by Kate Pearce
Feehan hesitated. “Ms. Phelps has a request.”
“What’s that?” Ella turned to face the administrator, who’d taken up her original position behind her desk.
“Brad Dailey’s grandfather is a retired senator for the state of Michigan.”
“So?”
“His father has political aspirations too. The family has requested that the information about Brad is kept between the hospital, the Dailey family and the SBLE.”
Ella cast a sidelong look at Vadim. “Like we’d gossip to the media about a case.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t, Ms. Walsh, but we’d just like to make certain we’re all on the same page. Brad’s parents are flying in later today to see him.”
“Do you think that’s advisable?” Feehan followed Vadim to the door. “If he’s obviously unstable, that might complicate things.”
“We’ll make sure he’s sedated.” Ms. Phelps stood too. “I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.”
“We’ll do our best.” Feehan held open the door for Ella and Vadim and closed it behind him. “She seems like a nice woman.”
“For someone who’s desperately trying to protect her ass. She’s got an influential political family breathing down her neck, which might affect future hospital funding, and she’s got to stop any stories leaking to the media about Brad’s stolen face.” Ella turned to Feehan. “I bet she’ll have Brad sedated. She won’t want him talking about any of this.”
She walked right into Vadim, who had stopped in the middle of the hallway. Feehan kept moving. “What’s up?”
“I think I’ll go back and see Brad and make absolutely certain he won’t wake up and scare his parents.”
“You can do that?”
He smiled. “Haven’t you ever heard of Fae who can make humans sleep a thousand years?” He turned toward Brad’s room. “Don’t worry, I can bring him out of it too. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”
Ella watched him walk away and followed Feehan down the stairs to the staff parking garage. Could Vadim really put people to sleep? What else could the man do? Sometimes it seemed better not to ask.
* * *
Vadim knocked softly on Brad’s door and waited until the nurse answered him. He gave her his best smile and she preened.
“I’m sorry to bother you—” he glanced down at her name tag, “—Delia, but I need to return Brad’s phone to him. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Do you want me to give it to him?”
“I’d rather give it to him myself. I don’t want him to think I can’t be trusted.”
“That’s fine. Go right on in.”
When he approached the gurney, Brad’s eyes were half-closed, but they opened when Vadim took his hand.
“Hey. Did you find out something already?”
“Not yet. I’m just returning your phone and wallet. I’ll put them on the side here, okay?”
Even as he replaced the items, Vadim concentrated on tracking that small and ever-eroding stream of Otherworld magic that clung to Brad like cologne. One taste was enough for him to identify a creature’s magical genes, his family, his connections and his power. After a moment, Vadim pushed more magic through Brad and waited until he fell asleep.
The nurse hovered at the end of the bed and Vadim nodded to her.
“Thanks for letting me see him.”
“You’re welcome.” She walked him to the door. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I’m originally from Russia.”
“How cool is that?” She widened her eyes and leaned against the doorframe, arching her back. “I’d love to go there one day.”
“You should. It’s a wonderful country.”
She glanced around and closed the door behind them. “I don’t normally do this, but can I give you my number? Just in case you ever need someone to show you around town.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but—”
“But you’re already taken.” She sighed. “All the nice ones are.”
“It was still a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here.”
Vadim nodded and headed back down the hallway toward the bank of elevators, his thoughts focused on deciphering the myriad of messages from the Otherworld magic he’d sensed. When he first identified the power through Ella, it had felt vaguely familiar, and now he was sure of it.
He pressed the button and watched the lights of the elevator flicker downward to his level. He sensed Ella in the parking lot below him and concentrated on screening his thoughts from her. Of course, if he was right and the creature returned to seek his prey, he’d blown his cover completely, because like knew like.
The elevator arrived and he stepped in, his stomach sinking along with the descent. The magic stemmed from his bloodline.
From someone who was supposed to be dead.
Chapter Three
“There you are, Liz. How are you?”
The last time Ella saw her friend, she’d been stuck between two Fae portals and ended up hospitalized in Otherworld. It hadn’t been pretty.
“I’m fine. Luckily, the Fae heal super fast. How are you?”
“Good.”
And that was the most Ella was prepared to say about the matter. She’d found Liz in the old conference room that used to serve as Vadim and Alexei’s temporary office. Her new partner had been extremely quiet on the ride back to the office, letting her and Feehan discuss the case to their hearts’ content. She didn’t like it. He’d shut his mind to her completely. The moment she got him alone, she was going to find out what the hell was going on...
She refocused and noticed Liz was sitting in the middle of the floor.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Nothing!” Liz jumped up so quickly that she almost fell off her impressively high heels.
“You’re not mooning over Alexei leaving, are you?”
Liz made a face. “As if. Actually, I was looking for something.” Her normally pale complexion was now as pink as her shoes.
“In here?” Ella turned a slow circle. “There’s nothing except two tables and a ratty chair.”
