The shrug was automatic as I tucked my wallet back into the messy depths of butter-soft leather. “Discretion keeps people like you handing back the permits.” It’s why I pay big bucks for custom blazers. Nobody’s supposed to notice the gun, and I keep it holstered until needed. It wasn’t needed today. “Oh, and you might consider junking up the aisle next to jewelry. It’s a pretty attractive target.”
He nodded and started to walk at a brisk pace toward the exit, probably to turn over the gun to the cops.
I turned to where Emma was swearing under her breath, apparently realizing that she hadn’t predicted the robbery attempt—a hard thing for a clairvoyant. But hey, not every event is worth a vision. I don’t know why she stresses over it. “I’m going to need something to eat … and soon. I got a little twitchy just now. Let’s hit the juice bar when we’re done here.”
The three of us have started using “twitchy” to signify that I wanted to chomp on someone’s neck. It sounds a little less threatening to people on the street. “Here you go.” Dawna, bless her heart, pulled a bottle of a meal replacement shake from inside her tiny purse, where it should never have been able to fit. But she always manages to find handbags that resemble TARDISes in their ability to hold more things than they should. Sadly, the drink was banana flavored. I loathe bananas.
“Thanks, but I’d rather wait for something not so…”
“Eww, banana. How can you stand those things?” Emma and I shared more than a few tastes, which I was discovering now that I was getting to know her better. We’d been friendly acquaintances for a while, but it wasn’t until our shared friend Vicki Cooper was murdered recently that we’d gotten close.
“Maybe you’d prefer chocolate.” The voice behind me froze me in my tracks and the appearance of a bottle of chocolate Ensure over my shoulder made me shudder. The man who owned the bland, helpful voice was neither bland nor helpful. People disappeared when he was around. Unfortunately, I owed him for saving my life. He managed to make sure I wasn’t staked and beheaded after the bat attack and covered my butt later when I needed it.
I still didn’t know why.
“Thanks, Jones.” I kept my voice blandly pleasant. I didn’t trust the man as far as I could throw him and had no plans to ingest anything that had ever been in his possession. But I took the bottle, over the wide-eyed objections of my friends, who were vigorously shaking their heads and mouthing the word “no” at me.
I wanted to prove a point. Smiling, I gave the bottle a little squeeze, just a little gentle pressure. Just as I expected, one side sprang a leak. What a shock. I turned to see Jones smiling at me. He’s not much to look at—not handsome or ugly, neither tall nor short, he moves with easy grace that’s not threatening. He’s the kind of man who would easily disappear in a crowd. Literally. Not only did he have mind magic, but I’d actually seen him disappear—a trick only the strongest mages seem to be able to manage. I returned his smile and handed back the soggy bottle. “So, what’d you inject into in it, Jones? Would I keel over dead in a few minutes or just pass out in traffic and roll the car?”
Emma was glaring at him now. She didn’t like him, even if her brother Kevin worked with him.
He put a hand over his heart and offered a hurt-puppy face. “You wound me, Graves. Can’t you believe it’s just a defective bottle?”
I let out a small chuckle. “That depends. If I pour it on a potted plant, will it sizzle like stir-fry?”
“Ooh,” he said appreciatively. “No, but that’s an interesting image. All this would do would make the plant damp.” At my raised brows he added, “Well, honestly, plants don’t really sleep, do they?”
Knockout drug. Okay. “So, why are you here, Jones? Or is this something you do for entertainment on the weekends—take time off of killing to wander around the mall offering women mickeys?”
He smiled and it made him actually stand out. He would probably clean up well. He noticed himself in the mirror behind me and turned the smile off like he was flicking a switch. “I shouldn’t find you as entertaining as I do, you know. Dangerous for both of us. But you should already know why I’m here. Unless … Emma hasn’t done as she promised.”
Dawna and I turned as one to stare at Emma. “You’re working with Jones? What the hell, Emma!”
She glared at him again, but he was nonplussed. Then she turned back and met my eyes. “I’m not working with him. And I didn’t make any promises. I asked him for help. I wanted to ask you, Celia, but I … I was afraid.”
Okay, that hurt. “I’ve worked really hard so you would never be afraid of me, guys.”
Her slender arms crossed over her chest and her eyes went to the floor at my feet. “I know; I know. It’s just…”
Jones let out an annoyed sound. “He’s going to be dead before you finally get around to spitting it out, you know. We’re already hours late and sneaking in is only going to get tougher after dark.”
