A Heart of Shame

by Kristen Banet

  “Fine.” She sighed. She slid the dagger into its sheath and realized it was the last one. She groaned and leaned back in her seat to look at their fearless leader.

  “No one has…” Vincent cast a glance over his shoulder and she frowned.

  “No one has given you a hard time over what… happened between us?”

  She shook her head at his telepathic question. Zander’s comment had pissed her off and fucking hurt. So had Jasper’s reaction. Neither of them had talked to her since, and she accepted that they were angry and needed a moment to themselves. They were entitled to a bit of anger. But only a bit. Sawyer was going to give them this case to get their heads out of their asses. She didn’t belong to people. Not Axel, not Vincent, and not them. Their anger stemmed from them thinking that she was theirs, and that didn’t fly with her.

  “Let me know if any of them do?”

  She shrugged. She couldn’t mentally respond to his telepathy, but he would get what she was saying without her needing to vocalize it.

  “We’re back to you being standoffish about telling me anything?”

  She grinned, and he broke into a small smile. Oh, the games. They were almost perversely fun. Then he was up from the seat and back to his own.

  The rest of the flight was uneventful. She maintained her distance and looked herself over after they landed. She was geared up, and she did the one thing she knew they would hate.

  She wore her black leather pants. They were thick enough to protect her and allowed her to have her thigh sheath. She had on a black tee, tucked in, per IMPO regulation. Her belt was black, and she had her other two daggers at the ready along with a row of throwing knives at her back. Her boots were her black work boots for thieving, meant to be in for the roughest of use. She put on the shoulder holster last and made sure her Sig was secure.

  She followed the uniform instruction to the letter. All black, work clothing that was kept in good condition. These were her work clothes. Sure, she had black cargos, and they were in her suitcase, but if they wanted her armed to the teeth, the leather pants were really the best for her. Part of her brought out the leather pants because, at some point or another, all of them had told her not to.

  She met the guys at the door towards the front of the jet, just behind the cockpit. None of them paid attention to her as they listened to the staircase get set up. Then a choked noise came from Jasper.

  “Need any more knives?” Jasper asked, looking over everything she was carrying. He was looking a bit… she couldn’t find the word. Disgusted? Scared? Admiring? Some mix of all of that, she decided. He was carrying only his sidearm. Zander was the same, though his hands were wrapped in black.

  “Am I allowed to have any more knives?” she asked, genuinely curious. “I’m sure I could grab a jacket and hide a few more.”

  “That’s everything she brought,” Elijah cut in with a chuckle. Elijah sported a longsword, the hilt showing over his left shoulder. “Though I’m terrified that you can find a way to carry more. I think you are out of space.”

  “I could put smaller blades on my upper arms. I have a free thigh without a blade yet. I could line the shoulder holster with more throwing-”

  “We get it. You can carry a lot of weapons,” Zander groaned. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

  “Be careful with that language, here,” Elijah warned him. “They won’t take kindly to it. And don’t be an asshole to your teammate.”

  “We’re still in Dallas, dickhead,” Zander growled. “And I’ll say whatever the fuck I want, to whomever I want.” Then he followed Vincent out of the jet.

  “Get your boy,” Elijah told Jasper. “Before I put him in the dirt.”

  “Forgive him,” Jasper grunted. “He’s a bit cranky.”

  “He gets this case to pull his head out of his ass,” Sawyer added, cutting between the two of them and leaving the jet. “Or I’m doing it for him.” She called back before she was out earshot. She didn’t fucking have the patience for Zander’s cranky shit over her and Vincent’s… accident. Because that was what she and Vincent were, an accident. Not one to be repeated, under any circumstance.

  She stomped down the stairs with Jasper and Elijah behind her. On the tarmac, the Explorers were already waiting on them. She climbed into one and found herself with Elijah and Vincent. She was happy that she was in a car with Elijah driving, for once. Kaar bounced around on the seat next to her and she shifted away from him. Kaar was a big-ass bird, and Sawyer didn’t want to find out if he was biter.

