djinn wars 02 - taken (16 page)

We ended up flipping a coin for it — I still had some change in my wallet, money that would probably never get spent — and I lost. To her credit, Evony didn’t crow too much, but I could tell she was feeling a bit satisfied that things didn’t always go my way.

Right then I wasn’t sure they really did. True, I’d been getting more attention than she had since we came to town, but some of it — namely from Captain Margolis — I could have done without. And it seemed as if she was content to let me take the lead in things, so how else did she expect it all to shake out? Maybe that was uncharitable. I really didn’t know her all that well, except I could tell that she’d had a pretty tough time before the Heat came along. Losing Natila just when it probably seemed as if life was finally going her way had to have been a terrible blow for Evony.

In the meantime, the secondary bedroom that had ended up as mine was small but clean, with a double bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and not much else. I hung up my sparse wardrobe in the closet or put it away in drawers, depending on what it was, then took my cosmetic bag and set it under the sink in the hall bathroom.

Not that I didn’t take Julia’s word for it, but I went ahead and turned the tap on and off, just to be sure. Yes, the water really worked, and had decent pressure, too. Showers shouldn’t be a problem. All the comforts of civilized living, really, and I knew I should be grateful for them. It was a lot easier to think straight when you were clean and warm and well-fed.

Speaking of which….

I got out the bag with Dutchie’s things, including her supply of dog food, and headed into the kitchen. It was small but, like everything else in the house, clean. Someone seemed to have put a little more love into this room rather than the rest of the house; the countertops were tile, the floor laminate, and the cabinets appeared to have a fresh coat of varnish on them. It looked to me as if the previous owners had planned to spruce up the place and had started with the kitchen.

Thinking about that, about who those people might have been, only saddened me, though. They were gone, along with so many others, and I didn’t know if anyone would ever finish putting this house together. I supposed the supplies to do so were still out there in the stores, if anyone could get past the basics of survival to worry about such things, but….

Dutchie came padding into the kitchen then, and I was glad of the distraction, glad that I could pet her and tell her what a good girl she was, and then get some bowls out of one of the cupboards so I could pour her some fresh water and feed her. It was a little early, since by then it wasn’t even five o’clock, but she’d never had her lunch.

“And then we’ll go for a walk, okay?” I told her, and she lifted her head from her bowl long enough to wag her tail and show me she thought that was a great idea.

“Really?” Evony said, appearing in the doorway. Her hair was brushed and her lipstick freshened, so I could tell what she’d been doing to occupy her time. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why not? We’ve got to get to know the neighborhood sometime, don’t we?”

“I suppose. I just didn’t think you were going to go all suburbia on me.”

I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. “I’m not. But we have to blend in and act normal, right? So walking the dog seems like something people would do in a new house.”

There was a window over the kitchen sink, so I pushed the curtains out of the way and peered out. Immediately outside was the side yard, with some dormant rosebushes in a brick planter, and just beyond the roses a wooden fence. A slightly larger, two-story house stood next door, but from this vantage point I couldn’t tell whether it was occupied or not. The blinds were shut, and no smoke rose from the chimney. It would make our lives a lot easier if it turned out the houses on either side of us were empty, but I couldn’t count on that.

Since Evony still didn’t look all that convinced, I said, “Think of it as reconnoitering. But you don’t have to come along if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay here, thanks. Trudging around in the snow and slipping on the ice, just to walk a dog, doesn’t sound like much fun.”

I didn’t think it would be all that bad. Someone had shoveled the sidewalks around here, and I’d just have to do my best to avoid the ice.

At hearing the “W” word, Dutchie came over to me and whined.

“That’s right, sweetie — we’re going.”

Evony only shook her head and headed out to the living room, while I paused to pick up my coat from where I’d draped it over one of the dining room chairs. The sun was up — barely — but I knew it was still right around freezing outside.

Once I was bundled up, Dutchie and I went out the front door. I didn’t bother to lock it; the house key was still lying where Julia had left it on the dining room table.

Frigid air touched my face, but it felt good to breathe it in, to move down the sidewalk and watch Dutchie’s tail wagging frantically as she got ready to explore a whole new neighborhood. The house to my left, the one I’d seen through the kitchen window, didn’t have any cars parked in the driveway, reinforcing my hunch that it was empty, and neither did the one on the other side. Directly across the street, however, was a big two-story with a Chevy Avalanche out front and smoke rising from the chimney, so someone definitely occupied that one. For all I knew, they were watching Dutchie and me as we progressed along the sidewalk, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.

I began mentally rehearsing my story again, just in case someone did come outside, but apparently they weren’t in the mood to brave the cold just to meet their new neighbors, and the street remained deserted. We hadn’t gone far before Dutchie took care of business, so to speak, and I took one of the biodegradable waste bags off the roll I’d put in my pocket and picked up her mess. At least that way if anyone was spying, they’d see me being a responsible citizen.

During the whole time — well, the whole ten minutes we were outside, anyway — I did my best not to think about Jace, about how he had to be hidden somewhere here in town. The justice center seemed the most logical place, but there could be others. For all I knew, they had him secreted away somewhere in the labs so they could perform tests on him or something….

