by Lauren Dawes
“Fuck.”
“That pretty much sums it up,” Bryn said.
“Could it just be someone imitating Loki?” Mason asked. He was in the loop when it came to the long, long history between Odin and Loki. “Like a copycat or something?” When nobody said anything, he added, “That’s a possibility, right?”
Bryn shrugged. “Maybe. But why? Why would anyone pretend to be Loki – to kill Thor? To what end? Simply to scare us?”
Mav started to get an itch between her shoulder blades as the information sank in. “Wait,” she said. “Bryn, someone was just asking for Odin.”
Bryn sat forward in her seat. “What?”
“When?” Korvain asked.
Mav glanced at the Mare for a moment before addressing Bryn. “He was a light elf if I had to guess.”
“What did he say exactly?”
“Just that he was looking for Odin.”
The shadows in the room shivered and shifted, making Mav look at Korvain. The male was getting agitated, which was never a good thing.
Mason asked, “Did he say why?”
Mav began to answer, but was cut off when Korvain snarled, “It was Loki himself. It had to be. He was hoping we’d tell him where to find Odin.”
“I doubt he’d need our help to locate the All-Father,” Bryn said reasonably.
“Besides, it couldn’t have been Loki. This guy was … different,” Mav added. She had read his aura, and discovered something she’d never, ever seen before.
“Different how?” Bryn asked.
“He had two auras.”
“Which proves it was Loki,” Korvain snapped. “If he was in disguise, of course he would have two auras.”
“What do auras have to do with anything?” Mason asked, looking confused.
“Maverick can see auras and interpret their meaning,” Bryn explained impatiently.
Mason looked at Mav. “Really?” She nodded. He grinned and tapped the side of his head. “Glad to hear I’m not the only special one here.”
“So Loki is already trying to get into the club,” Korvain said. “He’s looking for a way to get Bryn’s cloak after his first failed attempt.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Mav pressed.
“What other explanation is there?” Bryn’s question came out quietly. “It must be him.” Korvain stood behind Bryn and rested his hands on her shoulders, lending her a strength she’d never needed before.
Mav thought back to the conversation she’d had with the light elf. She had sensed something different about him – something dangerous, something unpredictable. She had looked past his immediate intentions and delved a little deeper, something she’d only learned to do on her own since becoming a Valkyrie. For the first time ever, she had come up against a wall. It wasn’t a physical barrier– rather it was a roadblock made of something organic and fluid and … volatile. Not being able to really see what was going through the elf’s head was enough of an indication that she had to proceed with absolute caution.
“It wasn’t Loki,” Mav stated emphatically, but she shouldn’t have bothered. Korvain and Bryn were already wrapped up in a conversation about how to protect the club and themselves better, and Mason was just getting more and more confused.
The more she thought about it though, the more she was convinced that they were dealing with someone else. Yes, the elf had two auras, and the strangest thing about them was that one was black and the other was a brilliant gold – the same shade of gold that radiated from Eir, the goddess of healing. It was almost as if the elf had two souls. One was purely good, but the other was purely evil.
Whenever Odin had taken on a different face, Mav had only ever seen one stretch of color burning around his head and shoulders.
“Right, nobody leaves this club without me,” Korvain said, breaking Mav’s thoughts. She looked at the Mare.
“No.”
“Mav, it’s for your own protection. Look what happened last time,” Bryn said.
She shook her head. “I can look after myself. Besides, if this guy comes back, I’m going to get to the bottom of why he needs to see Odin.”
“Maveri—” Korvain started, but Bryn stopped him by touching his hand.
“She’s right, Korvain. Mav is my best soldier. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do this job.”
“I can do it,” the Mare gritted out.
“That means you have to leave me alone,” Bryn pointed out.
Korvain gnashed his teeth. “That’s not going to happen,” he growled.
“Then it’s settled,” Mav said, standing up and ending the conversation. “I have to get back to work. Excuse me.”
Chapter 13
Boston
Aubrey’s foot slid further down on the accelerator, propelling the Lexus forward. Along with controlling the speed, he had to dodge other drivers while trying to keep his mind on the task at hand. By forcing his brain to concentrate on driving, he was starving the rest of his thoughts of oxygen, or Taer, as the case was. That little Mare had gotten under his skin in more ways than one. She had finally given in to her cravings and given herself up to him.
And it had been more than worth the wait.
Taer had been everything he thought she would be and more. But Aubrey hadn’t counted on tonight being the night she would reach for him. A sharp pain lanced through his heart at the thought of leaving her to go out of town, even if it was only for less than six hours. Now that he’d had a taste, he was reluctant to leave at all.
He pushed his car to go a little faster, hearing the restrained engine growl in irritation as he was forced to slam on the brakes to bring it to a stop once more. The Boston traffic jams didn’t seem to care that he was trying to outrun his own thoughts.