“Exactly.” Liz tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “Last night, Doug came to the office to pick me up, and because I had to work so late, the place was deserted and we, um, took advantage of the facilities.”
“Gross!” Ella jumped away from the nearest horizontal surface. “Are you nuts?”
“Shut up. Doug has animal instincts, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of the things that attracted me to him.”
“Anyway, so what did you lose?”
Liz sighed. “One of my antique diamond earrings.”
“Damn. I’ll help you look.” She got down on the coffee-stained beige carpet and methodically searched the space. “Are you sure Doug didn’t bite your ear in a surge of manly passion and eat the thing?”
“He would’ve choked. It’s a big diamond.” Liz continued to pat the carpet. “What did you want, anyway? I thought you’d be avoiding this place like the plague for a few days.”
“Feehan called us in to deal with a new case.”
“‘Us’? Do you mean Vadim didn’t go back to Russia with Alexei?”
“No.”
Liz sat back on her heels. “That’s a surprise.”
Ella looked up at her friend. “He’s been seconded here to work as my partner.”
“The poor, poor man.”
“He’s not human, and he’s definitely not a man, Liz. Don’t waste your sympathy on him.”
Liz raised her eyebrows. “Did you find out what he is, then?”
“Not exactly, but he does have some Fae Royal blood.”
“Which family?”
“How would I know?” She tried to sound unconcerned.
“Find out, it makes a big difference.”
“To what?”
“To how long he’ll live, how strong his powers are and what exactly he can do with them ove
r here.”
“I’m scared to ask.”
Liz studied her. “I would be too. He’s like nothing I’ve ever come across before.”
“That’s not very encouraging.” Ella moved her hand and hit something hard. “Look what I found!” She picked up the diamond and passed it over to Liz. “Jeez, it’s huge. Here you go.”
“Thanks a million. My Fae grandmother gave the earrings to me. She said that if I lost one, I’d be cursed forever.”
“And yet you still wear them?”
Liz made an airy gesture. “There’s almost always a way to get around a curse, you know that. Now what did you want to talk about?”
As they walked toward Liz’s cubicle, Ella described Brad Dailey’s situation. By the time they sat down, Liz’s silver Fae-Web was already active and circling around her head.
“So have you ever heard of anything like this happening in our world before?”
Liz briefly closed her eyes. “I’m not sure. There are fragments of information, but most of the potential candidates die so soon after the event that it’s hard to find a common thread.”
“Do they die from their injuries?”
“No, they usually kill themselves.”
“Damn.” Ella let out her breath. “I wonder if that’s what the creature wants? Maybe he thrives on that death. But what happens to the face of the victim afterward?”
“I’ve no idea. What I can do is type out the information I have and add any pictures through the printer. If I can get the sucker to work.” Liz cast a dark look at the center of the office, where a bank of supposedly new printers sat. “Fae technology is crap.”
“If you can’t print them out, Morosov said to send the info to him. He can retain it.”
“He can? That’s useful.” Liz cast Ella a speculative look. “So how are things going between you?”
“Ms. Walsh, where are you? I’m already in the car.”
“I’ve got to run.” Ella leaped out of her chair. “Morosov’s waiting. We’re heading down to the last bar Brad visited before he went home—well, the last one he remembers, anyway. I’ll see you later.”
“Coward!” Liz called after her, but then, Ella already knew that.
Vadim was in the underground parking lot that sat beneath the SBLE offices. She found him more by instinct than by design and paused to study the car he was driving. He opened the passenger window and angled his head so that he could see her. “Well, are you going to get in?”
Ella opened the door and slid onto the opulent leather seat. “When did you get this?”
“I had it delivered this morning.”
She stroked the dark gray leather. “It’s awesome.”
“The seats are both heated and cooled.” He closed the window and backed slowly out of the parking space. “They also massage you.”
“No way. Where’s the button?”
“Down on the side of the seat. The bright green one.”
“Oh, man. That’s so cool.” She shivered as the mechanism within the seat rolled up and down her spine. “It certainly beats my car.”
“Everything beats your car.” He emerged into the sunlight and tapped on the screen on the navigation system. “I’ve already programmed in directions to the Blue Flamingo, so we should be fine.”
“What about Penny Jordan?”
“She’ll be at the hospital in a couple of hours. I’ve arranged for us to meet her privately before her shift.”
Ella hunched a shoulder and stared out at the crowded streets, where the tourists and office workers jostled for supremacy. “You’re so organized. I’m not sure why you need me at all.”
“Don’t be childish. Pouting doesn’t suit you.” He looked to his right, then cut across the junction out onto Embarcadero. “It must’ve been difficult for you to walk away from Brad without easing his memories.”
“It was, but I know we need more information before I can do that.” Ella shook her head. “I just hope he can keep it together. He felt incredibly fragile.”
“I agree.”
She studied his flawless profile and wondered why she worried about anyone thinking they were mated. No one in his or her right mind would think she was in Vadim’s league.
