by Liz Schulte
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for towels. Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to do what you came here to do?” she asked, making an irritated gesture at the desk behind me.
She was right. I had to get a grip. I went around the desk and sat in the soft, supple leather chair. I picked up the first couple sheets of paper I saw and glanced at them. They seemed club-related, not what I was looking for. I was about to move on, when my brain finally started working again and pieces came together. I took a second look at the document in my hand. I knew that hand writing. It wasn’t possible.
Suddenly it was hard to breathe. I sat the papers back where I found them, steadying myself on the desk. I looked around the room for what felt like the first time. How had I missed it? The room was immaculate, border-lining on meticulous. All dim lighting and warm accents. I didn’t recognize anything in particular, but it was all his style. It reminded me very much of Holden’s apartment. Forcing myself to stand, I let my hand linger on his chair. I inhaled deeply and faint traces of his aftershave tickled my throat. This was Holden’s office. He’d been this close to me all along. I could have run into him countless times. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest, it was all I could hear. Part of me wanted to run and the other part wanted to have a seat on those soft couches and wait for him to come back.
He filled my mind. It was impossible to tell if I had made the connection or if he had. I kept my mind blank, hoping he wouldn’t notice me before I could find the will to break away.
“We need to talk.” Though his voice came to me quietly, I could feel anger and agitation. I must have been the one who connected. He probably thought I was spying on him. The last thing I needed was Holden to berate me.
“No,” I said, forcing myself to close him off. “Femi, we have to leave.” I grabbed her arm as I walked towards the door. There was nothing to find here. I was wrong. This club had nothing to do with anything. I shouldn’t be here at all.
I didn’t let her relock the door. We had to keep moving. What if he knew I was here? I had broken our unspoken truce. I invaded his territory. What would his next move be?
“Olivia! Are you listening? Did you find what you came for? What happened?” Femi kept throwing questions at me as we walked downstairs and out the back door. I ignored her until I felt the cool night air embrace me.
“Olivia!” Femi stopped, tearing her wrist from my clutch.
I looked back at her. “It’s his club. He owns it.”
Femi looked blank for a moment, then her head tilted back in understanding. “So he's killing your people?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t make it too far in the search, but I don’t think there’s anything except for trouble in there.” I rubbed my forehead, trying to clear my mind from the waves of panic. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. You need to leave. I have to tell Quintus that Holden is here. I can’t stay in Chicago. I'll have to relocate.” Thoughts spewed from my mouth as soon as they entered my mind.
“Wait, wait, slow down. What about the people dying?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re just going to run away?”
“You don’t understand. I can’t resist him. He has a hold over me I can’t explain. I’m not ready to see him yet. I’m not strong enough.”
“That’s bullshit. You can resist anything you want to resist. You can face him, and you have to. People are dying; you can’t just run away because you’re scared.”
She was right. I was panicking. I couldn’t abandon the other guardians, even though I didn’t know them or feel any connection to them. I couldn’t leave them to be tortured and killed; I knew exactly what that was like. I nodded and took a couple deep breaths. “You’re right, but I still have to see Quintus.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“It’s faster if you don’t. Go back to my apartment, I'll get Quintus, and we’ll regroup there and come up with a plan.”
“Okay. Where are you meeting him? Just in case.”
“I appreciate your concern, but we'll probably make it to my apartment before you do.”
“If you don’t, I’d like a place to start looking.”
I rattled off the address and started to leave, but she grabbed me and gave me a tight squeeze and firm pat on the back. “You be careful.”
I smiled. “You too.”
An instant later I was standing on the roof across from the warehouse, but there was no Quintus. Surely, he wouldn’t have gone home. I looked around. There were a few jinn sitting outside of the warehouse and a couple more who seemed to be continuously circling the perimeter. Quintus wouldn’t have left. Maybe he’d moved closer. I snuck through the building to get back to ground level, worried that transporting would draw attention to me in the darkness. I circled around looking for any indication of his presence, but came up with nothing.
I zipped over to his apartment in Rome, when I was far enough away from the warehouse that they wouldn’t see my light, but it didn’t look like he had been back.
He wouldn’t have moved into the building, would he? I went back to where I’d transported from and started creeping towards the warehouse. If he was inside, I should let him be. If I went in and got caught, would it force Quintus to give up his position? But on the other hand, if something had happened to him, I might be able to help him. I chewed on my lip and watching the jinn outside of the door who were talking intently.
Quintus might not even be inside. I moved closer, needing to hear what they were saying before I decided.
“I don’t like it,” the more serious of the two said.
“Stop bitching. Danica’s better than the new guy with a stick up his ass.”
“But why hasn’t she killed him? Why are we keeping this one alive? It’s one thing to capture and pass them off. It’s another thing to store them. If we’re caught, it’s our asses being deported not hers.”
“We haven’t gotten caught yet.”
“I don’t like it.”
“He might have information. Just think how many more guardians we can catch with him on the hook.”
