Collateral Damage: A Tethered Novel

by Wayne, Jessica

  Paislee mimicked what he’d shown her, trying her best to not feel embarrassed by her lack of knowledge. It was hard enough to focus on him standing there half naked. She didn’t need her own embarrassment adding to it.

  They worked on her form for an hour, and then Timothy moved the heavy bag back into the center of the room, so she could practice on it. Another two hours later, Paislee was sore and drenched in sweat.

  “You alright?” Timothy asked as she practically crawled out of the gym.

  “I’m good.”

  He handed her a Gatorade, and she drank deeply. “You are going to want to take these.” He handed her two gel pills. “And drink this.” and a shaker bottle.

  “What are these?”

  “These.” He pointed to the pills. “Are fish oil and will help with your recovery time, and this is a protein shake. It will help rebuild muscles, so they are stronger.”

  She took the pills with her Gatorade, and then took a drink of the shake. “This is awful.”

  He grinned. “We can get you a different flavor, but peanut butter is all I have here.”

  “Blah,” she complained but drank it anyway. “I’m going to go shower now if I can make it there.”

  His eyes darkened. “Want help?”

  “Normally, I would say yes, but since my body feels like jelly at the moment, I will have to take a rain check.”

  “I could hold you up.”

  “Rain check.”

  “Alright, if you insist.” He grinned and headed back towards his office.

  * * *

  Timothy opened the door to see an angry Detective Shultz on the other side.

  “To what do I owe this surprise visit, detective?”

  “Do you know this woman.” Shultz held up a photo of Giselle and Timothy nodded, not changing his expression.

  “I do, what is this about?”

  “She was found dead last night. A single gunshot wound to her head.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I agree. She was an incredibly successful woman who had a lot of years ahead of her. It’s such a shame when you get mixed up with the wrong people.” She glared at him to get her point across. “Mind if I come in?”

  “Not at all.” Timothy stepped aside to let her in.

  “I hear that you and Miss Ray had quite the relationship.”

  “What are you implying?” Timothy wondered as he closed the door gently behind her.

  “Simply getting my facts straight, Mr. McGinley.”

  “Giselle and I had both a working and physical relationship for a time, although both ended over a month ago.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I no longer needed her professional services, and we didn’t have quite the connection we thought.”

  “So, you both ended it.”

  “Yes,” he lied.

  “Amicably.”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you seen her since?”

  How much to tell her? “Am I going to need a lawyer, detective?”

  “Are you guilty?”

  “No, but these questions are making me think you believe I am.”

  “If you aren’t guilty then you have nothing to worry about. Did Miss Ray come and see you at any point since your relationship ended?”

  “Yes, she came to see me two days ago.”

  “Why?”

  “To talk, as I said our relationship ended amicably and we remained friends.”

  She studied him, searching for a lie. “Do you know of anyone who would have hurt her?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. We were physical yes, but never shared anything about our personal lives.”

  Her jaw tightened, and she nodded. “If you think of anything let me know. Don’t leave town, there seems to be a trail of bodies following you and I plan to figure out why.”

  “I have no travel plans.”

  “Good.”

  “Have a great day detective,” he said with a smile and shut the door behind her before immediately pulling out his phone. “Ashton, Detective Shultz was just here. She said they found Giselle’s body, look into it.” He disconnected the call and looked up to see Paislee standing with her arms crossed.

  “She’s dead?”

  He nodded.

  “And the detective seems to think you did it?”

  “Or that I know who did.”

  “Malcolm.”

  “Can’t exactly prove that. We don’t even know where he is since he abandoned his last property after we rescued you.”

  “We could find him.”

  “How?”

  “Me. You use me to draw him out.”

  “Absolutely not.” He headed for his bar and poured a drink.

  “Timothy, look at it rationally, it’s me he wants. As far as he knows, you aren’t immortal. He saw that much with his own eyes after his skank wife sliced you with her nasty fingernails.”

  “Paislee, we are not using you as bait.”

  “Come on, we have to get him. If you have a better plan, I’m open to it. This is bigger than me, bigger than us. He is going to hurt a lot of people if we don’t find him.”

  “And what if we fail? What if he managed to get his hands on you and your magic? Are you okay risking that? Risking being the reason he is able to hurt all those people?”

  “That’s a low blow.”

  “I’m sorry, but we have to look at all possible scenarios, and that bastard has been ten steps ahead of us since day one. He planted someone in my company seven months ago. Before I even knew you existed, which tells me he’s been watching me constantly. I’m having to comb through every little bit of work Jake did while he was here to see if anything was altered or taken. If he’s been that far ahead, what makes you think he isn’t planning for that exact scenario?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “Exactly, and until we do we are not risking your life.” His phone rang, and he answered without taking his eyes off Paislee, “McGinley.”

  “It’s Ashton, they did find a body. She was killed execution style with a single GSW to the head.”

