Claimed

by Sarah Fine

  “The rogue Ker would have Marked all of them, though,” said Dec. “It looks like he wanted to inflict as much damage as possible, destroying almost everyone linked to your research. I just wish I knew how he did it without Moros knowing.”

  Galena touched her Scope. “What will happen to Jian?”

  “He’ll stay in the Veil as a Shade unless a Ferry tracks him down and guides his soul.” Dec bit the inside of his cheek. “Usually, the only people who run from Ferrys in the Veil are the ones destined to go to Hell. They either know that’s where they’re headed or they run when they see the portal opening.”

  Galena sniffled. “It’s hard to think of him going to Hell, even now. I thought he was a good man.”

  “Sometimes a Heaven-bound soul runs from a Ferry because it’s really scared and disoriented, and occasionally I’ve come across souls that were just determined to get back to the real world because they were convinced they weren’t finished.”

  “Jian did seem pretty determined to get back here.”

  “Most Shades are, though. It’s like a compulsion. That’s why they’re always after our Scopes.”

  Galena nodded absently. “I wish he could have told us what happened. If a Ker made him do it to stop my research, why was he so angry at me?”

  “Like I said—Shades are rabid. Irrational rage is kind of their MO.” He pointed at an all-hours convenience store a block ahead. “There’s our ticket home.”

  He nodded at the stocky security guard as they approached the barred storefront. The guy, maybe thirty, with a buzz cut and a dent on the bridge of his squarish nose, scowled. “Customers only.”

  “I don’t know if I’m a customer yet,” said Dec, smiling. “I haven’t seen what’s on sale.”

  He moved to enter the store, but the guard swished his arm to the side and extended his electroshock baton. Galena let out a strangled whimper. Dec pushed her behind him and continued to smile. “We don’t want any trouble.”

  “Then get away from here,” said the guard, clutching his baton tightly.

  Dec met the guy’s eyes and did something he’d promised himself he would never, ever do. He pointed to the Scope at his neck. “My name is Declan Ferry,” he said. “And I want you to let us into the store.”

  “Ferry?” the guard said, blinking at the Scope. Everyone in the greater Boston area knew the raven symbol—Psychopomps had fingers in every pie from Boston to the canals of New York City. Then his eyes narrowed. “How do I know you didn’t steal that from one of them?”

  “Do you really want to take that risk?” said Dec, forcing his voice smooth and even. He hated using his family name like that. As if it made him special. But Galena had lost a lot of blood. She’d been through hours on the Marking table, hadn’t slept since . . . damn, not even last night. It made it possible to say, “I’d be personally grateful if you’d let us use your bathroom.”

  The guard looked skeptical, eyeing Dec’s torn, bloody shirt.

  Dec leaned forward. “What’s your name?”

  The guard took a half step back, still brandishing his baton. “Sanders.”

  “Sanders, you have a phone on you?”

  The guy glowered. “I’m not letting you use my phone.”

  “Take ten seconds and look me up. Then decide if you want to let me in.”

  Sanders pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed in Dec’s name. His eyes went wide. “You’re the son of—”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you’re the CEO’s—”

  “Yeah.”

  The guard squinted at a picture of Dec and Aislin that had been taken at a charity event a few months ago. “Hey, didn’t I see you on the news that one time when—?”

  “Probably. Hey. Sanders. My companion and I really need to get cleaned up. Can we come in already?”

  The guard looked down at the electroshock baton in his hand, then pressed it to his leg like he was trying to hide it. “Of course, Mr. Ferry. But are you hurt? Were you attacked? You need the police? I can call them for you, no problem. I’ve got a cousin on the force. He’d be happy to help.”

  Dec clenched his teeth. Now the guard was the picture of compassion. “No. We need a few enzymatic cloths and some privacy. Restroom?”

  “Right back there, Mr. Ferry,” the guard said eagerly. “Go right ahead.” He inclined his head at Galena. “Ma’am.”

