by Livia Quinn
I found Aurora and Montana attaching purple and green crepe paper to the sides of the downtown development float.
Montana looked bored, Aurora aggravated.
“Montana, quit pulling that down and hold it where I told you to.” She turned to me. “Good thing you’re here. Would you mind…” She caught Montana unawares and tugged the string from her hands.
Relieved, Montana jumped down from the float giving Tempe an eye roll, “Aurora acts like we’re in a blue ribbon competition, or decorating for a real New Orleans parade. I’m going to get a Dr. Pepper. You guys want something?” She took our drink orders and escaped to the concession stand.
“I don’t know why she came,” Aurora said, blowing long strands of silver out of her eyes. “She’s worse than those teens sitting on the bleachers, twitchy. She needs to hammer something.”
“Well, she’s willing at least.”
“Oh, Bailey called and said she’d be here, but late. She got lucky—”
“Again,” we said in unison.
We worked for a couple hours, managing to put Montana to work banging a hammer, using her warrior goddessness for something practical.
As game time approached the crowd grew. Bailey finally showed, and energized by her recent conquest, showed a fair aptitude for float decorating.
“You’re very good at this, Bailey,” Aurora said.
“I love doing this kind of stuff. Liam lets me decorate the bar for Christmas and New Years—Oh. My…” Bailey’s eyes turned into piercing beams of gold. We all turned to see what had gotten her attention. A bronzed figure in knee length shorts and blue Destiny’s Finest t-shirt glided across the parking lot toward us.
As if he’d cast a spell on every female in sight, heads turned, and bodies froze as he approached. The air had turned to clear plastic sludge, and the only being able to glide through it was assistant coach, Jack Lang. His stride was all long limbs and easy confident grace.
“Hmmm,” breathed Aurora.
“Yeah,” said Bailey. “That is one fine human specimen.”
“Rock my world.” Montana said. “Tempe, ante up or set him free. The adoring are drooling and taking numbers.”
The world must have resumed its spinning, but I still found myself unable to add my own thoughts as he stopped directly in front of me. This close I read the fine print on his shirt, Road to the Finals
“Ladies.” He glanced over at the float and back at me. “The float looks good.” I was suddenly conscious of staying up all night, not taking time this morning to dress more fashionably, much less put on makeup.
“Um…” seemed to be my best attempt at conversation.
I was aware only of the heat building between us, a shimmering electric current flooding my blood and fairly lifting me off the ground. Then I felt Aurora’s spell spiral around my ankle and tug me back to earth. I stared at her suddenly realizing that my body had involuntarily begun to levitate. In public!
Jack saw my panicked expression and put a hand on my shoulder, “Are you ok—” His eyelids floated down to half-mast.
Oh, yeah.
Aurora’s voice cut through my haze. “Sheriff, you came along at just the right time. Montana’s not quite tall enough to reach that corner. Would you mind?”
He turned slowly toward Aurora, and she gave me a get your head together look. I tried. Really, I was stirred and shaken to the core, with memories of that last kiss awakening my dormant sexual drive. It was different from what I’d felt for Dylan, deeper and very hard to ignore.
“Hey, Tempe.” Jordie’s voice sounded above the din of workers. “I can’t believe you all came.”
She walked over to us, then uncharacteristically she was watching her feet, fiddling with her hair. I hugged her and whispered in her ear, “Just be yourself, honey,” and felt her relax.
I released her and asked, “Have you met Aurora?”
Aurora smiled and stepped forward. “I’m so happy to meet you, Jordan. Tempe tells me you’re looking for a part time job, and by coincidence I’m looking for a part time employee, preferably a student. Why don’t you come by the boutique on Monday after school? That is if you don’t have practice.”
“Oh, yes, ma’am, I mean, no ma’am, I don’t have practice and I—Monday’s perfect,” the girl enthused. “I’ll see you Monday.” She jumped up and down and ran off toward the gym, then turned around and ran back to us. “Thanks, again, Ms. Borealis.” She raced off through the crowd.
