Green-Eyed Envy (22 page)

“Whoa, hold up a minute. Your psycho mentor caused your now-psycho grandmother’s decades-long coma? Anubis, Riss,
how
do you manage to get caught up in this kind of shit all the time?”

I blinked up at him for a moment before realizing he actually
was
there and not just some figment of my overwrought imagination. And then loyalty to Nan kicked in. “My grandmother’s not a psycho, Murphy.”

He reached out to pull me into his arms and pressed a warm, comforting kiss atop my head. “I see we have unexpected guests. Care to fill me in on what’s going on, baby?”

I did just that, spilling out the latest details in a hurried rush while Serise brought a second box of Pop-Tarts to my mother. Once I’d finished, he let out a long, low whistle and hugged me even closer, both signs of just how worried he had become. And hell, I couldn’t blame him. Part of me was shaking in my figurative—
and
literal—boots as the enormity of the situation hit me. Somehow, in some way, Stacia
was
manipulating Nan from beyond the grave. I had no doubts whatsoever that she had put this little drama into motion. Perhaps she had cast one final spell upon her death that set about the miraculous reawakening months later; there was no telling what someone as devious and powerful as Stacia could have managed.

I’d be stupid
not
to be terrified.

Once Mom had finished off the second box of Pop-Tarts, I pushed away from Scott and turned my focus back to her. “You’ve been pushing yourself way too hard, Mom, and that’s not going to help any of us in the long run.”

She stood and narrowed her eyes. “
Someone
is controlling your Nan and will stop at nothing to kill
all
of us. The Megaera is pushing for civil war among the Sisterhood. I do what I must there, just as you do here.”

I bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. “That’s all well and good, Mom, but if
you
kill yourself from magical overexertion, then who will there be on the Conclave to speak out on our behalf? Ekaterina?” My voice grew scathing. “Please, she’d just as soon let me die as save me. I
have
to solve this case down here before I can come to the Palladium to watch your back. If I can’t trust you to take care of yourself in the meantime, then—then I’ll . . . ”

Her expression softened somewhat, and she took my hand in hers. “Marissa, I understand that you have to fulfill your duties to the mundane police force. Your oaths to the Sisterhood demand you do so, if not the pledges you made directly to the mortals. I trust you enough to believe that you
will
solve this case and help me before it’s too late. Just as I trust both you and Serise to watch out for our family in the meantime. Now trust me to handle myself until you
can
come watch my back.”

I heaved a long sigh, both because she was right and because her words echoed sentiments expressed by both Scott and Trinity in the past. Sometimes I really
did
let my Fury need to protect others overwhelm my common sense and come off as if I didn’t trust those around me to take care of themselves. Which was
far
from the truth, but still. Letting my mother go back into that nest of vipers alone was going to take every ounce of self-control I had. Kind of like when Scott had trusted me to go after Vanessa’s daughter alone with only two Harpies as protection from a small army of evil Sidheborn clones.

Scott’s gaze met mine in that moment, and I knew he could tell exactly what I was thinking. And yeah, payback most assuredly
was
a bitch . . .

THE REMAINDER OF THAT NIGHT WAS SPENT drawing up lists of those we could trust implicitly and planning out schedules for my family to be protected at all times. Scott assigned a pair of his cousins to help in the guarding without my even asking, something that relieved my mind somewhat. Shadowhounds were both fiercely loyal and totally kickass. Dre Carrington sent over two of his best sorcerers to magically shield the safe house from the strongest of tracer spells. Expensive as hell to hire them on an emergency basis, but well worth it. Mom waited long enough to make sure their protection spell passed muster—and kiss both her nieces—before returning to the Palladium. After a good night’s sleep, I threw myself back into the investigation with a vengeance, determined to crack the serial killer case once and for all.

Once Scott’s cousins showed up to bolster Serise and her sisters, Scott dropped me off at the PD before heading off to tend to the high-maintenance client who was starting to get on everyone’s nerves. Mahina cornered me a couple hours later, skipping into my office with a big grin on her face and one of those manila folders I was coming to hate in her hands. Weird for her to look so upbeat considering the normally nocturnal woman was working daylight overtime. Even my growled “Now what?” didn’t dampen her spirits; she kicked the door shut and plopped down in a guest chair without an invitation.

