Face Off (21 page)

CHAPTER
37

LAURA WAITED IN
the dark of the Holy Rood Cemetery, old granite tombstones pale and silent around her. Terryn had given her the location in a sending, and she passed it on to Sinclair. In the distance, the Washington Monument glowed like a white spike against the deep azure sky. The graveyard had fallen into disrepair long ago, its occupants ancient and forgotten. No living descendants of the interred had visited in decades. Despite its proximity to Logan Circle, the place wasn’t high-profile or likely to draw attention. Which was what made it a convenient meeting place.

Sinclair arrived first, his tall silhouette recognizable as he strode up the hill from the street. Laura lingered in the shadows, watching. He avoided direct lighting and, once in the graveyard proper, moved along the darkened perimeter. His casual gait appeared to be that of a someone out for a late-night walk. She knew the moment he sensed her by a subtle shift in the angle of his path.

“You sensed me from a pretty good distance,” she said.

He smiled down at her. “Always checking out my abilities, aren’t you?”

She pursed her lips in pleasure. “Always questioning my motives, aren’t you?”

He playfully flicked a strand of hair off her cheek. “Hey, I’m not complaining. Anytime you want to check out my abilities, you let me know.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, we’re calling that ‘abilities’ now?”

He handed her something small, and said, “Skills, then. I brought you something.”

Foil wrapping caught the light. “How’d you know I like dark chocolate?”

“I saw the wrapper in your trash the night we had pizza,” he said.

She slipped the candy into her mouth. “Thanks.”

He snorted. “What? No ‘how dare you look in my trash’? Or where else was I snooping?”

She crumpled the wrapper and poked him in the shoulder. “I’m not that bad.”

He leaned closer. “You’re badder.”

She laughed. “You don’t give up.”

“Are you telling me to?” he asked.

She pursed her lips through a smile. “I’m not telling you anything.”

They stood in amused, almost bashful silence. Laura broke eye contact and glanced down toward the street. As she faced him again, he put his hands on her waist and lowered his lips to hers. She closed her eyes. His lips covered hers, a warm, soft pressure that didn’t push for more. She returned the kiss, then eased away. She glanced over his shoulder as a faint dark blue spot appeared in the sky. “He’s coming.”

They watched as Terryn dropped out of the sky, landing effortlessly next to them. Laura felt uneasy as Terryn’s gaze shifted back and forth between them, as if he wasn’t approving of something. “My apologies for being late. There were some last-minute details on security for Cress.”

“No problem. We were necking while we were waiting,” Sinclair said.

In the long pause after he spoke, Laura fought feeling self-conscious. Even though by now Terryn knew he said things to provoke reaction, she knew that Terryn wasn’t a fool. He had to know she was interested in Sinclair. “Why are we meeting here, Laura?” he asked.

She looked toward downtown. “Privacy. Too many eyes are on you right now, Terryn. From here, I was able to watch if you were followed.”

“And why would that be a concern?”

She hesitated. Coming right out and saying what she was thinking was going to be difficult. She decided to avoid it for the moment. “I’m close to accessing the files at Legacy.”

Terryn ignored Sinclair. “Is Genda monitoring the case?”

She shook her head. “She thinks I’m closing it down. She wants me to focus on Draigen.”

“Has she made any unusual requests?” he asked.

“Not particularly, although she’s complained that you don’t keep very good files.”

Terryn considered. “We need to keep her distracted until I return.”

“How’s the vacation going?” Sinclair asked.

Terryn’s body signature shifted, a flash of essence that Laura knew meant anger. Terryn leveled a cool gaze at Sinclair. “I begin to tire of your disrespect, Sinclair. Don’t push me further.”

Sinclair slid his hands in his pockets. “Or what? You’ll tell Rhys you’re doing an end run around the successor he had them pick for you? Or that you’ve been employing agents off the books? Or that you’re running your own op outside channels?”

