“Why not?” I whispered the question, my heart jack-hammering.
“Because he is why Bianca did herself in,” Dinah whimpered. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. Do not trust him.”
This was the first time that either of my guns had ever expressed concern about me in that manner, which was . . . concerning in its own way. Sentient they may have been, but I did not think they truly cared about my well-being other than the fact they were mine.
“You want to answer that?” I asked Mancini.
He didn’t move from his spot. A smile curled over his lips. “You’d believe your guns over me?”
“Answer the question.”
He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Dinah’s muzzle, and she snarled under her breath.
“Not without me,” I said to her. She was not the one to push, and more than once had shot on her own without my finger pulling the trigger, as evidenced by the diner and the rhino abnormal.
Mancini didn’t pull back. “Bianca’s story is not right now, and yes, I know pieces of it. Your boy’s story is the one I believe we should focus on. I can help you get him back if you help me take out the Yakuza. You know that Romano will have both his guardians watching the boy. It’s the only reason he hasn’t sent the Shadow after you yet. If you go for your son, now, you will die. You need me, and for the moment . . . I could use your help. Not something I say lightly.”
I lowered Dinah even while she cursed at Mancini. Motherfucker was high on her list of expletives.
“I want to see Bear first.”
“That is not smart.” Mancini shook his head. “You must realize it would jeopardize everything. Key to this is the fact that Romano does not know that you know your son is alive. He plans to spring it on you, to force you to go back to work for him.”
I glared at him, my heart breaking wide open. “We go to Bear’s school, in your limo, we watch from a distance. I will know if it is my boy or if Romano is playing both of us for fools. Romano won’t send his guardians after me. Not yet, anyway.”
Mancini shook his head. “You surprise me. You would risk getting him back later for a glimpse of him now?”
I leaned forward. “If it’s Bear, I’ll work with you to make sure Romano loses everything before he dies. Taking my son from me, by death or kidnapping, is going to get him the same end outcome. If you want me to take on the entire Yakuza it needs to be worth it to me.” I already knew I was going to do it. My heart and soul wanted desperately to rush to where Bear was, to see him. To know he was alive. I would not move forward until I knew for sure one way or the other.
The silence between us didn’t ease, broken only by Dinah still muttering.
Finally, Mancini leaned back and rapped his knuckles against the glass. “We’re going for a drive.” He turned to me. “Do you know where the school is?”
“I can find out. You got a phone?”
He nodded and handed me a slick black cell phone. I dialed Zee’s number, prayed that he would answer even though it was a number he wouldn’t know. Or more likely that was blocked from being visible.
The phone rang three times, and I hung up. Dialed back, let it ring three times, and then dialed a third time.
Zee picked up on the first ring with a growl. “Who the fuck is this?”
“It’s me.”
“New phone? No number came up.”
“Borrowed.” I drew a quick breath. “You find out what school that lookalike kid is at?”
“St. George’s in Brooklyn. On Milton Street,” Zee said. “You think that Romano is going to do something to the kid?”
“It might actually be Bear,” I said. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Fuck, that’s what he wants you to do! It’s a goddamn trap, Nix!” Zee roared into the phone. “Don’t do this!”
“I’ve got backup. Mr. Mancini has offered to give me a long-distance look to see if it is Bear or not. If it is, I’ll be working with him toward a mutual goal.” I held the phone out from my ear because I knew what was coming.
“Have you lost your mind?” he yelled. “Mancini will chew you up and spit you the fuck out.”
I looked at Mancini and he shrugged, his weird eyes jigging with what might be amusement. “If that is Zee Preston, he has reason to believe that. He worked for me before defecting to your father. You could say we did not get along.”
Zee sucked in a sharp breath. “You . . . you’re with him, right now?”
“Not really a choice. It’s a bit of a story, Zee. Outgunned. Drugged. Simon turned on me.”
“I’m going to kill that motherfucking bastard.”
