Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  The ringing of his phone caught his attention. Barry quickly picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

  “You couldn’t keep it in your pants, could you?” a familiar voice accused.

  Barry rubbed his eyes as he moved to his sofa. “Good morning to you too, Sloane,” he sighed. The last thing he wanted was to deal with his brother’s husband. Especially when Eric was still in a coma. “I take it Lily called you.”

  “She wanted to make sure I was here to let her in. She lost her keys thanks to you.”

  Barry knew exactly where her keys were. Everything was still in the front seat of his car. “I’ll bring them by your place later. I have her purse too.”

  “You can leave them all at my office. Lily doesn’t want to be near you, and I sure as hell want you to stay away from her.” Barry heard something slam on the other side of the phone and jumped. It was rare for Sloane to get angry with anyone. “Was it too much to ask to stay away from one person? You know Eric thought of her like a little sister. Now you do this.”

  “I’m not going to defend myself to you,” Barry said hotly. Hearing accusations from Lily was one thing, but being raked over the coals by Sloane was something else altogether. “Lily and I were both consenting adults.”

  Sloane snorted. “Lily is a Succubus that needed to feed. You saw someone you wanted and took the first chance you had to have her. What you did was nothing short of slipping her a ruffie and taking her home.”

  Barry jumped to his feet. “Are you saying that I raped her?” he asked incredulously.

  “You’re a cop. You do the investigation,” Sloane countered before hanging up the phone.

  Barry threw the phone across the room. He knew he had done the right thing. If his family didn’t want to see that, fine. What happened between him and Lily had nothing to do with them. If she never forgave him, he would have to find a way to deal with it.

  As for his family, they would just have to get over it.

  Chapter 1

  Lily smiled as she and Sloane walked into the ballroom of the Solomon Estate. The previous times she had been here, the walls were a comforting champagne color that accented the cherry wood floor. Now it was covered in festive fabrics and balloons. Streamers and banners were spread across the room while a number of children played in various costumes. “Lacey went all out, didn’t she?” Lily asked as she adjusted her hold on the gift bag in her hand.

  Sloane chuckled. “She wanted a cosplay party, Dylan and Crispin gave her one,” he said with a shrug. His own costume was a bright red suit of samurai armor. He also made a breastplate with matching arm, leg, and hip guards for Lily. “It also helped that they’re also anime freaks and jumped on the idea.”

  A soft laugh escaped Lily. Dylan and Crispin always made sure Lacey didn’t want for anything. So when the young girl asked for a costume birthday party, they allowed it. It also helped that Lacey practiced her magical skills by making most of the costumes. “And you conveniently had two sets of armor lying around for no reason?” she teased.

  The metal worker had the decency to blush. “I went to a few conventions with Dylan and Madison. These were my best work, so I kept them.”

  “Aunt Lily! Uncle Sloane!” Lacey chimed. She wore a pink and white dress that was covered in frills and lace. Long grey hair fell over one eye and a matching miniature top hat sat perched on her head. She ran over to them followed by a group of girls in dresses almost identical to hers.

  Lily could only be amazed at the detail of each dress. Lacey truly had a talent for fashion design. It was almost frightening. A smile crossed her face when the seven year old caught her in a hug. “Happy birthday, Sweetheart,” Lily said returning her embrace.

  Lacey smiled brightly as she turned and hugged Sloane. “Happy birthday, Princess,” Sloane echoed. When she pulled away, he winked at her. “The room looks divine,” he gushed. “You have to tell me how you did it.”

  “Mommy handled it,” Lacey giggled. She then turned to her group of friends. “This is my uncle Sloane and aunt Lily. They’re dressed as Ryo of the Wildfire and Lady Kayura from the anime Ronin Warriors.”

  Lily glanced at Sloane. He barely contained his laughter as the child went on with her little lesson on the anime that inspired their costumes. It seemed that the little princess enjoyed the opportunity to educate her friends. Lily tilted her head to the side. “Who are you and your friends supposed to be, Sweetheart?”

