“Did you know that you’re bleeding?” He didn’t but told his brother that it was none of his concern. “All right. If that’s what you want. But you should know that the police are watching you. So, if you really are looking for a gun, then you’re not going to have any luck with that. There isn’t anyone around you that would sell you a stick of gum for the way you’re being watched.”
Joel left him. The only way Saul knew that was because his laughter was floating away. That’s what all the sounds sounded like now, floating. The cars driving by him sounded the loudest, and people talking, that sounded far away. He didn’t know what they were saying, but he could hear them.
Turning back the way he’d come, he paused at a pole, thinking it was a street sign, and called out to the cops. One of them would surely help him return to his home so he could rest.
“I need some help. I’m all turned around. If one of you pricks would point me in the direction of the abandoned hotel down out of town, I’d surely appreciate it.” The snickering told him it was Allen. His scent, whatever it was, hit him too. “Why aren’t you out taking care of the good citizens of your little podunk town?”
“Why aren’t you in prison?” Saul told him that he had been, and wasn’t returning. “You think not? Well, I’d rethink that if I were you. Mercy has found a great many crimes that you’ve not been tried for. Come on, let me get you in the car and I’ll take you to your hotel.”
Saul could have sobbed with relief when he sat in the warm car. He was cold too, he realized, and wondered at not just the time, but the date. New Mexico had been blazing hot compared to this hell hole.
“You can’t stay here; you know that, don’t you? First of all, there isn’t any running water and electric.” Saul told him that there was water. “All right, but no electric. I’ll let it pass for tonight, but you’re going to have to find you someplace safer to live after that. The place isn’t open for business, in the event that slipped your notice.”
“No shit. Was it the broken out windows that gave you the first clue, or was it the parking lot full of grass and trees?” Saul looked in his direction, not able to see him clearly but not wanting him to know how bad it was. “Just let me out and I’ll deal with things tomorrow. If all you have to do is help men who have no place to go, then you’re being overpaid if you ask me.”
Getting out of the cruiser was harder than he thought it should have been. His feet felt like they were asleep, and he could hardly make them work now. Allen asked him if he was all right and he flipped him off. Saul went into his hotel room, kicked off his shoes, and rubbed his feet until he was sure they were raw.
~*~
Joel looked at Miley when she came into the room. She’d graduated to a walker now, and he couldn’t have been more proud of her. But as they all did, he cautioned her about doing too much too fast.
“I promise you, I’m only doing what I’m told I can do. That first day, I swear that I thought for sure that someone had pulled my legs out and replaced them with lead weights. I’m careful now.” When she sat down, it was everything he could do not to help her adjust herself in the chair. She was doing better than they could have hoped for in this, and he wanted to be strong for her. “Did you know that walking will make my whole body stronger? I don’t mean because I can get out more—I mean, walking helps with my heart and my lungs. The first place I’m going to go after I can walk well is into a store that didn’t cater to my kind, and demand that they put in things for the handicapped. Ramps aren’t that much, are they?”
“No. And from what I’ve read up on it, there is some kind of funding out there for it. Are you thinking of becoming an attorney?” She smiled at him, and his heart did a double beat. He loved this kid. “You’d be good at it if how you argue with me about bedtime is any indication.”
“Oh, Dad.” They were laughing when Mercy joined them. Just last night he’d noticed that she was showing. He’d not pointed it out to her, of course—he wasn’t one that wished for death at this stage of his life. “I was telling Dad here that when I’m able to walk, I’m going to demand ramps be put in every shop.”
“That’s good.” Miley looked at him and he shrugged. He knew that Mercy had been investigating something important, but he’d not asked about it. She was really into it last time he checked in on her. “I have a problem. Not a huge one, but enough that I’m concerned. I found out that Dante had a son. I need to find him. He’s one of the others’ mates.”
Neither he nor Miley said anything. It was blurted out there, and he’d not had time to digest it past her having a problem. She seemed to never have anything that she couldn’t work out. Before he could ask her to start over, Miley spoke.
“Is that what was in those books you’re reading? By the way, those are beautiful. I’m betting it took a long time to put one of those together.” Mercy told Miley it was in the books, and the books weren’t hard at all if you knew what you were doing. “In class once, they showed how paper used to be made. It looked like a long process. And there are a lot of pages in your books.”
“The paper vendor would have a great many screens to make them on. Plus, he’d have his family helping in drying them out, adding the right kind of herbs to make it so they’d not rot.” Mercy smiled at Miley. “Thank you. You got me just distracted enough that I don’t feel so overwhelmed.”
“This man, I’m assuming that he’s an immortal like you are?” She said that he was more than likely born one. “I see. Not really, but it’s not really important to the story. Why do you think he’s one of the others’ mates?”
“Dante wrote it in the books. It was in Latin so as not to have passersby see what it says. The queen also paid a woman by the name of Mary to watch over him. She must have been told not to tell anyone about him either. As far as I know, no one knew but the two of them.” Joel asked her why it was important. “He would be our king. Even though there is no longer a castle there, he would still own the land and the stone there. It would be worth a fortune nowadays. And I looked it up—I’m still listed as the owner of it all until such time that someone of Dante’s blood can claim it from me. I never understood that part. She didn’t have children as far as we knew, and she died the day we were made.”
