by Melissa Haag
I sighed and took another big, syrup and butter-soaked bite.
“So are you going to tell me what your mom wanted?” Oanen said.
My heart gave a hard thump as I swallowed.
“You saw?”
“After you disappeared from the Gizzard, I’ll never fully take my eyes off you again.”
I took a sip of my milk while I tried to think what to say. I didn’t want to lie. He’d know if I did. Omission wasn’t far from lying, either. But I told myself I wasn’t going to hide what I knew forever. Just until I could figure out a way for me to live without someone else dying.
“She pulled her normal Paxton bullshit,” I said finally. “She wanted to know if we’ve had sex. When I told her it was none of her business, she said that griffons only have male offspring and furies female. That we can’t mix. She wants me to get rid of you.”
Oanen’s eyes darkened.
“There is no going back,” he said. “We’re bonded.”
“I told her that. It didn’t matter to her. It seems like babies are on everyone’s brains.”
He exhaled slowly.
“I’m not sure how much we can trust what she says. Like the Council, your mother seems to be withholding information.”
“Exactly. The information that she gives is reliable enough, but there are too many holes and missing bits for us to clearly see the big picture.”
“Maybe we should go to your great-grandmother.”
My heart stopped before my anger started to surge. He held up a hand.
“Not to do what your mom wants but to ask questions. Maybe your Grandma Irene would be more willing to share some straight forward answers.”
I considered what he was suggesting.
“Okay. We can try talking to her. Hopefully she’s more mellow than Paxton.”
We finished our meal and, with renewed determination, left the diner. Oanen wanted to re-check the places the trolls had died for any clues that might point to Nicolette.
In the kitchen space of the first apartment we went to, the ceiling was slowly giving up its hold and crumbling down to the floor in hand-sized chunks. Some of those chunks had been crushed to small mounds of dust that intermingled with other debris. Old food wrappers. Small bones. Shredded bits of material. Thankfully, the heat was off so the place didn’t smell too bad.
“What type of clues are we looking for?” I asked as I studied the place.
“I’m not sure,” Oanen admitted.
“If Nicolette is anything like Eliana, I can’t see her setting foot in here, no matter how hungry she is. I mean, Eliana’s too…clean.”
He looked around the efficiency apartment, his eyes lingering on the tattered bare mattress, dark with who knew what kinds of stains, and shook his head.
“You’re right. I don’t see any succubus willingly coming in here.”
“If I remember right, the other apartment was better than this one, and that one still was something I couldn’t picture Nicolette willingly visiting. When we saw her in the Tabernam, she wore a nice cloak and her nails were a perfectly polished red that matched her lipstick. My point is that she was put together. High class, not streetwalker, put together.”
“Maybe she didn’t go home with them. Maybe they went to her home.”
“And she carried them back to their places after feeding?” I asked. “It doesn’t fit her upscale you’re-beneath-me vibe. The way she acts, she expects guys to carry her, not the other way around.”
“You were in Uttira for several months. We’re taught to blend. To not leave a trail. It’s possible she could have left her kill in a location where no one would suspect her. I think the proof we need won’t be here but at the Goose and Gizzard on those tapes.”
“Alright. Let’s go.” Although I didn’t like the idea of going back there again, I was willing to do just about anything to get out of this apartment.
Oanen led the way and opened the car door for me. Across the street, a group of young men openly watched us with looks of hostility on their faces. Not a hint of wickedness touched me. Mom’s words came back to me. I’m guessing you already have your first burn or you wouldn’t be this calm.
“You’re not feeling anything from them, are you?” Oanen asked, noting my hesitation.
“No. Nothing.” I looked up at him and gave him a quick kiss. “Stay focused on the case,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t say anything as I got in, and he closed the door. But he was right. I should have been able to sense something from them. Their body language alone said they were up to no good.
When he pulled away from the curb, he didn’t turn around and head back to the Gizzard.
“Aren’t we going the wrong way?”
“Nope. The Gizzard won’t be open for a while, and I promised to keep you fed.”
“But we just had breakfast.”
“We’re going somewhere for fun then food.”
He took 278 south to Ocean Parkway. I paid attention to the tree lined boulevard, feeling a sense of familiarity that I couldn’t quite place. It’d been a long time since I’d been in New York. When we turned onto Surf Avenue, and I saw the red spire on the horizon, I knew where we were going.
“Coney Island?”
“Have you been there already?” he asked.
“Yeah, but a long time ago. I remember it was great, though.”
The remnants of my headache faded as I leaned forward in my seat and waited for the first glimpse of the rollercoaster. My memories of the amusement park were of people, good food, games, and rides. So, it happened a long time before I started losing my temper. I frowned slightly and hoped I wouldn’t ruin it this time, either.
Oanen found a place to park, and hand in hand, we strolled down the boardwalk. The sights, sounds, and smells filled me with excitement.
“What do you want to do first?” he asked.
“All of it.”
