“Thank heavens.” He grinned. “You look lovely, if somewhat unlike your regular self.”
Mayan stopped to speak with some servers, so Rafael and I positioned ourselves at the long table covered with charcuterie, the cheeses, cut meats, and crackers presented on carved wooden boards accompanied by glass bowls of pickles and preserves.
“What happened with your uncle?” Rafael said.
I looked longingly at the delights on offer, then down at my white dress, and picked up a plain cracker, nibbling on it while I summed up the events at Inferno in a low voice.
Rafael procured me another glass of white wine from a passing server’s tray. “You confirmed he had the scroll. Good work. You’ll find him.”
I gave him a tired smile and raised the glass in cheers. “You bet I will.”
“I can put this new information against the other timeline data. We should meet tomorrow. Every slight advantage is one we must act upon immediately. Your office?”
“Sounds good.”
We spent the next couple of hours doing endless tours of the room. Jonah didn’t show, Levi and I kept our distance, and Mayan spent all her time talking up the benefits of the Lung Cancer Foundation.
I’d nursed my glass into the dregs, I couldn’t eat in case I dropped anything on this stupid dress, and I’d given up on anything interesting happening. I was ready to call it a night and go for french fries when Mayan glanced at her phone. She touched Levi’s arm, said a few words, then slipped from the room. I trailed her out to the lobby, planting myself by the rack of tourist brochures on offer.
Jonah Samuels waltzed into the hotel. In his pressed formal wear, he blended in with the rest of the crowd milling about here. The two of them had a brief but intense exchange. There was nothing alarming about their body language. Mayan wasn’t tense or scared of Jonah, nor was he crowding her space or intimidating her in any way. Jonah said something that had Mayan glare at him, before yielding with a resigned head nod.
He settled a large blue heart-shaped stone on a gold chain around her neck. Mayan gave him a tolerant smile.
Whatever was up between them, Mayan was a free and willing participant.
Jonah continued into the ballroom, while Mayan headed for the restrooms.
I followed him over to the tables containing items for the silent auction. Catching Rafael’s eye, I nodded at our quarry. I didn’t expect any trouble, but I’d brought Rafael here to watch my back.
Jonah studied the bids on a wine tasting tour.
I stopped at a glossy card detailing another item that was up for auction. “Five hundred dollars for high tea? I better get to eat my body weight in tiny sandwiches for that.”
Jonah gave me a smooth smile. “The tea is for two people so unless you’re planning on showing up stag, I think you’d be disappointed.”
“Maybe I could bring a stuffed animal, like I used to when I had tea parties as a kid.” I wrinkled my nose—hopefully adorably and not like a cocaine addict jonesing for a fix. “Girl thing. I’m sure you didn’t have tea parties.”
“No,” he said, amused. “Nor did I have stuffed animals. I had imaginary friends. Fierce ones who I built forts and stormed castles with.”
“Such a boy. And do you still storm castles, Mr…?”
“Call me Jonah.”
I readied myself for him to extend a hand to shake so I could check if he was Mundane or Nefesh, but he clasped his hands behind his back.
“Ashira,” I said. “So those castles?”
“Sadly, they remain unstormed,” he said. “I’m involved in medical research.”
Yeah, yeah. Give me something else to work with. “That sounds interesting. What kind?”
“I advanced a bonding technique. It’s actually very boring.”
“I’m sure it’s not.”
“You’re very kind, but I recognize that glazed look. How about you?”
“I’m in politics.” I tilted my head. “I don’t suppose I could interest you in a drink? Perhaps somewhere quieter, like the rooftop bar?” I intended to steer the conversation to Hedon and work in my acquaintance with Mayan, but those weren’t topics one just dropped in to casual conversation with a stranger.
“I’m flattered, but I’m afraid I can’t stay. I just came to support this important cause.”
Bollocks. “My loss. Lovely meeting you, Jonah.”
“You as well, Ashira.”