“Remember that death threat I thought was the most credible?”

I nodded grudgingly.

“So it’s untraceable by mundane means. No envelope to test for DNA. Forensics worked every other angle they could think of and came up empty.”

“By the disgustingly smug look you’re wearing, I assume it was only untraceable by
mundane
means and you have something more helpful to tell me. Otherwise, don’t hold your breath waiting for a holiday bonus this year.”

While Mahina and her husband had worked with me for mere months, they’d both quickly adjusted to my
occasional
(ha) moodiness and
slight
(double ha) sarcasm. Pretty much par for the course where Furies were concerned.

She ignored my bitchiness and tossed the manila folder in front of me. “I had a sorcerer friend of mine run some tests on the paper and newsprint letters making up the threat. He was able to divine that the paper is some expensive kind of parchment made only in—get this—Egypt and imported to one and only one store in, but of course, the Belly. Apparently the paper was spell-worked to prevent divination of its owner’s identity but
no
spell can completely wipe out an object’s origins. He also divined that the letters came from fancy magazines rather than cheap newspapers.”

My crankiness evaporated, and I jerked the folder open, revealing the death threat entombed in a Ziploc bag along with the sorcerer’s printed findings, a list of magazine names I vaguely recognized, and Mahina’s handwritten notes on the Underbelly establishment selling the parchment. I did a double take when I read an oh-so-familiar name: Hounds of Anubis.

Finally! A lucky break in this gods-bedamned case. I closed the folder and pulled my cell out of my pocket. “Remind me I owe you a disgusting bonus come December, Mahina. Freaking fantastic work.”

Her smile grew smug, but I couldn’t blame her. “I’ll hold you to that, Riss.”

I jabbed in Scott’s number and waited until he picked up. “Hey, handsome. If you’re done holding your client’s hand, I need you to meet Mahina and me somewhere ASAP.”

“Oh yeah? I’m up for a threesome with two hot chicks. Where we hooking up?”

“The store where our new number one suspect bought the parchment paper he or she used to send a not-so-congratulatory note to Harper and Penn.”

“Ah, the death threat Mahina thought might pan out.”

“Exactly. And the parchment came from your absolutely favorite store ever.”

“Well, what a stroke of luck for you, Chief Holloway. It just so happens I know the owner of my absolutely favorite store ever. I can pull some strings if you make it worth my while.”

“You pull the right strings with
me
, and I’ll make it all worth your while.” Mahina choked on a sudden fit of laughter she tried to disguise as a cough. I pretended I hadn’t forgotten she sat across from me and winked. “Seriously, though, can you meet me at Hounds in, say, a half hour?”

“Make it closer to forty-five minutes and I’ll be there.”

I glanced at the wall clock and nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “One o’clock at your mother’s shop, then. It’s a date.”

“Make sure you both wear something sexy,” he teased before hanging up.

I smiled and shoved the cell phone back in my pocket.
See, Dr. Silvina said you’re
not
doomed to become crippled, and you have a huge break in the case. The day’s looking up already!
My inner Pollyanna conveniently ignored the fact that nine hours remained in the day—more than enough for things to take another giant skydive.

Since Trinity and Cass were holed up somewhere researching hybrid pharmaceuticals (a relatively new field blending science and magic to create new medicinal drugs)—trying to figure out where the hell the killer catnip came from—Mahina and I commandeered the undercover van for our “date” in the Belly. I remained in my own mortal form since the tinted windows eliminated the chance someone would catch sight of me during the short drive. We stopped for cappuccinos on the way. Caffeine made pulling massive amounts of overtime just bearable enough to endure, and Mahina was a Starbucks gal after my own heart.

Thanks to our pit stop, Scott beat us to Hounds of Anubis by moments. He stood on the front stoop, chatting with Elliana—Penn’s sister—and Mac, my genetically engineered baby brother. Mac was the first to catch sight of Mahina and me after we parked at an empty meter. He trotted down the stairs, heading straight my way for our habitual bear hug. I inhaled the scents that marked him as both male and Fury, a sharp contradiction, and hugged him back. “Hey there, little bro.”

