Grave Cargo: Arcane Transporter 1

by Jami Gray

  “You go boom,” I repeated. “I get it.”

  She managed a wan grin. “Right, in this case, both the cipher and the hex required a delicate Arcane touch because of the way they were crafted.”

  “And they needed your magic fingers.”

  “Exactly.”

  A low-grade headache was setting up shop, and I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes for a minute. “Okay, so that explains why they needed you.” I dropped my hands and blinked away the tiny spots as my vision steadied. “Why’d Theo kill Keith?”

  Her forehead furrowed, and the lines around her mouth deepened as she frowned. “That’s a good question that I don’t have an answer for. What I do know is whatever Keith did pissed Theo off, they argued, and Keith ended up dead. Which wouldn’t have been my problem if I hadn’t chosen that particular moment to knock on Keith’s door.”

  I winced. “Bad timing.”

  She huffed out a sound of amusement. “That’s one way to think about it.”

  “What about the Drainer’s Circle?” Zev broke in.

  “What about it?” she asked.

  “That spell is highly advanced.” At the GPS’s warning, he slowed and made a turn. “Much more advanced than I’d expect someone like Theo to be able to pull off.”

  “It was already set and primed when I woke up,” she explained. “I think he had someone else cast it.” Her eyes narrowed in consideration as she tapped her fingers against her knee. “Actually, now that I think about it, he definitely had to have had someone else do it.”

  That earned a sharp glance from Zev. “Why?”

  Her fingers stilled. “Because that first day he had me, Theo screwed up.”

  “How?” This time, I managed to get my question in before Zev.

  “He smudged one of the circle’s sigils while he was casting a translocation spell on Keith’s body.” The hand resting on her knee curled into a fist, and her voice turned hard. “It was a minor mistake. One he eventually caught, but before he did, I was able to adjust the spell’s intended location enough to drop the body somewhere obvious.”

  That explained the body drop that had reeled me into this mess. “You did a damn good job.” When she gave me a quizzical look, I grinned. “It landed in the lobby of the condo.”

  She blinked, bemusement washing the lines of stress away for a brief moment. “No shit?”

  “No shit.”

  “Uh. Nice.” Her pleased expression faded under obvious exhaustion. “He left me in that spell for hours, letting that dirty magic suck bits and pieces of me away in a slow drip. He needed me weak enough to be compliant, but not so weak I couldn’t do what he wanted.” She reached out to me. I grabbed her hand and held on, both of us taking comfort from our tight grips. She looked at our hands and blinked rapidly. “I knew you, or the Guild, would be looking for me, so I needed a way to buy myself time.” I squeezed, and she lifted her head and gave me a weak smile. “When he finally showed back up, I reluctantly agreed to work on the file. It took some acting and a few tears, but he finally believed me and produced a flash drive that contained the locked files. I worked as slow as I could, but Theo’s impatient, not stupid.”

  “That couldn’t have been easy.” Zev turned on to the winding road that led to the hospital. “Trying to work while being drained.”

  She shuddered, and her grip tightened. “It wasn’t, and the Drainer’s Circle made it twice as difficult.” She let go of my hand and dropped her head back against the seat. “I got through most of the hex on the files, but I knew if I undid the last of the cipher, Theo would just kill me, so I created a magical tripwire tied to me, one that would destroy the drive and all the information if triggered.”

  Her simple explanation hit me hard, and I bit back my sharp protest.

  Zev had a completely different reaction. “That’s brilliant.”

  I glared at him, but when I turned back to Lena, it was to see a hint of color seeping into her cheeks.

  “Necessary,” she corrected self-consciously. “As far as I was concerned, if I didn’t survive, neither would that information. Then I told Theo what I did.”

  Unable to check myself, I snapped, “You blackmailed a psychopath.”

  “I wanted to keep breathing,” she shot back. “And it worked.”

  Zev broke in before the two of us could get into it. “Do you know where the drive is now?”

  Lena shrugged. “Probably with Theo, why?”

