by Liz Schulte
“That’s still none of your business.” Olivia’s face set into a hard, defiant mask, and she ran her fingers through her hair.
I bit my tongue. I wanted to say more, I needed to say more, but now wasn’t the time.
“We need to find out what’s happening in the outside world,” Olivia said in her normal voice, breaking the tension. “Quintus, talk to Ezra and see where he stands. Play dumb.”
“Shouldn't be a stretch,” Holden muttered under his breath the same time I said, “Fine.”
“Femi, can you see if there’s a contract out on us?”
“Yeah, I’ll call Sy, my bounty liaison. If anything official’s happened, he’ll know.”
“Holden, do you have any contacts who can help with the demon side?”
“No.” He didn’t think about his answer or seem upset by it.
“You don't have one single friend you can call?” Femi blurted out with wide eyes.
“I don’t have friends,” he said with a serious face. Olivia all but melted into a pool of sympathy. Holden waved his hand in the air as if he could brush it away. “It's not like a club. Most jinn don't live very long, and if they do they're angling against you for promotion. Other races don't trust us, and demons aren't exactly throwing Christmas parties. It's fine, less complications. I do better working alone.”
Olivia cleared her throat. “Well, I guess it's up to the two of you. I don't know anyone else either.” Her eyes shifted toward the floor.
Holden gave her a bemused look.
I cleared my throat. “When should I go?”
“Time is of the essence,” Holden said, keeping his gaze on Olivia. “But if you teleport out of here or anywhere nearby, you’ll regret it.” He tossed the keys to his bike at me.
I left the bunker, looking back once. I didn’t have a chance, Femi was right. I found his motorcycle. It was so very Holden—something that annoyed me further. Dark, dangerous, sleek... all the things I wasn’t. I didn’t understand women at all. I was nice. I would take care of her. I was like her. I started the bike and sat for a moment. I couldn’t even remember the last time I drove. This was absurd. Why would I drive? I turned off the bike. I would not take orders from a jinni.
A moment later I stood in Ezra’s office. He wasn’t there. I sat in a chair with my elbows resting on my knees. I was so tired. I was too old for this. I had seen too much, watched too many of my friends retire. Why was I still here?
“Quintus. I feared the worst.”
I looked up at Ezra. His words were hollow. I had the urge to ask if he feared the worst, why did he keep compelling me to come to him? Why didn’t he compel Olivia to come when she was the one he wanted to talk about? “I came as soon as I could.”
“How is Olivia?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I know?”
“Last time we spoke you were rather impassioned about her.”
“Was I?”
“So you do not know where she is?”
“What did you need from me, Ezra?”
His eye twitched. “Well, I, for one, would like to know what happened.”
“You mean when you didn’t come. When you made no effort to save me from the jinn? Did you not hear my prayers?”
He stared at me, seeing me for the first time. His head tilted back ever so slightly. “Of course I didn’t hear you.”
The symbols that prevented me from leaving the cell the jinn kept me in could have prevented me from calling for help, but an elder wasn’t a normal guardian. Why hadn’t he heard my prayer? Another thought occurred to me: the other guardians who were taken must have prayed for help. Did he ignore all of them too? “How is that possible?”
“Do you doubt my honesty, Quintus?”
Did I have doubts? Yes, hundreds of them, but I couldn’t tell if it was my irritation with Olivia or our actual problems. Now, however, wasn’t the time. “Of course not.”
“Then you will tell me everything that happened?”
“Of course.” I forced a smile. “We were watching the warehouse as you instructed. I gave Olivia a break and she left. I decided to move in for a closer look—”
“Despite me telling you not to?”
“Yes, despite that. I was captured and put into a cell. Olivia came to look for me and was also captured.”
“How did you escape? What of the jinn?”
“Olivia. She killed the demon and knocked out all the jinn.”
Ezra looked like he might laugh or slap me out of my obvious hysteria. “How, may I ask, did she do such a feat?”
Here’s where my story would get tricky. How much did he know? Should I tell him of Holden’s part in the story?
“Quintus, I’m waiting. Would your hesitation have anything to do with the North American Jinn Commander?”
He knew. “Holden came looking for Olivia and was also captured. When he was about to be sent to hell, she acted on instinct to save him. They knew each other when she was alive, and I believe he cares for her.”
“A jinni. She is friends with a jinni?”
“More like acquaintances. She didn’t know what he was when she was human.” I hated lying, but what choice did I have?
Ezra paced the small room, glancing over his shoulder at me occasionally. “How did she save him exactly?”
“I’m not sure. I wasn’t in the room. She said she wanted to stop the demon. When I found them, the demon was dust and the jinn were knocked out. I saw her light even in my cell when it happened.”
He shook his head. “Extraordinary power,” he mumbled to himself. “And the jinni she set out to save, what happened to him?”
“He lived…and his soul is intact.”
Ezra went still. He didn’t move even so much as to breathe. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” He jerked his head up, startled that I spoke. “She doesn’t know either. I respectfully think you made an error having her trained as a normal guardian. She is very strong and very confused. She needs guidance that I am not capable of giving her. Olivia could be a wonderful asset and leader to our people.”