“Hey there, big sis.”

Mahina showed no surprise at our greeting. While we’d not yet come clean to the world about Mac’s Fury abilities, neither had we hidden his relationship to us entirely. Most thought he was the part-Sidhe son Mom bore while in captivity, which was only half the truth. The brainwashed Sidhe
had
raped her repeatedly, trying to get her pregnant, but the mortal scientists controlling them had only succeeded once they genetically
and
magically manipulated Fury egg and Sidhe sperm, and artificially inseminated her. I could never forgive them for what they’d done to her by force, but one blessing had come of the debacle. Mac.

I’d always wanted a little brother or sister—preferably a fellow Fury. That I’d gotten one when I’d given up hope, and in a shockingly male package, just showed what an ironic sense of humor most of the gods possessed.

Scott came up to claim a hug of his own. He planted a big wet one on Mahina’s cheek, which had her smirking and threatening to tell her husband. We all laughed at that, because Kale was about the most easygoing guy in the world and trusted in his wife implicitly. For good reason: Night Owls mated for life.

I looked up at Scott. “Done holding the hand of your high-maintenance client?”

He made an ugly face. “Yeah, got him settled down for now. Until his next bout of paranoia strikes and he demands another face-to-face. Like we aren’t stretched thin enough right now guarding the potential Cat victims and assisting the PD, I have to go personally babysit some jackass Orpheus who’s convinced his fans are out to get him.”

I couldn’t resist. “So you’re working for Dre Carrington again?”

He swatted me on the butt. “That’s low, even for you. No, this is some new hotshot pop star who’s barely old enough to vote, which means he knows
everything
even when he knows
nothing
. ”

“Okay, other than the young thing, still sounds like Dre to me.”

Elliana piped up from behind. “Who knows, maybe Dumb and Dumber are related.”

Mac laughed. “Sure would explain a lot.”

His wife scowled. “Yeah, though at least Dre has eyes only for himself and that Sidhe girlfriend of his. This new twerp, on the other hand, is lucky I didn’t cut out his eyes and shove them up his ass.”

“Ahh, charming as always, I see, Ellie.”

Mac threw an arm around her shoulder before she could give me shit for using the nickname she hated. I smiled sweetly and turned my attention back to Scott. “Your mother inside?” He nodded. “Okay. Let’s go see if we can get a name for our prime suspect.”

I waited for the others to go ahead and got my brother’s attention. He hung back, turning an inquisitive expression my way. “What’s up, Riss?”

“You talk to Mom lately?”

He shook his head. “Nah, Elle and I’ve been busy juggling assignments to keep up with the new intake of clients courtesy of you. We visited her at David’s a couple weeks ago and spoke on the phone last week.” His gaze suddenly sharpened. “Is she okay?”

I filled him in on the Fury shitstorm currently in the works. He listened, expression growing darker the more I spoke, and cursed when I told him about the subway explosion aimed at me along with the attacks on the rest of our family. Once he heard that Mom had gone back to the Palladium—alone—he exploded even more furiously.

“Gods damn it, Riss, we should
be
there with her right now.” He raked a hand through his spiky red hair, flattening most of it. “Bloody freaking hell.”

I touched him on the shoulder. “I know, Mac, and I’m doing everything I can to solve this case so I can go to her. And
she’s
doing everything she can to pave the road for you coming out so we can induct you into the Sisterhood. Although once we
do
get you in, the name’s gonna have to change.” My attempt at humor didn’t do much to soften his demeanor. I sighed and let my hand drop. “I know you want to do more, and, trust me, I wish you could. But the way things stand right now, admitting the truth about you would only paint a big red
X
on your back and put
two
of Mom’s children at risk. She’d be so busy worrying about both of us she’d be in more danger herself.”

“Your being right doesn’t make this any easier.”

I noticed Elliana hovering in the store’s doorway and nodded in her direction. “Your wife looks put out with me right now. We better not keep her waiting.”