It was easy to compel him to do what I needed. The tiny voice in my head reminded me that I had no right to tamper with his mind, his memories. Every part of me hated that I had gotten myself into this situation.
A minute later, I was sitting on my bed that stunk of sex and booze. The handsome human was putting his clothes back on. He kept glancing at me, like he wanted an explanation, but he was too confused to ask anything. His name was Adam and he was only looking for some fun last night.
I was so relieved when I heard the door of my apartment shut a moment later. I sat in the darkness and then started crying over what I did. Yep, for the first time in my life I pushed aside the fact that I was supposed to be strong, and I let the tears fall. I could no longer deal with the fact that I kept making wrong decisions.
Arthur was unreachable, and we were never going to be together. He was rich and there was royal blood in his veins. How could I ever think that we were going to be more than just lovers? How could I let him fool me like that?
I was a half demon, a woman without a real father, a real background.
As all these thoughts kept floating in my head. I got up and walked around the room for a bit.
Some time after I had a shower, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I couldn’t stay in my shitty flat and dwell on what happened, on what kind of pathetic mongrel I turned into. The prince was missing, and I had to look beyond my own problems. It was a mistake, an error that taught me it was time to pull my shit together and get sober.
I left my flat around one, erasing everything that happened last night from my memory. I was very much hungover, disappointed in myself and angry that my self-control was in pieces again. The human last night could have killed me, and no one would have known.
I used the tube and headed over to one of the places that in the past made me feel stronger.
I hadn’t visited the children’s ward since my disappearance from London twelve months ago. Deep inside I knew that this could only trip me over the edge, but I had to at least try to push myself through that gloomy depressing mood. The roads outside the hospital were busy and there was a lot of traffic. My stomach revolted when I entered the familiar building, the place I used to love sharing with the man who loved me. Arthur’s pictures were all over the ground floor. He let anyone take his picture and children used to love being the centre of attention with him.
I took the lift to the first floor, knowing that this would either cure me or push me further in despair. I was wearing my usual clothes, and when the lift reached my floor, I stood inside unable to move.
“Are you all right?” the woman behind me asked, when I stood frozen, looking ahead. We were the only two people in the lift. I cleared my throat and nodded, finally stepping out of the lift. I was hit with a strong antiseptic smell, and a wave of excitement mixed with incredible sadness.
Everything looked exactly like I remembered: colourful walls, toys stacked around the corridors, and medical staff rushing around. I headed over to the other side of the building, knowing that this time around, I wanted to change my routine, to see if I could handle seeing a newborn child.
My heart was longing for some affection. I remembered the way Arthur interacted with children, the way he naturally bonded with them, making them laugh. Deep down I knew that he would have been a great father. That thought left me shaky; my legs trembled, but I continued to walk.
After some time, I found the delivery corridor and situated myself behind a few women who were staring down at crying newborns. I took a few deep breaths and lifted my head to look at the tiny humans. It was surreal and crushing at the same time. The past had changed me, and suddenly I felt like my own loneliness was slowly choking me, wrapping its fingers around my throat.
All these orphaned children reminded me of myself when I was taken to the nuns for the first time in my life, after my mother was gone and there wasn’t anyone who could take care of me. I was so scared and tired. I didn’t remember how old I could have been then, maybe four or five. My whole world shattered, and suddenly I had to stay away from home with strangers, surrounded by other kids, sleep in a bed that wasn’t mine. My powers hadn’t started to develop yet, but I was aware of the sadness and sorrow behind the walls of the monastery orphanage. Everything was so fresh in my memory.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead, staring at those tiny humans who couldn’t have been more than a few hours old, wiggling their hands and feet. That’s why I had to keep going, so I could turn my past around, change everything. Getting drunk and gambling couldn’t last forever, tequila wouldn’t numb me forever. I had to face reality—and maybe even consider telling Arthur the truth.
We had something special going on, and twelve months ago, I had given him exactly what he wanted.
I couldn’t afford to slip back into my old ways. I had dealt with my past the best I could, and the choices I made then weren’t necessarily right. Maybe everything could still be fixed.
I left the hospital, feeling less wounded, somehow refreshed. But I still had a long way to go. In the tube station I told myself that this was it—I had to change, push through. No one was going to hold my hand. It was time to grow up.
I reached the office some time before two. On the threshold I heard Emma’s laugh. Inside I found her with Detective Zachary Quinton, who sat in a chair near the desk, probably waiting for me. My heart made a flip, reminding me that it’d been three days since I spoke to him, since we made out. Ricky was standing by the window, looking like he was ready to strangle someone.
“Hey, Ricky … and Zach,” I said. “And Emma.”
Zach zoomed his deep dark eyes over my face and smiled. My stomach reminded me that I needed to fuel it with some food. Ricky could probably smell magical tequila from the other side of the room, but I pretended that I could work, that my hangover wasn’t a problem today. We needed to have a chat about our other pending cases, but I could see Ricky wanted me to get rid of Zach first. I sensed that he didn’t like him very much, or maybe he just didn’t trust him yet.
“How are you, Maxine? Missed me much?” Zach asked, standing up.