We moved from ride to ride. He grinned at my enthusiasm and shook his head when I suggested the roller coaster be renamed to Soaring Griffin.
“It’s pretty close to flying with you,” I said.
“I doubt that.”
“You weren’t the one clinging to your back when you dove down at Aubrey in that clearing.”
After we’d had enough of the rides, he humored me with a few games. Most of them would have been hard for a human to win. I delighted in making the booth attendees’ jaws drop when I bested them.
“I think your stuffed animal collection is big enough,” Oanen said, his voice muffled by a unicorn’s fluffy pink tail.
I picked the animal off the pile and handed it to the nearest kid.
“Let’s find some new owners for the rest of these then get something to eat,” I said.
The toys were easy to get rid of. Deciding where to eat was harder. We settled on hot dogs and went to sit shoulder to shoulder on the beach, listening to the waves as we ate.
It felt like a date. Not the secluded, come-to-my-house-and-have-a-quiet-dinner kind but a real date.
“Thank you for this,” I said when we’d finished eating. “It felt so…normal.”
“The first date of many that will be like this,” he said, his gaze sweeping over my features in a way that made my pulse skip. When he leaned toward me, I met him eagerly.
His lips touched mine, and his arms wrapped around me, careful to avoid the burn on my back. I barely had time to note that before he deepened the kiss and stole my ability to reason or breathe. Oanen was my world. Then and always.
When he pulled back and broke the kiss moments later, the cool ocean breeze brought clarity as I tried to catch my breath.
I liked kissing Oanen. Talking to him. Sleeping beside him. Just being with him. No, it wasn’t like. It was so much more than like. And, that still scared the hell out of me.
He watched me closely, his golden gaze missing nothing.
“I love the fire in your eyes and the way you look at me after we kiss. I s
ee every bit of passion your fear is holding back, and it makes my heart race because, I know when you unleash it, not even the gods will be able to keep us apart.”
“Oanen, I…”
His lips twitched as he watched me fumble with what to say.
“I know the time’s not right for you to admit how much you can’t live without me. Don’t worry; I’m patient.”
His teasing helped with the awkwardness.
“Patient? I would have gone with overconfident. Now, don’t we have some tapes to look at?” I said, standing and brushing my butt off.
He chuckled and joined me.
“Here, let me help.”
I hopped away before he could touch me.
“Hands to yourself. You’ve messed with my head enough for one day.”
He studied my face for a long moment.
“I’ve meant everything I’ve said. Kids don’t matter. Sex doesn’t matter. You admitting how you feel about me doesn’t matter. You’re all that matters.”
He was getting into the scary territory again. I thought of my burns and my great-grandma and needed to shift the topic.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant all this talk about kissing and passion is distracting me from our focus.”
“That is my focus, Megan. You.”
“Dead trolls, Oanen. That’s our focus. And Nicolette. Come on.”
There was no handholding on the way back to the car. I was too rattled and worried. I loved Oanen loving me. Although the idea of kids still scared the hell out of me, I trusted him when he said having kids wasn’t something we needed to do right away. I also trusted that he would wait and let me drive the pace of our physical and emotional relationship. It was his complete need to keep me safe that worried me. What would he do when he found out about the second burn? Or that these burns were signs of my powers eating me alive?
The car ride to the Gizzard was just as quiet.
As soon as we walked into the place, we had the bartender’s attention. He nodded to the side door and moved to meet us in the short hall.
“No news, Enforcer. Words out, but no one’s talking.”
“I was wondering if we could look at your tapes for the past several weeks.”
“Knock yourself out. Want me to bring you anything to eat or drink?”
“No, thank you,” Oanen and I said at the same time.
The man left us alone in the back room for the next two hours. Oanen and I watched endless footage of patrons coming and going. Eating and drinking. We didn’t see much conversation happening. And, there definitely were no signs of a put together succubus.
“There’s nothing here to link Nicolette to the troll deaths. I’m going to call Eliana.”
Oanen grabbed my hand before I could pull my phone free.
“You can’t call her,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“She’s my best friend, who I promised to call every day. If I don’t call her, she’ll be angry.”
He removed his hand.
“Don’t say anything about her mom.”
“You’ve already said that.”
I dialed Eliana. Like the last time, she picked up on the first ring.
“Where’s the seventies porn background music?” I asked.
“What? Ew! Why would you say that?”
I laughed.
“I figured Adira would have converted you by now.”
She snorted.
“No. She’s been surprisingly quiet today.”
And I knew why.
“So, I have some interesting news,” I said.
Oanen turned in his chair and crossed his arms at me. I rolled my eyes at him.
“I saw my mom today,” I said to Eliana.
“No way. Did she tell you what’s going on?”
“Yep. Apparently Oanen and I can’t be together because griffins have boy baby chickens and furies have girls with anger issues. According to her, we won’t mix.”
“While she might be right about the past, who’s to say what will happen? I don’t think a griffin and fury pairing has ever been done before. At least not in written history.”
