The Naughty List (29 page)

David practically heard the Baal grinding his teeth. “Negotiating with me, Salazar? Here’s my counteroffer. You get a quick death instead of a slow agonizing one.”

Brian stepped forward before the kulkucan ended up as an oily splotch against the wall. “You won’t get off scott free, but I’ll speak to the wardens. I promise the sentence will be just. You have the word of the Santa.” Salazar visibly relaxed.

“However,” Brian’s voice grew cold, “if you hesitate and don’t tell us all you know now, and Anthony kills again, then as far as I’m concerned you were never in this cell, either.” The kulkucan shot the Baal an anxious glance before nodding glumly.

“How did Anthony make the shield?” Dominic demanded.

“I don’t know. I swear,” he said, trembling at the look of disbelief on the Baal’s face. Salazar motioned to the chain around his neck. “He made us wear these and told us not to take them off. He said they keep our actions hiourook dden.”

David opened The Book. “Ernesto Salazar.” The pages flipped rapidly to the kulkucan’s name. He was Naughty-listed like the others, but the last entry was several weeks ago. “Take off the chain and toss it to the Baal.” Salazar did as told. The instant the gold left his neck words swirled in a dizzying spiral around the paper. Abruptly, they stopped. Ernesto Salazar’s entry updated; the heading at the top now luminescent red instead of pink. David skimmed through the new paragraphs. “You were a naughty boy, Ernesto.”

“Ernesto Salazar,” The Book intoned, “stole a silver skeleton head pendant from Earl’s Title and Pawn in Decatur, Georgia, on November—”

“Thanks. I’ll get back to you.” He closed The Book. “The wardens should hear the rest from Ernesto himself.”

With guards flanking the prisoner, they marched off to the great hall. The Baal remained silent until they exited the prison. “I suppose,” he muttered though clenched jaws. “I owe you both an apology.”

“I truly hoped for your undying love,” quipped Brian, “but an apology will do.”

The Baal uttered an incomprehensible grunt, either an apology or a curse. David wasn’t sure which, but didn’t care. Finally, the Baal stood on their side. With Ernesto Salazar’s confession to back them up, the wardens would listen. The vote for action would swing in their direction. David reveled in quiet satisfaction, one step closer to bringing Pearce to justice.

As David expected, the Integral meeting was long and loud. Word spread in a flash about Salazar’s capture and the gallery filled up quickly. After the sentence was handed down and the prisoner led away, the wardens called for a recess. David shouldered his way through the crowd toward Billy and the others. Cupids were sent to bring them all back immediately to New York.

They clustered in a corner. No one came to congratulate them on the capture. As a matter of fact, most Integrals pointedly avoided them.

“Change comes slowly.”

Startled, the E.L.F. spun around to see the Baal behind him. “They captured a criminal,” he protested.

“They defied tradition,” countered the demon.

“So did I.”

“You have close ties to the wardens. People will excuse your actions, long before they excuse theirs. What did you expect? A parade?” Before striding off, he suddenly leaned in and said, “Be careful their situation doesn’t rub off on you, or you’ll never accomplish anything else.”

David didn’t know what surprised him more; the Baal offering advice or that the words were sound. To his dismay the realization came when he put together this crazy plan, how much others were affected.

The stoic group of comrades huddled together. They knew. No matter the brave faces, they were all painfully aware of suddenly becoming pariahs. David clenched his jaw. They suspected the result from the beginning, but said nothing. He made a quick decision. After all they did for him, he wouldn’t abandon his friends. He would find a way to help.

****

Rosalie hadn’t seen David for two days. She received a cryptic text he was unreachable, but safe and would contact her as soon as possible. Grace phoned in the morning with the news of Salazar’s capture.

“He called Brian to meet him at the prison with The Book. They made Salazar confess to the wardens. Brian said David was all right, but banged up a bit.”

“What about Anthony?”

“Escaped, but they have one of the shields now and Dominic is certain he can create a way to disable it.”

Rosalie spent a fretful night jerking awake every hour or so in anticipation of a phone call or a text from the E.L.F. Neither came. She still received no news from David by the time she arrived at Penrose’s and jumped every time the phone rang. Deep in thought, Rosalie barely noticed the
poof.

“Oh, hey, Natalie.” A guilty look flashed across her face. “I didn’t finish all the reading assigned for last night.”

