Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Matt finished his pint. I had all night, and I wasn’t planning to leave empty-handed.

  “I heard that the prince had been seen in the company of some redheaded chick. An older one. Boys were saying that he didn’t want to leave her side,” Matt said, barely above a whisper. “I don’t know how much of this is true, but they were seen kissing and holding hands.”

  “A redheaded woman? Had anyone seen her with him before” I questioned, thinking that maybe George had lost his head for some cougar. There was nothing strange or suspicious about that. Who knew? Maybe the whole kidnapping was staged.

  “Well, I know for sure that she wasn’t one of his usual girls. None of the guards had ever actually seen her, but his friends had talked about her a lot. Besides, young Prince George was a prick. He wasn’t like Arthur,” Matt said. “If you know what I mean.”

  I nearly spat the alcohol all over the bar. That name suddenly made me feel very angry. I needed to get out of here and get back to Brixton with this new lead. The woman must have meant something to George, or maybe I was reading too much into it. Women were always likely to become less moralistic, shall we say, when they were around young royal bachelors. There was also a possibility that she was a demon, trying to take advantage of our young prince.

  “Okay, that’s pretty much all I needed to know, unless there is something else you want to tell me?” I asked, hopping off the stool. The alcohol was working, finally untangling my emotional downfall.

  “He is missing you, Maxine. Natalie doesn’t fill the hole in his heart that you burned with yours,” Matt said unexpectedly when I turned around, ready to leave. I stopped abruptly. My stomach rolled with warmth, but I pushed it away. Matt was just a guard, but he obviously knew more about royal affairs than I expected.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice small.

  “A year ago when you left, he went into a total meltdown trying to find you. Got himself into a lot of trouble with the police and guards.”

  I wasn’t expecting to feel so shitty about my entire life when I entered this bar. Arthur didn’t give a fuck and Matt was lying.

  “Well, it looks like he sorted himself out quickly enough,” I muttered.

  “Barely. He still talks about you to the other guards, to the staff. He hasn’t forgotten about you, Max,” Matt added, but I couldn’t listen to this anymore.

  I glanced back at him and then walked away until I breathed in the cold February air. My chest heaved with pain reliving the worst day of my life. Matt had no idea what he was talking about. Arthur’s grandmother made sure that we would stay apart, and he had never tried to find me.

  I needed to get out of Hackney and pour a whole bottle of magical tequila down my throat to kill the guilt. I was forced to leave something behind, something that connected me to Arthur on a whole new level. I looked down at the ring he had given me and shook my head, forcing the tears away, wishing I could tell him the truth about my disappearance. Wishing that this pain would go away for at least a moment.

  It took me another hour to get back to Brixton, and by the time I was walking through the streets of my neighbourhood, it was ten o’clock at night. I hated living in such a sprawling city. The public transport was a nightmare, and on top of my ridiculously high rent, I wasn’t even covering all the bills.

  I turned right, losing myself in the narrow alley that eventually would take me to The Broken Shoe, my favourite local pub. My stomach was burning, and I had to play tonight, before I did something really stupid. Deep inside there was an unbearable craving for the most precious thing that I was forced to leave behind, someone who had changed my life forever.

  That night I was sloppy, and my thoughts were racing, so I didn’t even notice that I had been followed. A grown human male was creeping behind me, and by the time I felt him, it was too late. Seconds later, I was slammed against the brick wall by a large, muscular man who wore a strong, kind of familiar aftershave. I’d had a couple of drinks a while back, but no one had ever surprised me in such an unexpected and violent way.

  “Hi, Flower. I think such a delicate creature like you shouldn’t be walking around the streets alone … so late at night,” said a voice that I vaguely recognised. There was something wrong with my excellent eyesight tonight, but it only took me a couple of seconds to figure out who had managed to successfully corner me in the darkness.

