“Hi, long time no see; is there any way to break the connection you created between us when you saved my life?” Or, “Hi, have you gotten over your ridiculous idea that we’re supposed to be life mates yet?”
No, she was here for work, for her team. Nothing else mattered but that.
As she reached the door handle her senses tingled, feeling the warmth of his presence. Charlie shook her head to shake off the feeling, then pushed the door open. Inside a large desk took up one corner of the room with a console unit stacked high with a neat pile of paperwork.
Behind the desk sat the man himself. He rose and moved around the desk when he saw her. “Charlotte.” He made her name sound exotic.
She didn’t know what she’d expected but he looked different from what she remembered. His rich long black hair was now cut short, but his jet-black eyes looked the same. Same strong masculine body that looked damned good in his sharp grey suit.
Despite only being a few inches taller, he dwarfed over her, his massive body seeming to take up the entire space. Damn, the man looked good.
“Drake.” Charlie felt her heart beat faster. Goddess, she would not feel any kind of insane attraction to him even if he did look like sin itself.
“How are you?”
She blinked, surprised by the question. His face remained neutral; she’d never been able to read his expressions. “Er – I’m fine.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, biting her lip with uncertainty. “I’m an enforcer now.” She brushed her hair back, struggling to find the right words. The strange magnetic pull tugged at her senses. Bloody connection!
“So I’ve heard.” He folded his arms. “I’m sorry about what happened.”
“About what?” She stared at him, losing herself in the dark pools of his eyes. Demon, she reminded herself. You can’t have lusty thoughts about a demon, but hell, who am I to judge? I’m part demon.
“About the loss of your team.”
“Oh, that.” She’d almost hoped he’d apologise for the damn link between them. “I mean, that’s why I’m here. Jason said you have info about the Tears.”
“Please, sit.” He motioned to the leather visitor’s chair.
Charlie shook her head. “This isn’t a social call. Just tell me what you know,” she insisted. “I have to get back to work.”
“Very well, the Alliance is interested in the gang suspected of killing your teammates.”
The Alliance was an organisation created after the revolution of Setara to deal with the aftermath. Setara had gone to hell for a while after the downfall of the tyrant who once ruled it. So together the Alliance made up of five leaders of the original races of Magickind. Together the Alliance became a separate entity from the United Magickind Council, their main goal was to ensure justice and make sure a group like the infamous Covenant never came to power again. Along with the council, they created new laws to make sure each race was treated equal and no one had the power to control others. From what she’d heard Drake had joined the Alliance too and become a representative of Demonkind.
“Why is the Alliance interested in the Tears?” Charlie asked, folding her arms.
“We have our reasons.” His face remained cool and calm, not betraying any emotion.
Right. There it was. Somehow she doubted she’d ever get the whole truth from him. “Which are?” She arched an eyebrow.
“Look, if we work together I believe we can bring down the gang,” Drake said. “The Alliance has suggested we work together to find the gang’s true leader.”
She scowled, wondering what kind of game he was up to now. “You’re civilian, I’m an enforcer. The two don’t go together.” Hell, that’s an understatement.
“I’m not a civilian, I run my own private black-ops unit for the Alliance. If you agree to work with me, I can make you a Division agent.”
Charlie’s mouth fell open. Of all the things she’d been expecting him to say that hadn’t been one of them. “Drake, look. I appreciate you trying to help me, but...” She’d heard of the elusive Division before but had never had any encounters with them. She hadn’t been interested either. Being an enforcer had been all that mattered to her, but Division went way beyond normal law enforcement.
“I’m not just doing it for you, little witch. The Alliance believes the gang is using ancient weapons and that they were after one the day your team was killed. Ancient tech is dangerous in the wrong hands. I’ll do everything I can to stop them.”
She shook her head. “I work alone now on my team’s case. It’s personal for me.”
“It would only be for a few weeks at most. I’m sure we can solve this together.”