Jack spoke to Aurora, “I appreciate your offer. I’m just not sure she needs to be working.”
He looked in the direction his daughter had gone. Then, he looked at me, “But I figure you ladies know something about teenage girls, and I think I’m outnumbered in this department, so I’m going to allow it for now. Until her athletics or her grades suffer.”
Leave it to a man to be as concerned about sports as he was grades.
Aurora said, “Jack, I can work around her schedule nicely, and I really could use a hand a few afternoons a week. It’ll be good for both of us.” She patted his hand, “And for Daddy, too.” She resumed her float trimming.
Jack tacked trim to the last corner.
“So, did you need to talk to me?” I asked him.
He looked over his shoulder at me as he tapped the decorations in place. “I have to get over to the team now, but I was wondering if we could meet somewhere later and…” he winked, “compare notes.”
Four sets of eyes met mine. Three of them accompanied by nosy smiles. SOAPs never got the concept of minding their own business.
“The kids are going to Breaux’s after the game. You could ride with me and we could talk.”
“What about Jordie?”
“She’s riding with Melissa.”
We agreed to meet at his cruiser after the game, and he left for his pre-game meeting. The view as he walked away was pretty nice, too.
Just before the game started, Liam and Kat showed up. Even Bailey’s cowboy made an appearance. Apparently Jack’s parents had driven down to New Orleans for the weekend. Delighted to have a full family rooting section Jordie waved at us enthusiastically. The game was an exciting matchup with one of the top teams in the state. Jordie scored the most points on either team in the first half. As the other team made a hard defensive push to keep the Destiny Wildcats from scoring, their point guard went down, untouched, grabbing her thigh and writhing in pain.
The crowd surged to their feet in concern for the teenager. Montana jogged down to the court to offer her expertise. Tense moments followed as coaches and players knelt nearby praying for the downed player. While the medics readied her for transport, I looked across the floor and met the guilty eyes of Andy Rush. The little miscreant had transformed someone’s wishes into reality. Again.
Chapter 33
Tempe
This time I punched in the speed dial of someone I figured Andy wouldn’t ignore. While Dylan’s phone rang, I kept an eye on the teen as he raced down the bleachers and out the side door of the gym.
“You can run, kid…” Hiding from Dylan wouldn’t be easy, though an out of control teenage Djinni could probably come up with some creative evasion tactics. I attempted to follow the boy, but lost sight of him in the crowd of concerned spectators.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at a basketball game?” Dylan asked.
“I am and there’s something I need you to take care of.”
“What?” Now this was the real Dylan, a man of few words.
“It’s Andy. He’s been reading minds and granting unspoken wishes.”
“Where is he?” he growled.
After siccing Dylan on Andy, I went back to the game, which had resumed, but half-heartedly as news reached the gym…the opposing team’s star player had broken her leg. Still, after the Wildcats’ win, the team and their excited fans planned to celebrate at Breaux’s Pizza after the game.
Jack approached as I waited outside. The weather had cleared and we watched teenagers
load into vehicles and squeal out of the parking lot. Being teens, they probably thought Coach Lang would give them a pass tonight, but they’d be disappointed if their actions endangered anyone. Then they’d meet Jack “Laser” Lang, hard-nosed commander. I’d have to ask him how he got that call sign. It fit.
I studied him as he walked toward me. He had showered and changed and he towered over me in his jeans, insulated jacket and flannel trooper’s hat.
“Ride with me,” he said, his voice seductive and low.
“I could follow you, if you’d like.” Follow you anywhere…
“No, this will give us a chance to talk.”
He was right of course, but the more I thought of being surrounded by his scent, hemmed in with his imposing aura, the more my Tempestaerie protons yipped like happy coyotes, anticipating the rush. Still, I was more nervous than I’d been on any first date. The tension of lawman vs. suspect was gone, but it had been replaced by a thrilling desire, the desire to engulf him with all of my nature. Though I wasn’t sure what that meant, I was damn sure it would scare us both.