“Okay. And him being mated to one of the birds, why would that matter? I’m assuming that at some point he’d have to come around, correct?” She said she didn’t know, but that the mate would be queen too. “You have people out looking for him?”
“I do. I hired someone that used to search for people long ago. He has a bit of magic. People who use him, they never believe that he uses the earth to find their loved ones, but it pays well for him and he does a good job. A couple of times he’s been called in to find the body or this person who has gone missing for a long time. He’s really good.” He asked if he was a bird. “No, he’s a dragon. I was wondering if when Duncan—that’s the king’s name, Duncan—comes around, he’ll know anything about what is in the books.”
“Why does it matter? I’m sorry, did you say he’s a dragon? There are really dragons in the world?” Mercy said yes, there were still a few and she was still working on that. “Because you’ve not read all the books. That’s why you’re saying that.”
There were dragons, his mind kept screaming at him. There were dragons around and.... His mate, she knew some. He’d have to get her to let him see one sometime. Maybe. He’d have to think on that.
“Yes, I’m only into the first book. I had been further along, but now I know to look for things in the margins and in curled pages. One of the notes I found was so close to the binding that I nearly missed it. I have to search the pages very carefully so as not to miss anything.” He didn’t want to sound like a doofus, so just waited for her to explain. “Why don’t you ask me what you’re thinking? Then I won’t have to think you’re thinking that I’m a doofus—whatever that is.”
“I was going to ask you if you thought that I could help. Or Miley. I don’t think either o
f us speak or read Latin, and bravo for you for knowing such an old language, but we can look if you need us to.” She asked him why he thought he’d be a doofus. “Because you are so much smarter than I am, and I didn’t want to have to point it out to you when it’s so obvious.”
“You’re a nutball. And I’m not smarter than you on a great many things. I am jaded, Joel. I have been for a long time. Just having the two of you around has made all of us smarter. Thanks to the way you can think and look outside the box.” He thanked her, as did Miley. “No reason for thanks. Just don’t call yourself a doofus again. Whatever the hell that is.”
Miley was laughing when Dutch came in to tell them that they had a guest. Not having a clue who it might be, both he and Mercy went to the door. There stood Allen, and he didn’t look like this was a social visit.
They went to the living room, which was fast becoming Joel’s favorite part of the house besides the kitchen. The furniture was very comfortable, and he loved the way the plants in the room seemed to fill every corner and dark place. The air itself was cleaner smelling—fresh, he supposed. The fireplace had been lit last night to ward off the chill, and it had been amazing. A little too warm, but he could see them all there in the winter months.
“I just let your brother off at the old hotel outside of town. I have to tell you, he doesn’t look good. I think he might be suffering from early onset of diabetes. That’s the only thing I can think of that would be making him feel like he is.” Joel told them how he’d seen him too, and Saul had told him he was fine. “He’s lost a great deal of weight. And on a man his size, that’s not a good thing. And he’s thirsty all the time. While I was taking him from the Stop and Go, he drank down two more sodas. Something that I know for sure he shouldn’t have.”
“I took him food and water a few days ago. He looked scruffy then, but nothing like he does now.” Allen told them that he had water out there and nothing more. “I think he’s ransacked the other rooms for a bed. I noticed it the other day when I drove by and he was gone. He’s set himself up nicely there.”
“He’s also looking for a gun. Right now I don’t think he could hit the broad side of a barn, the way he’s squinting all the time. That’s another sign, his eye sight is going bad.” Allen said that he’d keep an eye on him. “In a couple of days, if I don’t see him around, I’ll go and check on him. I think he’ll be all right there if he won’t let anyone help him. But I’ll drop off some salad fixings, as well as a case or two of water. Until he’s willing to go to the hospital on his own, there is little to nothing we can do about him. Now, if he gets out and does some crazy assed things, I’ll have him in there so quickly that he won’t know what happened.”
After Allen left, they sat and talked about Saul for a bit. He was for sure fighting diabetes, but how far it had gone now was anyone’s guess. Like Allen had said, if he didn’t want help right now, they couldn’t force it on him.
“If Saul is sick, why is he acting like he doesn’t have anything wrong with him? Doesn’t he realize that not paying attention to something like that would make him more ill?” Miley looked down at her legs. “I was just remembering the time that I had a sore on my bottom. I couldn’t feel it at all, and if you’d not found it when you did, the doctor said it could well have killed me. Why would he do that to himself?”
“Because he has always thought he was above such things, like sickness and being hurt. I remember when we were boys, he broke his arm. I don’t remember how, but it was a good week before he finally admitted that it hurt. It was worse because of that. It had to be rebroken then set again.” Joel thought of all the things his brother had done to him and decided never to tell his daughter. She didn’t need to know the real Saul. “He’ll get help with this, hopefully before it’s too late. Letting something this serious go could make him have kidney problems or worse.”