I sailed into the crowd, giving Rafael the signal to keep an eye on Jonah, since I couldn’t very well turn around and stalk him. Mayan was safely ensconced in a conversation with an elderly couple, so, frustrated at being rebuffed, I stepped out of the crowded ballroom to get some air. I wound through the hallways, the noise growing distant behind me. A door to one of the smaller event rooms was cracked open, and I slipped inside. It was partially set up for some dinner function.
“Who were you talking to?”
Startled, I spun around.
Levi stood in the doorway.
“Jonah Samuels. My top suspect behind Mayan’s erratic behavior.”
“I wasn’t imagining things, then.”
“No.”
He nodded, satisfied. “You’ll keep me updated?”
“Obviously. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I brushed past him, but he grabbed my wrist and jerked me flush up against him.
Levi claimed my mouth in a hard, brief kiss.
“What was that for?” I pushed against his chest, my fingers only flexing against his pecs for a second before I stepped back.
“A placeholder until I can get you out of that ridiculous dress.”
“Keep sweet talking, Montefiore. I’ll be putty in your hands. Also, you have a date. Remember?”
“It’s a public relations stunt. Mayan’s an upstanding Mundane citizen.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped all traces of my red lipstick from his mouth.
I gripped my handbag. Better to clutch that, than Levi’s shoulders and mark him again. “Not so upstanding if she’s hanging out in Hedon.”
“Being seen with her reinforces the idea that I have friends and relationships with all kinds of people, both magic and non-magic.”
“There it is. My perfectly reasonable explanation.” I tapped my bag against my thigh, accidentally hitting the clasp and spilling all the items inside to the ground. I dropped to my knees, gathering everything up. “Fuck.”
Levi crouched down to help, but I pushed him away.
“I don’t need your help.” I shoved my driver’s license back in the bag.
“There’s nothing to be jealous of.” He gathered up my credit card and keys.
I lunged for the lipstick, making a break for it. “Of course not. The explanation so reasonable that one wonders why you didn’t just tell me instead of letting me show up and find you here. Would a quick ‘Hey, Ash, I’m going to the ball with my ex who was a total bitch to you for most of your life, but it’s a PR stunt’ have killed you?”
Levi stood up, still holding on to my credit card and keys. “Yeah, that would have made everything better.”
I held my hand out for my belongings, which he relinquished. “We’ll never know because you didn’t man up and have the conversation. You didn’t just disrespect me on a personal level, you did it on a professional one as well. What if your presence had thrown a wrench in my plans? A little heads-up would have been appreciated.”
“Back at you, sweetheart. At least my surprise seeing you here was genuine.”
I did a final check to make sure my possessions were all back in my bag. “Yet you keep assuming you can keep things from me and I won’t find out.”
“Then you could have asked. Unlike you, who didn’t tell me you’d be bringing a plus-one.”
“Aw, baby.” I snapped my clutch shut. “There’s nothing to be jealous of.”
“We’ll never know because you didn’t man up and have the conversation,” Levi said.
Our glaring contest did little to quell th
e anger swirling around the room.
I blew an errant curl out of my eyes. “Rafael is my backup, okay? Not my date.”
“He’s not doing a very good job.” Levi trailed a finger along the bare skin from my shoulder to the inside of my elbow.
That’s it? He was okay with all of this now? How could he emotionally turn so quickly? Did this not mean as much to him as it did to me?
I jerked my arm away. “I only need him for actual threats, not annoying unwanted attention.”
Levi stepped back, his face closed-down. “Let me know what you learn about Samuels.”
He headed for the hallway.
Great. Sayonara, asshole.
My comfort zone urged me let him go. Levi, with his talented lips, his reasonable explanations, his wry humor, and his way of understanding me like no one else did, was anything but comfortable.
There were ten feet to go before he reached the door, and a finality in the set of his shoulders to him crossing that threshold.
He’d changed the shape of me, but I’d changed him, too. He was the one man I’d relished standing toe-to-toe with, but could the very thing I liked most about us turn into a crushing weight that we wouldn’t survive?