“Ah, get in line.” I smiled. “I’ll call you back once the deal is struck.”
“I won’t work for Mancini. I won’t help him, not even for you, Nix.” That was a surprise, and I didn’t like the stir of pain it caused in my heart region.
“Understood.” I hit the end button and handed the phone back to Mancini. “You heard the address?”
“I did.” He relayed the information to the driver. It was only then I looked to the floor to where Abe lay quietly. His eyes were on Mancini, but he was still as if I’d given him a command to wait, or guard. Which I’d done neither.
“Your dog is well trained, but he has a weak spot,” Mancini said. “He’s got a great deal of fear running through him.”
“Still does what he’s told.” I reached a hand down and ran it over Abe’s ears. “Which makes him a sight braver than that shit Simon.”
Mancini laughed. “Yes, Simon is an acquired taste. He’s deadly when he wants to be. I’m guessing you’ve not seen that side of him?”
I snorted. “If I’d not pulled him out of the warehouse, he’d still be down there, cooking on a spit.”
Mancini laced his fingers together. “Don’t count on that. He’s a very good chameleon, doing only what he has to in order to survive.”
I looked out the window at the city flashing by. A city I kept promising myself I wouldn’t come back to, and yet, here I was for the second time in as many weeks.
“You aren’t afraid of me,” Mancini said. “I find that fascinating.”
I didn’t look at him. “I know your reputation. I’m sure you’re a powerful abnormal. You’d have to be to run the Collective.”
“But?” He seemed truly intrigued.
“But nothing. I’ve met the Shadow, though it was years ago. And I’ve seen the devil in the flesh, Mr. Mancini. When you’ve felt the flames of Hell against your skin and watched your father’s soul ripped from his body,” I turned to look at him then, “the heat of a matchstick doesn’t hold much threat.”
He blinked a few times. “Did you just call me a matchstick?”
“Don’t take it personally. The devil left an impression on me I’m not sure any flame could live up to.” Even there, sitting in the air conditioning, sweat broke out along my back as I thought about facing the demon my father had called up, along with his fury for being disturbed, not to mention all his minions that had swirled around him. I tightened my hold on Abe, grounding myself.
Mancini was silent a moment. “You saw the deal as it went down then?”
“I did. It was done in Latin, so I’m not sure I understood everything that happened fully.” I didn’t close my eyes against the memories that started to spill up through my brain. I didn’t want to think about the heat that had surrounded me, or the demons that had danced around Romano as he’d signed his soul over for whatever it was he’d wanted.
He’d always said power and influence, but I’d seen there were other things on the paper. A list of things he’d wanted. That he’d been given. I remembered all too easily the heat of the flames against my back and how they’d bitten into my skin, leaving me marked. Marks that I’d covered with my tattoo.
“What did he get out of it besides influence and power?” Mancini leaned forward and I shook my head. Not out of any remnant of loyalty to Romano, but because in this world, secret
s and knowledge were power. I would need both in spades while dealing with Mancini.
I changed gears on him. “Is the Collective truly thinking about letting Romano in?”
“They have outvoted me. If he comes up with the money, he’s in. That will give him the access to the abnormal world he’s wanted for so long. He’d be given a territory to oversee.”
That didn’t sound so bad, which meant there was more to it than that. I took a guess based on how Romano had run his normal businesses with his corporate takeovers. “And what happens if a member of the Collective dies? Does another member step in for them?”
“Yes.” His eyes glinted with amusement. “You can imagine that having dealt with Romano as long as I have, I know his style. He wants the entire Collective under his thumb and will pick them off piece by piece, and he will take their territories as he does so. He’s offering more money than ever before, and he’s offering to take out the Yakuza while he’s at it. That was the final element to get the Collective to agree to let him in.” He spread his hands wide. “Assuming he could make it all happen. You’ve slowed him down by destroying Diva.”
“Are you not angry with me for that?” I arched an eyebrow, sarcasm lacing my words.
