Magic after midlife omni.., p.60
Magic After Midlife Omnibus, page 60
My hands clenched into fists. Let one atrocity deal with another?
“And if you wouldn’t respect your blood,” Oliver continued, ignoring the dangerous charge of energy rolling off Laurent, “then you didn’t deserve to…” He looked at Laurent and swallowed.
“Live?” Laurent prompted in a cold voice. When Oliver nodded, the wolf shifter strode toward him. “You’re not noble, Anderson. You’re nothing more than a garden variety racist.” His French accent was more pronounced, his disdain fairly dripping off him. “You’re also a coward. A real man would have come after me directly.”
Oliver whipped out a hand and flicked his fingers.
Laurent’s shirt tore open like he’d been raked across the chest by large claws.
I covered my mouth with my hand—was this how Raj had died? Had he processed what was happening? I hoped it had all been over too fast for any fear or suffering on Raj’s part.
Had Laurent looked the slightest bit perturbed, I’d have jumped in to help, but he didn’t stop prowling forward. He even swiped a finger across one of the bloody gashes and licked it off, his face lighting up with his slightly unhinged smile. “Did you really think you’d get away with this?” he said.
“With upholding our bloodlines?” Oliver said. “Yes.”
Blood streamed out of Laurent’s nose and ears. He roared in pain, but didn’t stop moving forward.
Dropping my mesh, I sent Delilah jumping across the railing to crack Oliver across the jaw.
He staggered back, rubbing his jaw and blinking at my appearance. That was mildly satisfying, but kicking him in the balls while he begged for mercy would be better.
“Laurent went easy on you,” I said. “I won’t.”
Oliver flicked his hand.
An uncomfortable heat speared through me and I stuck out my tongue, panting to cool it, the fine layer of saliva feeling like it was boiling.
“We hunters should have killed you all.”
I couldn’t speak due to my tongue feeling like it had been thrust into a witch’s cauldron, but Delilah launched a flurry of attacks to break his concentration.
Oliver raised his hands like a conductor…
… and fell to the ground convulsing.
The heat and swelling immediately disappeared, but my tongue was lightly scalded. I ran around the staircase in time to catch Eli pull the Taser probes off of Oliver.
“That’s two counts of attempted murder.” Detective Chu was in the house.
I put a foot on Oliver’s prone body. “Make him confess to killing Raj.”
“That’s not how this works, Mir.”
Oliver stopped spasming and curled into a pathetic ball.
“Did you hear what he said?” I glared at my ex. “He hunted Banim Shovavim.”
“I heard.” He kneeled on the Lonestar’s back, handcuffing him.
“At least rough him up a bit,” I said.
Eli shot me a look of exasperation.
Laurent jerked his chin at Eli. “Nice silver cuffs, but he’s not a werewolf.”
Eli grinned. “Eh, I’m sure I’ll get a chance to use them on one.”
Jeez.
“You Saps can’t do shit to me,” Oliver spat, uselessly trying to avail himself of his magic, which was somehow contained. “Even if there was something to prove, it’s magic. Saps can’t take that to court.”
“That’s true about the way the vic was killed. But funny thing,” Eli said. “I got an anonymous tip today about the primary murder site and sent the forensics team in to examine the SUV in question. They found a hair that I bet will be a match. That same call put me on to you and I just witnessed you attack two people. That’s enough to bring you in.”
Laurent laughed.
“That vehicle was detailed. You planted it,” Oliver said.
Eli wrenched Oliver’s arms up behind his back. “Watch what you accuse me of. I’m not crooked.”
“No one planted it,” I said. “It really was found. Tatiana held off from detailing the car until she learned who the murderer was.”
“My dear aunt.” Laurent tapped his head. “Always thinking of an angle.”
A police siren drew closer and then cut off outside the hotel, the red flashing light strobing through the dirty front windows.
Eli yanked Oliver to his feet. “That’s Detective Tanaka and our ride.”
The side door opened, but it wasn’t Eli’s partner.
“How could you, Oliver?” Ryann had entered, her upbeat energy muted.
