The Detective Inspectors (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 4) (13 page)

I was so busy concentrating on all my problems that I never really considered what would happen if everything finally got settled. What would I do if there were no more bad guys to battle? Dad and I traveled the world for his magic act. I knew the entire show. I could do it blindfolded. I laughed since part of it was actually done blindfolded. I could always take on the mantle if I wanted to. But I wasn’t the showman Dad had been and I doubted I ever would be. Plus I’d grown accustomed to the world of the Old Kind. Maybe there was a place for me there with family, friends, a permanent home, and perhaps a good, lasting relationship. If not that, then what?

I stopped training, not that I had been doing much, and walked to my bag and dredged through it until I found my phone. I tapped the screen and scrolled through the numbers until I found the number I was looking for and took a deep breath. I hit the call button and put the phone to my ear.

“Hi, can we talk?”

Status: I am a glutton for punishment... no seriously I am.

I sat at the table and fidgeted in my seat, cursing the day I met Val. She was the reason I was wearing a dress, and I made a mental note to murder her when I got home tonight. My legs were cold and the high heels I wore made me feel like at any moment my ankles might snap. I would have given anything for my boots and hoodie right now.

If I wasn’t in the middle of a fancy restaurant that I had no business being at in the first place I would have opened my personal portal and grabbed my spare clothes. But I had no such luck tonight. I had done this to myself, letting everyone get to me about moving on and having a life. What the hell was wrong with my life, I liked being alone. I didn’t need some guy around telling me how to live.

But—no—I had caved to the pressure and agreed to a date. I made another note to check myself in the mirror and make sure that there were no strings attached to me that someone was pulling.

I didn’t know what to do with my hands. I laid them on the table but it seemed odd so then I placed them in my lap and felt uncomfortable. Then I decided that maybe I could make the utensils all fit perfectly alongside one another. So I played with them attempting to put them in what I imagined would be the perfect order in which I could use them to attack my date if he did pretty much anything I didn’t like.

“You look rather determined.” Declan stood over the table smiling down at me.

  I looked up at him in what imagined was a deer-in-headlights look. I would have been more at home just about anywhere other than here and I had a feeling it was obvious.

“Trying to pass the time.” I nodded toward the wall to the right of the entrance where a massive clock hung and the large hands pointed to half past eight. “I thought we were meeting at eight.”

He laughed. “Sorry about that, HVO business.”

“Anything interesting?”

“No, just a routine pick up.” He slid into the seat across from me, flagged down the waiter, and ordered himself a drink.

“So you make a habit of being late to dates?”

“Only for the beautiful ones.”

“Is that so?”

“You bet it is.” He smiled.

I leaned forward and laid it on the line. “Just to warn you in advance, your line of bull won’t get you very far with me.”

“Then it’s a good thing it isn’t bull.”

“Are you always in a good mood?”

“Most of the time, why?”

“It’s unnatural.”

“You think?”

“For me it is anyway. I’m used to a little less crazy happy all the time.”

“Maybe no one has ever given you reason enough to be happy all the time. We can work on that.” His hand brushed across mine.

 The image of Nightshade shot into my head and not just any image but the one where our hands met against the barrier that had kept me safe and left him vulnerable to the First Kind. Damn how I had ached to feel his touch. I suddenly got the feeling that I was betraying Nightshade, crazy as that was since he was dating, but I couldn’t handle the maddening thought right now.

I eased my hand away. “Let’s deal with dinner first.”

“Sounds good to me.” Declan waved over the waiter and we both ordered entrees, he got a pasta dish and I went for the steak.

 “Steak huh?”

“Yeah, what did you expect me to get a salad? I’m not some girlie girl just so you know.”

“I can see that.”

“Is that a problem for you?”

“No.”

“Good.” I smiled, trying to relax but having a hell of a time of it, and grabbed my napkin off the table and flipped it open dropping it across my lap.

“Anything on the search for Edgar?”