“Find her, Quintus. Find her and bring her here.”
“What will happen to her?”
“Who else knows of this?”
“No one.”
“See it stays that way.”
“What will happen to her?” I repeated.
“We must assess the damage she has caused, but I will do everything in my power to help her.”
“And what of the traitor?”
“We’ll see.” He took a deep breath. “She must be scared. Find her, Quintus, and bring her to me.”
I nodded. All I had to do was convince Olivia.
Six
The door had no more than shut behind the guardian when Olivia looked up at me. “What is your situation? Are you still a jinni? Can you still control emotions? Or are you human again?”
I thought for a moment. “I don't feel different, but I haven't tried to use any of it.”
“Well, I guess we should figure that out. If you’re human, that could change whatever plan we make.”
Femi got up from the couch and walked over to me with a peculiar glint in her eyes. “Try it on me.”
“But you're immune,” Olivia said with a frown. I heard a thought about Femi saving her from a jinni in my bar, Xavier. I made a mental note to find out what happened and to take more permanent care of that jinni.
“I bluffed,” she said with a feline smile. “Most people don’t know much about my race so they tend to believe whatever I tell him. If he was stronger, he could’ve had me eating out of his palm.” Her pupils contracted vertically. “I assume you're strong enough, so go ahead. Work me over, big guy.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked back at her. “What?”
“Do what you do. Grant me three wishes or whatever your shtick is.” Femi winked.
I smiled and glanced at Olivia. “You sure about this?”
She nodded
—though she looked uncertain she liked where this was headed. I held Olivia’s gaze as I moved toward Femi, my body relaxing. Olivia watched, not even blinking as I moved my stare to Femi. I didn’t have to seduce Femi, not really. Just letting myself feel the passion between Olivia and I was enough to set an entire city block on fire. However, so long as I was doing it, I should do it right. My finger trailed a leisurely path down her golden arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. Femi’s lips parted and a purr sounded in her chest. Energy sparked, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Olivia’s little pink tongue dart out over her lips; her worry made my stomach tighten, but didn’t lessen the thick, volatile emotions in the air. My jaw flexed as Femi hit me, caressing my body with hers in one long fluid motion. Her mouth found my neck and her hands slipped into my shirt before I could flip the switch.
Jealousy split Olivia’s face like lightning. She looked ready to knock her friend out, but settled for clenching her fists and turning way. Her anger washed over me. What in the hell did she want? I did what she asked. I pulled back, cutting off the sensations in the room. Femi composed herself.
“I'd say that worked.” She walked passed me fanning herself.
Olivia struggled to keep her temper as Femi went by her. I didn’t understand. She couldn’t be jealous. She knew how I felt about her.
“Looks like he’s still a jinni,” Femi offered, her voice breathy.
Olivia shook her head, lips pursed.
Femi cleared her throat, not blind to the tension building in the room. “I’ll give Sy a call.” She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. “Hey, handsome. Miss me?” Her throaty laugh filled the room. “Nah, taking a personal day. Anything new or interesting pop up?” She twirled a lock of hair in her fingers.
Olivia and I waited for a sign or an indication from her, but she padded around the room as she talked without giving anything away.
“You call that interesting? Pssh, I’ve eaten more intriguing dinners… What do you mean, what am I fishing for? I wanted something different to tackle. You got nothing, huh? ...Fat lot of good you are. Talk to you later, lover.” She hung up the phone and stretched.
“Well?” I prompted as she stalled. In her own way she was as bad as Baker, a shifter who had somehow become my ever-so annoying advisor.
“Nothing. No bounties have come through on either of you or he would’ve said. Jinn don’t leave witnesses and guardians don’t do anything but hug, so either would’ve been strange enough to note.”
Olivia let out an audible breath and relief filled me from the inside.
“Well, that changes everything, doesn’t it?” she said with a slight smile.
Femi smiled back. “Now you have to figure out what you want.”
Olivia made a face and stared at her hands. “It’s more complicated than that. I have responsibilities. If we aren’t going to be killed on sight, then we have to go back and find out who the traitor was. For all we know, the jinn and the traitor are regrouping and starting again.”
My instinct was to refuse, but I knew that would make her dig in her heels. “How do you propose to do that? Your surveillance didn’t work. I killed Danica. We could hunt down Juliet and torture it out of her, if she knows anything, but I assume you’re not okay with that.”
Olivia glowered.
“My money’s on Ezra,” Femi voiced what was running through my head.
“I agree. To set up the guardians, the person would have to be high up, and thanks to Quintus, he knows a lot about you. It would be easy enough to make you into a patsy.” Good God, Baker was wearing off on me.
Olivia nodded, biting her lip. “It makes sense. He was the one wasting our time on that stupid roof, demanding all of this be kept quiet, but we have to have proof. We should see what Quintus thinks.”
“We can’t trust Quintus.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Of course we can.”
“Not so hasty. Holden brings up a good point. Quintus kept things from you, important things. Dimples seems like a nice guy, but I’d be cautious.”