  “We have a hotel in Albany, the Hereford Motel.” Vincent sighed. “It’s basically the only place in town.”

  “Fantastic,” Sawyer muttered.

  “Why aren’t we staying in Abilene?” Elijah asked as they hit the freeway and took off.

  “Because we’re supposed to get in the thick of it and stay there. Abilene is half an hour away.” Vincent answered. Sawyer sighed and leaned back.

  “This shouldn’t be the hardest case to solve. We check in at the motel, get our stuff secure, and then go straight to finding where they are keeping the bodies and examine them,” Vincent continued. “Let’s just get through it.”

  “You know,” Sawyer said chuckling. “I said that about the last heist I did, and Axel happened to be there.”

  Sawyer was pleased to hear and see that they had given her a room to herself. She threw her bags onto her bed and met the guys back at the Explorers. She watched Zander focus and build a complex shield around their set of rooms to keep people out. He had to make it go through walls, the ceiling, and the floor to make sure the entire thing was secure. She had a genuine respect for that level of care.

  “I’ll bring them down when we get back,” he said and groaned. “I didn’t make them very strong, but I don’t think there’s a Magi in the area who poses a threat to them. They should be fine.”

  “Good thinking,” Vincent told him. “Let’s go bother the sheriff. He probably knows everything we want to know. Kaar is out getting a visual on the area for us.”

  “Let me do the talking,” Elijah sighed. “I grew up with people like this.”

  “How close is this to home for you?” Sawyer asked as they climbed back into the Explorer.

  “Close enough to piss me off,” Elijah divulged.

  “Are you thinking about visiting anyone while we’re nearby?” Sawyer asked, and Vincent made a noise. She knew his parents threw him out, but he had friends in the area, he must have. Guys like Elijah had friends fucking everywhere.

  “No,” Elijah growled softly. Sawyer dropped it but committed his response to memory. Not just the word, but the tone, the set of his jaw. It told her that whomever he left behind, if anyone, wasn’t worth it to him. And that told her that not even Elijah was everything he appeared to be on this team of misfits and criminals. As long as she had been with them, there was still a lot for her to learn.

  They pulled into the Shackelford County Sheriff’s Office and climbed out. Elijah took point, and Sawyer fell in beside Quinn at the back. They were probably both aiming for the same thing. Unseen and unnoticed at the back of the group where no one would give them any trouble. They didn’t fit in with the locals. At all. Best to go unnoticed, really, in Sawyer’s mind. They had left Shade and Scout in the air conditioning of Quinn’s motel room. An added level of security, and two wolves following them around would have screamed Magi.

  The door chimed as they entered. Sawyer saw a small bell at the top of the door.

  “Howdy. We’re looking for Sheriff Stevenson,” Elijah told a deputy at the front desk the moment he got within earshot. The young man looked up with a frown.

  “And who’s looking?” The deputy’s strong accent was apparent, and Sawyer knew in a second that this guy was probably born in the area and never saw a day out of it.

  “I’m Special Agent Elijah Grant, with the International Magi Police Organization,” he said politely, pulling out his badge and letting the deputy look it over. Sawyer noticed that h
is accent was a bit thicker than normal, and it had always been prominent. “This is my team. We report to Special Agent Vincent Castello.” Elijah motioned to Vincent, who gave a nod and short greeting. Once that was over, Elijah continued before the deputy could interrupt. “We’re here due to two Magi who recently passed away. The World Magi Council would like it investigated, just to make sure everything is fine, and let their families know. We should be in and out of your hair in a matter of days.”

  “Sheriff’s not in, Special Agent,” the deputy replied with a sneer. “Now, why don’t you let us handle our business? They were locals. People have heart attacks. We’ve got it covered.”

  “One of them wasn’t a local,” Jasper spoke up and Elijah gave him a quick look to be quiet. Sawyer noticed it and sighed quietly. “He was staying in a nearby town, doing some work and was supposed to leave in a few more weeks when he passed away.”