  Lacey spun around in her dress to reveal petticoats and black-heeled boots. “I’m Ciel Phantomhive when he had to dress in drag. It’s from the anime Black Butler. Tony is around here somewhere dressed as Sebastian. And since a lot of my friends don’t know about anime, they’re just dressed in Lolita style.”

  Lily nodded as she looked at the different people in the room. “Can I assume the ones not in costume are their parents?”

  One of the little girls smiled. “Since they didn’t want to dress up, we’re calling them Muggles.”

  Sloane snorted before he could stop himself. He then looked around the room and saw Dylan and Crispin over by what looked like a photography backdrop. “Well, you girls have fun. I’m going to see what the rest of the family is up to.”

  Green eyes spied Madison sitting at a table with Leigh. Lily left the group and made her way to the table. “Do you think I would disappoint Lacey if I said I was overwhelmed?” she asked as she sat.

  Madison laughed as she rubbed her pregnant stomach. “I think she’d be disappointed if you weren’t. That girl loves being over the top.” Madison shook her head when the little girl in question took her flock of friends out into the gardens. “She’s her mother’s daughter that way.”

  Leigh chuckled when she saw a few parents talking quietly with Victor, Casper and Troy. It was like the trio had been cornered. “The pictures from this are going to be hysterical. I know it.”

  Lily looked around the room again. It warmed her heart to see how close Eric’s family was. Growing up, she only had Cord and then Mathias. Now with both of them gone, she expected to feel lost and adrift. But Sloane needed company with Eric still in a coma, and Madison practically bullied her way into a friendship with her. It was almost as if Lily had become an unofficial member of the family.

  “Hello ladies,” a voice greeted from behind.

  Madison arched an eyebrow at the man standing behind Lily. “Out of all of the costumes you could have found, you chose Cloud?” she asked.

  Lily turned and pressed her lips together when she saw Barry dressed in a dark blue uniform and a blonde spiky wig. “Hi, Barry,” she said as Madison stood and inspected his outfit.

  Barry looked at her with wide eyes. While he caught glimpses of her for the past seven months, Lily hadn’t spoken to him since that morning. “Hi.” A small smirk crossed his face. “You look amazing,” he complimented.

  Madison smirked as she touched his hair. “At least it’s not Styrofoam,” she said before looking into his eyes. “She made you wear contacts too?” Madison laughed as she went back to her chair.

  Barry shrugged and went to sit next to his sister. “Better to be a black man with blonde hair and blue contacts than a pregnant school girl, Madi,” he joked. When she rolled her eyes, he laughed. “How did Lacey get you, Casper and Troy to dress alike?”

  “It wasn’t easy,” Madison chuckled. She then looked around. “Do you realize how hard it is to get a Werewolf to dress like a Vampire?”

  Lily laughed. “I don’t know if I would want to be a fly on the wall or run away blind.” Her laughter died when she noticed Barry watching her. “What?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh,” he told her.

  Madison’s eyes rolled again. “Barry, please. No sap or I will be sick. If you want to grovel at her feet, please wait till tomorrow.”

  A heavy blush crossed Lily’s face as Barry frowned at his sister. “Don’t you have any tact?” he asked. When Madison simply shrugged, he stood. “Just for that, I h
ope your kids give you hell.”

  Leigh laughed. When Barry looked at her, she smiled. “The boys already worship her, so you’ll have to wait and see if little Aurora takes after her mommy.”

  Barry shook his head and sighed. There would never be any winning with Madison. And that was before she seemed to team up with the female werewolf. He turned his attention to Lily and held out his hand. “Can we talk?”

  Shrewd green eyes looked at his hand, then up into his fake blue eyes. Lily stood without taking his hand. “I’ll give you five minutes,” she said before turning and walking to the outside patio.

  Madison grabbed Barry’s hand before he could follow her. “Don’t be an ass B,” she warned. “We like Lily more than we like you.”