His words were soft but utterly serious. I turned my head and my friends did as well. “Who will?”
His hands were tucked in his pockets, casually. But his eyes … those eyes held anger, worry, and something dark and dangerous that I wouldn’t want to cross. Ever. He raised his chin toward Emma and I felt my stomach tie in knots. “Her brother. Still want to shop?”
Oh, fuck a duck.
2
A pained sound from Emma forced me to turn her way. I almost wished I hadn’t. How could I stare into her terrified face and still tell Jones no? Because I wanted to. I was angry beyond words at Kevin. He and his father had kidnapped me, trussed me up, and offered me up to a demented siren who wanted me dead. Yes, Emma’s life had been at stake, and yes, they had had a plan to save us both. But I would have volunteered to help if they’d only asked. I was still hurt and insulted at their behavior, especially since I’d considered Kevin and Warren to be two of my closest friends.
Now I knew why Emma had been so hesitant all day. She’d rightly assume my first instinct would be to say no. Plus, Kevin’s a werewolf as well as a black-ops commando. There isn’t much he can’t handle. I couldn’t imagine what I could do that he couldn’t do for himself. Still …
“What happened?”
Instead of answering, Jones turned and walked away. I was guessing he didn’t want to discuss whatever it was in the middle of the store, which made sense. I followed at his heels and Emma and Dawna followed me in turn. Our own little parade, without the floats.
The sun was right in our eyes as we opened the door. Damn. I’d thought it was earlier than that. Had we really been shopping long enough for sunset to approach without my noticing?
Jones walked straight to a nondescript gray sedan at the edge of the parking lot. I caught up to him so we didn’t look like we were playing crack the whip. “Jingle Bells” was playing from loudspeakers outside the store. Cool ocean winds and my ever-present flock of seagulls made the whole situation totally surreal. Even Jones looked up to watch the white birds swooping and dancing in the air above our heads.
“You have a very weird life, Graves. Did the gulls follow you before the siren blood activated?”
I shook my head. “The most attention seagulls paid to me before was to poop on my car. Can you see why me sneaking up on anything is impossible? My freaking feathered entourage goes everywhere. Can’t someone else help you with this?”
“I’ve already tried everyone else.” Emma caught up to us; she sounded both frustrated and afraid. “I had a vision last night. One of the strongest since I saw the vampires attacking you in the alley. I didn’t even know Amy had been captured, but Kevin went to get her out. She made it out safely, but they caught Kevin. Unfortunately, I didn’t know where he was—who they were. I just saw bars and heard screaming. I asked Dad, but he couldn’t find out anything. So … well, Jones was all I could think of.”
“And I found him. But there’s no chance of getting him out without your help.”
My head shook of its own accord. “I find that hard to believe and it’s even harder to believe that Kevin would want me involved.”
Emma smacked me on the shoulder, so apparently she was no longer afraid of me. “Celia! If Kevin needs help, we have to help him. He’d do the same for us.”
I didn’t let my jaw drop in shock, even though the comment deserved it. I didn’t even laugh sarcastically. Instead, I took a deep breath and let it out slow. For you, Emma. He’d move the world for you. Not us. I knew exactly where I stood with him—somewhere slightly lower than dirt.
I was still so angry with him, so hurt. Part of me wanted him to suffer. But another part, which I prayed every day was still the larger portion, wanted to rise above the pettiness and show Kevin and his father, Warren Landingham, what true friendship was. But it had only been three weeks since the night they’d betrayed me, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face them.
Jones was watching me with an odd expression. He leaned on the car door and crossed his arms over his chest. “I have to admit you’ve surprised me, Graves. I expected I’d have to hold you back, not convince you to help. Can you at least tell me where he is in the facility?”
I felt myself rear back in surprise and the looks Dawna and Emma gave me said they were clueless as well. “What facility? How am I supposed to know where he is?”
Jones raised his brows like he didn’t believe me. Apparently he believed I was kidding and was about to announce that I’d take him straight to Kevin. But that wasn’t going to happen. I stared at Jones while the sun continued to lower and my stomach growled. My gaze moved from his eyes to his neck. His body started to glow faintly and I felt my breathing growing shallow and my muscles tensing. He very carefully didn’t move, but his center of gravity shifted just a bit, preparing.