  “Where?”

  “They found her body in an alley behind her office.”

  “So, nothing to tie it to me?”

  “As far as I can tell, no. But the bodies are lining up Timothy, we need to make sure they don’t point to you. Schultz is out for blood.”

  “I could tell that much.”

  “Let’s not give her any.”

  “Thanks.” He ended the call as Paislee was walking away.

  “I told you I’m not sitting around much longer,” she warned over her shoulder and disappeared into her room.

  Chapter 30

  Timothy pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the clock on his desk. Four a.m. He groaned, he’d been combing through these files for nearly twelve hours and still had nothing to show for it.

  On the surface, it appeared that Jake, or whatever his name was, had done an expert job. Everything was professionally documented, thoroughly explained and from the shipment records to what he had put in the files, nothing seemed to be missing.

  But that was on the surface, there had to be something buried that didn’t belong. There was no way Jake had worked for him for seven months and not done anything to further Malcolm’s goals. There was just no way.

  He stood and stretched before stepping in front of the large window. The city below was dark with only a scattering of lights. What was it like, he wondered, to live a normal life? To wake up at the same time every day, go to work, put in an effort, come home to a spouse, to children? To eat dinner and then curl up on the couch with a good book or to watch a show?

  He had never known a normal life. At least, not since before he found out about his curse. The vision of Cait from the graveyard popped into his head. He had believed she would be his normal life, his chance at happiness, and now he wondered if he would ever get the opprotunity.

  He wasn’t stupid, he knew Paislee wouldn�
��t wait much longer, and he also knew that when she went after Malcolm, he would go with her because Myria had been right. He was in love with her, she was his second chance, and he would protect her with his life, if necessary.

  If fighting her war meant dying in the trenches, he would gladly sacrifice his life to free her from the horror.

  “You okay?” He looked up to see her framed in the doorway by the glow of the light in the hall. It struck him then, just how incredibly beautiful she was. Her features were shadowed, but the lines of worry for him made pieces of his heart, he thought long gone, fall back into place.

  “Yes, just going through the inventory and sales records.”

  “Anything?”

  “Not yet, but there has to be something.”

  “Maybe there’s not, it’s possible he only planted Jake here to test out your immortality.”

  He had considered that, but it didn’t fit. “Then why wait so long before sending someone to try and kill me? Jake had plenty of opportunities to get rid of me, or at least to try. I never had any hint at the thought he was anything but an outstanding employee.”

  “Is that what’s bothering you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been off since you found out about Jake. Timothy, there is no way you could have known.” She walked in and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I allowed him into my office, shit he was in there with you when I wasn’t here. Paislee if anything had happened because I missed something-“

  She touched his arm gently. “Nothing happened. Could he have smuggled something out?” she asked as she straightened.

  Timothy shook his head. “It would have been impossible. All my employees go through security when they leave. They are scanned, their bags checked, everything. I don’t see how he could have snuck anything out.”

  “Maybe paid a guard?”

  “Those are Ashton’s men, I’ll let you bring that theory up to him.”

  “We need to check every angle.”

  He changed the subject. “How is the magic coming along?”

  She held her palm up, and a ball of flame appeared. He stared at it, dumbfounded.

  “I’m getting the hang of it.”

  “You definitely are.”

  “It’s amazing what a little proper motivation will do.”

  “And what’s motivating you now?”

  “The idea that Malcolm is planning an attack and I haven’t done anything to stop it is motivation enough.”

  “We will stop him, Paislee.”

  She nodded. “We can’t fail.”

  “We won’t.”

  * * *

  Paislee and Timothy looked up from their breakfast at the sound of a knock on the door. Timothy got up to answer it, and Paislee watched after him just in case. Ashton was off on some secret mission Timothy wouldn’t share with her just what that was, and as far as she knew they weren’t expecting anyone.

  Timothy looked in the door, and Paislee watched his body relax, so she followed suit. He pulled open the door to a familiar face.

  “Aengus, what are you doing here?” Timothy asked and embraced his friend.

  “Myria said you might need some help.”

  “We’ll talk in my office.”

  “What is it?” Paislee asked. “It’s nice to see you Aengus,” she offered with a smile. “What does Myria think he needs help with?”

  “Not now, Paislee,” Timothy warned and abandoned his breakfast as he ushered Aengus into his office. “What are you doing here Aengus?” he asked once the door was closed behind them.

  “Myria told me of her vision.”

  “What about it? It was just a dream.”

  “I get that you haven’t been around us much, but her dreams are rarely just dreams.”

  “What does it matter? I already told her, I wouldn’t leave Paislee.”

  “Nor should you. I’m not here for you to abandon your mission, I’m here to help.”

  “Help? Do you not realize what this is? You have a family Aengus.”