  “Well, if you think you know everything, then I guess I’m not needed,” the deputy huffed. “Go on. I’ll let the sheriff know you stopped by but don’t think…”

  The door chimed again, and Sawyer turned to see an older gentleman walk in. He was a true Texan, this one. Probably in his mid-fifties, he had leathery skin because he was in the sun too often. His goatee was salt and pepper. He wore the standard sheriff tan or khaki with that silly gold badge. He was also fit. He didn’t have the stereotypical old sheriff gut she was used to.

  But none of that really was important. What was important was that he was a Magi. She narrowed her eyes. A very weak one with an almost unnoticeable amount of power. He was probably the weakest Magi she had ever come across. On a crowded street or in a crowded room, he was probably so weak that she wouldn’t have even noticed him.

  “We have company, Jacob?” He asked gruffly as he walked behind the front desk. She kept her eyes on him. She looked for the small details. He placed his hands on the front desk, and she noted a wedding band on the left hand and a… fraternity ring of some sort on the other. She narrowed her eyes a little. Those were Greek letters alright, she just couldn’t identify which. She needed to get closer but decided against it.

  “From the International Magi Police Organization,” Deputy Jacob answered, with a bit of derision. The sheriff looked them over, and Sawyer raised an eyebrow at his glance at her legs. She shifted slightly so her thigh sheath and twelve-inch black dagger were more obvious.

  “Not from around here, are you?” he asked, looking towards Elijah and frowning. Sawyer grinned to herself.

  “I am. Special Agent Elijah Grant.” Elijah chuckled. Sawyer lazily rested her hands on the pommels of her daggers. “About an hour south, actually. The rest of my team hails from all over the world.”

  “Sheriff Stevenson. Why are you in my town, Elijah Grant?” The sheriff asked, shaking Elijah’s hand. Then he shook his head. “Never mind. You’re here about the two bodies. Well, I have some bad news for you, then.”

  “Oh?” Vincent frowned, and Elijah slowly pulled his hand out of the sheriff’s slowly.

  “We’ve already released them to their families.” Sheriff Stevenson smiled politely. “Heart attacks, ya know? Pretty common. We don’t want to waste precious time and resources keeping ahold of bodies that families probably want back.”

  Sawyer felt the mood shift in the room. Everything would have been fine if they had bodies to examine but without them… where did the team go? What did they do?

  “I take it there’s no file kept on it either. You never questioned possible witnesses or anything?” Jasper asked, looking around Elijah to Sheriff Stevenson.

  “No, neither had any witnesses. Heart attack, alone, in the middle of nowhere with spotty cell service, at best? Plenty of old farmers go that way,” Sheriff Stevenson replied, shrugging. “It happens.” Elijah pulled out his wallet and a card. He held it out to the sheriff.

  “Call if anything else comes up?” Elijah asked. The sheriff took it and nodded, but Sawyer saw a hint of something in the sheriff’s eyes that bothered her. His stance was defensive, and he looked a bit… upset. “We’ll be out of your hair, then.”

  “Y’all have a good day.” Sheriff Stevenson called out as Sawyer left the building.

  “You, too,” Vincent replied quietly.

  Once outside, Sawyer leaned on one of the black Explorers. It was fucking hot. The truck, the sun, the air, Sawyer. Everything was just so goddamn hot. September in the middle of Texas was a terrible place for an all-black uniform. It had to be over ninety degrees and sweltering.

  “What now?” She asked, frowning at them.

  “In the car,” Elijah whispered. “Now.” She continued to frown as he opened a door for her. She slid in and stayed quiet until they were all leaving together.

  “What now?” she asked again.

  “He’s a Magi with mind reading.” Elijah bit out, hitting the gas to get to their motel. “And that ring on his right hand? He might think I don’t know what it means but I’ve seen it before. I just don’t remember where. The letters were Alpha and Omega.”

  “I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed it.” Sawyer mumbled about the ring and the sheriff’s identity. “Mind reading, though? He’s super weak. Can he even use it? From my knowledge, mind reading requires a fairly deep Source.”

  “It’s why he shook my hand, and he only got in for a second. It was probably all he felt comfortable with, both against another Magi and to prevent his own burnout.” Elijah groaned. “Vincent?”