Olivia sighed and gritted her teeth. “This sucks. I trust all of you. Quintus is in this as much as the rest of us.”
“Is he?” I asked. “I’ve ignored the rules of my people countless times and now have my soul back. You managed to steal a soul from purgatory. Femi is taking sides despite her race’s neutrality. Quintus hasn’t done anything except try to talk us out of everything we ended up doing.”
“How about you go back on your own and not align with either side?” Femi suggested. “I’ll help you investigate from a neutral standpoint.”
“Too dangerous,” I objected. No way was I letting Liv out of my sight—especially not to go chasing traitors and demons.
Femi started to argue, but Liv cut her off. “We wouldn’t get anywhere. Jinn and guardians are too close knit.” A slow smile crept across her face. “But there’s a way. I’ve been pretty isolated from other guardians. Some is my own doing, and the other is thanks to Ezra and Quintus. My contacts there aren’t good, but that doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t?” I didn’t like the look on her face or the increase in adrenaline coursing through her veins. What did she have planned?
“No, we have something better.”
“What?”
“You.” She patted my knee and my eyebrows lifted. “You’re the jinn commander, Holden, don’t be modest. Whoever the traitor is, he or she is hiding it from the guardians, but not from the jinn. With you, we can investigate from the inside.”
Femi’s eyes widened, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. “Are you crazy? You can’t go back with him.”
“No, hear me out. It’s a wonderful plan.”
“You’re forgetting one little detail. He has his soul back. If the two of you go marching back into that world, they’ll kill him and do whatever they please with you.”
“I’m not forgetting anything. Don’t you see? I’m his ticket back. They’ve wanted me from the start. I don’t know why, but they have. If they think Holden turned a guardian, wouldn’t that smooth things over? Wouldn’t that be worth a little inconvenience like him having his soul? He can resume his job like nothing’s changed while I find the traitor. The two of us will stop this war, and both sides should be happy.”
I let her idea take root in my mind. “Then what?” I asked. Then she would leave me and go back to being a guardian? I had a chance to change my life right now. I didn’t have to go back. I could do whatever I wanted for the first time. If I was going to risk my second chance, I needed some assurances. The odds were good that the only way they would take me back would be to reclaim my soul. It wasn’t a decision I could make lightly.
She shrugged. “Then we choose what we want to do, once everyone is safe. You can have your old life if you want it or pick something else.”
“You say we, but do you mean it?”
She pressed her lips together, but didn’t answer. Judging from the thoughts I could hear, she couldn’t answer. There were too many variables, too many conflicting emotions. As soon as she noticed my presence, she shut me out.
I closed my eyes. I said I would do anything for her—give anything to be with her again. Now all she was asking for was my future. “It might be the best plan we have. However, you need me to make it work, and I haven’t agreed to anything.” Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “I’m tired of you trying to get yourself killed. Right now, I know that you’re alive and safe, and funny enough, I have half a mind to keep you that way.”
She stood, put her hand on her hips, and set her jaw to a stubborn angle. “I’m doing this. You can help me or I’ll find someone else.”
Damn it. If this woman wasn’t trying to kill herself, she was trying to kill me. “You think you can make another jinni fall in love with you?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t have a problem with the bartender. Maybe I’ll find him again.”
Ah, yes, Will. I sat on t
he sofa and crossed my ankle over my knee. “But you’d still have the issue of all those jinn you left alive at the warehouse. What would you do when they recognize you and tell Will what you are? Do you think he’d protect you? Do you think he’d understand?” I let her squirm for a moment. “But however Will would’ve reacted is moot. He’s no longer alive.”
Olivia looked shocked and darted a glance at Femi. “But you said he’d heal,” she sputtered.
Femi gave a helpless gesture. “He should have.”
Olivia’s eyes disappeared into narrow slits. “What did you do?”
Feelings of resentment crept toward the surface. “I took care of the mess you left behind. I’ve been doing that a lot since I met you. He was a good bartender too.”
Olivia flushed with rage.
“If you want to live among the jinn, you’ll have to be able to deal with things like this. That reaction,” I waved a finger in her direction, “will get both of us killed.”
She took several deep breaths and crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought I was going alone.”
“Despite my better judgment, when have I ever not gone anywhere with you?”
She nodded and fixed her lovely eyes on the floor.
“But I have some rules.”
“Like what?”
“First, you obey me. I can’t have you questioning my authority. Period. Not once. I don’t allow that of my people, and I can’t allow it of my girlfriend.”
She raised her eyebrows, and Femi snorted.
“We have to keep up appearances, Liv. If you can’t do this, we’re doomed.”
After a few seconds she nodded. I wished I could hear her thought process, but she kept me locked out. “Fine.”
“Second, your safety and security is up to my discretion.”
“Fine.”
“Third, when this all blows up—and it will—and I tell you to run, you run, don’t wait for me, and never look back. I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”
Her breath hitched and her eyes glassed over. Doubt swept over her and into me. She might be able to lock me out of her thoughts, but she felt things too deeply to hide them. Holden, if you think they’ll kill you, we’ll think of a new plan.