“Ryann, I’m innocent.”
“You have no idea how badly I wanted to believe that.” Ryann grasped Oliver’s wrist and pushed up his sleeve, revealing that familiar gold star tattoo.
Oliver struggled, but between Ryann and Eli, he was held fast.
Laurent leaned in, watching the proceedings with the same anticipatory gleam I expect I displayed.
We’d done it. One corrupt Lonestar had been brought down and despite all odds, this Banim Shovavim had gotten the justice she’d sought. I sent Raj the thought that he could rest in peace now.
Oliver stopped struggling, his face going pale. “No, come on.”
Ryann pressed her thumb to his tattoo and Oliver screamed. The gold star flickered brightly, then blew away, leaving unblemished skin. Twinkle, twinkle, little star… the hunter becomes the prey… another star is snuffed out.
I shivered in delight. “Ooh, that was good.”
Laurent huffed a laugh.
Oliver glared at his boss. “Lonestars stick together.”
“We’re supposed to,” she said in a quiet voice. “But you taught me that I have to do what’s right, not what’s easy.”
He looked at her, stricken. “Ry.”
“It’s over,” she said.
Eli pulled me aside.
“I don’t want to miss this,” I protested.
Laurent was speaking quietly to Ryann, while Oliver hung his head in the face of her disappointment.
“I’m a shit,” Eli said.
“Oh. Okay. Go on.”
“Your friend saw what I’d been overlooking for years because it did make my life easier. Through our marriage, our divorce, raising Sadie, you, Miriam Feldman, have been remarkable. Even if I didn’t know about the magic, I let you sacrifice your dreams to be there for our family. And I am so, so sorry.” He crossed his heart. “This may take me time, but I’ll support this new chapter of your life.”
I hugged him. “Jude knows a good Ohrist therapist we can see. We did pretty well in therapy when we broke up. We’ll ace this, too.”
He looked at me anxiously. “Are we good?”
“We are.”
Ryann finished speaking with Laurent and waved Eli over. “Take him away, Detective Chu.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Eli winked at her, then touched my arm. “My apology is complete.”
I notched my chin up. “There will still be recompense in dessert form.”
“We’ll see.” He led Oliver away, but right before he walked out the door he called back, “I’ll get these nulling cuffs back to you soon, Junior. Thanks for coming through with them.”
My mouth fell open. Eli had planned this? Even when he was angry with me? Wait… that meant…
“Did you know the whole time?” Laurent asked before I could. His composure reminded me of Zev’s, and I moved next to him, not to chide him, because his anger was justified, but to let him know I had his back. He didn’t take his eyes off the Lonestar, but his shoulders lost some of their stiffness.
“I wasn’t completely certain.” Ryann gestured at me. “Why do you think I pressed you for the satchel? If you had it and Oliver didn’t, then he wasn’t guilty.”
“Right, the BS must be a killer,” I sneered.
Ryann’s eyes sparked dangerously. “I wanted my partner to not have done it. The man who took me under his wing when I was a rookie, who mentored me and supported my bid to become head Lonestar. Beyond that, I didn’t care who the guilty party was.”
I’d been angry for the five minutes that I believed Laurent had done it. If a mentor and close friend had used their position for their own twisted beliefs, I’d do anything to find proof they were innocent.
“You used me and you let Laurent be arrested, knowing he wasn’t guilty.”
Laurent crossed his arms, regarding Ryann with a stony stare.
“I was going to give Eli the thumb drive, not as blackmail, but because it’s hard to overcome that perception filter.” She ran a finger absently over her own star tattoo, her tone wistful. “I know because when my Ohrist mom died, my dad didn’t see my magic for a long time.” She shook off thoughts of the past. “You have every reason not to trust me or any Lonestar,” she said, “but I’m on your side. One day, I hope you see that.”
I hoped so too, since it might be nice to have a Lonestar in my corner, though I doubted Laurent would forgive her anytime soon. “Maybe don’t do your magic chakra hurting thing anymore,” I said sullenly. “That would be a good start.”