Five feet.
What if he hadn’t let go of his emotions around me being here with Rafael that easily and I was letting him walk out without verifying it?
I bit my lip.
Three feet.
Fuck it. My comfort zone was getting kind of stifling.
I sprinted over and blocked his path to the door. “Were you jealous?”
“Yes.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Even though coming here with Mayan was the right move politically, it was the wrong one for us. I knew it would hurt you and I fucking took the coward’s way out. I’m sorry. Am I forgiven?”
“Depends.” My stern voice was at odds with the smile that threatened to break free because this mattered to him. I mattered. “Are you still jealous, even knowing that I’m not on a date? Because I’m openly on the arm of someone else, when you and I have to pretend that we hate each other?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “That’s not what you wanted to hear.”
“No. That was the right answer.” I reached up on tiptoe, because even in heels I was still shorter, and kissed him.
He resisted for a second, and then his lips moved against mine. The faintest rasp of stubble scratched my chin.
I curled my hand around his hip, his thigh muscle tensing under my palm, and sank into him, earning a low groan.
Levi placed a hand on the small of my back, sucking on my lower lip. His tongue found mine, and we pressed together so tightly that I was dizzy.
My fingers snaked into his hair, sifting through the silky locks, while Levi framed my face, almost reverential in his touch. I savored his taste and the quickening of his breath that matched my own.
This kiss was a beginning, a promise of more to come. It was a maelstrom, churning up emotions I wasn’t yet ready to name.
Reluctantly, I stepped back, opening my eyes as I sucked in cool air.
Levi stared back at me, his expression calm. “Will you come over tonight?”
I swallowed to get moisture into my suddenly dry mouth. “Yes.”
“Will you stay all night?”
“Yes?”
His lips quirked up in a half-grin. “This isn’t Jeopardy. Frame your answer as a statement.”
I’d slept over at men’s houses before, guys I’d been casually dating, but they’d been in that box from the get-go. Levi had started out as something much different, and every time our relationship shifted, hell, every time I saw a new side of him, I had to reframe my view of this man. Spending the night curled up against him, asleep and vulnerable, was a huge shift.
Was that a bad thing? Boxes allowed me to distill people, but did that limit my understanding of them? Limit my thinking? I swallowed the knot in my throat. Could I do away with boxes on a case-by-case basis? One person at a time, the same way I solved an investigation one piece at a time? Hadn’t I already, with Eleanor and even Rafael?
I rolled the idea around of taking Levi out of the box I’d comfortably slotted him into and it wasn’t the dark hole of terror I’d expected. If I could save the world, I could have a talk about what exactly we wanted from the other person and then rock the follow-through.
“Well?” he said.
“I’ll take ‘all the ways Levi will entertain Ashira when she stays all night’ for a thousand, Alex.”
He ducked his head, allowing a sweet smile to break free. “Promise?” I nodded and he caught my hand, turning my palm upright and pressing a single kiss into it before leaving.
My fingers traced my swollen lips. If I didn’t run screaming in the night, we’d get to the good stuff. I exhaled sharply. Fuck balls. I didn’t mean sex.
Back in the ballroom, I helped myself to a couple of the tuna tartare on thin spicy crisps.
“Jonah just left,” Rafael said.
“Here.” I handed him one of the appetizers. “Eat. Drink and be merry. Might as well enjoy this fancy-schmancy ball.”
I was licking tuna juice off my finger, which was actually zestier than one would imagine, when Mayan made some excuse to Levi and left the ballroom again.
This time, she left the hotel entirely. All right. Now we were getting somewhere.
Chapter 19
Mayan hailed a taxi from the stand out front of the hotel. Our under-the-speed-limit grand chase landed us at Harbour Center and the entrance to Hedon.
I allowed her a brief head start inside. The Queen hadn’t refused me entry until she’d made her decision regarding our alliance, so I should be allowed in. Would she try to head trip me again? Potentially. Was it worth the risk of solving this case? That remained to be seen, but I’d been hired to find out what Mayan was up to and this was my big break.
