, his voice quiet and detached as if it was the only way he could tell the story. “The fire scorched my clothes, burned my chest…”
“I thought you said you weren’t home and only got there later…”
“I did. I arrived when the house was already engulfed in flames.”
“But then how…” When she caught his gaze on her, she stopped herself. Her pulse raced. She suddenly knew how he’d gotten burned. “You ran into the house… into the flames…”
Manus turned his head and looked off into the distance. “I was young. I thought I could save them. If only I could get to them… pull them out…” He shook his head slightly, as if only for himself. “They were upstairs. The staircase was burning. I raced up. I almost made it.”
Kim held her breath, feeling fear grip her.
“The flames were faster. The staircase collapsed. I fell through it.” He touched his chest. “A burning beam fell on me.”
“Oh my God. How did you get out?”
“My father’s friends.” He gave a bitter laugh. “They risked their own lives to save mine. I put them all in danger by running in there when everybody could see that it was too late. I was foolish, irresponsible. But I couldn’t bear losing the only people I ever loved.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Kim took his hand and squeezed it, then pulled it to her face and pressed a kiss into his palm. “I’m sorry I made you relive that memory.”
Manus turned his face to her. “I haven’t spoken about it in a long time. But sometimes it’s good to remind myself of what drives me. What makes me do what I do. So I don’t lose focus of what’s important.”
“You mean in your work as a private investigator, helping other people get closure by solving murders?” she asked.
“In a way.”
“You’re a good man, Manus,” she murmured and pulled his head to her.
“You can’t know that. There’s so much you don’t know about me.”
“Then let me get to know you.” She brushed her lips to his, and he accepted the invitation and kissed her.
She understood so much now. She understood why he didn’t want to get close to anybody, knew that it wasn’t just his physical disfigurement that had made him build a wall around him but the emotional toll his heart had taken. But maybe together they could heal and get over the loss of those they’d loved.
15
“Where the fuck is Enya?”
Manus slammed the door to the command center shut behind him and marched toward Pearce, who was sitting in front of the computer console.
His compound mate looked over his shoulder, shrugging. “I’m not her babysitter.”
“She’s not in her quarters.”
Pearce raised an eyebrow. “You went in there? Then you’re braver than most of us.”
Everybody in the compound knew that Enya valued her privacy more than anyone. Being the only female Stealth Guardian assigned to the Baltimore compound probably had lots to do with that. Living with a bunch of male warriors, who had all been single until a few years ago, meant she had to establish boundaries.
Manus wasn’t proud that he’d breached one of those boundaries—entering her private rooms uninvited—but when she hadn’t replied to his call and text message, he’d decided to risk her wrath.
He’d entered the compound in the early hours of the morning, having taken the long way home, walking much of the way invisibly so he could think and not have to worry about a demon spotting him while he was less vigilant than usual. The place had been relatively quiet at that time of night, with most of the warriors in their beds, their mates by their sides.
He’d surprised himself by telling Kim about his scars, something he’d never talked about after that fateful day. Though his compound mates and many other Stealth Guardians knew the story, Manus wasn’t the one who’d told them. The demon attack on his family’s compound when Manus had been a teenager and therefore still rather vulnerable had become part of their common history, their lore. And everybody knew not to bring it up in his presence. He’d tested his brethren often enough when in a bad mood, showing up shirtless in the kitchen, daring them to stare at his scars or make any comments. But they were a fierce lot, and they’d seen their fair share of ugliness. Nobody had ever taken the bait. Nobody ever would.
Anxious to find out whether Enya had found anything in Nancy Britton’s storage unit, he’d first sent her a text message, then called but only gotten her voicemail. He’d waited, thinking that maybe she was asleep, taken a quick shut-eye himself and showered before trying it again. When he’d still not gotten a response, he’d gone to her quarters to look for her.
“Her bed looked unused,” Manus now told Pearce.
“Fuck, Manus, if she finds out you were in her bedroom, she’ll slice you open like a fat pig ready for slaughter,” Pearce warned with a shake of his head.
“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.” He paced behind Pearce.
Finally, Pearce swiveled in his chair, facing him. “Man, what’s your problem?”
Manus ran a hand through his hair. “I sent Enya out to do some work for me last night. It’s not like her not to report back.”
“What was she supposed to do for you?”
“Remember the daughter of the emissarius that was murdered by the demons about three months ago?”
Pearce nodded. “Nancy Britton. I thought you dealt with her daughter. Kim, right? Grayson mentioned you went all out to make her believe the murderer was a burglar.”
“I did. But it backfired.” Manus sighed. “She found her mother’s bracelet at the house and knows that the one the police have is a fake.”
Pearce blew some air through his pursed lips. “Bummer.”
“Yeah. So, she contacted me. Wants me to help her find out why the police are covering things up.”
“Well, looks like you made a royal mess of it. Wouldn’t wanna be in your shoes. Have you told the Council yet?”
“What do you think?”