Ryann laughed.
“Anderson will never get to trial.” Laurent collapsed on his sofa. The bleeding had stopped, but he looked haggard. “Not if Mitzi cut a deal with BatKian.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Eli wraps up this case and you and I are free. I didn’t violate the prime directive.”
“I know.” Ryann smiled evilly. “I did.”
Laurent whistled.
“Huh.” I sat down on the bottom stair. “I wondered why Oliver let the body be found by Sapien police. Despite his other actions, he seemed like the kind of guy who took the prime directive seriously.”
“He did arrange for an Ohrist to find it. The call was kicked up to me the second it came in,” Ryann said. “But it bothered me. With the ratio of Sapiens to Ohrists, one of our people happened to find a body in the middle of the forest? A body that had been killed recently enough it was still fresh and was likely a magic crime? What were the odds? So I called Dad.”
“That buys you some points, Lonestar,” Laurent said. His eyes were closed and he rested his head back against the sofa cushions.
The Deputy Chief Constable at the Vancouver police department who put Eli on the case. “Will your father be in trouble for this prime directive thing?”
“No, since I enlisted his help. I have leeway on the prime directive if I act for a greater good. Since this all seemed fishy, I intended to panic the killer by having it exposed to Sapiens. But with the way things turned out, magic will stay hidden. Oliver will be given an Ohrist lawyer who’ll go for an insanity plea deal.”
“BatKian will take him before he serves his sentence,” I said.
Oliver’s end would be painful and bloody, and I felt nothing except satisfaction that he’d been caught. He’d been willing to pervert justice because of his disgusting prejudices around bloodlines, so dying at Zev’s hands, whom he’d perceive as another atrocity, was fitting.
“The best outcome for all concerned.” Her perky smile flickered, and despite my lingering anger, I gave her a sympathetic smile, which she returned with a nod. “Until next time, Miriam.”
“May it be a long time from now.”
“Hey,” Laurent said, not lifting his head off the couch cushion. “You owe me.”
“I’ll pay up. Promise.” Humming, Ryann left.
“Pay up how?” I said.
“Destroy Ghost Minder.” Yawning, he opened his eyes. “I’m glad that’s finally over.”
I pasted on a bright smile. “Yeah. Me too.” I paused, thinking of Fred and the demon parasite and all the directions that danger came from in the magic world. “Do you not have wards?”
Not that it would surprise me if he didn’t, but he assured me he did.
“Then how did Oliver break into your house? What’s the point of them if they don’t keep danger out?”
Laurent stretched out his shoulders. “If you invite someone in who you know intends to harm you, then you need to reset against that person again before their next visit. I let the Lonestars in when they came to arrest me, knowing the visit wouldn’t turn out well.” He dug his thumb into a spot on his neck with a sigh. “I didn’t get a chance to reset before Oliver came back today.”
I frowned. “Is it a big deal to reset?”
“Not at all. You say a couple of words and it does a kind of factory reboot.” Laurent yawned.
“Awesome. Well, I’ll let you get some rest.”
Wincing, Laurent got up. “I’ll walk you out.”
“That’s not necessary.”
He ignored me. “I’ve never told anyone that I have Banim Shovavim magic.”
We stopped next to the side door.
“Are you ashamed?” I said.
“Yeah. I care so desperately for other people’s approval.”
I nodded sagely, relief coursing through me that my magic didn’t disgust him. “If you could only believe in yourself. You’d shine like the special snowflake you are.”
He snorted. “I just…” He flicked a finger between us, his expression serious. “I like having this in common.”
“Me too,” I said softly.
“My champion of all that’s fair.” His whiskey-soaked voice intoxicated me.
I swayed toward him like a flower to the sun, my fingers barely twitching away from pressing against him. “Yeah, I think I’m supposed to get a token for all my hard work.”
“Vraiment?” His lazy grin set butterflies loose in my chest. “None of that ‘good deeds are their own rewards’?”
Was I reading this wrong? I blushed. “No, of course, I was happy to do it. So, I should be going.” Immediately. I gave a laugh that sounded forced. “I could sleep for about a year.”