  Barry leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Funny, Jimmy and I feel the same with you and Troy,” he teased before leaving. Barry could only take a shaky breath as he went after Lily. He caught glimpses of her around the DA’s office while he worked. After a conversation with his former partner, Barry figured he would have to track Lily down and have a long talk with her.

  When he stepped onto the patio, Barry saw Lily gazing out across the flower garden. Something in him softened as he watched her. The puzzle that was Lilavanti Dallas always brought him peace while it also drove him crazy. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve said that it was love. Or at least a minor obsession.

  It was a good thing he told himself he knew better.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Lily asked softly. She turned to him and folded her arms in challenge.

  A slow breath left Barry as he gathered the courage to say what he should have said all of those months ago. “I’m sorry.”

  Lily’s amusement left her. A frown crossed her face as she leaned against the railing. “I said, what did you want to talk about?” she repeated.

  Barry stepped closer to her. “I should have said it to you months ago. I could come up with dozens of excuses, but each one would also be bullshit. I shouldn’t have interfered. You’re an adult and you know how to take care of yourself.”

  Lily blinked rapidly to hold back her tears. “Why do you even care?” she asked. “It was months ago.”

  “Because I’m a bastard,” he said honestly. When she looked at him, he shrugged. “I think there’s something between us that needs to be examined. We can’t do that with that night hanging between the two of us.” He touched the sides of her face and caught the tears that spilled from her eyes. “And while I know you don’t want to date any of Eric’s family, I’m selfish enough to want to take that risk.”

  She placed her hand on his chest to stop him from leaning closer. “I’m not.” Lily backed away from him and tried to slow her rapid heart. “I ruined a family once. I refuse to do that again.”

  Barry smirked. “I hope you realize that I have a strange family. If things go south between us, they’ll all just blame me for screwing it up.” He chuckled when she started to smile. “As a matter of fact, Dylan and Lacey made me dress up like this just to see you.”

  “Stop,” Lily pleaded. She moved to the railing and tried to get her hormones under control. When she turned to look at him again, the longing in his eyes turned her inside out. “I don’t need you to be charming.”

  “You don’t need to hide either,” he replied. When she looked at him in silence, he shrugged. “You don’t need to dress like someone’s grandmother.”

  She nodded and bit her lower lip. “Sloane says the same thing. He’s even threatened to have Lacey give me a makeover.” When Barry laughed, she shook her head. “I’m half tempted to let him.”

  Barry didn’t want to think about the wardrobe Lacey would come up with. Lily would probably be stuck in frilly short skirts and lace thigh-highs. Barry shook his head again. “Listen, I know you don’t want to start anything too serious. But how about hanging out?”

  Lily frowned at his phrasing. Just because she liked to keep to herself, she wasn’t stupid. “I’ve been hanging out with someone else Barry. Right now, our relationship can only be in the friend zone.” Green eyes met with his in a silent challenge. She wasn’t going to become another notch on his bedpost. At least not again.

  “Ouch,” he mumbled as he broke eye contact. He knew she wasn’t always the shy and quiet woman she tried to show to the world. With a sly smile, he moved closer to her. “You do realize that’s the worse place for someone like me, right?”

  “Why?”

  He touched the side of her face again. “Because, again, I’m a selfish bastard. I’ll sit back and watch, and plot. I’ll learn all of your secrets and when you least expect it, I’ll strike.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him of why she hadn’t spoken to him in months. But there was something about the way he was currently looking at her, like his next breath depended on her. A soft smile crossed her face at the idea of growing closer to him. “I’m having a small fight party tomorrow. You’re more than welcome to stop by.” She turned away from him and moved to go back inside. “We can have your coronation of sorts.”

  “Coronation?”

  “As King of the Friend Zone,” Lily chimed. She laughed at the shocked look he wore. “Just like you can be a selfish bastard, I can be an asshole.”

  Barry laughed as he watched her return to the table with Madison. He couldn’t help it when his eyes strayed to her backside. “We are going to have an interesting relationship.”