“Not particularly. What are you doing here?” I asked.
“He’s here to talk to you,” Ricky responded for him, not looking too happy that Zach was hogging our space. Sometimes he liked marking his territory way too obsessively. Both Zach and Emma seemed to sense his magic circulating in the air. I could only hope that Zach was immune to Ricky’s tricks.
“We had an agreement, Max, and you’re lucky enough that I’m sticking to it. I should be in the field, solving this case, searching for leads. Instead I’m here, waiting for you to show up,” Zach pointed out, checking his watch.
Then the phone rang, and Emma answered it. I narrowed my eyes on Zach, trying to figure out if he was here because he was forced to do it by a demonic influence or if he made his own choice. Part of me knew that he came back because we were working on the case together. Prince George was still out there, hopefully still alive.
“There’s someone on the phone for you, Max. A woman, and she is saying that it’s important,” Emma said, covering the phone with her palm. Zach shook his head, and nodded for me to take the call.
“Hello, Maxine speaking,” I said, taking the phone from Emma and flopping my sorry arse on her desk. It was going to be long day today.
“Max? The one who is looking for a missing prince?” asked the nervous-sounding voice on the other side of the phone. It was a female, but the line was crackling. I clicked my fingers in front of Zach’s face to get his attention.
“Yes, that’s me. Who are you?”
“Natasha. My friend Jessica was with the prince a couple of nights ago. She said that he wasn’t himself,” the woman was saying. “I called because I heard that you can help me. I’m in trouble because of her.”
Zachary and Ricky were staring at me in confusion.
“She was with the prince? Where? When?” I questioned her. The hot detective walked
around Emma’s desk and leaned over, trying to listen in. His presence was suddenly distracting. I smelled his sexy cologne and my hormones suddenly went berserk. Magic from last night still circulated through my system.
“In the club Zander in North London. We both waitress there. The prince looked ill. No one recognised him apart from me. Then he went out with Jessica. She called me last night, saying that he bit her, and she had to go to the hospital,” the woman said, while Zachary was breathing close to my cheek.
“Where are you right now?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to see anyone. I’m just worried about Jess. Please, can you go and check on her? She hasn’t come in to work today and that’s not like her. What if the prince has done something to her?”
The human woman on the line couldn’t have known the prince was missing. Rodriguez made sure that there was a block on the story, but we finally had a lead. Someone was with Prince George last night, a human.
“How did you know who to call?” I asked.
“Someone in the club gave me your number. He said that you deal with unexplained cases, that you look for missing people,” she explained. “My friend lives on St. Richards Avenue in Hackney, Apartment twenty-four. Headlands Court. Please, someone has to check if she is all right.”
Zach’s body brushed over mine and my nipples got hard. I wanted to ask her a few more questions, but she hung up. I slammed the phone down and cleared my throat, ready to leave.
“Get your coat. We need to go now. We may have something,” I said, and walked off, not waiting for him to follow me.
Chapter 19
“In each fire there is a spirit; Each one is wrapped in what is burning him.”
― Dante Alighieri
I kept thinking about my drunken mistake, and my gut filled with guilt whilst I walked downstairs with Zach. Our drive was going to be filled with an awkward and uncomfortable silence. It was time to think about other means of transport. Maybe I should buy a motorbike to avoid situations like this in the future.
The woman on the phone was vague, and I wasn’t sure if it was wise to believe anything that she said. The bottom line was, that the prince was missing, and there was no reason for him to be around some hooker. This just didn’t make any sense, but we didn’t have anything else, any other leads.
Zach was hard to read today, and I struggled to focus through the rushing tide of heat that blossomed through my system. I couldn’t deny that there was something about his domineering personality that appealed to me. I guessed it was some weird human trait harking back to cavemen, some me-man-you-woman type thing. Today he wore black jeans and a white shirt with stripes. His gun was in a holster strapped around his back, and even after my eventful night, I was still kind of turned on.
On the other hand, even though what happened between Zach and me back in his house was a mistake, I bloody loved every second of it. Maybe we had gotten off on the wrong foot, but that sizzling attraction between us was still stirring the air, tempting me to make a move.
“Are you all right? You seem quiet,” Zach said after some time. The car stopped at a traffic light, and his eyes shifted over to my face.
“I’m fine, had a rough night last night,” I said, wondering how the hell I could believe that Arthur would show up in an obscure bar in the middle of the night, just so he could talk to me.
I was stupid and emotionally vulnerable. It was time to go on a detox; I finally hit rock bottom of my miserable life.
“We should go out, Flower, after this whole case is solved and the young prince is back to his aunt’s nest,” he said, with that playful tone of voice. I exhaled sharply and looked at him, realising that he just asked me out on a date.
“Go out? As in, on a date with you?” I repeated, just to make sure that we were on the same page.
He smirked, casting one of his hot looks in my direction. The truth was that I didn’t really know him, but I believed that some other demon had tampered with his mind. After all, he was able to sense that I was different, not completely human. Our last conversation worried me, and I needed to be careful with charms when he was around.