He smiled and let out a sigh. “Initially, yes. But things in our world change faster than a twister on a rampage, Phoenix. You know that.”
I did know, but that didn’t make me feel any better about this situation. With the Collective and Mancini, there was always some deeper game going on.
We were getting close to Milton Street. Getting closer to the possibility of Bear being alive and my thoughts left Mancini and settled on my son.
“Pull over here.” He knocked his knuckles on the dark glass again. “If the Shadow or the third guardian are watching, they’ll be on you in a flash.”
I stayed in my seat, as hard as that was. “I have a way to do this without ever getting out of the car.”
He shot a look at me and I tipped my head to Abe. “He knows his boy.”
“What do you propose?”
“You have paper and a pen?”
Mancini produced both without a word. He was surprising me. For the badass abnormal he was supposed to be, he seemed somewhat on the reasonable side. I wasn’t sure I liked that about him.
I scribbled half a joke Bear had told over and over as a child. One that we’d teased him about as he’d gotten older because it made no sense. If the boy was my Bear, he’d know. And if it was my Bear, he’d know it was me or his father who’d sent the note.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Banana peel.
Banana peel who?
I folded the paper and tucked it into Abe’s collar, then opened the door. The school was on the same side of the street as us, and through the open door I could hear the laughter and calling of children playing during their break. I stroked a hand over Abe’s head, knowing that I was putting him in danger, but knowing he would do it for his boy, too.
“Such, Bear.” Find Bear.
Abe’s ears perked up and he whined, straining at the collar as I whispered to him. Again. “Such, Bear.”
I let him go and he shot out of the limo, his nose to the ground. I shut the door behind him, though I wanted to run with him. I pressed against the glass, trying to see further down the street.
The darkened glass between us and the driver slid down and I moved so I could easily see out the front windshield. Abe jogged down the street a solid block before he sat in front of a tall fence and started to bark, if his flapping jaws were any indication.
I gripped the edge of the seat.
A small hand slid between the bars and I knew I didn’t need the note back. Abe went crazy, bouncing and spinning, jumping at the bars. Two hands reached through to his dog. Bear reached through to his dog, touching and petting, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. What he was feeling. What he thought had happened to me and his father.
I made myself open the door and whistle. Better that Bear not see the note and try to find me. A mother’s heart was not meant for this kind of pain and it killed me not to get out of the limo and run to him, to pull him through the fence and drag him into the limo. But I knew Mancini was right. I whistled for Abe again.
“He’s not leaving the boy,” Mancini said.
I whipped around to look down the street.
Abe had backed up against the fence, putting himself between Bear and someone headed toward him.
“Time to go,” Mancini said.
The driver started up and I lunged for the door. If Abe was protecting Bear, then something bad was coming for my boy. And this time, I was going to stop whatever it was from hurting my baby.
Mancini grabbed my belt and yanked me away from the door. A rush of power went from him to me, my muscles seized and I was unable to do so much as twitch.
“This is the price you pay for needing to know. You lose your dog. Be glad you aren’t losing your boy, too.” He pulled me all the way in and shut the door.
I tried to fight through the hold he had on me and my adrenaline soared. It took all I had to kick out at him. I caught him in the side of his head and pinned him against the interior wall of the limo but we were already moving, the limo pulling away, leaving the school and Bear behind.
His hands tightened on my belt and he pulled so hard the wind was knocked out of me. I dug into the seat of the car, scrabbling to get away from Mancini. Distantly, I knew he was right. I was wrong. Distantly, I knew he was holding back his power and trying not to hurt me. He really thought he needed me to take on the Yakuza.
“Look,” he snapped.
I lifted my head as we passed Abe . . . and Bear.
Oh God, Bear. His dark eyes were narrowed in a glare at the man who reached down for Abe. A man that was possibly the third guardian. I heard Abe’s yelp over the engine, knew he was going to die.
