His eyes flashed again.
“And along those same lines, why would an innocent run?” Gut instinct told me she was behind the whole thing. Killing her was now my number one goal in life.
“I must go.” He lifted the portal device from his pocket. “It is my desire that we share information to capture those involved as quickly as possible. I will send a message when I have more.”
He waited for me to say I’d do the same; wasn’t going to happen. Just before he stepped through, he turned back to me. “I will do everything I can to make sure those who did this are brought to justice.” Then he left through the blue haze.
I growled.
“That was—” Jake started to say something.
I turned on him and unleashed the hellhound that is my temper. “Jake, you know better than anyone that I don’t like being told what to do, and I don’t like interference. I’ve dealt with dragons far longer than you’ve been around, and I can handle them without your help. I realize you were just pretending to be the caring boyfriend. You do it well. Since Jene will probably no longer be a factor, your services are no longer required for that.”
I knew as I said the words that I was being an outright bitch, but I couldn’t seem to stop. It’s no excuse, but when I’m mad, words just come out of my mouth and I have no control.
“Make sure security is tight around those women who were attacked. I think that’s where
your focus
should be.”
Tossing his words back at him, I stepped past him.
“Whatever you say,
boss
.” He said the words to my back.
I slammed the door behind me.
A few minutes later I was dressed in my warm woolies to guard against the Canadian winter. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Mr. McMurphy, and I decided it was time. I also wanted to scope out Bells to see if any of the dragons had shown up there. Mother had been clear about her orders; I couldn’t kill them there, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t get one to follow me outside.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Mira’s name came up on the caller ID.
Pick it up, Alex
. The words wafted through my brain.
Freaked me out when she did that. It wasn’t like she could talk to us that way, but she could put suggestions into our brains. It was one of her many talents.
I answered. “What?”
“Hmmm. Sounds to me like someone needs to go to her happy place.”
“Shut up.”
“I will once you tell me what has you so tied up in knots. I know Ginjin’s involved, and Jake. So spill.”
“This has nothing to do with Jake.” I bit out the words. “Look, it’s dragon crap, I’m dealing with it. Do you call me every time a fairy gets its wings?”
“Oh, dear sister. That attitude of yours is going to get your ass kicked the next time I see you.”
“Please come and try. I really feel like knocking the crap out of someone.”
She laughed at that. We’d learned long ago that it would always be a draw when we fought. We were equally matched. Now, Gilly, she could do some damage to both of us, probably at the same time. “Al, tell me what’s going on. I’m not trying to get into your business, but you’re so upset you woke me out of a dead sleep.”
Oops.
Mira and Gilly both suffered from insomnia. Mira’s had something do with her psychic powers. She really had to concentrate on tuning out the world in order to get any rest at all. Gilly had these terrifying dreams that were sometimes premonitions. They made it difficult for her to relax, because she never knew when one would hit.
Though I didn’t sleep much, I never had trouble like they did.
“I’m sorry.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. My hands were shaking. I was much angrier than I had realized. I told her everything, including what I’d said to Jake. I even shared the fact that I might possibly, sort of, have a thing for him.
“I knew you had something going on with him. The way you two looked at each other.” She was the second person in an hour to say that. “I think, before you go off half-cocked to kill dragons, you should apologize to Jake. He was trying to help you keep your temper in check. You and I both know that’s something you struggle with, and it isn’t fair for you to act like he isn’t doing his job. The guy kills himself to take care of us. I think it’s a shame to treat him that way.”
I jumped up and paced back and forth. “I don’t need some man trying to fight my battles for me or telling me how to do my job. God, Ginjin could have killed him if I hadn’t walked in when I did.”
“Oh, so you’re the only one who can do the saving? I’m sure that’s healthy for a man’s ego. And are you more upset about Jake putting his nose in your business or the fact that he could have been hurt by Ginjin?”
Oh, hell.
I hated it when she was right. Jake hadn’t done anything wrong. It was my ego that needed the checking. God, he didn’t deserve any of this.