The traffic started moving again, but Aubrey had had enough of the stop-start routine. He yanked on the wheel, turning the car to take the Sumner Tunnel across to the east side of Boston. It was only out of habit that he went that direction – East Boston was the location where Aubrey kept most of his product. For humans, drug trafficking was difficult; they had to worry about importing the product via ports or airports, but for any of the gods or beings of the Nine Worlds, they could simply fade with nothing but a thought. The secret to his success was that he had nearly a hundred elves, gods and dwarves as willing drug mules. There was never any fear of being imprisoned, and he paid them all very well for their contribution to his ever-growing fortune. And thanks to Darrion’s very recent demise, Aubrey could also employ fifty more of the former guild master’s Mares if they were in need of an income.
His other business, the one he conducted as a silent partner, was in human prostitution. Not many knew about this part of his life. The whole business operated under his general partner – a light elf named Sarya. The pair had been thrown together by fate one night; Sarya was getting a beating from her pimp for not making quota, and Aubrey happened to be passing by at the time. He stopped her pimp with a warning and a bullet between the eyes, both within quick succession.
Sarya had been half starving. It had been clear that she had been forced into the business, and Aubrey wanted to give her an out. He had no issues with prostitution itself, as long as the women had not been coerced or manipulated into the business. And so his side project was born. He ran a high-end escort service with Sarya as the face. She took care of the day-to-day issues, and he made sure all his girls were paid well and in good health.
Aubrey functioned on auto-pilot, finding his way to the house where his drugs were kept. From the outside, it looked like a derelict building about to be wrecked, but there was so much more to the place. Every door and window had the latest security measure. If one of the alarms was ever tripped, a message was sent to his cell instantaneously. He could be there in a thought and happily deal with the trespasser. If anyone ever did get past his security, the unlucky soul would come face-to-face with the fire demons he kept as guards.
Stopping outside the house, Aubrey gave it a quick
visual inspection. Everything looked as it should. He sat there for a moment …
And his thoughts coalesced onto Taer once more.
Fuck, he had to see her again.
But the meetings with his Colombian suppliers couldn’t wait. Now that Darrion was gone, he anticipated the number of people in his employment was going to increase and he needed to have the supply to meet the demand.
*
Aubrey pulled at the collar of his business shirt, feeling the sweat trickling down his back. The humidity in Caracas was a killer at this time of year. He’d faded into the country less than fifteen minutes ago and already he wanted to be back in Boston. He’d already decided that once he was done, he would return to Taer and make love to her slowly. He would savor her.
He looked around the room he’d been shown in to by one of his supplier’s henchmen, admiring the collection of Japanese Kabuki masks hanging on the wall. From what he could tell, they were all original, not cheap reproductions. Overhead, a fan whirled lazily, barely causing a draft. He loosened his tie and tried to relax back into the leather sofa cushions.
From the window opposite him, he could clearly see the giant sheds where his coke was produced. Inside, there would be barrels of kerosene and caustic soda, sacks of cement and bottles of drain cleaner along with the coca leaves to make the drug. It wasn’t a pretty process to witness, but cocaine was one of the most sought-after substances in the world, and Aubrey was one of the top suppliers on the east coast of the US.
“Mr. Black,” someone said from the door. Aubrey glanced up, acknowledging the woman with a nod. She was a real Venezuelan beauty, and she was also Luis Perez’s wife. Noely had bronze skin and dark brown hair with eyes the color of topaz. “I apologize on my husband’s behalf for keeping you waiting. He’ll be with you shortly. Would you like a drink?” Her English was perfect, her accent adding to her whole seductive package.
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
Noely nodded and closed the door behind her. Aubrey was getting irritated. He had given Luis the money to start production, and the little prick had gotten rich off it, but instead of being grateful, the guy had grown arrogant. This wasn’t the first time that he’d been made to sit here holding his dick either. He suspected Luis had been snorting his – Aubrey’s – product or fucking one of his mistresses the time he’d waited before. He looked at his watch, his jaw pulsing in time with the second hand as it went around and around the gold face.
He stood up to pace, glancing at the door every thirty seconds. This was getting fucking ridiculous. Luis knew he was coming. He was just doing it to fuck around with him. Aubrey ground his teeth together and turned to look out the window. Behind him, the door opened and then shut. The scent of coca leaves – something that was always around Luis’s house – grew stronger.
“Where have you been?” Aubrey demanded, not turning around. He was working hard at keeping his expression neutral, and his anger in check.
“I was outside doing quality control,” Luis replied. Aubrey heard him walk farther into the room. “How was your flight?”
Aubrey turned to stare at the human. His fly was only halfway done up and his shirt was on inside out. He had no idea what Aubrey was, what he could do. He smiled benignly. “Fine. But I didn’t fly all this way for small talk.”
“Of course.” The human sat down in a large armchair opposite the couch. He gestured to the seat Aubrey had taken before. “Please, let’s talk.”
Aubrey didn’t sit down. “I’m sending more people down to collect the product. You need to up production to meet the demand.”
Luis frowned. “By how much?”
“Seventy-five percent.”
“It’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t have the supplies to increase production by that much.”
Aubrey thought he’d say that. “I’ve already organized another sixty thousand pounds of coca leaf from Colombia. You’ll get a delivery every second week starting next week.”
Luis’s eye twitched as a bead of sweat traveled down his face from his brow. “What about the chemicals?”