“I understand. I popped in to tell you I heard the news about the kulkucan’s capture. Your E.L.F. is making quite a name for himself.”

Rosalie flashed a smile. “My E.L.F. I like the sound of that. Only…” A shadow crossed her face. “I haven’t heard from him. He was in a big fight. Brian said he was okay, but—”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine,” fluttered the cupid, “and will dash-away in at any moment.”

Rosalie pushed back from the desk and stretched. “I could use a cup of coffee. Let’s go to the break room.”

As they left the office corridor, Rosalie noticed the cupid’s gaze strayed off to Christmas Land. Santa was on a break, but Ross manned the cash register. He saw Natalie and waved hello. She waved back. The corner of her eyes crinkled as her lips parted in a smile.

That several more unicorns made their way into Ms. Jankowski’s collection did not escape Rosalie’s notice. As their relationship improved, Rosalie toyed around with another creative idea to procure even more alone time with David. Natalie knew how to act around humans. None of Penrose’s staff suspected her of being more than a management consultant. Maybe the time had come to test the waters with this Integral-employment thing.

Rosalie cleared her throat. “Actually, Natalie, I’m glad you’re here. I had a thought, and wondered if you’d like a job at Penrose’s.”

The cupid gaped at her. “A job? But I have a job.”

“My offer won’t interfere with your cupid duties for the wardens and might even make your assignment easier. We’re terribly short-handed, especially in Christmas Land.” Rosalie managed an innocent look. “Why, I remember now that even you noticed.” She glanced at Ross, and put on a show of concern. “Poor man. He never complains, but is so overworked. Stress is bad for a Santa. I thought, perhaps, you might consider working with him a few hours a day.”

“With Ross?” she fluttered. “I mean, Mr. Kilpatrick?”

“Yes. He needs an assistant. You’d be in Christmas Land near my office and able to observe all the comings and goings. And,” she sweetened the pot, “you get the employee discount.”

“Oh,” she said, the word coming out as a sigh. “The discount is very nice, of course.” Her gaze drifted back toward Christmas Land. “We certainly don’t need a stressed out Santa during the holidays, now do we?”

“Then you’ll help?” Rosalie prodded. Without waiting for an answer, she took the cupid by the elbow and ushered her firmly over to Ross. “Great news! Natalie will be joining you in Christmas Land. Why don’t you take a minute to show her around? She and I will fill out the paperwork later.”

His face lit up. So did the cupid’s.

Rosalie backed away and made a hasty retreat for her office, before Natalie remembered she hadn’t assigned any additional homework for this evening. Coffee c
ould wait.

“I saw that. Bucking for Ms. Jankowski’s job?”

“David!” Rosalie squealed. The E.L.F. stood outside the entrance to the office corridor. She threw herself at his open arms. “Are you all right?” He had bruises on each arm and a nasty welt under one eye.

“I’m fine.” He kissed her and then nuzzled her ear. “Damn, you smell good.”

“Dutch apple pie. Miss Lu’s special today. Is Ramesh, okay? Grace said he was shot.”

“He’ll be fine.” David motioned toward Christmas Land with a smirk. “Will you assign Ross pop quizzes on Integral history, now, too?”

“Hey, I’m no cupid. I’m just—”

“—getting creative? I’m glad you feel that way.” He kissed her again and led the way inside her office. “Because I have a teensy little problem for you to solve.” Two hellhounds, a shiva, and a medusa clustered around her desk.

Billy greeted her cheerfully. “Hey, Rosalie. We heard Penrose’s is hiring.”

Chapter Seventeen

She shot David a puzzled look. “Say what?”

The E.L.F. pulled out a chair. “Sit down. I’ll explain.” He filled her in on all the details about the hunt for Anthony.

Rosalie soaked in every word, poised on the edge of her seat with excitement. “So Salazar talked?”

“For hours,” Sadhri snorted. “He wouldn’t shut-up until the Baal threatened to beat him senseless with a chair.”

“He was sentenced to five years in prison for the robberies,” David informed her. “He’s no longer a threat. More importantly, the wardens gave permission to use any means necessary to bring Pearce, Kaplan, and Darby to justice. All Integrals will be on alert. Plenty of people are scanning police reports and news feeds.”

“After David took Salazar to New York we did a thorough search of the house,” Billy said. “They left all their loot behind.”

“Any idea where they’re headed?” Rosalie asked.