“I don’t know. That bitch is crazy. Did you see the look on her face? She’s not thinking straight, then she up and leaves to meet with the commander. What the fuck? It doesn’t feel right.”
“Can I get you a purse to go with that skirt you’re wearing?”
“You’ll see, man. This is all going south.”
“Whatever, princess. Why don’t you go get us some beer?”
The complaining jinni stood up and walked away, still mumbling. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about. I knew the commander was Holden, and obviously they weren’t fans. I had no idea who Danica or the crazy person were—or even if they were two separate people. As for their prisoner, whether or not it was Quintus was questionable. They definitely had someone though, and regardless of who or what it was, I couldn’t leave him to their mercy. I had to do something and right now.
I pulled the knife Femi had given me from beneath my skirt, chanting in my mind, “It won’t kill him, it won’t kill him.”
I transported to one side of the warehouse and made a noise, then transported behind the jinni as he got up to take a look at the disturbance. I used the knife just as I saw Femi do it. The feeling of it easily slicing through the soft flesh and tendons made me ill, but I finished the cut, knowing full well he would kill me if I didn’t. I slipped inside, not dwelling over what I had just done. I would find their prisoner and get us the hell out of there.
The rows of doors threw a wrench in my plans. This wasn’t going to go as smoothly as I hoped. I started for the first door and knocked gently. After waiting a few seconds and hearing no reply, I moved on to the next one. I knew this would likely draw attention eventually, but it wasn’t quite as bad as yelling out, “Who needs help?” into the darkness.
Finally I knocked on the fourth door and heard rustling. I tried to transport in, but couldn’t. Oh,
this was bad. I turned to leave, so I could find help, and ran straight into the chest of the complaining jinni. He grabbed my shoulders, his brows furrowing. “What are you?”
“Human,” I said immediately, hoping he would buy it.
“No way did a human get the jump on Otis. Plus I saw your little light trick. What are you?” His fingers dug into my arms as he shook me.
“I’m a guardian,” I told him, trying to focus enough energy to burn him, but a voice broke my concentration.
“Olivia?” A muffled voice came from behind the door.
A sinister smiled spread over the jinni’s face as he looked at me. “Two for the price of one.” He dragged me by the arm to a room on the other side of the warehouse and tossed me inside. “She’ll be pleased.”
A lock snapped into place with a sickening thud.
Thirty
Baker wanted in on the plan to take Danica and Juliet down in one swoop, but there was a problem with that. Now that Liv was involved, I couldn’t have him or anyone else near this. I needed to keep her as far away from my world as I could and Baker wasn’t stupid. He’d recognize who she was to me right away. So I gave him a different task, one that required a serious amount of faith on my part that I could trust him.
“You want me to do what?”
“There’s a woman in St. Louis. I don’t want you to worry her or panic her in any way; just get her somewhere safe in case things go wrong tonight.”
He shook his head. “Everything’s going down and you want to me hide some dame?”
“Yes. She doesn’t know anything about this world, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“End this all tonight.”
“By yourself?”
“I work best alone.”
“I think I’d be more useful here. I can move the dame in the morning.”
I shook my head. “There are too many balls in the air. If they start to fall, she’ll be in danger, and I don’t want her killed. I need to know she’s with someone who can protect her, someone I trust. Right now, that’s only you.”
“Who is she?” He wiggled his little finger at me with an arched eyebrow.
I sighed. “Her mother.”
A small smile creased his square face. “You’re always full of surprises.” Baker stood up and morphed into me. I stared at him for a second. He was good. “She trusts you, right?”
Hell, he even sounded like me. Baker was better than any shifter I had ever seen, and I had the sneaking suspicion he hadn’t told me everything about what he was. “Yes.”
“Good, then this will work.”
“Baker.” I caught his arm. “If she gets hurt or you double cross me, I will spend the rest of my life hunting you down and spreading the pieces over the globe.”
He gave me a curt nod. “I won’t let anything happen to her. You have my word, but I expect a detailed story about the mystery woman you go to such lengths to protect when I get back.”
“Why do you care?”
“I am a connoisseur of human nature.”
“I’m not human.”
“You’re more human than you think, Holden.” And with that he walked out in my body to pick up Marge. I headed back to the ADA Inc. office building just before closing and hid on the floor beneath Danica’s. It was a boring, mindless wait in the air duct while I listened to the stragglers leave, then to the janitors come through and finally the watchman.
When I was fairly certain I would be alone for a while, I lowered myself to the floor with a soft thud. I scanned the dark room for any signs of life. I didn't want to have to kill anyone, but I also couldn't be bothered with police at the moment, so I would do what I had to do.
I weaved my way around the random groupings of half cubicle walls towards the door of the stairwell. The office didn’t have alarms on the doors and the security cameras were the only obstacle I had to avoid. So far so good. I made my way up the final flight of stairs two at a time and came to Danica's new office. The door was locked.