Terryn stepped toward Sinclair. Sinclair dropped the cocky grin. “Come on, big guy. Take a shot. Just remember, you’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”

Laura held her hand on Terryn’s chest. “He’s immortal, Jono.”

Sinclair shifted his eyes toward her, then back at Terryn. “Fine. The rest of my life.”

“Are you boys done? Because I have work to do,” Laura said.

Terryn moved away. “What’s your report, Sinclair?”

Sinclair glowered, not speaking. Laura elbowed him gently. “They have a crew doing urban-assault exercises,” he said. “There’s an old warehouse complex about fifty miles west of the city. They’re training us for something but haven’t said what.”

“How many?” Terryn asked.

“Several dozen. Maybe a hundred people total.”

“Fey or human?”

“All human,” he said.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Laura said.

“Bullets work very well against the fey,” Terryn said.

She paced in thought. “Even so, they’ve got to know we’re on high alert. If they’re planning another assault against Draigen, men with guns against Inverni Guardians is a big tactical disadvantage. We’re missing something.”

“I agree. The answer might be in the Legacy files. How soon can you acquire them?” Terryn asked.

She had hoped Moor would come through with the information when she calmed down. She hadn’t. An idea drifted through her thoughts, one that she had threatened Fallon Moor with. She had bluffed about seducing the information out of DeWinter. It could be a shortcut, one she didn’t want to take. She avoided looking at Sinclair, as if he could read her thoughts. “I’ll speed up the timetable as best I can.”

“My back channels tell me that whatever they’re planning, it will happen soon. Draigen’s here for a few more days, then we can relax,” he said.

Laura snorted. “Yeah, that happens.”

Terryn frowned at her. “Don’t let Sinclair rub off on you.”

“I’ll rub whoever I want, thank you,” Sinclair said.

She glared at Sinclair, annoyed as much at herself as at him. Terryn was wound tight. It was bad enough she was about to add to it. She didn’t want him to think she was being frivolous. She took a deep breath. “Terryn, the real reason I didn’t want to meet at the Guildhouse is because I’m concerned something’s going on with your family.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Such as?”

She steeled herself to say what she had been thinking. “A cover-up, Terryn. Between Brinen seeming to hide something and Aran letting his people be overly aggressive at the hotel, it’s almost like they don’t want to know what happened.”

“The Inverni—and my family in particular—can be . . . protective of their own,” he said.

“How much more ‘their own’ can Draigen be?” she asked.

“It’s not a matter of hiding the truth as much as it is keeping it within the clan. Trust me. They are all concerned about what happened,” he said.

“I’m beginning to think they’re obstructing the investigation,” she said.

He shook his head. “Whatever the disagreements within my family, Laura, they do not extend to murder.”

Sinclair let out a loud sigh. “Makes you rethink that whole looking at all the angles thing when it strikes close to home, doesn’t it?”

Terryn glared at him. “I don’t believe I said I am making an excuse to dismiss.”

Sinclair didn’t react. “You’re right. There goes my bad again.”

“I think we should rerun background checks on Aran’s staff. Brinen’s, too. Aran thinks he’s being set up by Brinen,” Laura said.

“Run the checks. Tell no one. Is there anything else?” Terryn asked.

Laura crossed her arms. “Anything else? For Danu’s sake, Terryn, Cress is under guard, and you’ve been suspended. What the hell is going on?”

“It’s all part of Rhys’s plan to discredit the Inverni cause. How better to make people suspect our motives than to point out that the heir to the clan consorts with a demon fey?”

“I’m going to say something to him,” she said.

“I think that’s a bad idea,” said Sinclair.

Laura whirled toward him. “Really? Since you know nothing about Guild politics, why don’t you share your wisdom?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m only pointing out that if Rhys finds out Laura Blackstone works for Terryn and InterSec, it will look like you’re a spy. A spy for an Inverni. Which, frankly, you kinda are, now that I think about it.”