  “You have two seconds to get the fuck away from me before I smash your face against this brick wall,” I snarled, and felt his heat rising fast. Yeah, I just let Detective Zachary Quinton manhandle me. On top of that, he was getting turned on by the fact that I was pissed and not in my usual control. My vision suddenly sharpened. He was staring at me with those dark eyes filled with curiosity, roving over my parted lips. We only met for what—two seconds earlier on, but I really wanted to kick his arse right about now.

  “Shut up and listen to what I have to say. I don’t like when someone interferes in my business, and you’re doing exactly that right now, so I want you to quit. The streets of London are ugly, filled with too many unexpected surprises,” he said, moving his face closer, almost brushing his lips against mine.

  My stomach made a flip, as an unfamiliar wave of lust heated up between my legs, causing havoc in my torn demonic soul. There was no way that Zachary was simply just an arrogant son of a bitch, an ordinary human. His energy was pushing his thoughts into my mind, and he narrowed his eyes like he wanted to see past the anger and fury. I didn’t have time to get overwhelmed. I wasn’t going to just stand there and listen to his threats.

  His grip was powerful, but it was dark, and he couldn’t have predicted my next move even if he was a demon after all. I twisted my right leg around his and then tossed him over to the side while he lost his balance for a split second, but he didn’t fall. My inner strength gave me some advantage, and I lifted my leg, smashing my boot into his pretty face, throwing him on his back several meters away. For a human, well, I had to agree, he was strong, but he must have forgotten that I had spent six years mastering my fighting skills. I wasn’t just some girl he could mess around with.

  I was sitting on him before he had a chance to take another breath, and I was bloody surprised to feel the hard bulge in his crotch. It looked like Zachary was not only an arsehole, but a sexual deviant, too.

  “Now, you listen to me, Detective. You obviously have no idea who I am and what I’m capable of, but you can shove your demands where the sun doesn’t shine. I’m on this case whether you like it or not, and trust me, it will take a lot more than your muscles to get rid of me,” I said, wondering why I was so pumped up with positive vibes, and why the hell I liked sitting on top of him. Crap, this was supposed to be straightforward.

  He smiled at me, and I frowned. There must have been something really wrong with my focus that night, because he shifted beneath me. He used his knee to kick my exposed back, easily punching the air out of my lungs. I was slammed back on the ground, seeing stars, possibly for the first time in my life.

  My energy surged down through my aching body, letting me know that this human was going to kick my arse. For some reason, I was losing my usual focus, and before I even realised, he was sitting on top of me. The heat that exploded between us was sudden and fiery. When I finally managed to open my eyes, his face was inches away from mine.

  “I asked nicely; now I’m telling you to stay out of my way, Flower. You might be tough and shit, but there are things in this world that you don’t understand,” he growled, staring at me with his gorgeous eyes. His attitude really pissed me off, and I wondered why our paths hadn’t crossed before. Zachary obviously thought he was some tough motherfucker with a badge and a big gun.

  I started laughing, partly because I wanted to cover my explosive feelings, and partly because he was broadcasting his desire for me loud and clear. My reaction made him angry and he narrowed his eyes at me in confusion.

  “You really chose the wrong person to mess around with, and the m
ost stubborn one. Get off me before I do something that I’ll regret later,” I whispered, not even knowing why I was so adamant about proving my point. It was hard to judge what his deal was, and why he was so determined to keep me away from his investigation.

  “Flower, you wouldn’t hurt me even if you wanted to,” he said, lowering his eyes to my cleavage. That short moment of distraction gave me an advantage. I extended my arm and then punched him as hard as I could. Okay, maybe this wasn’t ladylike, but I was done with his bullshit.

  When I was standing on my feet, looking down at the hero detective who was now bleeding, it kind of hit me that I never felt better, sort of like myself from two years ago, before Arthur shattered me. It was refreshing.

  “How about we make a deal? Down the road, there is a pub where I like playing poker. You beat me, and this case is yours, but if I win, we will work together on this case. What do you say, Detective? Have we got a deal?”