  Zev followed the hospital signs to the emergency room entrance. “Because the information on that drive belongs to the Cordova Family.”

  Lena turned to me with raised brows, silently questioning his claim.

  I confirmed with a slight nod then aimed my next question at Zev. “How likely is it that Theo knows we broke Lena out?”

  “Pretty damn likely.” He turned in to the lot near the emergency entrance and parked.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I sighed. “He could stash the drive anywhere and ghost.”

  “If he was smart, he’d keep the drive close,” Zev said. “It’s his only bargaining chip.”

  “Well, if he has the drive on him,” Lena chimed in, “you can track his ass down and find out.”

  Zev undid his seatbelt and twisted around so he could see her. “What do you mean?”

  Instead of answering him, she turned to me. “You said Evan’s going to meet us here?”

  “Yeah, he should be right behind us,” I confirmed.

  She turned to Zev and studied him for a long moment. “Promise me, when you get ahold of Theo, you’ll make him hurt for me?”

  Zev held her gaze and solemnly said, “I swear.”

  Lena considered him for a moment then nodded decisively. “Good. When Evan gets here, have him track my Guild signature. I used it when I set the tripwire.”

  I blinked at my friend, then I threw back my head and laughed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lena’s normal resilience was no match for the results of spending three grueling days at the mercy of a Drainer’s Circle. She tried to get out of the SUV and all but fell into Zev’s arms. He ended up carrying her through the emergency room doors, while I rushed in behind him. Like a well-rehearsed dance, the emergency staff whisked Lena into the bowels of the hospital, where a Guild-approved doctor would ensure her health. Since I wasn’t technically considered family, I was told I could see her once she was brought back to her room. The admitting nurse took in my rough appearance with a critical eye and asked if I required treatment. I declined, and she sent Zev and me to the waiting room.

  On the way to the lounge, everything caught up to me in a swamping wave, and I stumbled. Only Zev’s quick reaction kept me from adding more bruises to my collection.

  “Whoa, Rory. You okay?”

  “Sorry.” Embarrassed by my clumsiness, I ducked my head as he tucked me against his side. Despite our differences in height, we fit. “Just tired.”

  His arm around my waist tightened, and for a brief, unsettling moment, I felt strangely safe. “Let’s find a seat.”

  He stopped us in the lounge’s entryway, taking in the other occupants. There weren’t many. Two kids, probably under ten, played quietly in a corner next to an exhausted-looking man, most likely their father. On the other side of the room, an older woman held tight to the hand of a younger one, while she worked a set of rosary beads. The TV in the corner was on a home improvement show, but the volume was low, making it difficult to hear.

  Zev led me to a loveseat in the middle of the room that was angled to see the TV. “Let’s sit here.”

  “Works for me.” So long as I could sit, I wasn’t picky. I sank down and discovered the couch was fairly comfortable. I sat in the corner at an angle, one knee propped on the couch, one foot on the floor. I braced an elbow on the armrest, dropped my head into my hand, and closed my eyes.

  The cushions shifted as Zev settled in on the other side. For a few minutes, I simply drifted but it didn’t take long for the qui
et to gain weight. I could all but feel him watching me. When I forced my eyes open, I found I was right. His position mimicked mine, except one of his arms was draped along the back of the loveseat. There was a slight frown on his face, and something intense lingered in his dark eyes. Whatever it was, it left me off balance. I frowned. “What?”

  My snippy question erased the complicated look and replaced it with amusement. “What what?”

  “You’re staring at me,” I groused, feeling my cheeks heat. “Stop it.”

  His amusement broke into an appealing grin. “I’m not staring. I’m just thinking.”

  What are we? Thirteen? “About?”

  That grin turned wicked. “You.”

  Reverting to adolescence, I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Whatever.” The dull headache from earlier had stepped it up a notch, and I could feel my scraped knees stiffening up. I avoided his too-perceptive gaze and picked at the torn material of my slacks. “What happens now?”