Rafael, used to a support position, bless him, didn’t kick up a fuss about me going on my own, though he was impressed that I’d had the foresight to bring the two tokens left over from Miles with me tonight.
“It was kind of a no-brainer,” I said. “Mayan was going there on a regular basis and with Jonah having bought a ticket to the ball, it was a reasonable assumption she’d end up in Hedon again and I’d be traveling.”
My Attendant volunteered to wait for me at Harbour Center. “If you’re not out in two hours, I’ll sound the alarm. Call the rest of the team.”
“That’s an excellent idea.”
Mayan was already in the elevator up to the top floor by the time I’d convinced the security guard on duty to accept my token and let me through. The second my car opened on the restaurant level, I dashed through the slowly revolving doors into Hedon.
I peered down the narrow roads leading away from the small plaza, rewarded with a glimpse of Mayan turning a corner. Silently, I hurried after her.
Since it was always night here, there wasn’t some set sleeping schedule. The world was buzzing with activity, which helped mask my pursuit.
She stopped on a residential street, either side lined with low narrow apartment buildings painted in garish colors. I tailed her into one on the corner that was a violent shade of chartreuse and smelled of cheap incense. The buildings were so skinny that there was only one apartment on each of the four stories.
I pressed into the shadows in the stairwell.
Mayan crouched down by the door knob on the second floor and picked the lock with the ease of a seasoned burglar. Slipping off her shoes, she crept inside.
I removed my own, then flew up the rest of the stairs, racing through the long apartment to the lit bedroom at the back, but when I was only halfway through the living room, Mayan pulled her black rose barrette from her braid and tossed it in the air.
The rose transformed into a black barb, exactly like the poison one in the ring that the steampunk cat had tried to sell me. It zoomed toward Alfie, who sat up in bed, gaping at the barb now embedded in his arm that was a
lready melting into his flesh. Black lines snaked out from the point of impact.
“Gunter,” Alfie croaked. “You still reek of Gitanes.”
“I swore to take everything from you.” Mayan patted his head. “Now I have.”
Alfie tried to raise a hand, but it fell limply back onto the covers.
“Bye, Alfie.” Mayan saw me in the doorway, swore, and bolted for the window.
Alfie was dying and his murderess was getting away in the opposite direction. I couldn’t let either happen.
Alfie rasped in a breath. His complexion was ashen and the left side of his face drooped like a stroke victim.
Trusting I could find Mayan or Gunter or whatever the fuck was going on, I dropped my handbag, jumped on the bed and slammed my magic into Alfie, but the poison was just that. Poison. Not magic.
I sprinted across the room and leaned out the window.
Mayan jumped the final few feet from the fire escape to the ground.
“Mayan!” I clambered out onto the fire escape. “You’re a bitch, but you aren’t a killer. Give me the antidote.”
Her features twisted in an ugly sneer, illuminated in the moonlight. “There isn’t one.”
A curtain in a neighboring apartment twitched. A face briefly appeared and then quickly moved out of sight.
“There has to be a way to stop this,” I said. “You went to Levi. He sent me here. Let me help.”
Mayan’s expression softened; she looked lost. “You can’t.”
No. I wasn’t losing her. Or Alfie. This wasn’t ending in tragedy.
I hefted a blood rock in my hand and whipped it at Mayan’s retreating figure, blessing all those hours of darts.
It hit her square in the back, knocking her to the ground. Her knee cracked against the cobblestones and she cried out, tumbling onto her back. Not gonna lie, that was eminently satisfying. Really, I was to be commended on my considerable restraint in not throwing a dagger instead.
“You cunt!” She cradled her injured knee in her hands.
Even if I could have discounted every other aberration about Mayan, this demanded my attention. Mayan despised the “C” word. She’d torn a strip off kids numerous times at camp for using it. She had to be compelled somehow by this Gunter or someone acting on his behalf. Like Jonah.
Shadows & Surrender: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 3) Page 18