“If you are serious about helping me with the books, I’d appreciate the help. I can show you how to look for things in them. But the paper is very old, and some of the things are faded. Not badly, but they have been around longer than you guys have.” She smiled at them both when Miley said that covered a lot of things. “Yes, I suppose it would. But tomorrow is as good a day as any. And on Saturday, we’ll head over to the stash. It’s in a cave that’s not far from here. But only magic can open the stones there.”
“Oh, how cool is that.” Miley yawned as she continued, making herself comfortable on the sofa. “I’m so cozy in this room, it’s my favorite place to be. Especially with my mom and dad in here with me. I think I might just take a little nap before dinner. I think that once I start walking, I’ll be able to run marathons.” Then she closed her eyes with a smile.
“I love her.” Joel said he knew that, answering her in the same whispering voice. “I mean, I love her as much as I have anyone in my life. She’s my daughter.”
“Yes. And she loves you as much as you do her.” Mercy nodded and left the room. Emotions were getting the better of her, he knew. Giving her time, Joel sat there and watched their daughter as she slept safely in their hearts.
Chapter 9
Allen drove his cruiser to the hotel. He could see that it was in poor shape. Perhaps when Saul was someplace else, he’d talk to the council and ask to have it torn down. That way, squatters like Saul couldn’t make it their home.
When he called out for Saul, he found him in one of the many bathrooms. He was standing at the sink cutting away at the long beard he had. It looked as if he might have just started, and Allen watched him as he hacked away at the growth with a knife.
“Do you need some help?” Saul asked him if he looked like he did. “No. I was just offering. How are you feeling today?”
“Fit as a fiddle. Why do you care, anyway?” Allen didn’t sit on the bed in the room. There was no telling what sort of things might be inside the mattresses. “I’ll be out today. I have my eye on a few things and today is the day.”
“What sort of things are those?” He didn’t expect him to answer and laughed when Saul glared at him. “You need to be out of here today, Saul. I’m going to see about having this place torn down. So people like you can’t just come in and make themselves at home.”
“Yes, and this place is such a mansion. I’ll be out, don’t you worry about it.” Saul put the knife down and stared at him. “You cozying up to my brother and his new wife? I hear tell she had the bucks, and stupidly gave Joel the rights to it as well. How stupid do you think she is, I wonder?”
“She’s a very nice person. I like her.” Saul said that he wasn’t any judgement of character. “Oh? And why is that? Because I’m a cop?”
“Because you’re a dumb ass. Just like Joel. Who in their right mind would turn over millions of dollars to someone like him?” Allen said people did that when they trusted. “Yes, well, I don’t trust well. And what about my parents? Have you figured out if they were murdered? Not that I care one way or the other. Dead is dead, don’t you think?”
“They were both murdered. And we found the axe.” That got the desired reaction from Saul. He tried to look as if it meant nothing to him, but Allen could see the fear in his eyes. “It also seems that your mom had enough strychnine in her system to kill a large mammal. You wouldn’t know anything about either of those things, would you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And if you found the axe in the shed, then bully for you. I heard that he fell on the axe, not that he’d been hit with it.” Allen hadn’t said that it was in the shed but said nothing. It wasn’t as if it were a confession, and certainly nothing he could use in court. “Why don’t you go away? I have shit to do today, and you’re keeping me from it. I told you I’d be out by today.”
“Yes, well, I told Joel that I’d check on you and I have.” Saul asked why Joel would even care. “I suppose because you’re his brother. But since you’ve been a lying piece of shit all your life, I would guess that his heart, if you even have one, is bigger than yours.”
“You’re a funny cop, did you ever have anyone tell you that?” It was then that he noticed that Saul was sweating. It wasn’t cold out, but it wasn’t hot either. After asking him again if he was all right, the man seemed to snap. “Mother fuck, yes. How many fucking times are you going to ask me that? I answered your questions. I am leaving this shit hole today. And I am fucking all right. I want you to leave me to my business.”
“You are my business, Saul.”
The snort was almost comical. Allen also noticed that he was white knuckling the sink. Something was off. But right now, he didn’t have a clue what it might be.
Saul did look better. He had his color back. There wasn’t any kind of obvious thirst, or any of the other signs. Perhaps he’d been wrong; maybe Saul really was all right. Tipping his hat to the man, he went to his cruiser and left the lot. But not before calling Joel and letting him know what he’d found.
“If he’s suffering, I honestly didn’t notice it today. Perhaps it was just a case of me wanting him to be ill to get him off the streets.” Joel told him not to worry about it. “You’re a good man, Joel.”
“Thank you. Allen, did you forget something today?” Allen said he didn’t think so. “Well, I’d like for you to come on over to the courthouse and be my witness. If you remember, I asked you several days ago.”
“Holy shit, I forgot. Christ, what a good friend I’m turning out to be. I’m on my way, sirens running too.” He laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. “You should hit me over the head when I get there. I’m only in my uniform.”
“No worries. I’m in dress pants and a shirt. We decided that since we’ve already jumped the gun on a few other things, we’d just skip the being fancy.” Joel was still laughing when Allen disconnected the call.
Mercy: Queen’s Birds of Prey: Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Queen's Birds of Prey Book 1) Page 11
