Miss Frost Cracks A Caper: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 4)

by Kristen Painter

  Lance ripped the tape off my mouth. “You did this to him. Now you’re going to fix him, you understand?”

  “No, I don’t. Did what to who?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. I’ve had enough of that from Lark.”

  I glared at him and spoke more slowly. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  He leaned in, his face just inches from mine. “Somehow, you hurt my brother. Infected him with frostbite. And now it’s making him sick. Both of us, actually, but I’m not nearly as bad as he is. So fix him, or I will kill you. Does that help?”

  I swallowed at the seriousness of the threat, but I was not about to back down. “I didn’t do anything to him. I didn’t even know you had a brother.”

  “Oh really?” He walked over to his brother and lifted his shirt. A festering black slash crossed his ribs.

  “The death mark,” I whispered.

  “I knew you’d recognize your handiwork.” He dropped the shirt back down. “You’re going to remove that frostbite and make Roddy better, and there’s not going to be any funny business.” He pulled a gun from behind his back and pointed it at me. “Understand?”

  Oh boy. “I understand you’re crazy. I swear I didn’t do that to him. How could I?”

  “Don’t play dumb. You did it at the ball.”

  The pounding in my head wasn’t letting up, and that wasn’t helping my mood, but I knew that my only hope right now was to keep him talking. “So he’s the one who went through the crowd, stealing everything?”

  “Look at you, figuring things out.” Lance’s lip curled in anger. “Fix him.”

  “How do you move so fast?”

  Lance’s hand began to shake. “Fix him, or I will shoot you.”

  I lifted my hands. “I can’t. My magic’s not working.”

  He lowered the gun a little. “I only gave you a small injection of saline. Your magic should be fine now. Try it.”

  “You injected me?” That explained the sore spot on my neck and why my magic was unusable. But how did he know the effects of salt water on winter elves? From Lark? Why would she share that kind of information?

  “Just enough to keep your magic contained until we got here.”

  “I’d like to roll you in cheap syrup and throw you to a pack of hungry yetis.” Yetis didn’t eat people, but he didn’t know that.

  He brandished the gun again. “Fix my brother.”

  I wiggled my fingers. “No magic.”

  Lanced walked closer to me. “Try.”

  I made a show of trying, but I wasn’t really doing anything but narrowing my eyes and thrusting my hands into the air. “See? Nothing.”

  He grunted. “Another couple of minutes.” He went back to the table and sat in the chair, resting his arm on the table so that the gun stayed pointed at me.

  I wasn’t going to be able to keep up the pretense all night. Hopefully, someone would find the bike by the warehouse door, realize I was gone, and figure out where I was. I sighed. That was a lot that needed to happen.

  Snowballs. This really might be my last night alive. That made me a little teary, especially when I thought about Spider and how much I was going to miss him. Maybe Sinclair would take him in. At least then Spider would have Sugar to keep him company. Would Sinclair miss me? I thought he would. I’d miss him. And Greyson and Cooper.

  And my parents and my aunt and uncle, and Juniper, who had better not still be in the sheriff’s office, and Buttercup and—

  “Try again.”

  “Why should I? You’re going to kill me either way, aren’t you?”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Fix my brother and I’ll let you live. Don’t fix him and I’ll kill you and your cat. Should I go get him? I left the carrier in the backseat of the car.”

  Every inch of me went cold with rage and fear. The thought of Spider being in danger made me see red. My knuckles cracked from how hard I was squeezing my hands into fists. The rush of emotion almost blinded me with frost.

  Lance started laughing. “I thought that would do it.”

  Snowflakes drifted from the ceiling. My magic was back.

  And there was no more hiding it.

  Logic told me I should be calm and rational and work out a plan. But my gut wanted to put an ice dagger into Lance’s heart. I could too, if I knew for sure my magic was totally back and completely stable. After whatever he’d dosed me with, I couldn’t be sure. I’d seen the effects of salt water on winter elves before. And I wasn’t going to risk my life—or Spider’s—on an assumption.

