All three took off.
Fire trucks and emergency vehicles came rolling down the road. Derrick and I walked over to speak with the first crew that pulled up. Beth joined us. She had a determined look on her face that said there was no point in arguing. Technically, it was her family’s land.
A man in a firefighter uniform met us. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Electrical wiring,” Beth answered right away. “I’ve been after my grandfather for years to have it updated. A fire broke out while we were having a family gathering and I’m thankful to say we got far enough away before it overheated the propane cylinders he had stored in the kitchen.”
Wow, she’d really thought this one through. It made me think there might be some truth mixed in there to help lend credibility to her explanation of events. Mostly, my senses told me she lied, but not entirely.
“You didn’t have any fire extinguishers?” the man asked.
Some of his buddies were moving toward the house to put out the small flames that still lingered amongst the debris and rubble. I might not have wanted to deal with them, but they did have an important job to do. We couldn’t afford for the flames to spread and start a forest fire. There were enough of those in Alaska already.
“We did,” Beth replied. “But he hadn’t updated them in years and we couldn’t get the two he had to work. When the flames began to spread we were more worried about getting the children out than dealing with the fire.”
“Were you the one who called?” He was jotting down notes.
“I was.” She nodded.
I hid my surprise. She’d really been thinking ahead if she’d thought to call them right when the explosion happened. I was willing to bet her family would back up her statements, too. It would ensure we didn’t look like we were hiding anything and make the cover-up job for the vampires easier. Because eventually the inspectors would come along and figure out electrical wiring had nothing to do with it. We just needed to buy time.
The firefighter went on to ask about some other details. Derrick and I stood there, exchanging looks. At best we were moral support for Beth. It seemed like the questions would never end, but she didn’t falter and had ready answers for all of them.
“That’s everything I need for now,” the firefighter said, closing his notebook. “If you could get your family to move a little farther out I’d appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Beth headed over to her family while Derrick and I went to his truck. Kerbasi was still sitting in it, nursing his wounds. The three werewolves stood next to it.
“Anything?” Derrick asked.
“We caught their scent up that way.” One of the guys pointed to a thick area of woods. “But they weren’t there and their trail led to the highway where it disappeared.”
“Is there something more we can do?” I asked.
Derrick stiffened. “I’ll stick around for now, but you should go.”
His mood had been dark ever since we’d met up at the airstrip, but I’d been ignoring it.
“Are you sure?” I gave him a concerned look.
He looked beyond me, as if he couldn’t meet my eyes. “Melena, I’m tryin’ real hard right now to not say something I’ll regret. I know you liked the shaman and his death ain’t easy for you. Just go. I don’t want to get into it tonight.”
It dawned on me then.
“You’re not going to renegotiate the agreement with Nik, are you?”
He met my eyes. “Don’t start. I mean it.”
“You can’t blame this on Nik—or me. Other people did it and we have to work together to handle it.”
“I’m done trying to compromise.” Derrick said in a resolute tone. “None of this would have happened if that vampire had listened, but he didn’t. I’m not going to let one more person die over his stubbornness or stupidity.”
I didn’t even know what to say. With everything I’d learned lately it was possible that Nik had brought some of this on us, but that didn’t mean Derrick taking over would be enough to fix all our problems.
“We can’t afford a power struggle right now.” It was the only argument I had left.
“We can’t afford not to have one.”
Before I could reply, Derrick turned and walked off.
Whatever he was planning it couldn’t be good, but Nik would be here to deal with him soon enough. Maybe there was a chance they could still work it out. Then again, maybe I needed to stop hoping for something that had no chance of happening. Not anymore.
Chapter Thirty-six
As it turned out, O’Connell didn’t have me meet him Monday morning at his office. Instead he directed me to a former engine repair shop on the west side of town. I was supposed to be there at ten and had made it a few minutes early.
After checking the address for the third time, I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel. There was something about the unconventional meeting place that didn’t sit well with me. All the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck.
Glancing over, I saw Kerbasi didn’t show the same concern. Probably because he was too busy enjoying the latte I’d picked up for him. Who needed kids when you could have your own personal guardian from Purgatory to fill the role?
I banged the back of my head against the seat. I could leave and tell O’Connell to come up with a different place, but who knew what he might do in the meantime? The point of coming here was to settle the matter and get him and his agency to leave town. In order to do that, I had to go inside and see him in person.
I shut off the engine and climbed out of the vehicle, heading for the door with Kerbasi following in his invisible form. No weapons were on me and I wore a pair of tight jeans and a tank top to make that clear. They’d check anyway, but it would help them relax a little if it didn’t look like I had a lot of hiding places to stash things.
They’d left the door unlocked. I pulled it open and stepped into the dimly lit garage. No cars or tools, just an empty space. My gaze homed in on someone hiding in the darkest corner with a rifle trained on me. If I’d been human it would have been tough to see him.
I skimmed past his position and looked left toward an office with glass windows. No one inside. There was a closed door beyond that possibly leading to a supply room. O’Connell stepped out of it.
“Melena, right on time.”
He nodded at someone behind me. I didn’t bother to look, considering his heartbeat and breathing had given him away long before he’d gotten close. He’d only thought he’d been sneaky.
“I suppose you want to search me first?” I asked.
O’Connell nodded.
“Put your hands on your head,” the guy behind me ordered.