  “And you are part of that family. When Caipre took Aine, you were right there by my side and with me to the very end. Let me do that for you. Let me fight beside you like we used to.”

  “We aren’t the same people we used to be.”

  “We aren’t that different either,” Aengus rebutted.

  Timothy stared at his old friend. Aengus’s jaw was set, which usually meant there was no room for argument except there had to be this time. His friend couldn’t risk his life, his family, on him. “You cannot help me Aengus.”

  “Like hell, I can’t. I’m not leaving, you kick me out of here, and I’ll go find this Malcolm character myself.”

  “Dammit, Aengus.”

  Aengus grinned, and Timothy couldn’t stop himself from returning it. Damn, it felt good to have his friend back.

  “That’s what I thought, so tell me where I can put my stuff.”

  “Guest room, down the hall, turn right.”

  “Perfect, I’ve had a long trip, so I’ll be retiring to my room and calling Abby. Once you’re ready to fill me in, let me know.” He turned and left the room.

  Paislee was right at the door. “What dream?”

  “Shit, Paislee were you listening to everything then?”

  She crossed her arms. “What dream and why does Myria think we need help?”

  He had dreaded telling her, but he had promised he would never lie either. “Myria had a dream that I died.”

  Paislee’s face lost just enough color for him to notice and her body stiffened. “You died.”

  “It was a dream, Paislee, nothing more.”

  “How do you know? Have Myria’s dreams come true before?”

  “That was different.”

  “Why would you keep this from me?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You know why.”

  She did know why, and she knew exactly how he expected her to respond, so she did her best to do the opposite. “Well, you should have told me, but it was just a dream.” His eyes widened in shock, that’s right. Not what you expected is it? She smiled. “Are you going to come finish breakfast?”

  * * *

  “We got a problem.”

  Malcolm sighed on the other line. “What type of problem?”

  “A man showed up at McGinley’s apartment this morning, I don’t recognize him, and can’t seem to pull any information as to who he is.”

  “That’s not necessarily a problem, from what you told me McGinley met with clients at his apartment from time to time.”

  “This guy flew in from Dublin.”

  “Still not seeing a problem.” Malcolm’s voice took on a dangerous tone that he knew would warn the man on the other line. He didn’t have time to waste on random men who just so happened to pop up from time to time. He had bigger things to focus on. He looked down at the map on his desk. “Find what you can about him, and let me know if it’s important. Otherwise, I’m not interested.” He hung up the phone and studied the map closer.

  The plan needed to be executed flawlessly. He needed to maximize damage while ensuring he got his desired outcome. His eyes narrowed on a spot on the map that would meet both his criteria.

  He smiled, boom.

  * * *

  “So, this Malcolm is a bastard, isn’t he?” Aengus commented after Timothy finished filling him in over whiskey that night.

  “More than.” Paislee took a drink of her own. “We need to stop sitting around and do something.”

  “We need a plan. We go in there guns blazing, and we’re likely to get cut down.”

  “My magic-”

  “Is only useful if he doesn’t bring the necklace out. If he does, you’re powerless.”

  “Maybe not entirely, what about the cuff?” Aengus asked.

  Timothy shook his head. “It blocks her from being able to use her magic.”

  “But at least the necklace wouldn’t be able to touch her.”

 
; “True, but it still doesn’t solve our problem,” Timothy responded.

  “What do we need to move forward?” Aengus asked.

  “We need to know where his new compound is, and how to get in.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Paislee asked.

  Timothy rubbed his hands down his face. “Ashton is working on it. He’s hoping to have a location in the next few days.”

  “We may not have a few days. If he attacks-”

  “Paislee, we don’t have a choice. If we go after him and die, who is going to save all those people?”

  “I know you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” she nearly growled it, and it surprised even her to hear the animosity in her voice.

  Aengus stood and pushed his chair back. “I’m going to go and call Abby.”

  Timothy and Paislee kept their eyes locked on each other. Even now as angry as she was, electricity snapped between them and all she wanted to do was run and jump into his arms so they could forget everything going on in the world.

  “Are we okay?” Timothy asked carefully, and Paislee nodded.

  “I’m going to go to bed though, I’m tired.” She got up to walk past him, and he gripped her arm.

  “Please trust me, love.”

  “I do trust you,. I just hope you aren’t making up excuses because you’re afraid of what might happen to me. If you’re willing to gamble with your life, why should mine be any different.” She pulled her arm away and walked towards the room.

  Chapter 31

  “Well I’ll be damned,” Timothy muttered and studied the file in his hand.

  “What is it?” Paislee and Aengus both asked at the same time. They had been going through inventory files for nearly two days, and Paislee thought if she had to continue, she might burst into flame.

  “There’s a very faint line right here.” He pointed to the bottom of the form, where it looked like an item had been removed.

  “Could be a smudge,” Aengus pointed out. “We’ve seen a few of those.”