“Well, if you’re so good at this, what the hell should I say to him? ‘I take it back’?”
“I’d start with ‘I’m sorry. I’m an idiot, and I lost my temper.’ ”
“Great. Thanks for calling me an idiot.”
She laughed. “I didn’t. I said you should call yourself one. It’s self-effacing, and it might help him forgive you. Though I don’t think I would.”
“Can I go now?”
“Not until you promise me that you’ll wait until I can go with you to Bells.”
“I won’t make that promise. I’m not planning on causing any trouble at the club. At least not right this second. I just want to check it out. If you’re there, we might draw too much attention. I’m pretty sure we made an impression the last time we were there.”
“There is that.” She laughed. “Just be careful, and make sure you go talk to Jake before you leave. Couples shouldn’t let these things fester.”
We weren’t a couple, at least not a real one.
After hanging up, I considered teleporting right away to Montreal. Jake and I both could probably use a cooling-off period.
But I couldn’t do it. I hated the idea that he might be mad, which irritated the hell out of me. I couldn’t remember the last time I was worried what a guy thought.
I went in search of the man.
I found him in the control room, his head bent over a laptop, typing furiously. When he heard the door shut, he looked up. The way those steely gray eyes narrowed said it all. He was pissed.
There were six other team members watching the monitors, and they, too, turned to see who had entered.
“Hi, uh. Sorry, but could I speak with you?” I motioned to Jake.
“Certainly,
Ms.
Caruthers.” He was the model of professionalism, and we’d gone from Alex back to the last name.
He was more than pissed.
We ended up in the weapons room. It was the most private place in this area, except for the window to the control room. They could see us but not hear us, which was a very good thing.
We didn’t say anything for a full minute.
Stop being a coward.
I made myself look into his eyes. “This isn’t easy for me, but I want to apologize for what I said.”
Jake stood with his hands clasped behind his back as if he were at ease in some military lineup.
His face was a mask of nonchalance. I couldn’t tell if he cared a bit about anything I had to say.
I continued on. “Maybe you’ve noticed, my temper flashes kind of hot at times. I say things I don’t mean. Hurtful things.”
He didn’t move or even acknowledge he heard me.
Hardheaded—
Before I even thought about it, I reached up and kissed him. Right there in the middle of the weapons room. I’m sure he was shocked at first, because it took a few seconds for him to respond, but then he did.
His lips took control, soft and yet strong at the same time, as if his purpose was to make certain I knew I’d been kissed.
His hands snaked around my waist, pulling me tight into his body. I fit as if I were ready-made for him. Warm and safe. I lost myself in him. Someone coughed behind me, and Jake’s head lifted away from mine. I wanted to draw him back.
“Didn’t know this was make-out central,” Gilly said from the doorway. “I just need to get my rapier, and I’ll get out of your way.”
“I—we—I,” I stammered. The words refused to form.
“I can see what you’re doing. Like I said, don’t stop on my account.” She slid open the cabinet door where her sword was. “Okay. I’m all good. See you two later.” She pushed the button on her watch and stepped through the portal that formed.
“She must be going to Maunra.” I finally managed to get a sentence out.
“Looks like.”
“Well, I—yes. Well. I came to apologize and to tell you that your job isn’t, and never has been, in any jeopardy. That was rude and insensitive of me.”
I moved away to the cabinets to grab my crossbow. My fingers shook so much I almost dropped it. Jake came up behind me and shut the cabinet door.
“Alex.” The way he whispered my name made my body warm even more.
“Yes?”
“You forgot your comm.” Instead of just handing it to me, he pushed the hair away from my ear. Peeling the paper away from the sticky area, he pushed the thing behind my ear. Then his fingers trailed down my jaw.
I tried to pretend like it was no big deal, but I couldn’t keep my traitorous body from trembling. “Thanks.” My voice sounded like I’d just drunk a shot of whiskey.
“You’re welcome.”
I stepped away again. “Okay then. I’m going to Montreal. I want to talk to Mr. McMurphy.”
“Tell him I said hello.”
“Sure. Well, you have a good evening.”