She flushed with embarrassed. “I’m sorry. That’s a good point.”

“Apology accepted.” Sensing honest truth, she glanced at him. He wasn’t being smug, which made her feel worse for snapping at him.

Terryn made her feel worse when he agreed. “It is an excellent point. This will pass, Laura. It’s a skirmish in a very old fight.”

“But what about Cress? She thinks she’s fired.”

Terryn sighed. “What’s happening to her is unfortunate. She found a place at InterSec once. She’ll find another there or somewhere else. Not everyone is as thickheaded as Rhys. We’ll get through this, Laura.”

She crossed her arms and hugged them to her chest. “I hope so.”

“Thank you. For everything, Laura. I mean that,” he said. A mauve light swirled through his wings, and he lifted off the ground. He hovered, staring down at Sinclair, making his annoyance obvious. Sinclair waggled his fingers in a sarcastic wave. Terryn’s wings blazed brighter, and he flew off.

Laura placed her hands on her hips. “You have got to stop doing that.”

Sinclair walked away. “Yeah, I noticed you telling him the same thing.”

She strode after him and grabbed his arm. “What’s gotten into you, Jono? With everything going on with him, I thought you agreed to lay off?”

He pulled away. “Lay off? What about him, Laura? Poor, poor Terryn, threatened from every side. What about me? I’m being threatened by one person and one person alone: Terryn macCullen. Do you have any idea what it’s been like being told that one wrong move, and you’re dead? Or being told everyone else’s life is more important than yours? And then being told to put your life in danger to prove you are worthy of the great Terryn macCullen’s approval? Am I wrong about who I think you are, or are you just not getting it?”

Stunned, she blinked rapidly, letting what he said sink in. The smug looks he had thrown at Terryn were gone, replaced by utter frustration. “I’m sorry,” she said.

He thrust his hands up. “Thank you. And I’m sorry if the only recourse I’ve had from all this is to break his balls, but too damned bad.”

He started down the hill, and she hurried to catch up with his long strides. “Jono, you’re right. If this is the way you need to handle it, then go ahead. The only thing I ask is that you don’t let it get physical.”

“I can’t promise that,” he said.

She tugged at the lapels of his jacket. “He can kill you without breaking a sweat, Jono. Please be careful.”

His face softened. “I think you care about me.”

She shoved him lightly and danced away. “Yeah, even when you’re impossible.”

He sauntered after her. “I think I’m entirely possible.”

She slipped her hand into his, but he pretended to shake it off in annoyance. She caught it again and laughed as their fingers struggled against each other. They left the cemetery hand in hand until they reached the edge of the pool of light from a streetlamp. Sinclair lifted her hands and kissed them.

“Be careful walking to your car,” he said.

She smirked. “Be careful with the urban-assault training.”

He chuckled, the deep chest chuckle she no longer denied liking.

CHAPTER
38

I NEED YOU
at my apartment immediately.

Terryn’s sending hit her so hard, Laura almost lost control of her car as she maneuvered her way the next day through the morning commute. She slammed on the brakes. Horns blared around her as other drivers swerved and passed. She turned on her siren and dashboard lights and hit the gas. Traffic parted in front of her as she tore up Pennsylvania Avenue. Terryn sounded desperate.

What’s wrong?
she sent.

Cress is gone,
he replied.

I’m ten minutes out,
she sent.

Law-enforcement vehicles clogged Terryn’s street. Laura pulled onto the corner curb and ran, holding her InterSec badge over her head. A police officer—the only person clueless enough to try to stop her—received a shove in his chest that sent him flying against a car.

People clustered on the sidewalk in front of Terryn’s building. Genda Boone, of all people, stood at the door, her white wings flailing with agitation as she pointed a finger in a brownie’s face. Essence whirled in the air, disturbed flares of red and orange as the fey on the scene exposed their anger. A thick wall of essence, anchored by a brownie standing in front of the building, blocked the street door.