  “That’s why he knew we are looking to investigate the bodies before we said anything.” Vincent shrugged. “Or that could be a good guess. What were you thinking about?”

  “The ring,” Elijah told him. “Who knows what he got? In the end, don’t let the good old sheriff touch you unless you’re prepared for it.”

  “Yeah, pretty stupid to touch a Magi skin to skin before you learn their abilities,” Sawyer snorted. “Why did you?”

  “Because a good handshake in this part of the world is the sign of good manners and can make or break a first impression.” Elijah chuckled. “Not like you know anything about manners.”

  “I do, too,” Sawyer huffed. “And don’t pretend you have any, Sugar.”

  “Now, little lady.” Elijah sounded wounded for a moment. “Don’t hurt my feelings.”

  “Tell me what’s next,” Sawyer pressed, toeing Vincent’s seat enough to shake him up.

  “We’ll talk at the motel,” Vincent told her with no emotion. “Don’t kick my seat.”

  “I didn’t. I touched it to get your attention.” Sawyer chuckled, shaking her head. It was easier to mess with him now. It didn’t feel like a dead boy was between them, haunting them anymore. They could be normal fucking people if they wanted to be. At least to Sawyer, even though she was battling the edge of possession she felt over him now. “Still think this case will be easy?”

  “Yes, though if no other bodies show up,” Vincent paused, shrugging, “…we’re done. Maybe they were just heart attacks.”

  “Maybe,” Elijah offered and also gave a shrug. “But when two Magi pass away in an area like this, it gets investigated, just to make sure. Hell, even just one, which was why we were notified when the first body showed up.”

  “You guys almost make it sound like the IMPO and the WMC actually care,” Sawyer whispered with a touch of bitter sadness. Sawyer didn’t trust either organization as far as she could throw them. She’d heard the rumors of corruption. There wasn’t a Magi on the planet who didn’t know that some vein of corruption ran through their ranks.

  “And here’s Sawyer, the criminal, back out to play.” Elijah laughed. “Is there anything you really trust in the world?”

  She thought about it.

  “No, but I’m always excited for new experiences.” Sawyer laughed. It was a joke. She did trust a few things. A few people. Charlie had been one of them, and she still loved the old man dearly, but he also had sold her out. She knew better than to trust Liam to follow directions. He
was probably back in New York getting himself into trouble trying to do what she did. Especially now that he was mad at her.

  The team? Sawyer thought she might. If she didn’t, she was going to try.

  Back at the motel, they all filed into Vincent and Elijah’s room, to the right of her room. Quinn had his own room, so the wolves got a bed. It was next to hers, on the left. On the other side of Quinn, Jasper and Zander had a room with each other.

  Sawyer sat on the edge of a bed and waited patiently.

  “We should find the places where the bodies were found,” Vincent finally announced to them. “I don’t know what we’re looking for though. Any trace of magic, anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Going to be hard, since we don’t know where the two Magi dead,” Jasper added quietly. “But, if they died in their homes or on their own property, then it shouldn’t be hard to identify which magic signature is whose.”

  “Good point, Jasper,” Vincent said, nodding toward Jasper. “We’re in a bad spot without the bodies.”

  “We are.” Elijah groaned. “And I’m not sure how to feel about the sheriff. He didn’t give me a good vibe.”

  “Me either, but he could have just been defensive because we’re treading onto his turf,” Sawyer muttered.

  “He’s not supposed to be a sheriff.” Jasper sighed. “Magi can’t hold non-Magi political office, and we’re banned from entering their law enforcement or militaries. This is punishable by the WMC, who doesn’t want us driven by our local feelings and loyalties.”

  “Magi first, foremost, and always,” Zander reminded them all. It was the unofficial motto of their kind. Forget the rest of the shit and remember that being Magi makes you outnumbered, powerful, and the need to be careful was paramount. One should keep Magi business with other Magi. One shouldn’t dabble into non-Magi affairs because that only bred disaster.

  Sawyer followed it sometimes. Other times, and more often, she completely disregarded the belief.