by Elin Peer
“Khan thinks Marcus avenged Dina, and that’s all that matters to him.”
“Maybe Marcus did avenge her.”
I tapped my fingers on the edge of the boxing ring that I was still sitting on. “Yeah… or maybe Khan doesn’t want to dig around because he knows that he was the one who killed her.”
“Raven, for fuck’s sake, don’t say things like that while you’re in the Gray Manor. What if someone hears you?”
“Sorry. You’re right. We can talk about it at the station. I just need to shower, then I’m coming in.”
“I told you, I’m meeting up with Magni and some of the Huntsmen at eight. It’s a full-day thing so I won’t see you at the station today.”
My tone of voice carried my disappointment. “Oh, okay.”
“But we could meet at my house tonight…”
“Tonight?” I straightened up.
“Yes, I want to talk more about this.”
A smile grew on my lips. “Are you throwing out panther bait now?”
Leo laughed. “If that’s what it takes to have another night with you.”
I laughed back and gave a small playful purr. “See you tonight then.”
As soon as I hung up, I called up Laura. “Quick question; didn’t you tell me that your sister is friends with the granddaughter of Mr. Zobel?”
“That’s right.”
“I have a new lead in the investigation and it would be very helpful if we could get access to whatever personal items his family inherited from him. Maybe an old wristband or notebooks… do you think you can ask them about it?”
“Sure, but I doubt Annelise would have anything. Maybe her mother or her aunt. I can ask.”
“And Laura, if they agree that I can take a look, would you join me as my wingman again?”
Laura chuckled. “Only if I can bring my numb-gun again!”
I grinned and jumped down from the boxing ring. “Deal. I’ll be ready to leave in an hour.”
CHAPTER 19
Magni’s Concerns
Leo
“Mila’s tournament is only a few months away and I have several concerns that we need to address.” Magni stood in a strong stance with his arms crossed as he spoke to my captain, me, and four Huntsmen from his elite soldier unit.
“This tournament will be bigger than any in the history of the Northlands.”
“Are you sure about that?” my captain asked and looked down at the stats on his wristband. “We have thirteen hundred men signed up so far and that’s about the same as for the previous four tournaments.”
Magni gave the captain a dirty look. “This is my daughter. Of course, there will be record numbers.”
“No one is questioning how desirable Mila is. It’s just that with the Couples Matching Program, Nmen have alternatives now. It takes a lot to raise the money to participate and they don’t want to risk their lives when the odds of winning are so small.”
Magni looked like he was about to explode and spoke through gritted teeth. “Mila is worth dying for.”
The four huntsmen and I all nodded with serious faces.
“Any man who isn’t willing to risk his life and fortune to be with my daughter should stay the fuck away.”
“Agreed.” The captain nodded. “I’m just trying to be realistic here. I have no doubt that the entire population of single men in this country dream of marrying Mila, but the fact that she’s your daughter might scare away some.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Every one of us exchanged looks. We knew exactly what the captain meant.
“What are you implying?” Magni stepped closer to the captain.
“That every husband upsets his wife at some point. Having the greatest warrior in the world as a father-in-law complicates things.”
Magni leaned back and placed his hands on his hips. “Huh.” His eyes shifted to me. “You wouldn’t let that stop you, would you, Leo?”
I frowned and averted my eyes. “No, Commander, that wouldn’t stop me.”
“Good.” He turned to the four Huntsmen. “Are all you men signed up for the tournament?”
They confirmed it, and Magni nodded with satisfaction before continuing going over his concerns. We discussed entry points, medic stations, guards for Mila, number of fight arenas, positions of beer tents, distribution of police officers and Huntsmen, as well as the logistics of getting spectators to and from the area.
By the time we had been talking and planning for almost four hours, we were drenched from the heavy rain, which Magni ignored. There was thunder and lightning rolling in, and a collective sigh of relief sounded among us men when Magni finally called a lunch break.
Fifteen minutes later he and I were standing by the bar in a local pub when he leaned in. “I would like to see you win the tournament, Leo.”
“Thank you, Commander.” It was hard to meet his eyes knowing that I couldn’t fight for Mila after what had happened between me and Raven.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just that…”
“What?” Magni narrowed his eyes. “Speak up, man.”
I was struggling with what to tell him. After all, Raven had asked that I keep our relationship a secret, so I chose to focus on something else. “I was just wondering why you don’t have Mila’s tournament in the summertime. It’s unusual to have it in the winter and I wonder if more spectators and participants would show up in summer. That’s all.”
“Fair question. I guess the answer is that I’m an impatient man.” Magni was distracted by an incoming call. “Hang on.”
The pub wasn’t crowded, and his voice was loud, so it was impossible not to overhear him.
“She did what? No, you did the right thing in calling me. Let me talk to Mila.” Magni moved away from the bar, but with the small room it made no difference and I could still hear him clearly.
“Mila, why were you trying to leave without protection? What were you thinking?”
I couldn’t hear Mila’s explanation but from the way Magni’s back stiffened and he growled low, I sensed that he wasn’t happy.