Laura pushed her way through the crowd to Genda’s side. “What the hell is going on?”

Angry, Genda turned as if she were about to argue but calmed when she saw Mariel Tate at her side. “That’s what I’d like to know. This brownie is anchoring a shield barrier and won’t let me through.”

Laura craned her neck to see beyond Genda. “Davvi? It’s Mariel Tate. I need to get in to see Terryn.”

“I’ve been waiting for you, miss,” he said. He held his hand up. Laura hesitated, then realized what he expected her to do. She pressed her palm against his, and the barrier shivered around her. She stepped through to the vestibule.

“Mariel, tell him to let us in. If something has happened in there, I need to know,” Genda said.

Ignore her,
Terryn sent.

“Let me see what this is about, Genda,” she said. To avoid any argument, she entered the building. Inside, an older woman, conservatively dressed, stood at the open door of her apartment. Another shield barrier blocked her from leaving. “Are you the police? What’s going on? Why am I not being allowed to leave?”

Mariel glanced up the stairs as she made a calming gesture. “Please stay inside, ma’am, until we clear up the situation.”

“Am I in danger?” she asked.

“Please get inside now, ma’am. This will be over shortly,” she said.

She mounted the stairs. The barriers were saturated with Terryn’s essence. As she reached his floor, she charged her hands until they glowed white. Pausing on the landing, she listened. On the next floor up, someone shouted to be let out. She stepped to the apartment door.

Terryn?
she sent.

He opened the door. Fury flowed off him in waves, his wings glowing dark indigo, with shots of white flashing through them. From the main door, the living room, dining room, and kitchen were visible. Everything was immaculate. Puzzled, she took two steps in and stopped. “What happened?”

He shook his head. “InterSec security called me as soon as they got here. She was gone when they arrived.”

“What do you mean ‘gone’? Guild security was here.”

“They weren’t here.”

She jerked her head up. “What? They were supposed to transition to our team.”

“InterSec took over at nine. The Guild left at eight. Brinen coordinated everything with Aran. The Guild insists they had orders to leave at eight, but Aran says that the security order said nine.”

“Well, where’s the order?” she asked.

Terryn paced into the room. “Aran said it’s blank now. Some kind of safety spell erased it. I don’t care about that right now. What infuriates me is that the Guild didn’t inquire where the InterSec unit was. They left her here alone. They left her here, and she’s gone.”

The anguish in his voice tugged at her. Seeing Terryn emotional was a rare event. Seeing him distraught was unheard of. She held her hands out. “Okay, let’s step through this. This apartment doesn’t look tossed. Did you straighten up?”

“Of course not. Everything remains as it was when I arrived. Her keys are on the counter. Her handbag with all her identification is on the bed.”

“We need to get a team in here, Terryn,” she said.

He paced beside her. “Not yet. I need you to look at it. I don’t trust anyone else.”

“Is that why you locked the building down?” she asked.

Terryn glanced sharply at her. “Of course.”

She stopped his pacing with a hand on his arm. “Terryn, you’re technically holding your neighbors hostage. You need to drop those barriers.”

“She could be trapped in the building,” he said.

She grabbed him by the arms. “Terryn, calm down and listen to me. You know your neighbors. You’ll only bring charges down on yourself if you don’t release them. If Cress is in the building, we’ll find her, but you have to let those people go.”

He stared at her, breathing shallowly, then closed his eyes. Tendrils of blue essence whirled out of him, danced to the floor and out to the hallway. Several doors slammed and footsteps could be heard running. “I’ve modified the shield so that they can leave through the front door. No one gets in yet.”

She was about to argue but decided that was good enough for the moment. “Let me see the bedroom.”

He led her through the living room. She had been to dinner at the apartment but had never seen the bedroom. The riot of color on the walls, swirls of red and yellow and orange, surprised her. Every available surface—dresser tops, the head-board, windowsills—was covered with odds and ends—small dolls, teacups, a collection of fabric tassels over the windows, and stacks and stacks of magazines. The contrast to either of their organized offices was startling. As if seeing the room through her eyes, Terryn smiled nervously. “She likes to collect things.”