“We both know you want me, Flower. A couple of nights ago, you humped me dry, and who knows what would’ve happened if we weren’t interrupted?” He chuckled, smoothing the steering wheel. “My mother has been telling me for years that I should settle down; maybe that’s me and you. I mean, we have chemistry.”
I was shocked that he was being so forward with me. Three nights ago, he was ready to kill me in his own home, and now he wanted to date me. I just couldn’t get my head around it.
“Want you?” I questioned him, laughing, suddenly aware of the warmth building in my chest. “You were the one dry humping me, Detective. Besides, who said that I would want to go out with you in the first place?”
“I can make you forget about your prince. Once I jump your bones, you won’t go anywhere else, Maxine,” he said darkly, with a tone of voice that had my insides turning to a mush.
“Gee, can you be any more arrogant?”
“I’m just speaking the truth, suggesting something that is obvious. We’re attracted to each other, don’t deny it, and I promise you, you’ll never think of another man again,” he said, his eyes on me studying my reaction.
I hated the fact that he was bringing Arthur into this awkward conversation. He had no idea what I had given up, what happened between us in the past. Things were still complicated, and I didn’t want to jump into yet another doomed relationship.
“Stop calling me Flower, arsehole. You won’t get to go out with me if you keep talking about the wrong prince. Besides, I’m not looking for anything, and I won’t go on a date just because your mother is expecting you to settle down.”
“It’s not a lifetime commitment, and I’m not doing this because of my mother. You’re hot and something tells me that we could enjoy each other’s company on a whole new level.”
Really, he was delusional, but the images of us together kept moving in front of my eyes. Zachary was a human and sleeping with him was too risky. I made one big mistake last night. The streets were monitored by Watchers, and I was betting that my name was back on their radar.
“I’m sure we would, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, Detective. I have too much shit on my plate and I don’t want to complicate things between us,” I muttered, knowing that a one-night stand could get me into a lot of trouble. Demons liked spreading rumours, and I was running a business, trying to keep away from Hell’s affairs.
“Sex would make you forget, Maxine, and I’m good with making women forget. Stop denying yourself a basic need that I can help you with,” he purred.
He stopped the car several moments later. Zachary Quinton just proposed to fuck my brains out and I said no. After all, sex changed things between people, and I had a tendency to hang on to people who were giving me attention.
It amazed me how quickly he could forget about the pending investigation and talk about sex like this as if it was perfectly normal. Humans honesty amazed me at times.
“Don’t worry, we can discuss this later, when you’re less tense, Maxine.”
I rolled my eyes and looked around the housing estate that stretched in front of us. It was cold, and freezing wind blew through the streets. I wouldn’t want to get stuck in this part of the city if I were a missing royal. George wasn’t one of the most responsible people that I knew, but he wouldn’t just get involved with a hooker. He liked partying and, as far as I knew, he could pick and choose the ladies interested in him.
We walked for five minutes, until we found the right apartment block. Mr. Detective, who claimed to be the leader, managed to convince some old lady on the fifth floor to let us into the building. We called the lift and Zach pressed floor nine. Demonic energy began coursing through my veins as we moved higher. I suspected that the effects of magical tequila were still colliding inside my bloodstream, confusing my sharp senses. I was pretty much
still hungover, suffering after my drunken party at the bar. This neighbourhood was very human, but we had to be ready for anything.
We found Jessica’s apartment several minutes later. I inhaled the strong smell of sandalwood and other rare herbs. It seemed that there might be an illegal production of potions going on behind the closed door. The woman we were looking for was a hooker, and a human, so that just didn’t add up.
After a few minutes of banging at the door, I figured out that the apartment was empty, and the girl was either already dead or missing. I tried the doors; they were unlocked so I walked inside.
“We need a warrant. We can’t just walk into her apartment like that,” Zach told me.
“Then go ahead and get one. I’m going in,” I said and carried on. We were running out of time and this wasn’t the time to follow his police rules.
The apartment was small and dark. The fumes from the brewing elixirs drifted in the air. A human couldn’t have known about stuff like that. I suspected that a demon had been here, running the whole show. His energy was strong, and I recognised the scent. It belonged to someone who I’d met in the past, but couldn’t remember where and when.
“Jessica!” I called out, just to be sure the apartment was empty. The curtains in the living room were drawn. There was an old sofa in the corner that smelled of sex and sweat. Zach obviously couldn’t stay away, and he strolled in after me, looking around.
“Blood, still fresh. We might have just missed them,” Zachary pointed out, touching the soaked carpet with his fingers. My mind was racing all of a sudden, as I tried to pinpoint if George had been kept here as a temporary measure, considering all the crazy possibilities.
The table in the living room was filled with flasks, dried herbs, and blood. There were some pots placed on a gas heater. The liquid inside smelled of lavender, but when I dipped a spoon in it, the metal melted instantly. The consistency, the light smell, and the strength told me that someone was trying to create Second Chance Potion but couldn’t quite make it right. The elixir of life, the one that gave energy to a broken soul. Royal blood was part of this complicated recipe, and I had a feeling that a significant amount of George’s blood was already brewing inside the pot. I had studied a couple of books in the past, and I knew that this kind of thing was supposed to give strength and power to a half demon, someone like me.
Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel Page 18