“Get the exact address, and you can call Raven and tell her I’ll spank her ass when I see her – and the same goes for Laura.”
At the sound of Raven’s name, I was on alert. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently Raven and Laura went to visit Mr. Zobel’s daughter together and they didn’t bring an escort.” He groaned. “Because their drone was making funny sounds, they had to go down in Mortenstown and they called and asked Mila to pick them up.”
“Mortenstown. That’s a shithole. Why didn’t they call one of us?”
“Because they know we would be furious at them for flying out without protection in the first place.”
I remembered Raven telling me that she and Laura had gone to visit Michael together, but I had always assumed that they had brought guards with them.
“At least they are both good fighters. Of all the women in this country, Raven and Laura know how to take care of themselves.”
Magni scowled at me. “They are women, Leo.”
“I know, but they aren’t helpless.”
Magni stabbed a finger against my chest. “They are our responsibility, and no woman should be alone in fucking Mortenstown. I’m going to go get them.” Pointing across the room, Magni called out to the captain and the four Huntsmen. “Laura needs me. We’ll do this another day.”
Grabbing my leather coat, I was right on his heels. “I’m coming with you.”
When Magni ignored me, I added, “I’m Raven’s mentor, so I’m going.”
The rain was still coming down in buckets and thunder was putting a soundtrack to the way Magni and I ran to the drones with serious faces.
“We’ll take the Doom’s Bird and leave the Angel Maker to the others.”
The Doom’s Bird was a heavy military drone; I knew my police drone would have been faster. Problem was that I’d left it behind at the open
field where we had met this morning and where we were supposed to return to after lunch.
“Laura should know better than this,” Magni muttered as we got in, and he quickly got the drone in the air.
It was my first time inside a Doom’s Bird. It only had room for four and was an old but powerful and lethal weapon with large guns and the capacity to have rockets attached. I kept looking around taking in all the electronics while Magni muttered: “It’s a shame this bird isn’t loaded with rockets, ’cause I’m telling you: if anyone touched Laura or Raven, I would gladly fire a rocket up their asses.”
“I hear you!”
“I guarantee you that it was Raven that got Laura to go. She’s always been fearless and won’t stop pushing boundaries.” Magni snorted. “Khan should have never allowed her to join the police. Now she thinks she is untouchable. I’ve told Boulder countless times that he needs to talk some sense into her before she gets in over her head. She might be a great fighter, but she and Laura won’t stand a chance if a group of men gang up on them.”
My face hardened just from thinking about the cases I’d seen in Mortenstown, which was one of the shittiest places in our district. “Can’t this machine go any faster?”
Magni gave me a sideways glance. “You’d better hold on tight.”
I was strapped in but felt the force of gravitation push me back in my seat when he took the drone straight up in the air. We needed to go high to get to maximum speed, and I would take whatever Magni could push out of this old war machine.
With a desperate need to hear that Raven was fine, I called her up and with every unanswered ring, I grew more nervous. “Raven isn’t picking up. Can you call Laura?”
“I already did, twice. She’s not picking up either.”
The heavy rain and rumbling of thunder made it impossible for me to hear the string of curse words that followed from Magni.
I looked to the right, seeing flashes of lightning illuminate the dark gray sky in the distance. “How old is this machine?”
“At least twenty years. Military budgets are low in times of peace.”
“Maybe you should go around the storm.”
Magni’s laugh sounded hollow. “Not when my woman is in danger.”
I kept calling Raven and was cursing for every time I got no answer.
“Why hasn’t Mila sent us the location like I told her to?” Magni called up his daughter and sounded grumpy when he asked, “Where’s the location?”
“Don’t get angry, Dad, but I spoke to Mom and she said that she preferred if someone else picked them up. Someone calm.”
“Calm. Are you fucking kidding me? Is that why she and Raven aren’t picking up when we call them?”
“Probably.”
Magni growled. “Laura’s ass is going to be so red.”
“Dad!”
“I’m sorry, honey, but you’re a grown woman now. You need to know what a husband does to a wife who pulls idiotic stunts like this.”
“And you wonder why Mom doesn’t want to be rescued by you. Just give her a hug and tell her you’re happy she’s unharmed.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll do that after I spank her. And Mila, call Raven and tell her that if I don’t have her exact location within two minutes, she’s no longer a police recruit.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Mila, it’s not up for discussion. Mortenstown is a fucking dangerous place and we need to get your mom and Raven out of there, right now.”
“Okay, I’ve got the coordinates here.” After telling us, Mila promised to call Laura and Raven and tell them to pick up their phones or call us.
“Thirteen minutes to destination,” Magni muttered.
When Mila called back three minutes later, we could both hear the fear in her voice. “Dad, I’m scared. Mom isn’t picking up and neither is Raven. I’ve called them both over and over. I have a really bad feeling.”
Magni’s face paled. “Yeah, me too, baby. Leo and I are flying as fast as we can.”