  He didn’t dodge the question. “Once Lena’s man gets here, I’ll have him track Theo and the drive.”

  Without correcting his assumption about Evan, I shot him a look. “And if that doesn’t work?”

  He cocked his head. “Then I’ll go back to my original plan and hunt Theo down.”

  His intention to hunt solo came through loud and clear, and I found myself both irritated and strangely hurt. The irritation was easy. I had my own grievances to address with Theo, but I was realistic enough to understand that mine meant little to nothing in light of the ones Zev and the Cordovas held. Lena was safe and sound, which meant my part in this mess was technically done. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite ready to let it go or, to be more honest, let Zev go. It was beyond stupid. He lived in a world that would eat me alive, but as I studied him from under my lashes, I couldn’t ignore that I was tempted to risk it. And since I couldn’t quite let him go, I asked, “When you find Theo, what will happen to him?”

  He arched a brow. “If he survives?”

  I nodded.

  “He’ll be brought before the Arcane Family Court on charges of murder, intent to murder, larceny, kidnapping, and use of illicit magic.” There was little inflection in Zev’s voice, almost as if he were running down a checklist of offenses.

  Since I wanted Theo to pay in very painful ways, I pushed, “Which means he’ll what? Get locked in a cell somewhere and rot?”

  Zev’s smile was scary. “In this situation, that’s too easy. Just take my word for it—he won’t ever bother you or Lena again.”

  I dropped my gaze and nervously picked at a torn piping on the armrest. “What about the local authorities? Do I need to worry about them showing up on our doorstep?”

  “It’ll be taken care of.”

  I was sure it would, but Detective Brenner was going to be pissed that Family politics and arrogance outranked his authority. But that wasn’t my problem. Frustrated, sad, and so mixed up I just wanted to leave, I muttered, “You have an answer for everything.”

  “Not everything.”

  At that ominous response, I looked up and got caught in his gaze. “What do you mean?” My question came out on a breathless squeak.

  He leaned in, bracing his hands on either side of my bent leg. My world narrowed down to his face, the stark lines that disappeared into the neatly trimmed beard, the dark eyes that burned with an unsettling intensity. My heart pounded, and my mouth went dry, but when he traced a fingertip down the side of my face with infinite gentleness, my heart raced for an entirely different reason. “I don’t know what it is you’re hiding.”

  “I’m not hiding anything.” I managed the lie without flinching.

  The sinful curve of his lips left me torn between whimpering in fear or whimpering in want. “I don’t believe you.”

  I jerked back, losing that delicate touch, not that I had room to go anywhere as I was all but trapped on the damn loveseat. “I don’t care what you—”

  “Where’s Lena? Is she okay?” The rest of my denial was cut off as Evan rushed into the lounge and aimed straight for Zev and me.

  Grateful for his interruption, I turned away from Zev and his too-knowing gaze. I scrambled off the loveseat. “She’s going to be fine. They’re checking her out now.”

  Evan’s panic receded, and his shoulders hunched as he dropped into a nearby chair. He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it on end. “Thank God.” His lifted his head, nudged his glasses back in place, and pinned Zev with a hard stare. “You’ll get the asshole that took her, right?”

  “I will,” Zev said as he stood to join us. “But to do that, I need your help.”

  Evan sat up, his knee bouncing. “Whatever you need.”

  I took the chair next to Evan and was grateful when Zev continued to stand. “Lena said she tagged the flash drive and that you would be able to track it by her Guild signature. Do you know what she’s talking about?”

  His face scrunched up in thought, and he rubbed his chin. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do.” He looked around. “I need a computer.”

  “I’m sure the hospital has a business center around here.” I patted his knee and left the lounge to ask the nurse at the desk. When I returned, Evan stood with Zev, and whatever they were discussing was done in low voices. They both fell silent at my approach. “Second floor, to the left of the elevators, near the chapel.”

  Evan looked at the doors then back to me. “You’ll stay and keep me posted?”