  Dec pulled Galena along the aisle of the cluttered convenience store. The woman behind the counter, who had a bolt gun slung across her back, gave them a suspicious look, but then the guard scrambled in and began to whisper in her ear.

  “Fuck,” whispered Dec. He had drawn way too much attention to himself. If he’d been alone, he would have risked the Shades and gone back through his Scope right in the middle of the street, or he would have walked as far as he could have to try to get a clear spot. But with Galena here and sagging against him, he had no other choice. He guided her into the cramped bathroom, its waterless toilet giving off pungent fumes that made Dec’s stomach roil.

  “No enzymatic cloths,” Galena said with a weak chuckle as she glanced over at the empty dispenser sitting on the rotted boards that had been laid over the old sink.

  “Well, I wasn’t really intending for us to spend the night hanging out in here.”

  Galena pressed her nose into his shoulder as Dec pulled his Scope from its setting and hurriedly opened it. Just as he did, there was a knock on the door and a woman’s voice called out, “Mr. Ferry! I have cloths for you! They’re the best brand I got.”

  Dec closed his eyes and prayed for patience. With Galena clutched to his chest, he opened the door a crack and stuck his hand out. The lady shoved a package of Chemiclean cloths into his palm. “Thank you, Ms. . . .”

  “Walsom. Sharon Walsom. Honored to have you in my establishment, and if you need any—”

  “Sharon, we’re all set. Thanks.” Dec closed the door again.

  “Won’t they notice we’ve disappeared?” Galena mumbled against his shirt.

  “No way around it,” Dec said in a tight voice. Her face was so pale, and her skin was clammy. She looked like she was about to faint. And that made him willing to deal with whatever fallout came his way. He opened the Scope and lowered it around them. With Galena still leaning against him, he closed the ring and flipped the pendant so the raven was facing up again, then concentrated on his apartment—specifically on his med kit, which was tucked away in one of his cabinets. He was already cataloging which supplies he’d need. He opened the Scope and sighed with relief when he saw his own living room. “Here we go.”

  He lowered the Scope, and the familiar smell of his apartment washed over him. With his arm around Galena, he closed the Scope and fixed it to its setting again, then guided her to his couch. She sank onto it. “I could really use another shower,” she muttered.

  “Later. Right now you need to keep your promise to let me work on you.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded, pulling her knees to her chest. Dec strode to his kitchen and took his med kit from the cabinet. He headed back to the living room and set the kit down on the end table. Galena had a swollen spot on her cheek and scratches on her neck where the Shade had clawed for her Scope. But the worst wound by far was the bite to her shoulder. The motherfucker had sunk its teeth into the pale skin just above her clavicle. “Hey,” he said softly. “You want something for the pain?”

  “I’m all right, Dec,” she said, her green eyes opening and her gaze resting on him in a way he felt deep in his chest. “Do your thing.”

  He stared down at her shirt. And then he got up and went into the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and returned. “I need to get to the wound,” he said. “So we’re going to have to take your shirt off.” He held up the towel. “But I’ve got you covered. Or . . . I will.”

  Her lip curled into the sweetest half smile, and her eyes met his again. She paused, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Like she was trying to decide if she was ready for
this. He wished he could read her mind. He let the towel unfurl, forming a curtain between them. On the other side, he heard the soft whisper of fabric against her skin, and he shut his eyes tight, focusing on the job ahead.

  “Can I keep my bra on?” she asked quietly.

  “If you need to. But I have to clean the area, and it might get—”

  “It’s okay,” she murmured. “I’ll take it off.”

  A moment later, her bloody shirt and a delicate lacy bra fell to the floor beside the couch. Dec lowered the towel over Galena’s chest, leaving the area around the wound bare. She kept her face turned away.

  Dec knew her pained expression and her fear of hospitals must have to do with the attack and what had happened after. Hospitals were cold, bleak places, not nearly comforting enough for someone who’d just lost so much. Dec had transported a few women who had been attacked in the streets, had held their hands and promised them he’d get them somewhere safe. But as he’d delivered them into the emergency department, where they’d be laid out under bright lights and probed by gloved fingers wielding cold metal instruments, Dec couldn’t help but wonder if he should never have made those promises in the first place.