Without consulting Magni, I called up the Mortenstown police force and asked them to send both police and medics to the coordinates we had been given by Mila. I made sure to inform them that two women were in danger, knowing that it would make this case a high priority.
“Seven minutes.” Magni hissed through gritted teeth just as lightning lit up all around us and the drone shook.
“Did you feel that?”
“It was a lightning strike. We’re fine.”
The storm was intensifying, and my fingers squeezed around the armrests as the wind created turbulence inside the drone.
“Six minutes… call Raven again.”
I shouted because of the loud crashes of thunder. “That’s all I’m doing. She’s not picking up.”
“Keep calling her. I’m keeping my line open if Mila calls back.”
The minutes ticked by slowly and finally, when the display said two minutes to destination, I saw something. “Down there. Do you see the flashing light?”
“Where?”
“Right there.” I pointed again. “It must be the police drone and medics.”
The drone shook as another lightning stroke hit us, and this time a loud beeping sound filled the drone with an alert.
“Fuuuck!” Magni was pushing buttons like a madman.
“What the hell are you doing?” I screamed over the robotic voice alerting us.
Magni growled. “Something’s wrong.”
“I can hear that, but what is it?”
A robotic voice overpowered what Magni was saying. “System failure. Landing initiated. Prepare for impact. System failure. Landing initiated. Prepare for impact.”
As the blinking lights on the ground came closer, I pressed myself back in the seat trying to see through the rain that was crashing against our windshield.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Magni hissed. “We’re gonna crash.”
“Ejection recommended.” The robotic voice sounded as calm and matter-of-fact as if it was reminding us to use seatbelts.
I was looking left and right to find the eject button, seeing the ground come closer, and then I found it on my left side.
“Eject, Leo. Now!” Magni was pulling at his handle but nothing happened. “Shiiit!”
With my hand on my own handle, I screamed at him. “Pull it, Magni.”
“It’s fucking stuck.”
I lifted my hand to try and help him but with a quick side glance, Magni locked eyes with me, and then he pulled my handle.
It felt like my body was torn in half from the force of the ejection. Rain hammered on my face and I was screaming my lungs out as I watched the Doom’s Bird fall toward the ground with Magni still inside it. “No, Magni, nooo!!!”
CHAPTER 20
Mortenstown
Raven
“It’s never made that sound before. I don’t get it; this drone isn’t even a year old.” I looked over at Laura, who was sitting next to me. “If only Tristan were here, I’ll bet he could fix it.”
Laura was wearing tight black leather pants and when she crossed her long legs the leather rubbing against leather made a squeaky sound. “He’s not, and even if he were, Tristan would still need the right equipment. Try to shut the drone down and see if it still makes that clacking sound.”
I did as she asked but the moment I pressed power, the clacking began again. “I’m not getting any alerts. Maybe we should just try to fly home.”
“No, Raven. Something is not right, and I’m not flying in a defective drone.”
“We could call my father.”
“Yes, we could, but he would tell Magni, and I already had an argument with him last week about going out without guards. You know how protective Magni is.”
“I could call Leo… except he’s with Magni, I think.”
Laura pulled at her lips with a speculative glance. “How far are we from the Gray Manor?”
“About half an hour.”
“We need someone to pick us up t
hat won’t tell Magni about it.”
“What about Mila?” I looked out at the heavy rain. “She’s not the best at keeping secrets, but unless she’s asked directly, I don’t think she would tell anyone.”
“I don’t want Mila going out without guards. She’s not a warrior like you and me.”
“But you could argue that it’s not really going out since she won’t be in public anywhere.”
Laura sighed and after a moment of hesitation, she called up Mila.
“Honey, Raven and I need a favor.”
“I’m always happy to help.”
“I know you are, dear. Listen, all we need you to do to is program a drone with our location and send it to us. Can you do that?”
“Where are you?”
“We went to interview someone. We’ll tell you about it later, so send us a drone, will you?” Laura repeated.
“Of course, but I’m coming to pick you up.”
Laura shook her head. “No, darling. There’s no need for you to come, I’d rather you stayed back at the Manor. We’re in the middle of nowhere and really just need a drone to pick us up.”
Mila was being licked on her face by that small dog of hers. “Are you kidding me, Mom? I never get to do anything heroic. This is my first rescue mission and I’m excited.”
I laughed at the sight of Mila’s wide smile of self-satisfaction. “You want to be our knight in shining armor?”
“I would love to. Mom, it’s not like I’m going to leave the drone. I’ll just fly to you and open the door for you to get in. What could go wrong?”
Laura lifted her hands. “The same thing that happened to us could happen to you. The drone could break down and leave you stranded somewhere.”
“Don’t be so negative, Mom. You’re being as controlling as Dad, and you know how you hate it when he limits you.”
“Okay, honey, I guess there’s no harm in it if you stay inside the drone. Just come quickly, okay? We want to get back before your dad gets home.”
Mila gave a small shriek of excitement and then she was gone.
“Did you say we’re in Mortenstown?” I leaned forward trying to see out of the wet windows.