Have a good evening? What the hell is wrong with you? You just kissed the man, and he sent you into overdrive.
I touched the tattoos together before I could make a bigger fool out of myself.
CHAPTER 18
My mind wasn’t as focused as it should have been, and I skidded on my ass just behind the pub. Thank goodness no one witnessed the sudden arrival. I’d meant to land in the downstairs bar area.
This is what happens when you get all googly over some guy.
I brushed the snow off and took a look around. The door was locked, so I knocked. I could hear someone coming, but it wasn’t an old man’s shuffle. Sliding the crossbow from the harness, I held it behind my back.
The locks clicked open, and my body tensed. At first I didn’t recognize the woman who opened the door. She was tall with short auburn hair that hit at her chin, and she was dressed in an expensive leather jacket and pants.
“Oy,” she yelled behind her, “we’ve got company.” Her eyes glanced to the weapon behind me, and she smiled. “I’d say it’s one of your Guardian friends, Uncle.”
“Come in, lass, come in out of the cold,” Mr. McMurphy said from the darkness.
The woman stepped aside and waved me in.
“I’m Siobhan,” she said as I passed. “We haven’t seen each other since we were teens.” There had been a council meeting where all young Guardians of a certain age were inducted into service. Back then her hair had been waist-length and curly. She held out her hand, and I shook it. “And you would be Alex, if I read the trashy magazines correctly. I don’t, of course”—she winked—“read those things.”
“Good to see you,” I told her as I put the crossbow back in the harness.
As my eyes adjusted, I found Mr. McMurphy stitching the shoulder of another woman. This one had long, straight, coffee-colored hair with blonde streaks, which had been shoved to the side so he could sew up the long gash on her back. “Ouch,” I whispered.
“We were tracking a couple of Rusalki who were causing trouble in Malta. They jumped to Greenland, which is where we finally caught up with them.”
Rusalki were a nasty version of water nymphs.
“Gammy bitches.” The woman being stitched turned her head so she could see me. “I’m Niamh. Good to see ya.”
“We stepped into a trap of about thirty of them, and Niamh caught a claw there at the end.”
“Not used to fighting in water so cold it freezes your bones.” She grimaced as Mr. McMurphy finished the last stitch. “I’ll stick with my damn snakes in the jungle.” Talk about nasty, Niamh was responsible for ridding our planet of Figonas. They were serpentlike fairies, which were probably the original serial killers. No souls. I’d take my dragons over that any day.
“We left none behind, so I’d say it was a good day,” Siobhan added. “I noticed Nim was a bit gee-eyed, and since we were close, thought I’d see if Uncle could mend her. We’d also heard a rumor that there was a club nearby where evil liked to play.”
I wondered how they’d heard about Bells, which was supposed to be a big secret, according to my mother. “So much for the council keeping that under wraps.” I turned my attention to Mr. McMurphy, who grinned. “I was here to see you about the same thing. It’s protected by the same kind of magic this place is, and I wondered if you had something to do with that?”
He made a show of putting his instruments away. “If I did or didn’t, ’tis of no concern to you, lass.”
Cagey old man.
“Uncle, no disrespect, but if you are protecting evil, I, for one, would like to know.” Siobhan clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. “Perhaps you’d like to share with us what you know? That way I won’t have to kill you, which would surely piss off the rest of the family, especially Mum. Can’t say why, but she seems a bit partial to ya.”
He slid his body onto one of the wooden barstools. It took me a minute, but I noticed the place had been cleaned up. The musty smell was gone, along with the dust. “None of your business, nosy lasses.”
Before we could protest, he held up a hand. “I’m telling ya for your own good that you needn’t be concerned.”
We all stared at him.
“Fine. ’Tis my magic, but it’s not protecting so much as containing. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
“Not really. I know you helped the mages, but I was curious why you let me think you were some low-level guy.” I frowned at him. None of this added up. Was it possible this kind old man who had saved my life was actually one of the Manteros? “This place is also protected by really powerful magic. Yours. You let me think it had been done by someone else.”