"Hmm?" he said, catching my look.
"Your tie's crooked."
His hands flew up to adjust it.
"Here, let me." I stood on tiptoes to fix it. "You need to get some sleep tonight. In a real bed. We're moving to a hotel."
"Not until you're better."
"I am better," I said. "I look better, don't I?"
A small smile. "Better than better."
"Well, then—"
"Oh, look," a voice said behind me. "If it isn't the geek crusader."
Lucas stiffened. I stifled the urge to sling a fireball over my shoulder. Lucas didn't need this. A fireball would be justified. Inappropriate, but justified.
I turned to see a slim, well-built man in his early thirties, his model-caliber face marred by a sneer. Behind him stood William Cortez, which led me to hazard a guess at the identity of the younger man: Carlos.
"There must be a protest march going on somewhere," William said. "I'm sure they'd be more appreciative of your talents, Lucas. Leave the real work to the grown-ups."
I clenched my jaw to keep from reminding him who'd done the "real work" of bringing in the killer, and risked their lives to do so.
"Paige, you've met William," Lucas said. "And this is Carlos. Carlos, Paige. Now, if you'll excuse us—"
"Not bad, little brother," Carlos said as he checked me out. "Got to hand it to you. Better than I expected. You must have some hidden assets after all."
"Oh, Lucas has hidden assets," William said. "About five million of them, and that's just the guarantee. Hold out for the big gamble, and he has a half-billion more."
Carlos laughed. "No shit. That kind of dough, any loser can get laid, huh? A few blow jobs is a small price to pay for a shot at Cortez cash."
"Not necessarily," I said. "From what I hear, it can be too high a price." I met Carlos's gaze and smiled. "At least with some of the Cortezes."
His eyes hardened. "Like hell."
"If you say so."
I let Lucas lead me away. We'd gone about five steps when he leaned down.
"Dare I ask?" he whispered.
"Jaime."
He started to laugh, but choked it back. "Jaime and Carlos?"
"No," I said. "Jaime and
not
Carlos. She decided five million wasn't enough."
His laugh escaped then, a burst of laughter that made me grin and squeeze his hand. I glanced back to see Carlos glaring after us. Guess I hadn't made a new friend. Too bad.
"To be honest, I suspect it's far less than five million by now," Lucas said as we walked. "At the rate he goes through money, I'd say Carlos is down to about five dollars. He'll have to hold out for the inheritance."
"I thought five million was the inheritance."
"No, the trust fund." His lips curved. "Silence falls, as she refrains from stating the obvious, namely that her impoverished boyfriend is not as impoverished as she believed. Remember that next time you challenge me for paying cab fare."
Lucas pulled open the back door to the warehouse, and we stepped through into a lobby that would be the envy of any small-town courthouse. .A few people milled about, but Lucas looked neither left nor right, just led me toward a set of interior double doors.
"Somehow I suspect you're no more able to pay the cab fare now than you were ten minutes ago," I said. "No trust-fund-dipping from this Cortez. You could be kidnapped by demon guerillas and still refuse to use any of it for the ransom."
"True." He smiled down at me. "But if you're ever kidnapped, I'll make an exception."
A swarthy young man in a suit and cap appeared at Lucas's side. "Mr. Cortez, sir?"
"Yes?" Lucas said.
"I work for the St. Clouds. Mr. St. Cloud's driver."
"Rick, isn't it?"
The man smiled. "Yes, thank you, sir. I just wanted to say we appreciate it, what you did, catching this guy. Griffin's inside. He'll speak to you himself, but I wanted to add my thanks. And, uh—" His gaze flicked to the double doors. "To say there's a back way in there, if you'd rather take that."
"Back way?" I said.
"Uh, yes, miss. Past the others. The Nasts and a few of the St. Clouds are in the waiting area. There's another way into the courtroom. You and Mr. Cortez might be more comfortable using it."
"Thank you," Lucas said. "But we'll be fine."
"Yes, sir."
The man backed away and slipped into a side hall. I glanced up at Lucas's taut face. All the tension he'd expelled on our walk into the building had returned double-strength. Once we walked through those doors, it was only going to get worse.
Lucas needed a distraction. As I glanced down the two side halls, I had an idea. Highly inappropriate but, sometimes, a little impropriety is exactly what you need.
"Nearly forty-five minutes left," I said. "We'll be sitting all day. No need to rush in there."
"Do you feel well enough to take a short walk?"
"Not what I had in mind."
I tugged him toward the nearest side hallway. His brows lifted, but when I didn't answer, he followed. I turned at the first branch, walked to the third door and opened it. An office. I tried the fourth. Locked. A quick unlock spell and the door opened into a large storage closet.
I flicked on the light. "Perfect."
"Dare I ask?"
"If you have to ask, you really
are
tired this morning."
He hesitated, then smiled.
"Well?" I said, backing into the closet.
He strode through the door, kicked it shut behind him, and cast a lock spell. I stepped back, but he grabbed me and pulled me to him in a deep kiss.
"Damn," I said, gasping as I pulled back. "I've missed that, Cortez. Last night I was wondering how much weight my hospital bed held. Should've conducted a test."
"Perhaps tonight."
"Uh-uh. Tonight we're springing for a hotel and a bed for two."
"Are you sure you feel up to it?"
I showed him how up to it I felt. After a few minutes of kissing, I slid my hands between us, unbuttoned his shirt, and ran my hands down his bare chest.