“Ah, I see. You think you can fix it on your own,” Pearce said. “When will you ever let go of your ego and just admit that you can’t fix everything?”
“It’s got nothing to do with that!” Manus huffed. “Listen!” He approached and rested his butt on the massive desk. “I think we overlooked something when we investigated Nancy’s murder.”
“What was there to overlook? A demon killed her. End of story.”
“Yeah, but why? Why did he kill her? What did he want?”
Pearce shrugged. “It happens. Demons kill a lot of humans. It was only a matter of time until they killed an emissarius. Doesn’t mean they knew she was one.”
“They knew. I think they were looking for something. And I’m trying to find out what it was.”
“You’re wasting your time. And apparently not just yours. What did you have Enya do for you?”
“She was supposed to search a storage unit that belonged to Nancy. I was there last night with Kim. Enya arrived just as we were leaving.”
“If you were there yourself, why did you need her?”
“I couldn’t exactly look at everything in detail while I was with Kim. She would have become suspicious.”
“Fair enough.” Pearce turned back to his keyboard. “I’ve got work to do. So, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Uh… about that…” Manus started. “I need you to look into something for me.”
Pearce gave him a sideways glance. “Don’t rope me into this. I’m pulling double-shifts here, I haven’t had a night off in months, and I’m getting a bit cranky.”
“But you’re the best at IT. Come one, it won’t take you long.”
Pearce narrowed his eyes. “That’s what everybody says. You just don’t want to do the legwork yourself.”
True. Sitting at a computer, digging into data wasn’t exactly Manus’s favorite pastime. “I’l
l take over one of your shifts anytime you want me to, no questions asked.”
Pearce tilted his head to the side, contemplating the offer. “Tell me first what you want me to do.”
“I need to know what Nancy was working on in the months before her death, which guardians she was in contact with, what kind of information she provided, anything that could give me a clue as to why the demons were after her.”
“If they were after her,” Pearce clarified.
“Whatever. Just do it.”
“You know that kind of assignment has to be authorized by the Council. You can’t just re-open Nancy’s case.”
“It’s already open,” Manus corrected him. “By ordering me to make sure that her daughter stops digging into her mother’s murder, looking for a supernatural explanation, the Council has already given me the authority to work this case.”
Pearce tsked. “That’s a bit of a stretch. You know the Council had no intention of letting you go that far. The order was clear.”
Manus shrugged. He couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what the Council’s order was. He knew better. “So, are you gonna do it?”
“Two shifts. You take over two of my shifts. Whenever I demand it.” Pearce stretched out his hand.
Without hesitation, Manus shook it. “Good. And another thing.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Pearce warned.
“Find out where Enya is. Trace her cell phone.”
Pearce turned his head back to the monitors, his fingers already hovering over the keyboard, when he stopped in mid-motion. “Not necessary.” He pointed to one of the screens: the closed-circuit security system for the compound. One of them showed Enya exiting the portal in the same clothes she’d worn the night before. “Look who’s only just getting home.”
Moments later, Manus rushed down the corridor, meeting Enya just as she came up the stairs from the basement where the portal was located.
“Where have you been?”
“The fuck!” Enya hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. “None of your fucking business. Who are you? Mother Superior? I don’t live in a fucking convent!”
She tried to push past him, but Manus grabbed her by her bicep and stopped her. She ripped free and glared at him.
“You didn’t reply to my messages.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I was busy.”
“Busy with what?” he grunted angrily.
Her jaw tightened, and that’s when he noticed a red blotch on her neck. Was that a hickey? Shocked, he took a step back but couldn’t rip his eyes off the revealing mark. “Oh.” It appeared that Enya had a sex life outside the compound walls. And why was he surprised about that? After all, all the single male guardians had one-night stands, and those bonded to their mates now had sought distractions outside the compound before they’d met their mates. It was nothing unusual. He’d just never thought that Enya was doing the same.
Enya glared at him even more outraged now. “What I do in my private time isn’t any of your business. You get that?”
Manus clenched his teeth. “Well, excuse me for being worried about you! Never mind. Next time, I’ll know not to give a fuck.”
Enya grunted unintelligibly. He wasn’t sure whether it was a curse, an acknowledgment, or an apology.
“So, did you find anything in the storage unit?” he finally asked, calmer now.
“Nothing. Lots of worthless junk.”
“How about the figurines? They were in a box.”
“Extremely good replicas of some Viking artifacts. Nothing of interest to us or the demons.”
“You sure?”
Enya gave him a stern look. “Do I look like I’m not sure?”
Manus knew better than to provoke her. “Fine. Guess that was a bust.”
“Guess so.” She turned on her heel and started walking away.
“Thanks, Enya,” he called after her.
She didn’t respond.
16
Kim brought the car to a stop in front of the office of the storage facility, her heart still beating like a jackhammer, and hopped out of it. She walked around it and marched into the office. Behind the counter, the kid from the previous night typed something on the computer and looked up.