  He glared at me, touching his bloody nose, and I smiled widely when I heard him mutter, “Deal.”

  It was going to be a fun evening ahead.

  Chapter 9

  “Lost are we, and are only so far punished,

  That without hope we live on in desire.”

  ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

  I must remember to keep some money for rent.

  I must remem …

  “All right. Let’s get this over with before I have to arrest you for assault.” He interrupted my train of thought, getting up off the wet ground. I glanced back at him, kind of curious and angry at the same time. I sensed something deeper in him, a softer side of his domineering personality that I had yet to discover.

  “The pub is just around the corner, and for someone who claims to know these streets, I’m surprised that you’re being so ridiculously impatient,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Flower, just spare me the small talk,” he snapped back. I had no idea why he was pissed off. He was the one who attacked me. Maybe he was used to getting things done his way. So far, he only revealed that he wasn’t happy working alongside a woman.

  We were silent until we entered the old, secluded pub on the street corner. From any other person’s point of view, the building didn’t look particularly appealing, but I had built a relationship with the owner over the years. There were a few humans in the back, clutching their hands around their pint glasses and glaring at us from the distance.

  Paul, the barman, nodded to me, not looking too pleased with the customer who strolled in after me. Yep, it was odd to see a stranger in here. Paul used to be a Watcher, part of an angelic faction who guards the gates of Hell. One night, he left his post unattended, lured by a beautiful demon from the Asmodeus faction. Several hours later, he was found naked, stripped of all his abilities, and then cast out from his post, sadly, never gaining his powers back.

  “The usual, Maxine?” Paul asked, placing a glass in front of me and eyeing Zach with his demonic eyes.

  “Yeah, three shots straight away. I have a game to play,” I said.

  “Vodka for me,” Zach muttered, then grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood beneath his nose. Once Paul poured our drinks, I didn’t need to wait for an invitation. The shots in front of me were special; Paul spiked it with a dash of elixir that he made especially for me. The combination of demonic magic, rare herbs, and blood of a poisoned dragon meant to heal a broken heart. At least I kept telling myself that. I was an addict, but after finishing a bottle, I could still function the next day. That was part of the problem.

  Zach ordered a beer chaser and went to sit down at the table by the window.

  “Why on Earth are you hanging out with a human, Max? He’s a cop, too, you know,” Paul said, leaning over the bar and eyeing me intensely. I took a new deck of cards from my pocket and started shuffling them around. “And what happened to his face?”

  “Unfortunately for me, he’s been assigned to a case that I’ve also taken on, and we had a disagreement,” I blurted out, aware that Zach hadn’t taken his eyes off me. A shudder tickled my spine. I could still feel the heat from earlier in my veins, but I had yet to determine if it was the way Zach was looking at me or my conflicted emotions.

  Paul acted like a human, and most of the time, he didn’t like bringing up his past. After so many years in London, he put on a bit of weight, and he had aged. His soul was still young, but for a human, he looked like he was in his mid-forties.

  “I sense trouble, Max. That man is filled with resentment. He holds a grudge. Maybe he lost someone, or he killed an innocent human,” Paul said, looking over my shoulder. “And he desires you, but he doesn’t want to admit to it.”

  My jaw dropped slightly as I stared at Paul, wondering why the hell he had to make me uncomfortable. My opinion about Zach’s feelings were divided: I wasn’t too sure if he wanted me, or if he was acting that way in order to get rid of me. Paul was right—Zach’s soul had been tormented by some kind of tragedy from the past. Maybe that was the reason he seemed so detached.

  “Well, that’s too bad. I have to work with him either way; otherwise I’ll be in trouble with the underworld. Young Prince George went missing late last night. He might be in the underworld, who knows? Or with a demon. Things are kind of complicated. If you hear anything, you’ll let me know, right?”

  Paul’s green eyes twinkled with confusion. He just didn’t care for royals at all.