 Now this was a subject I was more comfortable with. Plus I needed to get Declan on board with our plans for Storm Reach, and I figured now was as good a time as any. Emory had given me the all clear signal for Declan. It didn’t appear that he’d been compromised like the upper echelon of HVO.

I knew though that if I did bring this up now, I might as well kiss our date goodbye. But finding Edgar was the most important thing, plus I was so damn uncomfortable I didn’t think there was a chance this date was going to go well anyway.

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

“That’s great.”

“That depends.”

“That bad?”

“He’s being kept in Storm Reach.”

“What?” Declan’s smile disappeared and he looked around like he expected someone to be watching us. He leaned in closer and whispered, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, we’ve confirmed the dimension location.”

“Damn it.” He fisted his hand and stopped just before slamming it into the table.

“You’re more angry than surprised. Why?”

 “Things have been weird for a while now. Everyone is being reassigned and HVO members have been going on secret missions and not returning. Then last week two of the longest serving members of the HVO Council resigned and were replaced with people only a few years older than me. There have been rumblings for awhile that something is going on.”

“Do you know DI Emory?”

“Yes, he went missing a few days ago, or did he?” He cocked an eyebrow as he asked the question.

“They tried to take him out; the HVO has been compromised. I’m sorry.” I reached across the table and grasped his balled fist.

 He opened it and took my hand, squeezing. “Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me.”

 I couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling. For the Old Kind, their Society was as close to family as one could find. To learn that they were infiltrated, or worse, is heartbreaking.

“This probably isn’t the type of date you expected. I didn’t know how else to tell you.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s not like there is ever a good time to tell someone news like that. At least now I know what the hell has been going on. I take it you have a plan?”

“I do and I’ll need your help making it happen.”

“You’ve got it.”

“Thank you, Declan,” I said relieved that I could rely on him.

He squeezed my hand and his lips curled up at the edges. “This doesn’t mean that you’re getting out of our date.”

“No, um, of course not.” I gulped and he chuckled. I had assumed that he wouldn’t want to continue on as if it was a normal date. Apparently my ability to be wrong was hitting new heights.

“You’re not very good at this are you?” He patted my hand.

 “That obvious?”

“A bit, yes and after dropping the bomb on me that my Society is consorting with the enemy, I believe etiquette demands that you show me the date of a lifetime. So you need to up your game.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes, most definitely, I could check the dating handbook but I am pretty sure about this one.”

“Who am I to go against the handbook on dating?”

“Exactly, I assume from here on out we have nowhere to go but up anyway.”

“Famous last words.”

“True, I shouldn’t tempt fate like that.”

“Especially around me.”

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s see, perhaps because every person around me tends to turn into a big walking target.”

“Good thing I know how to protect myself then.”

“Yeah, and I got your back.” I laughed happy for the moment. It had been a while since I had really enjoyed myself or anything for that matter. I hadn’t wanted to smile or laugh since Dad died but basically I hadn’t really been living. I should have known better. Dad would have never wanted me to stop living my life. Actually, he would have expected me to live it more fully.

 “Well with your reputation then, I think I’m in very good hands.”

“I’m that scary am I?” I joked.

“To some people very, you’ve earned a rather bad-ass rep.”

“Good, maybe that’ll keep you in line.”

 I don’t know what made me turn toward the entrance. It wasn’t a sound that had caught my attention, the place being busy with a mixture of people talking, laughing, and waiters taking orders. No, it was a sense of something that drew my attention there. A group of people had entered the restaurant, a mix of men and women dressed professionally, and with them was a young blond girl. My eyes drifted to and locked on one in particular... and my blood ran cold.

My mother had just walked in.

Status: I’ve lost it!

I was up and moving away from the table before Declan could say anything. My hand was around my Doorknob as I was maneuvered around the other patrons. The hostess had already shown the group to a table against a far wall. That worked well for me, since it boxed them in and gave me an escape route to the door or through the kitchen.

 My fingers tightened around my Doorknob but I didn’t activate it yet, I wanted to wait until the last moment. Mom was sitting at the head of the table with a woman on either side of her and the two men and the young girl sat on the other end.