Charlie sighed. Maybe Drake could prove to be a valuable source of intel, but she had other reasons for not wanting him around. “You know nothing has changed between us. I still won’t be your life mate,” she said. “We should break the link between us.” She saw something flicker in his dark eyes but couldn’t read what.
Drake shook his head. “The link between us can’t be undone, little witch. I brought you back from death, that kind of connection can’t be broken.” He reached out to touch her, but Charlie took a step back.
“Fine, just so you know where we stand.” Charlie turned back to the door. “I’d better go.”
“Will you work with me or not?”
She groaned. What could she say? She’d do whatever she had to do to find her team’s killer, even if it meant working with Drake. “Fine, like I said, nothing is going to change between us. I’m with Scott. He’s my future,” she insisted. “Come by the station later, we can go over details then.”
“Very well, we’ll meet again tomorrow morning.”
Have this all planned out, don’t you?
“Fine, see you then.” Charlie turned and left. She had to get out of there. Just being near him made her feel uncomfortable. It had awoken the connection she’d spent years ignoring. I’m not attracted to him, she told herself as she headed back to her car.
Once at home Charlie poured herself a beer and settled in front of her computer. Stacks of paperwork covered her living room with its wooden floor and white washed walls. A board sat in one corner pinned with all the info she’d managed to gather about the case and boxes were scattered in every room from where she’d moved in the year before. She’d never gotten around to unpacking. Her mind wandered back to Drake again. She swore she could feel his presence too – something that both annoyed and confused her.
What had changed? The link between them had been something she’d put to the back of her mind over the years. Had seeing him again brought it back to the surface?
Her laptop chimed and she clicked on to see the grinning face of Scott there. “Hey, babe.” Scott waved.
Charlie’s lips curved when she saw him. His goofy grin always made her feel better. “Hi.”
“God, I’ve missed you!” Scott’s job as a tech consultant meant he travelled a lot but she’d grown used to his absences.
“I miss you too.” She touched the screen, part of her wishing he’d teleport back right now. She needed a distraction from all thoughts of Drake. “When are you coming home?”
“Not sure yet. Maybe another week. How you’ve been?” he asked. “Still having nightmares?”
She winced. She hated the nightmares, being forced to relive her team’s last moments. Damn, he knew her too well and it made her uncomfortable. He’d only learnt of the nightmares by accident when she’d woken up screaming. “Not so much.”
“See, the therapy is helping.”
Right. Therapy. She’d had a few sessions with Marina Talbot – Jason’s mother – since the bombing but had stopped going. Therapy hadn’t helped; only justice would. Only that would bring closure.
“Char, are you still listening to me?” Scott’s voice brought her back to reality.
She shook her head, trying to clear it. “Yeah.”
“
Maybe we should take a holiday when I get home. It’d be good for us to get away for a while and finally spend some quality time together.”
She tried not to cringe as a familiar panic set in and gripped the arms of her chair for support. “Scott, you know I can’t. I just started working in a new department. Plus you have to work too.”
He frowned. “ACC is just a side gig, right? I thought we agreed you were going to retire?”
Charlie looked away. Despite what happened she couldn’t imagine ever walking away from the job. Being an enforcer was in her blood, it’s what she’d always wanted to be. “I didn’t say that and I can’t walk away. Not until I find out who did it.”
“It’s not your case, right? We agreed we’d talk when I get back, remember?” he said. “About moving in together.”
Charlie tried not to wince. Despite dating for a few months in college and then hooking up again a year ago, their relationship had been long-distance for most of that time. The idea of taking the next step by moving in together felt like a big deal and one she didn’t think she was ready for. “We’ll talk,” she promised.
“Great, it’s a date. I love you, Char.”
She opened her mouth to say the same as an image of Drake popped into her mind again. “You too.” The screen went black.