“You’d be surprised.” He turned briefly to smile at her. “Anyone with an ounce of magic in them can sense the connection between us right away.”
“Don’t read my mind!”
“If you mention me in such flattering terms, how can I help it?” He returned his gaze to the road and took a steep uphill street that reminded her of the climb up to the top of a roller coaster. “Haven’t you noticed the looks we’ve been getting all day? Everyone magical at work can sense something is going on.”
“Damn.” She returned her attention to the street and the unlucky pedestrians who were struggling up the incline. Some of the San Francisco streets needed either a base camp halfway up or trained paramedics equipped with heart resuscitators. “I was hoping our shields were good enough to keep everyone out.”
“I don’t think we can do that. It’s just something we give out as a mated couple. I’m not sure what it is, but I know it when I sense it.”
“Well, it doesn’t mean we have to admit anything, does it?”
A muscle flicked in his cheek, and she got the uncomfortable impression that her fake flippancy was starting to annoy him.
“No, but as I said earlier, your birthday is coming up next week, and then it will become obvious to even Feehan that something’s changed.”
Lampposts emblazoned with the Italian flag announced they were in the heart of Little Italy, with its closely packed bars, shops and eateries that spilled out onto the sidewalks even on cooler days like this.
“Oh, look, we’re here.” Ella pointed at an unlit neon sign at basement level. She wasn’t discussing anything to do with mating. She had a job to do. “Can you find somewhere to park?”
“Naturally.”
A parking space appeared to the right, directly in front of the Blue Flamingo.
“Now, that is one skill I’d really like to have. Can you tell me how you do it?”
Vadim reverse-parked the Mercedes in the tight space in one fluid motion. “It’s quite simple. You just envision a space opening up, and it will happen.”
“Right. You know, if magic was that easy, we’d all be doing it.” She checked that she had her phone and got out of the car. The smell of garlic and baking bread tantalized her nose. “God, we have to eat while we’re here.”
He stepped onto the sidewalk beside her and inhaled. “Yes, we definitely should. Let’s do the interview first, though.”
She followed him down the steps to the front door of the Blue Flamingo, which was propped open with a beer crate. The usual stale smell of flat beer, disinfectant and urine wafted out. Inside, there were no customers, just one young guy behind the bar restocking the shelves and watching basketball on the flat-screen TV above his head.
He looked up as they approached. “Hey we’re closed. Come back in an hour or two.”
Vadim extracted his government ID card from his wallet and flashed it at the bartender. “We’re from the SBLE. We just need to ask you a few questions.”
Ella was always amazed at how quickly people accepted she was a bona fide government employee without checking her identity with a secondary source. It seemed this guy was no exception. He might be a bit nervous, but it wasn’t because he feared them, which was definitely a mistake.
“You probably need to talk to the boss. He’s not here.”
“Actually, we want to talk to the person who was behind the bar last night.”
“That would be me. I’m Mike. What’s the problem?”
Ella pulled out a barstool and sat down, allowing Vadim to conduct the interview.
“We’re trying to trace the movements of a Brad Dailey. We believe he was here last night.”
“Brad? The blond-haired guy who got dumped?”
“That’s the one.�
�
“Did something happen to him? I made sure he didn’t drive home. I called him a cab, and Adam, the other guy who was here, said he’d see him home to his apartment.”
“The man’s name was Adam? Did you get his last name?”
“Nope. I missed that.”
“It doesn’t matter. You did the right thing not letting Brad drive.”
Ella sensed Vadim’s magic enfolding Mike, making him more receptive to answering questions. It was a useful tool, and one she intended to borrow from Vadim’s arsenal. It would complement her empath gifts nicely.
“Was there anyone else in the bar who conversed with Brad?”
“There wasn’t anyone else here, period. It was a quiet night. Just Brad and his girlfriend—until she stormed out, and then just the two guys. They were here for about three hours until I had to shut up shop.”
“Were they drinking heavily?”
“I wouldn’t say, like, heavily. They switched from beer to shots after about an hour, and they were talking a lot more than they were drinking.”
“Would you say either of them was intoxicated by the end of the night?”
“Brad was definitely a bit worse for wear, but Adam looked stone-cold sober. That’s why I was okay with him helping Brad home.” He opened the dishwasher and steam rose into the air. “Is the guy okay?”
“Brad’s fine. We’re more concerned about tracing the guy who helped him get home. Can you describe him to me?”
“Adam? He was probably in his thirties, well dressed in a suit and tie.” Mike picked up one of the glasses from the dishwasher rack and polished it before putting it back on the shelf.
“What did he look like?”
Mike frowned. “It’s hard to say. He was pretty average—brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, no visible tats or piercings, not buff or gay, just a regular kind of guy. It’s weird...now that I think of it, I really can’t picture him very well at all.”
“If I sent someone from our office down here to make a sketch of him with your help, do you think you could do it?”
“It depends. He was just so average, you know?”