I did as requested. He patted me down and wasn’t bashful about it. Some men grazed over women’s intimate parts when conducting a search, but the thorough ones—and the occasional pervert—didn’t miss a spot. You could usually tell the difference between the two and this guy was a professional. Quick but methodical.
“You can lower your hands now and walk toward Agent O’Connell.”
I dropped my hands and moved that way, continuing through the door when he waved me inside. There was a table in the middle and two folding chairs. Florescent lighting illuminated the gray walls and a camera recorded everything from where it hung in the upper corner. Yeah, I felt real at home here.
“Take a seat,” O’Connell said.
I did as requested, relaxing into the chair as if nothing bothered me. Half the fun of interrogations was interpreting body language and I wanted to mess with him a little before the big reveal. The agent came around the opposite end of the table and settled in his chair. Kerbasi positioned himself just behind me. Odd as it might have been, it was sort of reassuring having him there.
“I’d thought the Department of Homeland Security could come up with something better than this,” I said, giving him a disappointed look. “This is what happens when the government spends all their money hiring civilians to wash soldiers’ clothes and clean their bathrooms in war zones.”
“You’re never going to let that one go, are you?” He shook his head. “I appreciated it, considering it freed our time for more important things.”
I scowled. “It was a waste. And they lost our clothes too often.”
With the frequent water shortages we often didn’t have a choice but to hand our laundry over. The washers in our camp couldn’t run if the tanks were dry.
“It wasn’t that bad. What amazes me is you’ve chosen to work in an herb shop—for a fairy.”
“Is she?” I stretched my legs out. “I’ve been there for almost two years and nary a wing in sight.”
Actually, I had seen Felisha in her miniature form once—complete with wings. She was rather cute at only three inches tall, but I wasn’t going to get into that.
“And your neighbors are vampires,” O’Connell continued.
I rubbed at my neck. “You think they’re sneaking in my house at night and getting a snack while I’m asleep? That’s disturbing.”
His lips thinned. “I see your sarcasm hasn’t left you, but this is serious.”
“Of course it is.” I set my hands on the table and leaned forward. “You’re telling me about mystical creatures that everyone knows don’t exist. I should take that very seriously.”
A knife flashed before me as O’Connell stabbed it into my hand.
“Ow, you motherfucker.” I jerked the blade out and tossed it into the corner. “That hurt.”
I’d run a lot of scenarios in my head about how this meeting would go, but the possibility of getting stabbed hadn’t occurred to me. And it really did hurt.
“Take this. It’ll help slow the bleeding.” He held out a napkin.
That was rather convenient.
I cradled my hand against my chest. “You just want to get a sample of my DNA. I’m not stupid.”
“We already have your DNA—current and past. I didn’t stab you for that reason.” He had an impatient look on his face.
My hand was healing. The blade hadn’t gone all the way through and the skin on the damaged side would close up in another few minutes. It would take longer for the tendons to repair themselves, though.
“How did you get my current DNA? Break into my house?” I asked.
“Actually, your Jeep. You left your hair brush in there.”
At least he admitted it. I’d give him that.
“So what’s the verdict?” The doc didn’t check my DNA so I still didn’t know what differences there might be.
“It’s not quite the same anymore and we’ve found nothing like it for comparison.” He looked genuinely baffled over that.
“Interesting,” I said, gazing about the room again as if I’d grown bored.
“What have you become, Melena?”
I held up my bloody hand, skin now closed. “I have no idea.”
“I knew it.” A satisfied expression came across his face.
“You know nothing.” I rolled my eyes.
He leaned forward. “Tell me how it happened. What can you do? We figured out you’re immune to magic after your run-in with our agents, but that’s all we’ve discovered.”
At least he’d cleared up that mystery.
“First of all,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m not telling you anything until you promise to stop kidnapping supernaturals in my city. Second of all, after this meeting I want you gone. Get on your little planes and go.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“Then I have nothing more to say to you.” I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
“Melena, I’m trying to make this a friendly visit. Answer my questions and maybe I can work something out for you.”
He was lying—about working something out. I kept staring at the ceiling.
“Give me something, dammit.” He pounded on the table. “Otherwise, this isn’t going to be easy for you anymore.”
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of jumping. Just kept staring at the lights overhead. The door opened a moment later and two men walked inside. I glanced at them and saw they had dart guns on them.
Well, that was smart. I didn’t know if they were strong enough to work on me, but with me being a younger immortal they might, especially considering they were probably the super-strength kind.
I leveled my gaze on O’Connell. “So you want to up the ante?”
“You left me with no choice.” His face held no expression.
“Kerbasi.” I looked over my shoulder. “Knock that camera out and show yourself.”
To the men standing there it would have looked like the camera smashed into bits for no explicable reason. Then the guardian showed himself with wings exposed the way I’d planned it. He didn’t hide his swirling gray eyes, either.
O’Connell leaped up and the two men swung their dart guns at him. With all their surveillance they should have seen him before at some point, but not like this.
“You can’t hurt him. It’d be a waste of time to try.”
The agent looked at me with wide eyes. “Who is he? What is he?”
Kerbasi narrowed his eyes at O’Connell.
“He’s a guardian from Purgatory. I guess you could say he’s like an angel spin-off. All I know is I’m stuck with him and he’s been ordered by an archangel to make sure I walk out of here.” If Ariel hadn’t wanted me to give away many details, she shouldn’t have asked me come in the first place.