  For now, I would play along. “Clearly, I have no choice but to do as you tell me. But here’s the thing. I didn’t do that to your brother.”

  “Stop lying. That’s frostbite. I’ve seen it before. I’m not an idiot.”

  That was debatable.

  “It’s not frostbite.” Could I tell him it was the death mark of a necromancer? I’d promised to keep Sinclair’s secret, but this was an extenuating circumstance. “Or maybe it is, but it’s not from me. My magic doesn’t work that way.” Actually, it might, in theory. I’d never tried to give someone frostbite, but that didn’t mean my magic wasn’t capable.

  Lance gave me a strange look. “Who else would it be from? He said it happened after taking your jewelry.”

  “Beats me.”

  Lance’s gaze tapered down like he was thinking. Some long seconds passed before he spoke again. “I’m going to get your cat. Then we’ll see what you know.”

  “No.” I strained forward. I would kill him if he hurt Spider. “I’ll help. I know how to fix it.”

  His lip curled like he’d known all along I’d been lying to him. “Do it, now.”

  “I have to be next to him and I need my hands free and I’m going to have to make an ice blade.”

  He snorted. “Sure, you having a weapon sounds exactly like the way to help him.”

  “The mark has to be cut out. It’s the only way.”

  He glanced at his brother. “Roddy, what do you think?”

  Roddy’s eyes flickered open to half-mast. He looked at me and slowly shook his head. “She did this to me. She wants to kill me.”

  “No, I don’t. All you did was steal from me, my family, and friends. And set my ex-best friend up to take the fall. So while I hate you because you’re scummy garbage with the morals of a yeti in heat, I don’t want to see you dead. I would much rather prefer that you rot in jail, and for that, you maggot-brained lump of yellow snow, you need to be alive.”

  Lance jerked the gun up higher. His whole body was shaking. “You think a lot of yourself, don’t you, Princess?”

  “I think if you hurt me or my cat, then I’ll change my opinion on whether or not you ought to be dead.”

  The temperature in the room dropped sharply. I hadn’t done it either. Then the door rattled like a sharp wind had blown past, and a ghostly figure appeared in the room.

  What in the name of Christmas was going on?

  An old woman in a long flannel nightgown and a sleeping cap floated toward me. I could see right through her. Awesome. I’d been wondering when the hallucinations were going to kick in.

  She pointed a finger at me. “Jayne Frost.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” There was no reason not to be polite. She didn’t look threatening. And I could use a friend.

  “You okay?”

  “I’ve been better. I’ve got a lump on my head, I’ve been drugged, and there’s a lot of duct tape on me, but other than that, I’m hanging in there.”

  “Good girl.” Then she looked at Lance and his brother. Both of them were staring at the woman with wide eyes. She pointed at them. “Twins?”

  They both nodded.

  “Quicksilver fae,” she muttered.

  They nodded again.

  She clucked her tongue in that disapproving way old women had. “That explains a lot.” Then she pointed at me. “Sit tight.”

  The door rattled again, and she disappeared in a whoosh of wind.
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  “What was that?” Lance raised his voice and looked at me, punctuating his words with the gun. “Did you do that? Was that some frost ghost?”

  “Frost ghosts aren’t even a thing. Frost giants, now—”

  The window shattered, sending glass everywhere as a man came flying through it. I recognized the silver streaks immediately.

  “Sinclair!”

  He landed on his feet, shook the glass shards off, and launched at Lance, fist first. Lance backed up, but there was no escaping Sinclair’s punch. Lance’s gun went off, filling the room with a flash of light and an explosion of noise. I cringed as smoke curled through the air along with an acrid smell, but neither Lance nor Sinclair stopped fighting.

  Roddy was reaching for his brother. I had no idea what he was up to, but I wasn’t waiting to find out.

  I lifted my hands and used my magic to freeze Roddy in place on the bed, then made an ice blade and started sawing at the duct tape on my legs and ankles.

  Two punches later, Sinclair had knocked Lance out cold. The fae collapsed crossways over his frozen brother on the bed.