Bear reached through the bars and managed to get a hand on Abe’s collar, the note slipped to the ground, and then we were beyond the scene and I lowered my head to the leather seats.
“Do we have a deal?” Mancini let me go as the limo picked up speed. “You take down the Yakuza and their operations, destroy the Ikimono myst, and I will help you get your boy back.”
I pulled myself together, though it was by a single strand of control that I held the emotions at bay, a single strand that kept me from losing my mind to the fear for my son, the need to rush back and hold him. I let logic rule. I held it close, and let it help me see what I needed to do.
I stared straight at him, fury burning away the grief and pain once more. “We have a deal.”
Chapter Six
Bear
I held tightly to Abe’s collar, still in shock that it was even him, but I wasn’t backing down, not even from Rooster no matter how much he scared me. “This is my dog. Don’t touch him!” I couldn’t let Abe go. I knew he’d go straight for my bodyguard’s throat. Rooster—the bodyguard with a stupid name—grabbed Abe by the muzzle so fast, Abe didn’t have a chance to bite. Rooster clamped his hand until Abe yelped and twisted as he fought to get away.
“Don’t hurt him. He’s my dog!” I yelled, slamming my free hand against the muscles of Rooster’s forearm.
The note from Abe’s collar was on the ground, but I didn’t dare look at it.
People watch your eyes, Bear. Your eyes will give you away. My mother’s words echoed through me and I held them tightly to me. How Abe was here, I didn’t know, but hope soared in me for the first time in five months.
“Your grandfather said no animals.” Rooster yanked Abe away from me. I bent and scooped up the note as soon as Rooster had his back turned. I tucked it into my shirt and then ran down the fence. If I could get to the gate, I could slip through and maybe I could stop Rooster from hurting Abe. My grandfather had said I wasn’t to leave the grounds of the school for any reason but this wasn’t just any reason. Abe. My dog was here; he’d found me.
I w
asn’t about to lose him again. Grandfather had said my house had burnt down. That Abe and Abigail had been in the house and that was why he couldn’t bring Abe to me. But Abe must have gotten away.
Unless . . . unless Grandfather had been lying.
I reached the open gate, out of breath, and stepped through to stand in front of Rooster. I knew he was an abnormal, Grandfather had explained what that was. It didn’t scare me.
“I said,” I grabbed Abe’s collar and held on for all I was worth, “this is my dog.”
Rooster glared down at me. “You should be afraid of me, boy.”
“My dog,” I yelled. “He’s taking my dog!” I kept my eyes on him as I started to scream and yell. Not something I ever would have tried with my mom or dad. But I’d seen it work for other kids on their parents.
I pulled on Abe’s collar hard and Rooster let go so we both fell in a tangle of limbs and fur. I clutched the last piece of my family to me. Rooster walked a few feet away and pulled a phone from his pocket as he spoke over his shoulder. “You are lucky I am guarding you, or I would kill you where you stand, brat.”
I scrambled to my feet and tugged at Abe. He needed no encouragement. I ran back into the schoolyard and toward my dormitory. Abe paced along beside me easily, his long tongue lolling out, his hip bouncing against my leg every few feet as if making sure I was still there.
I got to my room—one of the few private ones, something Grandfather insisted on—and slammed the door shut. Shaking, I slid to my knees and wrapped my arms around Abe. He leaned into me, snuffling at my hair.
“Abe, how did you find me?”
He tipped his head to one side as his ears pricked up.
“I wish you could talk,” I whispered. Of course, he couldn’t, but it didn’t hurt to wish for it. I remembered the note that had been on his collar. Maybe . . . maybe had Uncle Zee brought Abe for me? Thoughts of my uncle were mixed. Grandfather had said that Uncle Zee hadn’t wanted to take me. That’s why I’d gone to my mom’s father.
The note crinkled in my hand as I spread it out.
Blood of a Phoenix (The Nix Series Book 2) Page 6