“I just wish she didn’t try so hard to be a pain in my ass, you know?”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t a pleasant reunion.”
“It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I guess. She looked exactly the same. But, this time when I saw her, I realized just how much I didn’t know about her. Other than her taste in men. But back then, I thought she was just a regular, human gold digger, you know?”
“My mom’s motto is usually the richer, the better.”
I gave Oanen a triumphant look.
“Usually?”
“Apparently my dad was an exception.” A morose note crept into Eliana’s voice. “His devotion tasted sweeter because it had never been given to a mortal before. Only to one of the gods.”
“Hey. I didn’t mean to bring you down. Let’s talk about something else. Anything interesting happen at the Academy today?”
“Not really. I better go. It’s just about dinner time, and if I get down there first, I can be sitting before Adira arrives.”
“Um?”
“She won’t notice my dress enough to make me change.”
“Ah. Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
After I hung up, I gave Oanen a pointed look.
“And that confirms it. Nicolette would never go to a dive like this to pick up men. She’d go upscale.”
The monitor behind Oanen caught my attention.
“Look,” I said, pointing at the screen. “There he is again.”
“It’s the same cloak,” Oanen agreed. He changed the angle to find a camera with a shot of the guy’s face, but it was never a clear look.
“It’s like he knows where the cameras are.”
Oanen made a sound of agreement then froze the frame.
“That’s him. The troll grandpa who beat his grandson.”
He was sitting right next to the cloaked man.
“I need to call the Council. But not from here,” he said, standing. “Let’s pick up something to eat and head back to our place.”
Chapter Eight
Warm water gently tapped against my back. The sore there had healed enough for a shower without pain. However, the sore on my front was another story. It still looked raw and red.
Thankfully, Oanen hadn’t commented when I’d stolen one of his t-shirts to sleep in last night instead of my usual tank top. I smiled at the memory of how his eyes had heated when he’d seen me in his clothes. Nope, he hadn’t minded a bit.
I finished rinsing my hair and turned off the water. Just as I stepped out of the shower, the bathroom door started to open. I grabbed the towel and managed to cover my chest before Oanen saw anything.
His heated gaze swept over me from head to toe as he leaned against the door frame.
“What happened to knocking?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to miss my chance.”
I shook my head at him.
“The water’s already off, and you’re already dressed. I’d say you missed it.”
“I’m not so sure.”
His gaze started to dip lower.
I quickly stepped toward him and lifted my lips for a kiss. He didn’t disappoint. Before I lost all sense, I wrapped the towel around myself, freeing my hands and hiding the burn.
He groaned against my lips and gently pulled back.
“As much as I want to continue, there’s another reason I came in here.”
“Oh?”
“Adira just called. The Council met and discussed what we told them. The fact that there was nothing to link Nicolette to any of the murders and the fact that the hooded man spoke to both of the trolls changes nothing. The Council still wants us to continue to investigate Nicolette.”
A tingle of anger ran through me.
“What did they say about the hooded man?” I asked.
“If we want to pursue
that lead, we can. But Nicolette remains our priority.”
“Why aren’t they taking his connection to the deaths seriously?”
“Because they’re more afraid of Nicolette.”
“Why?”
“She’s the most powerful succubus out there.”
I recalled Eliana saying something along those lines as well.
“Fine. Let’s clear Nicolette so we can go after the other guy.”
“And then we head to St. Louis for answers,” he said firmly.
“Agreed.”
His gaze trailed over my face.
“Need any help getting dressed?”
“This whole waiting thing is going to be a real struggle for you, isn’t it?” I said with a smirk.
“You have no idea.”
He kissed me hard and left me breathless in the bathroom, wondering why we were waiting in the first place. Right. Baby chickens.
After closing the door, I quickly dressed and brushed out my hair while thinking of Eliana. What would she do when she found out the Council was after her mom? Probably freak out and think the Council’s actions were an indication of how badly everyone viewed Eliana’s species. That was not a good thing for someone already down about who she was.
I hung up my towel and went out to the living room where Oanen was waiting.
“We need to hurry up, find Nicolette, find the cloaked crusader, and get to grandma’s house.”
Worry filled his gaze and he strode toward me.
“What happened? Did you pass out again?” He gently touched my cheek. “You’re less pale than yesterday. I thought you were better.”
I reached up and closed my hand around his.
“It’s not me. It’s Eliana. What do you think is going to happen when she finds out her mom is a suspect? She’s sad and misses us already. I just want to hurry up so we can be there for her when she needs us most.”
His gaze warmed.
“I agree. Which is why I already made plans to track down Nicolette tonight.”
“Tonight? Let’s go now.”
His lips twitched.
“Where we need to go, they won’t let us in dressed like we are.”
“Where do we need to go?”
“La Fatiata Torbeni’s, a high-end restaurant that caters to humans and non-humans alike if they have the money.”
“Um…do we have the money?”