We were silent for a mile until he slowed the cruiser and pulled over at the park turnaround. A quick flip of his light sent a car full of necking teenagers scurrying for a different location, but not before one of them shouted, “Allriiight, go for it, Coach.”
He chuckled. “I don’t remember ever being that carefree.”
“I never was,” I admitted, immediately regretting it.
“It seems like I’m always apologizing to you, but I am sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I was just doing my job. You have to admit, it looked pretty suspicious. You were at the center of everything; you still are for that matter. But as a victim, not a perpetrator.”
“I am not a victim,” I declared.
He considered that for a minute. “And you don’t like relying on someone else for help.”
I didn’t reply, but really looked at him; at the almost dimples in his smooth cheeks, his wet bronze hair combed away from his face. My eyes travelled down the strong column of his throat where the ridge below hinted at the well-defined muscles of his chest. The memory of that splendid set of pectorals had the blood rushing in my ears like thunder.
“Ahm,” he shifted in his seat and my eyes shot back to his.
He pushed his seat back and stretched his legs as far as the space would allow. Then he spread his jacket across the console. My eyes widened.
“Come ‘ere,” he said, patting the jacket.
I smiled at him as I unfastened my seat belt and crawled toward him. It felt odd and yet, freeing to act on my feelings for him, spontaneously. He slipped his hands under my arms and lifted me across, surprising me by just snuggling me against him. I rested my hand on his where he stroked my stomach.
“Just relax a sec,” he said.
Friday morning Jack had surprised me with his tenderness. Now, wrapped once again in his arms, I felt the tension ease and my muscles relax.
“I wanted to tell you what I’ve found out so far.” He rubbed my back slowly as I stiffened. “It’s not bad news, just an update. I got some interesting feedback from a lab tech over in Amity, where I took some fluid and hair samples, and your amphora.” I pulled back, scowling up at him.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s safe.”
“Ah, well it doesn’t matter now. Keep it as long as necessary. Wait, what do you mean fluid samples? The body was stolen.” Or regenerated. Or evaporated or whatever Nucklavees did when they died, I thought.
“Yes, but I took the backup slides to an associate who called me yesterday with his preliminary report. He found no blood on the vase which means we can confirm it wasn’t the weapon, and no fingerprints but yours, so no leads about who took it. He said he’s having trouble with the DNA tests.”
I’ll bet he is. I said, “Isn’t that a tad illegal?”
He snorted, “No more than somebody stealing the body. Because I didn’t go through channels, that evidence wouldn’t be admissible, but I’d take the trade-off if we can find the murderer, and your brother.”
I snuggled against him, sighing. “You really do believe me.”
“I do.”
“I hear a but at the end of that sentence.”
He hugged me tighter. “I just hope you can trust me with those secrets of yours before long.”
Yeah, I couldn’t wait for that to happen…
“There was something else. The fingerprint slides of the victim were essentially blank, not even a trace of sweat.”
He saw my puzzled look.
“The human body produces sweat, which is what makes the print ‘stick’. Thorpe said if I indeed collected the victim’s prints, somehow, they were not on the slides.”
“Really!” Was it guilt making me wonder if he doubted my surprise was genuine? I decided it was. “What do you make of that?”
His face moved away from mine and he stared down at me for a second, eyes narrowed. Satisfied he said, “Well, all I can figure is that somehow the samples got contaminated before or after I got them to him. It wasn’t like they were in a perfect environment. But the blood told him one thing. The man was already dying. He said the way the cells were ‘breaking down’ the body is probably totally decomposed by now; and there was a high concentration of iron in his system.”
I perked up, knowing what that meant. Whether or not he knew what happened to River, Ray Meeker had had his hands on River’s amphora. The ancient Chinese Dingware was painted on the inside with iron infused paint. Iron killed fae, but it didn’t affect Djinn, which was why my father had always insisted on that particular glazing for the family digs. It inherently eliminated a lot of threats.