  He’d do better for Galena tonight. “I’m going to wash my hands and get on my gloves, and then I’m going to clean this.”

  When she nodded, he went into the kitchen and scrubbed his hands, then donned his gloves. He grabbed a bottle of sterilizing fluid and gently pulled at her wounds, making sure the liquid got all the way into the places penetrated by the Shade’s rotting teeth. Galena kept her fingers balled around the bottom edge of the towel. Her face was white with pain, and little beads of sweat stood out, stark on her brow. Dec tore his gaze from her tightly closed eyes and looked at the wound. “Lights level nine,” he said, and the overhead bulbs brightened, illuminating the bruising around the bite marks.

  Once he’d gotten the wound clean to his satisfaction, he set the sterilizing fluid down. “I’m going to use vascular glue to close these. It won’t take long to seal up.”

  “Thanks for being gentle,” she said in this small, quiet voice.

  “That’s usually what people in pain need, isn’t it?” He always softened his tone when approaching a patient, knowing that a comforting presence was as important as solid medical care.

  “Doesn’t mean they get it.”

  “They do from me,” he murmured, reaching for the glue. “Now, stay really still, okay? This might tickle.”

  Her tiny, amused snort made him smile. He carefully applied the glue and pressed Galena’s wounds closed. She was lucky the edges were even and not terribly deep. It took no more than ten minutes to have all of them closed. When he was done, he loaded an injector pen with an antibiotic and nudged her leg. “I have to shoot this into your hip. The last thing you need is a blood infection.”

  She sighed and gazed at the injector pen. Then she slowly straightened her long legs and shifted, wincing. The towel at her chest fell forward, allowing Dec to see the bandaged tattoo on her back and the curve of her waist. He swallowed hard. “I’m just going to pull your sweats down a little so I can reach the spot, okay?”

  Galena bit her lip and pivoted so she was almost on her stomach. Her head was bowed against the couch.

  This was not how Dec had pictured undressing her. With a twinge of regret, he slowly pulled the loose waistband of her sweats down the swell of her hip, revealing her smooth skin inch by inch. Not the time, he reminded himself, then he pressed the pen to her gluteus medius and tapped the button. She flinched but remained silent. He pulled the pen away from her skin and tugged her sweats back up. Then he quickly and quietly laid an automatch skin-bandage over her closed wound, adhering it neatly to her skin. “You can take that shower now, if you want.”

  She nodded and got up. He watched her go with a pang, her naked back exposed and vulnerable, her shoulder blades sharp, that towel clutched to her bare chest. As he listened to the shower switch on, he cleaned up and then grabbed a quick shower of his own in the guest room. He let the water rinse the blood from his completely healed skin, wishing he and Galena had found a way to make her immortal before the Shades had attacked, feeling utterly at a loss for how to get there with her. He dried off and changed. It was nearly five in the morning. Galena must be on the verge of collapse.

  He padded into his room and pulled up short when he saw Galena on the bed. She was wearing a clean tank top and shorts, her legs curled beneath her. She gave him a hesitant smile. “I know you’ve already had your sleep for the day, but I’m exhausted. And I was wondering if . . .” She bit her lip, looking down at the bed. “You said we should work on me feeling safe.”

  “Yeah, what do you need?”

  Her gaze traveled up his body, and Dec felt as if her fingers were on his skin. “Will you stay next to me?” she asked.

  Trying to breathe slowly and will away the tightness in his groin, Dec nodded and approached the bed. He slid onto the mattress and lay down on the opposite side from her. “Like this?”

  She slowly crawled closer. “Come my way?”

  He scooted toward the middle of the bed. “Close enough?”

  She shook her head and closed the distance between them, then lowered herself down and tugged at his hand until he raised it and let her snuggle against his side. He blinked at the ceiling as he felt her carefully positioning her sore shoulder. “Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable by yourself tonight?”