No. I shut that thought down before it could progress any further. Not that I would put it past this Miles person or Captain Margolis, necessarily, but stressing myself out wasn’t going to help the situation any, and in fact would only make it worse. In less than a hour I’d be going to meet a bunch of the locals, and I had to be on my best behavior. I couldn’t ask any pointed questions or show too much interest in the Los Alamos group’s captive djinn, or I’d be finished before I even got started. I had to make myself believe that Jace and Natila were fine for now. Well, as fine as they could be, locked up somewhere. But whole and healthy at least.

I came back to the house and stamped off what little snow my boots had managed to collect, then let myself inside. Evony was sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping through a six-month-old copy of
InStyle
. Apparently the people who’d gone through and cleared out the house hadn’t thought the magazine was personal enough that it required removal, possibly because I didn’t see a subscription label anywhere on it.

“Getting ready for your beach look early?” I asked, and she grimaced.

“I wish. I wish it was safe to just go around without worrying about mad scientists or crazy djinn or whatever. Just me and Natila on her Harley, heading for the coast. I’d stick my toes in the Pacific and never look back.”

That did sound inviting. I’d never been to California. I asked Evony if she had, and she shook her head.

“Are you kidding? The farthest west I ever got was a trip to the Grand Canyon when I was ten.” She tossed the magazine on the coffee table and stood up. “Please tell me you’re going to change before we go back out.”

I unzipped my parka and went to hang it in the coat closet. “Why should I? It’s not like I’m going to Pajarito’s to pick up guys or something.”

“So what?
You
know that’s not why you’re going, but
they
don’t have to know that. We’re the new girls in town. We need to make a good impression. I’ll loan you my green sweater again.”

It probably wasn’t worth wasting time arguing about. “Fine,” I said. “But I’m doing my own makeup.”

“Deal.” Then she hesitated, eyes narrowing. “You did bring some makeup, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Not much, but some. Even I wasn’t so naïve as to think a little sprucing up wouldn’t be in order. After all, I didn’t know who I was going to have to sweet-talk to get what I wanted.

Because believe me, I had every intention of getting the one thing I wanted from this town.

Jace.

Chapter Nine

Apparently, Evony was satisfied with the job I’d done, because after giving me a critical once-over, she nodded. “You clean up pretty good, Monroe.”

“Why, thanks, Rodriguez.”

She grinned, and we went to put on our coats and get in the car. Whoever had dropped it off at the new house had left the keys in the ignition; clearly, auto theft wasn’t something we’d need to worry about here. Then again, why would it be? Everyone who needed a vehicle had already been provided with one.

I spotted a few cars going the opposite direction as we headed into town, and none around us, so it seemed as though most people preferred to eat at home if possible. Julia had indicated that the woman who’d lived in our house before us had moved in with someone else, meaning that the members of the Los Alamos group were beginning to pair up and start new relationships. I supposed that was a good thing. It showed people were moving on, thinking of the future. They must have had a good deal of faith in Captain Margolis’ leadership abilities, or at least in the devices this Miles person had invented. I wondered how many of those boxes he’d made so far. Just another bit of knowledge to dig up, if possible.

The restaurant was located in a shopping center, so we didn’t have to park on the street. And even though I’d seen people passing us as they went home for the evening, I still counted about a dozen cars in the parking lot here, meaning there had to be a decent-sized crowd at Pajarito’s.

I swallowed. It had been bad enough to walk into that crowd of Chosen in Taos. At least they were friendly, or more or less on my side. Here, if these people knew anything at all about me and Evony, then they’d know we’d been with a djinn before coming here. I had to pray that they’d buy our somewhat abrupt change of heart.

Then I spotted Julia’s black Suburban and felt a little better, knowing that she was already here, and, if my brief acquaintance with her was any indication, thoughtfully saving us a table. I slung my purse over my shoulder and got out of the Cherokee, while Evony did the same. Once or twice I slipped on a patch of ice as I made my way to the restaurant door, but I did manage to get there without going ass over teakettle. That would’ve been a really auspicious start to the evening. Those djinn had the right idea, using the fire and air elementals among them to make sure that all the walkways around Taos were clear. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that even useful djinn wouldn’t be too welcome here in Los Alamos.

Taking a breath, I wrapped my fingers around the handle of the door and pushed it inward. A rush of warm air hit my face, overlaid with the welcome scents of food cooking — garlic and butter and a few other things I couldn’t identify but which made my deprived stomach growl. As I made a quick scan of the restaurant, trying to ignore the curious and sometimes hostile looks shot in my direction, I spotted Julia Innes sitting at a booth along the far wall, in a nice inconspicuous corner.

Well, it would’ve been inconspicuous if Evony and I hadn’t had to cross the whole place to get to that booth. I strode forward, my chin up, and forced myself not to make eye contact with anyone. At my side, Evony did more or less the same, although I got a challenging vibe radiating off her, something that seemed to say,
You want to fuck with me? Go right ahead.

Please God that no one would take her up on it.

We made it to Julia’s booth without anyone saying anything or stopping us. I blew out a breath of relief as I dropped onto the empty seat, Evony sliding in next to me.

“I see you found the place okay,” Julia said. She had a glass of white wine in front of her, but no food.

Thank God there was booze. I knew I was going to need it.

“Oh, yeah,” I replied. “Your map made it easy.”

“I went ahead and ordered us some truffle fries,” she went on, smiling. “Obviously, we can’t maintain exactly the same menu that the original restaurant had, but the fries were a favorite, so we’ve managed to keep them available so far.”

“And the beer, looks like,” Evony said, her gaze resting on the line of taps at the bar.