“So you think he stole the amphora, and when he wasn’t feeling so hot, hid it in one of the lockers? Why would he even bring it to work with him? And what was he doing there on Monday? Oh—”
“Yes, I think he was meeting the killer, perhaps to sell the amphora, and something went wrong.”
“But the alarm was still going when you got there after me, wasn’t it?”
His body stiffened slightly against mine. “Very good, for an amateur. I’ll have to rethink that angle.”
“You said you were going to get a sketch from the guy who saw River…”
“I’ve arranged for him to meet with the sketch artist in Baton Rouge. I have to wait until he has a day off, though. I also put more men out canvasing the area for leads.” He squeezed me and rubbed his cheek against my hair. It was a sweet gesture that made my heart lurch.
“I wanted to tell you earlier, but we had too much company. I used the key you gave me to your mother’s house and had it processed for fingerprints and other evidence. I was going to wait until you filled out a report on her, but I get the impression from you that time is of the essence.”
I tensed at first, glad that I wasn’t facing him when he gave me that bit of news. But I realized he hadn’t waited because he knew I wouldn’t want the delay to keep us from finding Phoebe and River. “Thank you, Jack.” I was curious to know what they’d find in those fingerprints. For all I knew Tempestaeries didn’t have sweaty fingerprints either.
“Unfortunately, the place was even cleaner than it looked. These guys, whoever they are, know what they’re doing. It’s like some spy operation.”
We sat in the dark for several minutes, neither of us speaking in the ensuing silence. Then he brushed my hair from my face, tangling it in his fingers. He shifted me so he could see my face as his warm lips trailed across my cheek, my jaw, while his hand inched up to the buttons of my blouse. Fingers stole into the cup of my bra and across my nipple. I gasped.
He tilted my head so he could kiss the pulse at my throat. “I want you, Tempest Pomeroy. I have since the second I opened my door and found you ogling me so lasciviously.”
He tweaked my nipple between his fingers. When all I did was make a begging mewling whimper, he crushed my mouth under his.
Once again I flew…the sensations
like a blast from a gale force wind, shattering my carefully built barriers like windows in a New Orleans high rise. One minute I was staring into heated silver eyes, and the next there was black shining water coming at me. I was flying along the surface, like a racer with no finish line in sight. Blue sky whirled above me, then my body was crushed under an unseen ton of weight.
There was the high shrill sound of…of…I can’t place the sound. An image rises against the night—a silver dragon, flames spewing from its mouth. The water blows up behind me, blasting out of the depths of midnight.
Like a roller coaster up—up I go spinning toward the deep blue horizon, dropping all at once toward the earth, my stomach lurching, ears popping and I am bound with iron chains, my body smooshed under hundreds of pounds… The weight is lifted and I’m falling…falling…cheeks press into my teeth making it hard to speak…silver wings flapping! Creating the sound of thunder…
“Whoa,” I gasped. My eyes flew open to meet Jack’s. I put my hand to my forehead, “What was that?”
“What was what?” he asked, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
I breathed out waiting for my heartbeat to return to normal. “It’s weird, sometimes when we touch, there’s…” I shifted to look at him. His hand slid out of my blouse, and he frowned. I took his hand and chuckled.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just that I see, like, deep blue water passing me by so fast, and a twirling sky, and I feel like I’m on a roller coaster doing loop-d-loops. It’s beautiful and dizzying, and just plain weird.”
He grinned. “Do you feel like you’re racing through the night sky or see yourself flying inches above the ocean at supersonic speed? Hear a sonic boom?”
My mouth dropped open, and I nodded. “You saw it too?”
“Not exactly.” He laughed. “Sounds like you were taking a ride along with me on a night flight. Was it good for you?”
Chapter 34
Tempe
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. With only a small oomph, his hands cupped my butt tugging me closer so that I felt his arousal. When air met my skin, and he cupped my breast again, I froze. What was I thinking? That’s the problem, I wasn’t. It was too soon. I wanted him desperately, and hopefully it would happen, but not yet. Not until he was able to accept the real me, and the real Destiny. “Jack.”