I was only a few steps away when I flipped the switch on my powers. My rage was boiling and I poured it into my vessel. My first hit on them was going to be catastrophic. They felt the energy immediately as each of them began looking around and reaching for their own vessels.

“Chloe.” I heard Declan coming from behind me, but I didn’t care I was ending this now.

Mom turned to me, her hand around her neck grasping her Skeleton Key, her eyes flared at the sight of me.

Just as I was about to pull my Doorknob out, a hand grabbed my arm holding it in place and I looked back to see Declan behind me.

“Chloe, what are you doing here?” My mother’s voice was uneven almost shaky.

“You think you can talk to me normally after what you’ve done?” My voice dripped with venom as I yanked my arm away from Declan and prepared for a fight.

“DI Hardcastle, what’s the meaning of this?” The woman to the right of my mother asked.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Declan said quietly and I looked from him to her.

“No worries, Miranda,” my mother said. “Chloe has issues with me that are well known. But I don’t think anyone here wishes to see anything bad happen in such a crowded place. Imagine the number of innocents who might get hurt.”

 I followed my mother’s glance where it landed on the young blond girl sitting at the end of the table. Our eyes caught for a moment and I could see the fear in hers.

“Maybe you should just stay out of this, Miranda,” I said, finally turning away from the young girl.

“The HVO doesn’t stay out of disputes; it is our job to resolve them.”

 Miranda had eyes like ice, her voice was just as cold and it made me shiver. “You’re HVO?”

“Miranda Tarwynn, head of the HVO.”

 I bit my tongue and looked around the table. I didn’t recognize any of them but from the hard-core looks I was getting, I gathered they were all HVO.

“Then why in the hell isn’t she in shackles?” I pointed to my mother.

“Because, young lady, she called us and we are discussing the situation.”

 “Right, that’s what you’re doing.” I wanted to scream and throttle this woman but if I said too much they would realize that I knew they were all compromised.

“DI Hardcastle, what are you doing here?” Miranda asked turning to Declan standing beside me.

“We were having dinner, ma’am.”

“Perhaps then, you should get back to dinner and let the adults handle this.” Miranda sneered at him and that was all I needed.

“Lady, shut the hell up, I’m talking to this bitch, not you. And the last time I checked HVO doesn’t get to tell DS members what to do, unless you want to take that up with the Council.” Miranda’s eyes flared but I ignored her while my mother stifled a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand. “Something funny?”

“Not at all, you’re very serious.” Mom’s hand slid off her Skeleton Key and into her purse.

 I reached out with my abilities searching the spectrum to find out just what my mother was doing. “I take everything seriously since you killed my father.”

 She stiffened at the comment and pulled something out of her bag. “You’re mistaken, dear, I did no such thing.”

 She smiled at me. How the hell could she smile at me and how the hell could she deny that she had killed Dad? I fought the urge to punch her in the face. “So it was someone else who called him Eli and shot him in the chest?”

 My power soared, from anger, preparedness, whatever, I didn’t care; I needed it and it didn’t fail me. It expanded out and around the group. I could sense each of their vessels and a few other devices they were carrying but I centered myself on my mom. Whatever was in her hand was emanating a power that I recognized, a Forget Me Not.

 “Lies like that is what forced me to contact the HVO to clear my name.” She rolled the orb around in her hand and I finally could see it. She caressed it as if he was a devoted pet and grinned at me.

“Is that so?” I asked more calmly than I felt. That was the Forget Me Not that she used on Nightshade. It hadn’t been destroyed and was the reason he couldn’t remember me. And here she was tormenting me with it.

“Yes, dear, it is. Why would I ever hurt anyone?” She continued to cuddle the orb.

“Maybe we should go,” Declan whispered to me.

He was right, we should probably leave before I did something foolish, but I was never one to miss an opportunity to be foolish. But more importantly, I never missed an opportunity to rescue a friend, especially one I had fallen in love with. That orb could free Nightshade, I couldn’t leave without it.