  Sinclair stepped back, chest heaving with the exertion. His knuckles were bruised and bloody. I wasn’t sure if that was from Lance’s lip or his own injuries. “You’d better freeze him too.”

  I turned Lance into a matching slab of ice like his brother, then held the blade out to Sinclair. “I can’t do the tape around my wrists.”

  He leaped over the bed to where I was and took the blade. “You okay?”

  “Yes. How did you find me?”

  “Long story. Willa helped. And Ada did the recon.”

  “Ada?”

  “The ghost.”

  “Oh.” I was guessing Ada was a big part of that long story. “Is that another necromancer thing?”

  “Yes. Do you want me to explain now?”

  “No. That can wait.”

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He smiled and kissed my head.

  “Me too. Thanks for finding me.”

  “Willa made that happen. You should thank her.” He looked over his shoulder at the broken window. Willa was standing on the other side. She waved at me, then pointed to the phone pressed to her ear. “Sheriff,” she mouthed.

  I nodded since Sinclair wasn’t quite done freeing me. He was going slowly, probably because the ice blade was sharp, the duct tape tight, and he didn’t want to risk nicking me.

  “Almost done,” he said.

  I looked up at him. He leaned down and kissed me again, like he couldn’t stop himself. It was just a short, quick one, then he straightened and went back to work. “I was so worried about you. If they had hurt you…”

  His voice trailed off in a growl of anger, and his eyes gleamed with a light I’d never seen before.

  “I’m so glad you two figured things out.” I leaned my throbbing head on his shoulder. The leather was oddly rough. “They have Spider. He’s in a carrier in the car.”

  “We’ll get him out.”

  The roughness of the leather irritated my already hurting head. I moved back to inspect the strange texture. There was a hole in the shoulder of his jacket. I stared at it while he finished unwrapping the duct tape from my wrists. The shirt beneath the leather looked wet.

  “Son of a nutcracker,” I whispered as a new chill took hold of me. “You got shot.”

  “I’m okay.” He peeled the last strip of duct tape off.

  I stood up and pulled the jacket away from his body. His black T-shirt clung to him, soaked through with blood. I gasped and my head went wobbly. Then my knees. I fought the instinct to pass out.

  “Willa.” My voice sounded so weak for someone who was yelling. Was I yelling? I was trying to yell, that much I knew. “Call an ambulance. Sinclair’s been shot. And get Spider out of the car. Make sure my baby is okay.”

  Then darkness closed in, and I passed out for the second time that evening.

  I came to in a much more comfortable position than I had the first time. Mostly because I was on a stretcher. My head still hurt like there was a yeti gnawing on it, but at least I wasn’t restrained. I tried to sit up and couldn’t. Okay, so I was restrained. Straps ran across my chest and legs. “Why am I tied down? I need to see my cat. And my boyfriend. And Willa.”

  “Don’t move, Miss Frost. You’ve got a concussion.” The paramedic shined a penlight in my eyes.

  “Great, good to know. Where is my cat? Is Spider okay? He’s in the car in front of the hotel room. Where’s Sinclair? Willa!”

  “I’m here, Jayne.” A hand covered mine.

  I squinted against the light. I could just make out Willa’s halo of honey-blond hair. And behind her, more lights flashing red and blue like carnival rides. “Where’s Sinclair? Is he okay? Did you get Spider out of the car? Lance said he had him in a carrier. He was going to k-k-kill him.” I burst into tears.

  Willa patted my hand. “Sinclair is on his way to the hospital in a different ambulance. He should be just fine. Lance and his brother are on their way to jail, where they will be defrosted. As for Spider, there was no carrier or cat in the car. I’m sure they were bluffing. I can have someone check, though. Who has access to your apartment?”

  “Miss Frost, we need to transport you to the hospital now.”

  I glanced up at the paramedic. He was an older man with a kindly face and the eyes of a wolf. I liked him. “Can Willa come with me?”

  “Sure.”

  Willa climbed aboard as they closed the ambulance doors, still holding my hand.

  I squeezed her hand and thought about her question. Who had access to my apartment? “Can you call Juniper and ask her if—Juniper!” I tried to sit up again. “She better not still be at the sheriff’s department.”