  “I’ll keep an ear out for you." He nodded back to Zach. “I don’t like him, Maxine. I’d stay away. He is trouble, and we both know you don’t deal with trouble well,” Paul muttered, putting the bottle of tequila on the bar along with a clean shot glass.

  I grabbed it, ignoring his comment. He was starting to sound more and more like Ricky. Why did everyone feel the need to give me advice on how to live my life, advice that I didn’t want or need?

  “Thanks, Paul, but I’ll be all right. Just keep the drinks coming,” I said with a wink. I grabbed the bottle and went back to the table where Zach was sitting. I threw the stack of cards right in front of him.

  “So let me get this straight. I win, and you will step aside—you won’t interfere in my investigation?” Zach asked when I poured some tequila into my glass. His eyes were hooded and travelling over the tight old T-shirt I’d worn today—eyes so different from Arthur’s. Fuck, I needed to stop thinking about him.

  “Let’s play, unless you want to lay out your whole life story for me?” I said, winding him up a little too much. His eyes twitched like he noticed something in the bottle. Paul was careful with his elixirs, mixing shit like that with human spirits was dangerous.

  “I’m certain, Flower, that your life story is much more interesting than mine,” he said, smiling. Sweet mercy; that smile bloomed burning heat in my stomach, and he had cute dimples on each side of his gorgeous jaw when he did eventually laugh. Exactly like Arthur’s. This was pathetic. I really needed to stop comparing him to Arthur. Maybe I should have gotten rid of the ring, then I wouldn’t have to be assaulted with painful memories whenever I thought about the opposite sex.

  “Too bad you aren’t going to hear about it tonight,” I snapped back, shuffling the cards around for a bit and then placing two in front of me and two in front of him. It was much more fun playing with a few more people, but we had business to settle, and I needed a quick win to get in the mood. The luck and cards were on my side tonight. I knew it. I could feel it.

  After playing five cards upside down in the middle of the table, the familiar excitement filled my veins. My pulse spiked, and for some reason, the cards were making me more receptive to my surroundings.

  Zach checked his cards and then lifted his thick eyelashes, pinning me with his dark gaze. Drinking magical tequila had its advantages: after a couple of shots, I was less receptive to human emotions, able to block all feelings and worries. This was supposed to be a fair game. My partner was a human, who most likely had no experience in playing poker. I needed to go easy on him.

  �
�Hmm… I think you will tell me everything about you, Maxine, all your deepest secrets and sexual desires,” he said, and sent me a flirtatious wink. I lifted my left eyebrow, tossing my long hair behind me. He could dream all night long about me telling him anything at all.

  We started with a pre-flop round. I put some cash on the table, so he knew that I was taking this game seriously. It was clear from the very beginning that Zach wasn’t the amateur I assumed just a second ago. With a mad gleam in his eyes, he made a few moves. We both put the same amount on the table, and after betting and holding, the flop round had started. I kept topping up my glass, for some reason enjoying the company of the human who sat in front of me. It was much more fun not knowing what he was feeling when his dark eyes were looking through me.

  In a flop round, Zach bet more than I expected. Over two hundred pounds, and if I wanted to stay in the game, I needed to match it. The magical alcohol loosened me up, and the sudden rush of heat made my eyes heavy. Zach had of course noticed.

  “You’re flustered, Maxine,” he pointed out. “So I assume this is what you like doing in your spare time. Playing poker and drinking?”

  “Everyone has their hobbies, Detective,” I sang, twisting a lock of my hair around my finger, as we moved to the turn round.

  He kept his cards to himself. The warmth that surrounded me was welcome and comforting. Arthur didn’t matter anymore; he was just a distant memory.

  “True. Sex is an excellent hobby. I enjoy it tremendously.” He chuckled as I placed one more community card on the table. I couldn’t remember the last time I had fucked someone just for the sake of it. My relationships with men were complicated after my affair with Arthur, and I was too scared to mix pleasure with business again.