“No, but that night a car was stolen a block away from their house and someone broke into a nearby pharmacy and lifted cash and painkillers without being spotted on camera. Sadhri dislocated Pearce’s shoulder, so he must be hurting.”

“Will he go to an ER?”

“Not necessary. Integrals heal quickly. Pearce may lie low for a little while to rest, but eventually one of the three will slip up again and we’ll get a new lead. Meanwhile, Dominic is working to nullify their shields.”

“That’s great. Anthony will be in custody in no time.”

Odd. She sensed a distinct lack of enthusiastic responses from the group. “What’s the problem?”

David motioned to the others standing around. “I asked them to do something strictly illegal.”

“Hey, man,” Billy protested. “We volunteered. Each one of us knew the consequences.”

A horrible thought struck Rosalie. “You won’t be sent to prison, will you?”

“We’re not in as much trouble as that,” Sadhri said. “But our actions ruffled some feathers. We used powers in public and tracked down seemingly innocent Integrals without authorization.”

“Not to mention a rogue hunt with Integrals other than hellhounds,” Sonia spit out. “The other packs were less than pleased.”

“They pretty much t

“The same may be said for the treatment of Sadhri and Carlos at HQ,” said David.

“Yeah,” Carlos added. “You know the situation is bad when even the Baal defends our actions.”

Rosalie blinked. “He did?”

“All the way,” Billy said.

David grinned impishly. “We didn’t exactly kiss and make up, but Dominic gave us his total support.”

“We had a good old shouting match with the other wardens,” Billy added, “until David suggested bringing us here.”

David shot her a guilty look. “I didn’t mean to dump our problems in your lap.”

“No, no,” Rosalie assured him. “It’s okay, but what can I do?”

“Until I get another lead on Anthony I thought maybe you could find them jobs.”

Rosalie’s eyes went wide. “You’re serious?”

“They all worked under the auspices of the wardens in one way or another. Now they have no place to go. No one will hire them. Even if they did, it’s best for them to stay out of New York for a while.”

“It’s best for David, too,” added Billy with concern. “Admit facts, man. We’re constant reminders you went behind their backs.”

The E.L.F. shrugged. “I can handle the flack.”

“No one doubts that,” asserted Carlos, “but our problem is an unnecessary distraction for you while Pearce roams around out there.”

Sadhri stared glumly at the wall. “I find it hard not to be useful. I worked private security all my life. I’m good at my job but,” she straightened up, “maybe it’s time for a change. I could run a cash register. I guess.”

“I don’t want to go back to guard the prison,” Carlos grumbled. “There must be something else to do with my life. Brian and Grace always said they wanted to offer other options to Integrals. So, give me another option.”

“Me too,” chimed in Sonia. “Nothing is the same since Liang died. The other packs don’t trust us to hunt with them, and they don’t trust us to hunt without a pack leader. We’re shut out.” Her gaze dropped. “We’re alone.”

David looked ill at ease. “I know Mom and Dad talked about a slow addition of Integrals into Penrose’s workforce, but they need help now. What do you say?”

Rosalie floundered. Grace assured her she’d ease into the placements with help after the New Year. All Rosalie did so far was steer a cupid into Christmas Land and she had no clue how Ms. Jankowski would work out. Now a roomful of Integrals looked expectantly to Rosalie for help. What on earth could she do with a bunch of seasoned warriors in an upscale department store during the latter part of the holiday rush?

A nebulous idea formed.
Oh, no…you don’t possibly think…that is beyond a creative solution…that is completely and totally mental.

Billy regarded her with sympathy. “Don’t worry, Rosalie.” He turned toward the door. “We shouldn’t be here. We’ll be fine.”

Sadhri blocked his advance. “Alone? Without a pack?”

Billy tried an off-handed shrug. “We’re most of a pack. Ramesh will be back on his feet soon. He’ll join us.”

For once the implacable shiva’s tone tempered with concern. “Youonc a pac won’t go anywhere without me. I promised your mother, I’d keep an eye on you.”

“You offering to become the new pack leader?” he teased. “A shiva is not protocol.”

“The hell with protocol,” Carlos grumped. “I’ll go with you, too. We’ll find something together.”

Rosalie drew a deep breath. “Actually…” The Integrals swung their heads sharply around. “Leaving isn’t necessary. If you’re interested, I need good people in the security office.”