"You know, Carlos got me thinking," I said. "If I'm going to be become a CEO wife—"
"Co-CEO, wasn't it?"
"Sorry. Co-CEO. It's going to cost me a lot of blow jobs, isn't it?"
Lucas laughed. "Yes, a lot, I'm afraid."
"Then these few days in the hospital have put me behind on my quota. I have some serious catching up to do." I traced a finger down his chest and slipped it under his waistband. "The doctor said no bending, but he didn't say anything about kneeling."
Lucas's breath caught.
I grinned up at him. "Well?"
"As loath as I am to refuse, you
are
still recovering." He reached down and hiked my skirt up to my hips, lips going to my ear. "May I suggest something less taxing for now?"
I pushed my skirt down. "Uh-uh. It's a blow job or nothing." I stepped backward toward the door. "Of course if you're not interested . . ."
He pulled me to him, then pressed my hand to his crotch. "Interested enough?"
"I'm not sure," I said, tracing my fingertips across the bulge in his pants. "It's a bit hard—"
"A bit?"
"—a bit
difficult
to tell." I undid his belt, then his slacks, and slid my hand inside. "Umm, let's see. Yes, I'd say that's interested enough."
I lowered myself to my knees and set about distracting him.
***
Afterward, we talked quietly, delaying our exit from the room. At 7:45, I pulled away.
"Fifteen minutes," I said. "We should get inside."
"In a moment." He kissed me. "I love you."
"Of course you do. You have to. It's the law."
A smile. "Law?"
"Any girl who gives a guy a blow job in a broom closet is entitled to at least one 'I love you.' Whether you mean it or not, you're morally and legally obligated to say it."
He laughed, then kissed the top of my head. "Well, I do mean it. You know that."
"I do. And I also know that if we don't get into that courtroom before the session starts, they'll have an excuse to not let us in at all."
Signed. Sealed. Delivered
As Lucas pushed open the door into the waiting area, a wave of appropriately somber conversation rolled out. Then it stopped and every head turned to watch us enter. There were at least a dozen men, ranging in age from mid-teens to post-retirement, all in suits that would have paid our rent for three months, and all of them sorcerers. It reminded me of the day I'd joined the previously all-male computer club in high school. One step through that door and the icy stares nearly froze me in my tracks.
Lucas, now feeling more himself, simply gazed about the room, nodded once or twice, then put his hand against the small of my back and propelled me through the crowd.
A straight-backed, silver-haired man in his seventies stepped into our path. My gaze snagged on the black band around his suit jacket arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "How dare you bring her here?"
"Paige, this is Thomas Nast, CEO of the Nast Cabal. Thomas, this is Paige Winterbourne."
Thomas Nast. My eyes returned to the black band on his arm. For his son, Kristof. This was Savannah's grandfather.
"I know perfectly well who she is, you—" He bit the word off with an audible click of his teeth. "This is a slap in the face to my family and I won't stand for it."
Lucas met the old man's glare with a level gaze. "If you are referring to the events leading to your son's demise, may I point out that your family was the instigator in the matter. By pursuing custody in such an unconventional manner, Kristof contravened intra-Cabal policy."
"My son is dead. Don't you dare imply—"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm stating fact. The escalation of events leading to Kristof's death was entirely of his own devising. As for his death itself, Paige played no role in it. If there had been any evidence to the contrary, you would have brought it forward at the inquiry this summer. Now, if you'll excuse us . . ."
"She is not going to sit in our courtroom—"
"If it weren't for her, none of us would be sitting in that courtroom. Good day, sir."
Lucas led me around Nast and through the next set of doors.
***
The courtroom seated maybe fifty people, tops, and was half-full when we entered. As Lucas looked around for good seats, a door at the front of the room opened and Benicio walked through. His timing was too perfect to be coincidental. He'd been waiting for us. Why, then, wouldn't he meet us in the other room and escort us past the Cabal gauntlet? Because he knew better. Lucas would not have appreciated his father protecting him from Thomas Nast and the others, for the same reason that Lucas refused to slip in the back door. Lucas chose his path, quite literally, and accepted the consequences of it.
Benicio caught Lucas's eye and waved him to an empty row right behind the prosecution bench. When Lucas nodded, a glimmer of surprise crossed Benicio's face. He hovered at the end of the aisle, as if not quite sure Lucas really intended to join him. We walked to the front and I slid in first, letting Lucas follow so he could sit beside his father.
"Good to see you, Paige," Benicio said, leaning over Lucas as we sat. "I'm glad you could join us. You seem to be making a speedy recovery."
"Not as speedy as she'd like," Lucas said. "But she's doing well."
"It may be a long day," Benicio said, and I steeled myself for a considerate "suggestion" that I forgo the trial. "If you need anything—a cushion, a cold drink—just let me know."
As I nodded my thanks, the front doors opened again and Griffin walked in, accompanied by Troy and a man I didn't recognize but could guess, by his size, was a fellow guard. Troy led Griffin to our row, where Benicio stood and ushered him in to sit with us. Troy and the other guard took seats on opposite ends of our row.
While Lucas and I talked to Griffin, both front doors opened almost simultaneously. Through one, Weber stumbled in, blinking at the sight of the crowded courtroom. He was dressed in a regular shirt and trousers. Although he wasn't handcuffed or chained, there was a gag across his mouth. That might seem cruel, but a druid's power is the ability to call upon his deities, so the gag was an understandable precaution.