Charlie grabbed a bottle of sleeping potion, gulped it down. She hated the stuff, but it was the only way to avoid the nightmares. She glanced through her case notes, found nothing new. Scott sent her a text wishing her good night.
She smiled. She’d be glad to have him home, but it wasn’t Scott who came into her mind as sleep took over.
Chapter 3
Charlie walked into Chief Whitely’s office the next morning, relieved to see Drake not there. “Morning, sir,” she said. “We need to talk about...” She touched her Denai pendant for comfort. Even just mentioning the case brought back a heavy pit in her stomach.
Whitely stared at her. His hair had turned white over the past few years, unusual for an immortal but she guessed it was from years of rank. “You remind me so much of your aunt sometimes it’s disturbing.”
“I’m not as sarcastic as her,” she pointed out.
The chief’s lips curved into a smile. “True, but you McCrays seem to think you’re above the rules.”
“Sir, I don’t believe that. Have I done something to offend you?”
“No, we need to discuss your situation with Drake Dumont. Talbot suggested you two should work together and I’m not one to disagree with him.”
Charlie slumped into the worn-out visitor’s chair. “I’ve never worked with Division before, hell, what do we really know about them?”
“True, but Division are the best of the best when it comes to getting the job done. They may not have the red tape we enforcers must contend with, but they are damned good,” Whitely said. “Drake is a leader of the Alliance and has quite the influence among Demonkind.”
“But Division are more than just enforcers, they’re more soldiers, aren’t they?” Charlie ran a hand through her hair. She’d been debating all morning whether to go through with this or not. “I’m an enforcer, despite the six months I spent working in special ops a few years ago. Division are supposed to be…”
“Division is similar to your aunt’s team Excalibar, but they work much more high-risk cases. But I want to know if you can do this. Division may have the resources and have taken over the murder case, but I won’t force you to join them.”
Charlie nodded. “I can do this. Maybe Drake will prove to be a good source of intel.”
“This will only be a temporary assignment. After this case, I want you back at the station. The promotion to lieutenant is still on the table if you want it.”
She gripped the sides of the chair so hard she thought they’d break. “Sir, I already told you, I can’t work in Major Crimes anymore.”
“McCray, I hate to see your talents going to waste in ACC, of all places. They’ll always be a place for you in Major Crimes if you still want it.”
Charlie felt the familiar ache rise in her chest. She couldn’t break down in front of her chief so she looked away. “I can’t go back,” she whispered.
Whitely nodded, understanding in his eyes. “Very well. Drake will be here soon. You’re only on loan to Division, but from now on you’ll be known as Agent McCray. You’ll be working undercover on this assignment. Our ultimate goal is to find what the Tears’ ultimate goal is.”
Charlie met his blue gaze then. “Why are you letting me do this?” she asked. “Be straight with me, sir. Enforcers aren’t allowed to work on cases where they have a personal involvement.”
“I can’t answer that. The Alliance controls Division and they requested you. You’d have to ask them that,” Whitely answered. “Perhaps because you were there, or perhaps of your shadow demon abilities.”
Charlie hadn’t found out she was part demon herself until six years earlier and still didn’t like the idea now. “I’m only part demon. I have fey and Phoenix DNA too, but I’m a witch first and foremost. That doesn’t mean I have any of those abilities though.” No, her strongest abilities had been her Denai and demon powers – at least up until the bombing. Charlie hesitated as Whitely put the paperwork in front of her to sign. “Unofficial, right? If I change my mind, I can walk away, can’t I?”
The chief nodded. “Of course, but honestly, McCray, I think you’re wasting yourself in ACC. You’re too gifted for grunt work.”
“I appreciate that, sir, but I’m not the enforcer I used to be.”
“Fine. Drake will be here soon, I’ll–”
“I’ll go and grab my case files from my office.” She headed to the door.
“Drake requested to use space here at the station so I told him he could use the old bullpen your team used. No one is using it right now and you know how short we are on space here,” Whitely told her. “You should also know Kazia Snowden and Nigel Monroe are Division agents.”