“Same.” He rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. “Though I should shower first.”
I was a simple woman and simple visuals worked well for me, like Laurent wet, naked, and steamy. I swallowed, thinking bland olfactory thoughts because a jolt of heat had shot up through my core. “Definitely you should. Okay, then.”
Laurent’s gaze sharpened.
My heartbeat picked up and I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, my eyes locked on his.
He tilted his head, his lips parting and—
The door crashed open.
“Helllooooo roomie!” Emmett strutted in, waving his cane like a baton. “Dude, take a shower. You look like shit.”
Laurent’s hand shot out and he slammed Emmett against the wall. “Go. Away.”
“Nope. He’s all yours.” A pile of boxes with Jude’s legs entered behind the golem. She dropped them on the ground, brushing off her hands and quirking an eyebrow. “Tatiana didn’t phone you?”
“No,” Laurent said. He menaced really well, but Emmett was already dragging his stuff in, and Jude would do anything to be rid of the golem, and the shifter’s intimidation just slid right off the other two.
Jude patted his shoulder. “Take it up with your aunt. Emmett has joined her Scooby gang and he’ll be living with you.”
“Not ever,” Laurent said.
“She said it was Miri’s idea.”
They both looked at me.
“Not exactly.” Way to get everything I wanted but with the world’s worst timing. I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck. “I mentioned saving enthralleds as part of my job description, but—”
“You did?” Laurent’s eyes lit up like sunshine on the best summer’s day ever, their warmth for me and me alone.
The air swirled around us, subtly electric. The thumping of my heart was a drumbeat urging me to reach for him and abandon myself to the coming storm.
Jude cleared her throat. “In exchange for a hotline that Tatiana is going to set up for people to report dybbuk enthrallment, Emmett is going to help Mir out and live here because it’s easier for him to come and go undetected.”
Laurent looked from me to the golem and punched the wall. “Merde!” He stormed out of the room.
“Yeah, I could use a drink,” Emmett called out, rummaging through a box. “Thanks!”
“So…” Jude clasped her hands in front of her. “Did we interrupt something?”
“I’m going home,” I growled.
Emmett held a pair of dangly earrings up to his head. “See you tomorrow, partner.”
“Hey,” Jude protested. “Those are mine.”
Being a fixer in the magical community was more fun than I’d given it credit for with secret knowledge, magic enemies to outwit, and Laurent. One of these days, I’d even discharge my babysitting duties.
But that day wasn’t today.
“See you tomorrow,” I sighed.
Thank you for reading MADE IN THE SHADE!
1
In just over half an hour, I’d either have pulled off an impossible heist during an illicit underground magic fight, or I’d be dead. Oh, and to make things interesting, I had to accomplish this feat on a private tropical island filled with shady Ohrist guests swanning around sipping champagne while openly flexing their magic in front of each other.
Then there was my employer, Tatiana Cassin, who moved through the crowd like an eighty-year-old shark in a sea of guppies acting like they had teeth.
My boss chatted briefly with everyone, who paid their respects Godfather-style. The few who snubbed her received a serene smile with a hint of menace, which made most of them scurry over to correct their misstep. She didn’t give a damn what anyone believed of her, actively encouraging all the rumors about her presence today.
I had much to learn from Obi-Wan Corleone.
An Indian woman in an orange saree, who was literally as insubstantial as the smoke from her cigarillo, waited impatiently for her turn with Tatiana next to a man in a kilt with skin as hard and bizarrely defined as an alien exoskeleton.
Tatiana’s bloodred silk couture gown weighed more than she did, but her blue eyes were as sharp as the bone spikes magically fanning out from the neck of a Black woman in a fitted tuxedo, who bent to kiss Tatiana’s wrinkled hand.
They both looked majestic, whereas I was shvitzing worse than an old Jewish man in a sauna due to my overly starched formal housekeeper’s uniform worn by all the servers employed by Santiago Torres. I swear, the combination of sweat and polyester had terraformed a microbiome in my armpits.