I pulled out my tools and set to work. In moments the sound of the bolt clicking echoed in my ears, and as easy as that I had access to her office. She had nothing in the lines of security except that one flimsy lock. Chances were she had nothing worth stealing, but also jinn didn't like to involve mortals if they had the option to handle it themselves. Undoubtedly she had her own security cameras and would come after me in her own time, if I didn’t get to her first. I looked up at the security camera, paused so she could get a good view, and waved. My fight with Danica was going to end very, very soon. This was my territory now, and she was done being a pain in my ass. Thankfully this office wasn't quite the pit the last one was. I made my way to her desk, took a seat, and began sifting through papers she had strewn all about. The woman had absolutely no organizational skills whatsoever.
After what felt like hours, I produced something worth my time, but I wasn't quite sure what it meant. She’d recently purchased property near the club—some old warehouse, probably the one Baker mentioned. She also had bids from several contractors and iron workers, but the most concerning item I found was notes of names, dates, times, and places. If I had to place bets, my money said it was info on the missing guardians. How had Danica managed to get her filthy hands on these details?
The last two names on the list stood out: Quintus and Olivia. Next to Quintus's name was today's date and the time was about 20 minutes from now. There was nothing next to Olivia's.
Shit.
This complicated my plans. I wanted to take care of the problem before Olivia was involved. If they already had her—I shook off the thought. Grabbing the papers, I headed out. It wasn't hard to sneak out of the building. I managed to do so with very little effort or moments of concern. Once outside, I jogged down the street to a church and picked the lock without hesitation. Sinking into a pew, I clasped my hands together.
"Quintus, you son of a bitch. If you can hear me, I have information for you." I waited and he didn't appear. "Quintus. Are you out there? I need to talk to you." Still nothing. I didn't even know if prayer could still work for me. Had enough of my soul perished that the guardian couldn't hear my prayer? I waited around for about fifteen minutes, but when he didn't come, I couldn't risk it any longer. What if Olivia had been with him? If they knew where he would be, chances are they knew where she was too.
I left the church, not needing prayer to reach Olivia. My adrenaline was running too high. It was hard to trudge up the emotion necessary to speak with Liv. I gathered what I could, though it mostly consisted of anger, worry, and impatience. Her image came to mind easily, softening the edges of what I’d collected. I pushed out towards her and felt the connection almost immediately. It wasn’t as strong as before, but it was there. It was enough.
“We need to talk.”
“No,” she said back abruptly, ending the connection.
God damn it! If she wasn’t the most stubborn, frustrating woman in the world! I wanted to hit something, strangle someone, anything. But I kept walking. Glancing at my watch, I didn’t have time to help Quintus. Whatever they had planned for him, the wheels were in motion. I didn’t even know if I wanted to help Quintus. He was an asshole, but the idea that Liv might be with him tore at me. If they killed him, she’d be next, no doubt in my mind. I had to do something. Running to the address on the paper halfcocked and blind wouldn’t help anyone. There was only one person left who could tell me anything. One way or another, Juliet was coming clean tonight.
I made a beeline for the club, leaving a trail of agitation as I went. I needed to pull it back in, but I couldn’t. I’d just got Liv back and already she was about to be killed again. I’d never met anyone who could find trouble as quickly or effortlessly as she could.
“God damn it, Olivia,” I growled, hoping she could hear me. If I ever saw her again, I would shake her until she showed the capability of rational thought.
The club was still i
n full swing and a rhythmic thumping vibrated through my body when I entered the building. I nodded to one of the employees, indicating for him to follow me, then took the steps two at a time up to my office, the young jinni at my heels. I pulled out my keys, but the door was unlocked. I didn’t mention it to the jinni behind me, but I didn’t open the door either. I turned back to him.
“Where’s Juliet?”
“Who?”
Shit, I didn’t have time for this. “Julie. Where is she?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t seen her all night.”
And things just kept getting worse. “Find her for me. I want to see her now.”
“Okay,” he said, but didn’t move.
“What are you waiting for? Go!”
He jogged back the way we’d come. Hopefully he was able to keep the thought in his head long enough to accomplish the task. I looked back at my door. Who was in my office?
I pulled the gun from my jacket and pushed open the door. My office looked nearly as it had before. A few of the papers on my desk were shifted slightly and my chair was rolled back a few inches. However, the real giveaway was the smell. I inhaled deeply. It was her. Olivia had been here. It was undeniable. Clean, sweet, with a hint of vanilla. What was she doing here?
My first thought was she had found me. She had come to see me! Joy sent my heart soaring. My next thought was how could she have come into a jinn club, regardless of whether or not she wanted to see me? She could have contacted me anytime, and she knew it. Why would she come here? The only reasonable explanation was she didn’t know this was my office. That son of a bitch Quintus hadn’t told her. She was investigating in the most Olivia like manner—all heart, no head—following some trail that led her here, to me.
I opened my laptop, logged onto my security system, and pulled up the video for my office. Fast forwarding through most of the evening, I finally saw my door handle twitch not even an hour before I arrived. Will, one of the better bartenders, walked in, pulling a girl in behind him. All my anxiety melted into a seething pile of rage, as I did a double take of the girl on the screen.