The
leanansidhe
were hoarders, most often of their victims’ belongings. Cress might not have acquired her treasures through the same path, but she obviously still had the impulse. Despite all the clutter, the room did not look ransacked.

“I’m getting faint human body signatures in here,” she said.

“Human? No humans have been here,” he said.

She sharpened her sensing ability. Except near the door, the room read blank, as if all the essence—including the normal ambient residue of a fey dwelling—had been drained from it. A chill went over Laura. “She used her abilities in here, Terryn. For some reason, she absorbed all the essence in the room.”

“But she didn’t need any. She . . . I give her essence every morning,” he said.

Laura averted her gaze from his discomfort at the admission. The nature of their relationship intrigued her. She knew that Cress absorbed essence from Terryn. Cress had done the same thing to her recently. Even though it was to save her life, Laura shivered at the memory. A hunger had lurked behind Cress’s touch that had filled her with revulsion.

“Then why would she . . .” Laura stopped and faced the door. A faint pattern of purple essence splattered across the wall by the door. “She fired essence, Terryn. She fired at someone in this doorway.”

She stepped closer. “It’s so faint, though, as if it was reabsorbed again.” She looked at the bed. “But it didn’t go back into the room.”

She circled the bed, assessing the edges of the essence void. A faint, sickly sweet odor filled her nostrils. “I smell chloroform.”

“She was drugged?”

Laura bent closer to the bed. “Looks that way. Someone figured out how to subdue her long enough to use chloroform. I’m not sensing any other essence discharge here.”

He narrowed his eyes. “She’s alive, then. They wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble if they were going to kill her.”

Laura examined the area where she smelled the chloroform, but, again, nothing seemed out of place. Her gaze fell to the nearby dresser, covered with stacks of playing cards, and she noticed that while the top surface hadn’t been cleaned recently, there were clear spaces in the dust. The spaces caught her eye because they were in distinct stripes, not scattered as if being touched with hands. Visually following the clean lines, she noted several cards had rippled areas. She touched one. “This is damp.”

She ran her hand over the quilted bedcover. “More dampness. They stunned her, Terryn. That would be the only explanation. They used a liquid stun gun. Someone tried it on her a few days ago.”

“What are you talking about?” Terryn asked.

She compressed her lips. “She thought it was a mugging, but I think it was a failed kidnapping. She didn’t want you to worry.”

“Worry? Why not? I might have been able to prevent this if she had said something,” he said.

Laura gave him a stern look. “No, you couldn’t have. We had Guild and InterSec security here, Terryn. They screwed up, but you wouldn’t have protected her any better.”

“I could have stayed with her . . .” he began.

“Which is exactly why she didn’t tell you. She didn’t want to disrupt Draigen’s visit over a mugging. And at the time, that’s what it looked like.”

He tried to keep himself under control. “And now she’s gone.”

“Why would anyone want to kidnap Cress?”

Stricken, Terryn met her gaze. “Because she’s dangerous, Laura.”

“Terryn, I’m not going to hear . . .”

He held his hand up. “Listen to me. I know what she is. So does she. A
leanansidhe
is dangerous. The only thing that has helped Cress maintain any sense of normalcy is a constant source of essence. Without that . . . without me . . . she’s going to become desperate to fill that need. Someone can use that to their advantage. There’ve been attempts before.”

Laura swallowed in a dry throat. The last thing she expected was for Terryn to admit Cress was dangerous. “How much time does she have?”

He ran a frustrated hand into his hair. “If she discharged everything, less than a day. We tried fewer booster sessions, but it didn’t work. Without a daily supply of essence, she’s going to revert.”

Tears edged into his eyes. “We have to find her, Laura, before she kills someone.”