  I nodded. “As soon as they get her assigned to a room, I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay, good.” He turned to Zev. “Let’s get this done.” He didn’t wait but headed toward the elevators.

  Zev didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he stepped into my space. Refusing to give ground, I lifted my chin and glared. “What?”

  Those whisky-dark eyes roamed over my face like a physical touch, which was bad enough, but then he smiled with wolfish intent. “I’ll be in touch.”

  He didn’t wait for response, which was a good thing, since I was having a hell of a time finding my voice. That didn’t stop me from watching him and his undeniable gorgeous ass waltz away. He stepped inside the elevator and turned toward me. Holding his gaze as the elevator doors slid shut, I muttered a mature “Whatever.”

  The Guild-approved doctor wanted to keep Lena overnight for observation. He said with time and rest, her magic would revert back to its normal levels. His biggest concern was dehydration, so they hooked her up to an IV and pumped her full of liquids and antibiotics to stave off infections from her various cuts. Evan came back without Zev and waited with me until they finally got Lena in a room. He didn’t say much, other than to confirm he was able to lock on to whatever signal Lena had established. I’m sure Zev was out doing what he did best—hunting. As miffed as I was to not be at his side, sticking with Lena was more important.

  When we finally got to her room, Lena was out of it, but neither of us felt comfortable letting her wake alone. When it was obvious we weren’t going anywhere, one of the nurses offered me a pair of scrubs. Since my skin was starting to crawl under the dust, dirt, and blood, I took them and made use of the shower in the attached bathroom, leaving Evan on watch. I spent just long enough under the spray to rinse off the layer of grit and grime from the day’s adventure. Later, when I got home, I could indulge in a long soak to appease my aching muscles.

  When I walked out in my stylish baggy scrubs, I found the Guild director sitting in my chair and Lena awake and propped up in bed. Sylvia listened to each of us as we recounted what had happened, who was involved, and our half-confirmed guesses on motives. There was another round of Q-and-A as Sylvia homed in on specifics that would allow her to hold her own when she dealt with the fallout from Madeline Thatcher, the Phoenix PD, and the Cordovas. When we were done, she got to her feet. “Lena, be prepared for the Cordovas to request your assistance with the flash drive.”

  Lena didn’t quite mask the flash of worry, but being the loyal Guild employee she was, she sa
id, “I’ll be happy to help, but I want hazard pay.”

  Sylvia’s smile was razor sharp. “Not to worry. The Guild will ensure the Cordovas pay for your expertise and any hardship incurred.” Her gaze swept over Evan and me. “I want your official reports on my desk no later than ten tomorrow, understood?”

  We both nodded.

  “Good.” She turned to me. “Rory, walk with me?”

  Since it wasn’t really a question, I shared a worried look with Lena then turned to follow the director out. As we waited for the elevator, Sylvia said, “I received a phone call this morning.”

  It took a second to switch gears. Why would a call to Sylvia involve me? Then, remembering my evening with Sabella, I couldn’t stop the burst of nerves. “Oh?”

  “It seems you provided outstanding professional services under unforeseen difficulties and left quite the impression. It’s my understanding you should expect a contract to be delivered within the next few days.” Sylvia gave me an amused look. “Congratulations.”

  I couldn’t quite contain my pleased grin, but I managed a relatively calm “Thank you for providing me the opportunity.”

  The elevator doors slid open. Sylvia stepped inside then turned to face me. “Thank you for proving my confidence was not misplaced.” She hit a button. “Good luck, Rory.” As the doors closed, she added, “You’re going to need it.”

  I all but floated back to Lena’s room, my head spinning with the implications of Sabella’s contract. The niggling worries generated by the journal lingered but weren’t enough to completely douse my elation. I pushed through the half-opened door and came to a stop. “Oops, want me to come back?”

  Evan straightened from where he was leaning over a red-faced Lena and with remarkable composure said, “It’s good.” He looked at Lena, brought their laced hands up to his mouth, and pressed them to his lips. “I’m going to head into the office and get a few things tied up. Do you want me to come back tonight?”