  She sighed. “No, I’m not sure.” He looked down at her, and she gave him a wobbly little smile. “But I’d feel safer if you were close.”

  His breath caught in his throat as she laid her head on his shoulder, as her arm coiled over his abs. She smelled like his shampoo, a minty herbal scent that nearly covered up the warm honey tang that he’d come to associate with her. He leaned so that his nose brushed over her slightly damp hair, and he closed his eyes. His fingers skimmed down her arm, holding her close.

  “I’m grateful, Dec,” she whispered. “For everything.”

  Dec lay awake, feeling her warmth against his skin as she relaxed into sleep. This was not how he had imagined the night going at all. But even so, with Galena in his arms, with her body against his, with her feeling safe with him, he couldn’t help but feel grateful, too.

  He didn’t know how long they’d been lying there when his phone buzzed on the little table next to his bed. Not wanting to wake Galena, he quickly reached over to silence it. He froze when he saw a text from Aislin:

  We have a problem.

  Dec frowned and texted back:

  ?

  His heart began to pound as he waited for her response. And when it came, Dec felt the blood drain from his face.

  Galena is a person of interest in the bombings. She’s expected at Boston PD for questioning.

  Dec gritted his teeth. This is bullshit.

  The detective on the case is a hard-liner. For now, we have to go along with it.

  Galena shifted, perhaps feeling the rising tension in Dec’s body. He forced himself to relax as he texted:

  When?

  By noon. Or else they’re issuing a warrant. Can I count on you?

  To take Galena to the police station, she meant. To turn her over so that this didn’t become a scandal that reflected poorly on the family and the company.

  Can I count on YOU? he texted back.

  As always, I will do what I think is right.

  He silenced his phone. It took effort not to slam it down on the bedside table. Then he looked at the woman nestled against him. Her hair partially covered her face, and he smoothed it back and stroked his thumb across her brow. Again, he was reminded of her delight at entering the Veil for the first time, her bravery when facing down Luke, her fragile, hopeful courage as she had asked Dec to stay next to her. He pulled Galena closer, so he could feel her breath against his throat.

  “Me too, Aislin,” he whispered. “That you can count on.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN<
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  Galena awoke to the smell of coffee and the sound of Dec’s voice. “I know, Manny, but I need you to take my day shift again.”

  She sat up, her hand smoothing over the large indentation where his body had been. It was cool—he’d been up for a while. She had no idea what time it was, but she hadn’t slept that well in years. She stretched happily, then winced as it pulled at her healing wound.

  “I understand,” Dec continued, his tone level and patient, “and you’ll get the overtime pay. Plus some comp time. Come on. I know you had vacation scheduled, but I need this.” There was a long pause, during which Galena got out of bed and tiptoed to the door.

  “Already tried. Trevor’s not answering my texts. Look, I know this sucks, Manny, but it’s just another day or two.” After another brief pause, Dec spoke again, but his voice had changed dramatically—from conciliatory to razor-edged. “Let me remind you of two things. One, I’m the Chief. And two? I’m the fucking Chief. And the last time I took a vacation was before you fucking joined up, and possibly before you started kindergarten. So complain again. Please. Let me hear it.” He paused. “Oh? You’re okay with it now? Good. Thanks so much for being a team player.”

  There was a clatter, probably Dec’s phone hitting the countertop. Hesitantly, Galena emerged from his bedroom and walked into the living area. Dec stood behind the kitchen counter, his black hair standing on end.

  “You don’t have to skip work because of me,” she said. She’d caused all this disruption to his life, and she was afraid he’d start to resent her for it.

  He looked down at his phone. “I guess you heard that, then?”

  She nodded, even as her stomach growled. She inhaled, distracted by the delicious scent that was wafting toward her. “What is that smell?”

  Dec gave her a sheepish smile and lifted the lid on a skillet. “I made you some eggs and sausage.” He gestured at a pastry box that sat on the counter next to the stove. “And I ordered some croissants. Because I think you might not have eaten in the last twenty-four hours, and that is ridiculous.”