“You’ll receive deliveries every other week to make sure you can keep up. Think you can handle that?” Luis nodded. “Good. I’ll start sending my men down within the month. You’ll need to have five kilos of product for them … each.”
Luis balked. “But how will they get it out of the country?”
Aubrey’s eyebrows rose. “As I’ve told you on numerous occasions, that’s none of your concern.”
Luis sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. He licked his lips again. “I’ve been working for you for five years, Mr. Black.”
“Yes, and I’ve made you very rich in those five years.”
Luis nodded. “But I’ve got to know: how do you do it?”
Aubrey studied the other man. “Do what, exactly?”
“How do you never get caught?”
Aubrey smiled at him. “That is a secret I will take to the grave.” He moved toward the door, stopping just as he opened it. “And Luis?”
“Yes, Mr. Black?”
He looked over his shoulder at the man. “Don’t leave me waiting like that ever again. You don’t want to know what I do to the people who do.”
Luis blanched. “Yes, Mr. Black.”
Aubrey saw himself out, stepping off the front step and leaving the palatial house. Even though it was close to ten o’clock in the evening, and the sun had long set, the heat from the day still lingered. He had another meeting lined up with the guy who imported the chemicals he required in the cocaine production process, but that wasn’t for another hour. Briefly, he considered returning to Boston, but an hour wasn’t long enough to worship Taer. Instead, he thought of the room he usually got at the local hotel and faded there. At the start of each year, he paid enough to make sure it was vacant at all times.
Money spoke many languages.
He hit the button on the A/C unit in the only window in the room and stretched out on the bed, waiting for the air to start flowing. A dull hum filled the room. His eyes began to get heavy, closing for a little longer each time until he couldn’t keep them open anymore.
*
Aubrey woke up suddenly, blinking rapidly, his gaze swinging around the unfamiliar room. “Damn.” He had forgotten where he was for a moment there. He shifted his legs off the bed, running his hands through his hair. Blowing out a breath, he looked at his watch. His next meeting was in five minutes. Moving to the small bathroom, he washed his face quickly, patted it dry, then collected his cell phone from the bedside table. There was a text that had come through from Taer. She wanted to know when he’d be back. He tapped out his reply and shoved the iPhone into his pants pocket. Closing his eyes, he faded to his chemical supplier’s office in downtown Caracas.
He was sitting in the office chair with his back to the door when Betulio Abana stepped into the room. Aubrey turned around and faced the other man.
“Fuck,” Betulio said in Spanish, holding a hand over his heart. “Mr. Black, you scared me.”
Aubrey smiled and rested his hands on the desk in front of him. “Mr. Abana, we need to talk.”
The human stopped breathing for a second. But then his lungs got back to working with a wheeze. “I’m sorry, but I was of the understanding that after our meeting last month, you had all the supply you needed.”
“Things change, Betulio, and if you don’t change with them, you get swept away.” Fine beads of sweat broke out on the other man’s upper lip. He’d obviously read between the lines. “Single-handedly, I’m responsible for more than eighty percent of your profits, correct?”
Betulio conceded with a nod.
Aubrey continued, “And am I not also responsible for giving you the start-up money for this company when nobody else would?”
Another nod.
“So, when I, the person who bankrolled you and provides you with eighty percent of your entire
business, asks you to increase supply, wouldn’t it stand to reason that you would do as I ask?”
Betulio ran his tongue over his top lip nervously. “The police have been watching me.”
“Buy them off.”
“I can’t. I don’t have enough money to do that.”
With a heavy sigh, Aubrey pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out the equivalent of five years’ worth of salary for ten Venezuelan police officers. He slapped it onto the table, watching the other man’s eyes widen. “This should cover it.” When Betulio reached out to take the cash, he added, “I’ll just add it to your tab.”
Their eyes met and the other man nodded. “Yes, Mr. Black.”
Aubrey smiled. “Excellent. Now that that’s settled, I need to double my current order and have it shipped to the usual location.”
“Yes, Mr. Black.”
To Aubrey, there were no sweeter words. He stood, buttoning up his suit jacket once more. With a nod, he said, “Until next month.”
He strode from the room and punched out another text to Taer, then faded back to his house in Boston. There was an extra spring in his step as he undressed and got showered, washing away the sweat from his skin. When he got a reply back, he slid into his new black Armani suit and finished off the whole look with a tie the color of sapphire before heading downstairs to the garage.
His Lexus gleamed when he flicked on the lights. He glided his hand over the rear quarter panel as he moved to the driver’s side. Strangely, the interior light didn’t come on when he got in, and he reached up to slide the small switch back into place.
The overhead light in the garage went out at the same time.
As he turned back around to see what had happened, something cold and unforgiving was pressed to the side of Aubrey’s skull.
Chapter 14
Boston
Aubrey’s eyes cut to the side. The smell of metal and triumph permeated through his car, but he could claim neither. It belonged to the guy on the other side of the gun that was currently pressed to Aubrey’s temple. Remaining calm, he rifled through his memory banks, trying to remember if he’d pissed off anyone in particular recently, and whether or not waiting in a car armed with a gun was their style.