  * * * * *

  Ashton Nicodemus tapped happily to the song on the radio as he waited. The plans that had been carefully crafted over the past three decades were finally coming together. It was finally time for the final piece to fall into place.

  A gentle knock at his driver’s side window brought Aston out of his thoughts. The Mage pasted a smile on his face as he cut off his radio and rolled down the glass. An airport security guard looked at him with a deep frown. “Is there a problem, officer?”

  The aging man frowned. “This is a pickup area, and you’ve been sitting here idle for a while now. I’m gonna have to tell you to move.”

  Ashton hated the man’s condescending tone. “I’m sorry. My niece said her flight would be in by now.” He glanced at the airport doors and spotted the tall blonde he had been waiting for. “There she is now. We’ll be gone in a few more minutes.”

  “See that you are. We need to keep the traffic flowing,” the security guard mumbled.

  With the same polite smile, Ashton climbed out of his car and popped his trunk open. When the blonde rounded the back of the car with two suitcases in tow, his expression fell. “It took you long enough,” he hissed.

  Cupid bow lips turned down in a deep frown. “You haven’t dealt with baggage claim and customs,” she said in the same tone. Her heavy Irish accent nearly slurred her words. “Really, do they actually expect a woman to only carry three ounces of shampoo?”

  Ashton fought a chuckle as he tossed her bags in the trunk. “Yes, well, I have always picked up my own shampoo after I’ve reached my destination.”

  Lavender eyes narrowed. “You’re a heathen,” she spat.

  When she turned away from him, he couldn’t help but laugh at her back. When he first came across Siobhan McKenna, she had been a spoiled princess with no concept of the role Fate had in store for her. Now, some years later, she was still a spoiled princess.

  But she knew how to yield her powers like a weapon.

  Ashton quickly finished with her bags and went to climb into his car. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted the guard that had approached him. With a curt nod, the Necromancer slammed his door shut.

  Siobhan turned up the radio as Ashton started to pull away. A look of disgust crossed her face when high-pitched pop melodies filled the car. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed. “You’re a pedophile too?”

  Ashton growled as he turned off the radio. The girl was lucky she was needed to usher in chaos. Otherwise he would have been forced to kill her. “I just like
the innocence of the music.”

  She snorted. “You’re at least a century old, and yet you’re sitting here listening to Radio Disney. The last person I believed did that is now serving 30 to 60. You may want to watch your back.” She gave him a mocking smile as she turned the radio back on.

  Ashton growled low to himself as he quickly made his way to I-95. She was needed, and the moment she wasn’t, he would make sure she would pay.

  Chapter 2

  Images started to blend together. Madison laughed as she stood over Barry’s broken and prone body; blood bubbled from his lips as he tried to counter her magic.

  Troy lying in a pool of blood, the twins standing guard over him.

  Alex holding a broken arm as he fought against her.

  Victor arming himself for the first time in centuries. His heart was heavy as he came to the realization that he would have to kill a woman he raised as his own.

  Casper’s face contorted in rage as he turned towards Aston, sword at the ready.

  Everything melting into the shadowed figure of the man that had originally taken her in. “My Madi.” Pan smiled down at her. In his hand he held a small coin. “It’s time for Death to wake up.” He held it over her body before breaking it in two.

  Dylan’s voice echoed as she looked at the pinned creature in front of her. There was nothing in her eyes but rage. “You’re Maleficent?” she questioned. The steel scythe in her hands glowed with Transmutation energy and quickly formed two short swords. “Then I guess that makes me the Queen of Hearts.” She jumped at Madison. “And I want your fucking head!”

  *

  Madison’s eyes snapped open as the vision went dark. She looked around the room and saw that she was home. The half-moon hung brightly in the sky as her body trembled. Right after she and Troy married, she started to receive visions of the future. It was just her luck that she temporarily acted as an Oracle for her daughter. But all she ever saw were flashes of blood and a lot of pain.