Instead of heading to the office, Charlie drove home after telling Nigel and Kaz the news, insisting she had to pick up her case files first. She could have shimmered there, but teleporting wouldn’t give her time to clear her mind. She didn’t know how she’d be able to face going back to her old office. After the bombing and transferring to another department, she’d sent Scott to pick up her stuff.
But she could really go back there? There wasn’t enough room to work in ACC and limited resources of the station meant she had little choice but to go back to her team’s old workspace. Why the hell did Drake want to work at the station anyway?
She pulled up outside her apartment block, took a deep breath. You have to do this, she told herself. For the team.
Jumping from the car, she headed up the street to her block of apartments. The huge stone tower had seen better days, its white paint had long since vanished and graffiti covered some off the walls in artwork of various colours. Charlie knew this was a rougher part of the city and she could’ve got somewhere better, but she liked it here. It was unpredictable and no one bothered her there. No one knew who she was and she liked it that way. The small apartment had only a small lounge/dining room with a kitchenette, a double bedroom and a smaller room that she’d turned into an office. Scott hated the place, but it suited her with its simplicity. He’d no doubt insist on moving somewhere else if she did agree to move in with him.
Her phone chimed. Kaz.
“Hey, I’m on my way back. I just need to get my stuff,” Charlie answered as she moved down the cobblestone street with its array of cars and transpos.
“Nigel just told me.” Kaz cried. “Excited to be joining Division?”
“Don’t get too excited, we’re only working one case,” Charlie insisted. She’d been surprised to learn Kaz and Nigel actually worked for Division already and had been sent to watch over her when she’d joined ACC. Drake’s plan, no doubt. “Do you know his lordship well?”
“Do you mean Drake? No, he’s the boss. He created
Division and he works his own cases. You should be honoured he’s asked us to work with him. Well, you mostly. You’ll be his new partner. Weird, I don’t think he’s ever had a partner before.”
What a shock! That bastard really has this all planned out. If he thinks he’s going to win me over to become his life mate, boy is he mistaken! “Drake is an Alliance leader and they’re worried the Tears might become a new big bad. That’s the only reason he’s joining us.” That and some deluded belief he has about us being life mates.
“He’s the demon who helped during Denai Storm too, right?”
Charlie snorted. She didn’t understand why some people called the revolution Denai Storm; there had been more Magickind than Denais involved. “Right. He’s a friend of the family.”
“He’s pretty hot too, right?”
She laughed. “If you like tall, dark and demon, yeah.”
“Brilliant, it’d be better than looking at Nigel’s ugly mug. When—”
Someone grabbed her, pulling her backwards, clamping a hand over her mouth and wrenching her arms behind her. Her phone clattered onto the pavement. I don’t need this today! He pulled her gun from its holster, out of her reach. She tried to yank her arms free, but his grip proved too strong for her.
A flash of Nat’s smiling face then the burst of blue light ran through her mind. Charlie threw her head back, knocking into his jaw, then slammed her boot down on his foot. The man grunted but didn’t loosen his grip.
Charlie drew in a breath, reached for magic. Light shimmered over her as she fazed out of his grasp. She hit the ground hard as her body became solid and rolled away as her attacker made another grab for her.
“Come here, witch!”
Charlie took another breath, vanishing into the concrete beneath her. A world of grey swallowed her up, she could see every inch of dirt and cement surrounded her like tiny molecules of darkness. Her heart thundered inside her ears as panic took over. Light flashed, the roar of the bomb going off.
Her body started to reform, her lungs screamed for air as the concrete enveloped her, trapping her beneath the pavement, the darkness swallowing her whole. No light penetrated the inky blackness around her. Charlie took one choking breath and burst back into the world of above, light burning her eyes. She coughed up dust, taking gulps of air.
Shadow Walker_Urban fantasy romance Page 2