  The ambulance’s windows frosted over, and a few flakes drifted down.

  “Miss Frost.” The paramedic’s warm hand settled on my shoulder. “I need you to stay calm. Everything is being handled.”

  Willa smiled at me. She was so pretty. “I can find out, okay? Nick, my boyfriend, he fills in as a part-time deputy.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. My head was still killing me. I needed something else to focus on. I patted the pocket of my jeans until I found what I was looking for. The safety pin with the beads on it. I dug it out and worried the beads. Touching them made me feel better.

  Willa dialed. “Hi, honey. I need you to do something for me. Can you call the station and check on the status of Juniper…” She looked at me.

  “Trembley,” I supplied.

  “Juniper Trembley. Yes. Thanks.” She hung up. “He’s going to text me. What else can I do for you?”

  The frost disappeared. “How did you help Sinclair find me?”

  “Those obsidian beads in your hand. Since I touched them, I knew their signature. And because I made the bracelet and I still had a few of the original strand left over, I was able to use those beads to call for the ones you were carrying.”

  I thought about that, and despite the pain, something pretty obvious occurred to me. “You touched the Heart of Dawn. You could find that too, then, right?”

  She shook her head. “Sadly, no. I’d have to have a piece of the rough, the original stone the diamond was cut from. If I had that, I could. But stone calls to stone. I just know how to listen.”

  “Oh.”

  Willa glanced down at her phone. “Nick says Juniper hasn’t been at the station for hours.”

  “That’s good.”

  “How about I text her and ask her to check on Spider?”

  “Her number is in my phone. Which is in my purse. Which is who knows where?”

  The paramedic patted something at my side. “Your bag is right here.”

  Willa picked it up. “I’ll take care of getting ahold of Juniper.”

  “Thanks.” Knowing Spider was okay would be a big weight off of me, but this mess wasn’t going to be truly over until the jewelry was found and I knew Sinclair was okay. The man had taken a bullet rescuing me.<
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  I stared up at the ambulance’s roof. A bullet. That was kind of amazing. And based on the blood I’d seen, necromancers didn’t look particularly fast-healing or even slightly immortal.

  He could have died.

  The man I was absolutely, unquestionably, terrifyingly falling in love with could have died.

  We really needed to talk.

  Turns out Sinclair wasn’t the only one who’d lost some blood. The lump on my head was more of a gaping head wound and required six staples to close it up and a tetanus shot and an overnight stay in the hospital for observation. Much to my displeasure. About all of it. The staples and the tetanus shot both hurt, and I wasn’t thrilled about spending the night in the hospital.

  I wanted to go home and see Spider, who was currently being catsat by Aunties Juniper and Buttercup. I was sure they were spoiling him with too many treats and too many bowls of Chicken Party, but I probably would be doing that too as soon as I got home. I missed his furry face and his sweet little meows and him telling me he was hungry.

  I missed Sinclair’s face, too. I really wanted to talk to him and tell him thank you. He’d saved my life. I have no doubt about that.

  From what the nurses had told me, he’d needed surgery to remove the bullet. I’d almost cried again hearing that. To think he’d had a bullet in him and had only been concerned with cutting me free from that duct tape. Maybe it had been adrenaline keeping him from feeling the pain. Or maybe he was just that stubborn.

  Or maybe—and this was a big one—he was a little bit in love with me too.

  Birdie was my first visitor the next morning. I’m pretty sure she snuck in before visiting hours actually started, because there wasn’t much light filtering through the slats of the window blinds. Also, she was whispering when she came in.

  “Princess,” she hissed. “You awake?”

  I hadn’t been. Not fully. “Hmm? Yes,” I mumbled.

  “Good.” She came over to the bed. “How are you?”

  I thought about that a second. I had a dull headache, but otherwise didn’t feel too bad. Weak, but a quick glance at the IV in my arm explained that. Saline. Salt water was a winter elf’s kryptonite, and I’d already had a small dose from Lance. The good news was it generally wore off pretty quickly when given in small batches. “I’m pretty good, considering.”