“Mr. Songhurst left me a message to come here right away,” Kim said before Brian had a chance to greet her.
“Oh, yeah, you’re Miss Britton, right? From yesterday.” He grinned. “I remember you.”
She nodded impatiently. “Mr. Songhurst said there was a break-in?”
“He had to leave, but he said to show you.” Brian walked out from behind the counter. “He discovered it when he made his rounds this morning. I told him it couldn’t have happened yesterday; otherwise, you would have said something, right? I mean, you were there with your friend, and I was still in the office for a half hour. You would have told me if you’d found the unit broken into, right?”
Walking outside ahead of Brian, Kim said, “It was definitely fine yesterday when we left. And we locked the unit and put the key into the lockbox like you told us to.”
“Yeah, I pulled the key out this morning,” Brian confirmed. “I told Mr. Songhurst that it’s not my job to check the units before I leave for the night. What are security cameras for, right?”
Kim sighed. The kid’s incessant chatting was starting to get on her nerves. All she wanted was to get to the unit to see what had gone missing.
“Of course, the cameras,” Brian said and pointed to the one near the office, “are just for show. They don’t connect to anything. What a cheapo!”
Kim shot him a stunned look.
Brian slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh, you’re not gonna tell him what I said, are you? I mean, nobody is supposed to know that the cameras aren’t hooked up. Oh shit, I’m gonna lose my job over this.”
“No, you won’t. I’m not gonna say anything to your manager.”
Brian blew out a breath. “Phew! Thanks!”
Halfway down the path, Kim could already see the dented roll-up gate of her mother’s storage unit. Somebody had used a crowbar or something similar to break the lock and damaged the door in the process, preventing it from closing or opening fully.
She had to duck slightly to step into the unit. When she reached for the light switch and flipped it, nothing happened.
“Yeah, light’s burned out too,” Brian, who’d slipped inside next to her, said. “I brought a flashlight.” He switched on the flashlight and handed it to her.
Everything had been overturned and rifled through. Her grandmother’s mirror was shattered, the upholstery of the rocking chair torn open, the stuffing removed. The boxes from the shelves had been tossed to the floor, its contents now strewn about haphazardly.
“Somebody was definitely looking for something,” Brian commented. “I saw this old movie once.” He pointed to the rocking chair. “About twelve chairs where one of them had a treasure inside, and some guy was looking for it, but the chairs had all been auctioned off to different people. Yeah…”
“Mmm.” Kim dropped her head. Yeah, somebody had been looking for something. “Why now?”
“What?”
But she didn’t reply to Brian’s question. It wasn’t meant for him. Why had somebody broken into the unit the night after she and Manus had visited it? Why now? Why not right after her mother’s death?
She knew the answer to it: because nobody had known about the unit before. Kim had only found out yesterday. And the only other person who’d found out about it at the same time was Manus. Manus, the private investigator who had promised to help her.
But what if he wasn’t helping her? What if he wasn’t who he said he was? What if he’d come back after leaving her bed in the middle of the night, so he could search the unit thoroughly for whatever he was looking for? Oh God, she’d slept with him, had let him reel her in with his sob story, a story that was surely a lie. How stupid she’d been! How gullible!
She couldn’t ignore any longer what was starin
g her right in the face.
Manus had just become the main suspect in her mother’s murder.
“What do you want us to do with the unit?” she suddenly heard Brian ask next to her.
She turned to him. “I don’t know yet.”
“Mr. Songhurst said you’ll need to vacate it soon.” He pointed to the broken items. “You can use the big dumpster out back if you want to toss something.”
“I’ll decide on it later. I’ll call Mr. Songhurst once I’ve arranged everything.” Her mother’s old things could wait. Right now, she had something more important to do.
The drive back to her mother’s house seemed to take forever. It gave her plenty of time to think about her next steps. Unfortunately, the events of the previous night kept intruding, reminding her how foolish she’d been. How could she have fallen for Manus’s lies? After he’d opened up about his past the previous night, she’d felt as if she’d known him forever. She’d trusted him like she’d never trusted any man before. And in his arms, she’d felt safe. And desired. He’d used sex to soften her up and lies to seal the deal.
What kind of man did that? What kind of man was so evil that he stopped at nothing to get what he wanted? Had he done the same with her mother? Had he tried to seduce her to get what he wanted and then killed her when she hadn’t complied? The thought made her sick to her stomach.
Arrived at the house, Kim rushed inside. There was no time to lose. She needed to get to Manus before he found out that she was onto him and disappeared forever. In her mother’s bedroom, she pulled out a metal box from the bottom of the closet and opened it. The 9mm gun her mother kept to defend herself from burglars was still inside. A whole lot of good the gun had done her. Kim would make better use of it.
She took the gun, loaded it, made sure the safety was on, then stuffed it into her handbag. Then she took a few steadying breaths and retrieved her cell phone. Manus’s number was in her recent call list. She pressed it and let it ring.
