Red (17 page)

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Authors: Kate Serine

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fantasy

BOOK: Red
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“Yes, she is,” I agreed. “And you have another one just as gorgeous waiting for you at home.”
Nicky laughed, then turned to Nate. “Any wonder why I loved this gal?” he said. “Always so quiet and submissive. Never one to speak her mind, that Red.”
Nate’s laugh burst from him, making my heart trip over itself, so I gave each of them a punch in the shoulder. “When you two are finished yucking it up, you think we could get some work done?”
I pulled open the car door, which creaked and groaned in protest, and reached in to grab Hamelin’s laptop.
From behind me I heard Nate mutter a startled curse and started to back out to find out what was going on when I suddenly felt a pair of strong hands on my ass. But before I could voice the angry protest on my lips, the hands shoved me into the car headfirst.
“Hey!” I cried as I fell into a heap on the backseat. “What the—”
“Go, go, go!” Nate yelled.
I whipped around to look out the back window just in time to see Nate running toward the building, gun drawn.
The next thing I knew, Nicky was jumping into the front seat and gunning the motor, his Glock in one hand as the other threw the car into gear.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, somehow staying upright in spite of Nicky spinning the car around so hard the force threatened to throw me into the opposite door. “What are you doing? Where’s Nate?”
“We’ve got company,” Nicky called over his shoulder as he sped out of the parking lot. “We saw it at the same time and Nate shoved you into the car and went back into the building to get the coroner.”
“We have to go back for them!” I cried, swiveling around to try to see what was happening behind us.
“Red, honey, if anyone can handle whatever that was, Nate Grimm can,” Nicky assured me. “Plus, he’d kick my ass if I let anything happen to you. Once he has Trish, he’ll be in touch.”
“You act like you two have done this before,” I seethed. “You moonlighting a little, Nicky?”
He cast a glance over his shoulder at me, but didn’t say anything more.
Angry at being kept in the dark and worried for Nate and Trish, I punched the back of Nicky’s seat, letting out a loud scream of frustration.
“This is bullshit!” I yelled. “
Bullshit!
I need to get back there and help them. Nate’s my partner—I can’t just leave him on his own.”
Not twenty seconds later, Nicky’s phone rang. “Yeah.”
I listened, scowling, trying to hear the conversation, but the loud banging and growling of the engine prevented any meaningful eavesdropping.
“Okay,” Nicky said with a nod. “Where?” There was a pause then, “You got it.”
“Was that Nate?” I demanded the second he hung up, my nerves wound taut with apprehension.
Nicky’s head bobbed once. “Yeah, that was him.”
I leaned forward over the seat, eager for more information. “Is he okay? What about Trish? Was she hurt? Did Nate see who it was? Did he get a good look at the creature?”
Nicky gave me an annoyed glance. “Nate and Trish are both fine. He’s taking her to headquarters and putting her into protective custody. We’re supposed to meet him there.”
I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against the backseat, closing my eyes as I felt my adrenaline rush dissipating. “Damn it. I had no idea I’d be putting Trish in danger by going to the morgue.”
“If what Nate said is true,” Nicky said, “it wasn’t after you.”
My eyes snapped open. “What are you talking about?”
“It ransacked the lab, destroyed everything,” Nicky informed me. “And probably would have torn that pretty little coroner to shreds had Nate not gotten to her first.”
“Oh, God.”
Nicky glanced over his shoulder at me, his brow furrowed. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Red?”
I ran my hands through my hair, then down over my face, trying to make sense of it all and not having any luck. “Apparently, a lot deeper shit than I’d thought.”
Chapter 21
 
The door to the Chief’s office slammed into the wall with such force it left an inch-deep hole in the drywall.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
Al blinked up at me from his paperwork. “You’re paying for that,” he said calmly, with a nod toward his wall.
“So bill me,” I shot back. “Where’s Nate?”
“He took Trish to the cafeteria to get some coffee,” he said. “She was pretty shaken up by the attack.”
Without a word, I turned and stormed into the hallway, intent on tracking Nate down and giving him quite a substantial piece of my mind.
“Red, you need to calm down,” I heard Nicky warn as he jogged a little to keep up with me. “Nate was just trying to protect you. He cares about you.”
I shot a glance Nicky’s way. “No offense, Nicky, but what the hell do you know about it? You’re poker buddies.”
“I know plenty,” Nicky snapped. “Trust me. Do you have any idea—”
“Hey, where’s the fire?”
The sudden sound of Nate’s voice behind me stopped me dead in my tracks. For a full thirty seconds, I stood there with my back to him, clenching and unclenching my fists as my impulse to punch him in the face for ditching me warred with my impulse to throw my arms around his neck in relief because he was unharmed.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” I heard Nicky say. “How’s Trish?”
“She’ll be fine,” Nate told him. “A few cuts and scrapes from flying debris but she’s more shaken up than anything. And after seeing the creature up close and personal, she’s even more determined to ID it.”
Nicky chuckled appreciatively. “That’s one tough dame.” There was an awkward stretch of silence before Nicky coughed and said, “Well, hey, I’ll let you two kids get back to it. I’ll just grab that laptop, Nate, and leave the keys in the car. I doubt anyone’d want to steal that junk heap.”
“Thanks, Nicky,” Nate replied, clearly distracted. “Just give us a call when you find out something.”
“Will do.” I felt Nicky’s hand on my arm. “I’ll see you soon, Red.”
I gave him a nod, still refusing to turn around. As soon as Nicky’s footfalls had faded, I felt Nate take a few cautious steps toward me.
“Red? You okay?”
For some reason, the softness of his voice, the concern I heard there, was the trigger that released the full force of my anger. I whirled around, my right hook connecting squarely with his jaw.
“You bastard!” I yelled as Nate staggered backward. “We’re supposed to be partners! How dare you ditch me like that?”
“Ditch you?” Nate repeated, his own anger bubbling to the surface. “I didn’t ditch you! I was protecting you. You’re welcome, by the way!”
“And who would have protected you?” I demanded.
Nate huffed in exasperation. “Red—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re
Deeaath,
” I mocked in my spookiest voice, waving my hands in the air. “I get it. Maybe that creature couldn’t have
killed
you, Nate, but it could have hurt you enough to knock you off your game. And who would have protected Trish then?”
This seemed to give Nate pause. He stood there glaring down at me, his expression unreadable. Then, pressing his lips together in a grim line, he glanced quickly up and down the hall and grabbed me around my waist with one arm, scooping me off my feet.
“Hey!” I protested, squirming to get free of his hold. “What the hell, Nate?”
Without a word, he dragged me with him into an empty conference room and dropped me unceremoniously in the middle of the floor. He muttered a juicy curse under his breath and kicked the door closed, then turned back to me, hands on his hips.
“You’re right,” he ground out, his voice still tight with anger.
I scrambled to my feet and straightened my clothes, glaring at him. “Of course I’m right,” I snapped. Then, frowning, asked, “About what?”
Nate stared at the wall, focusing on some point well above my head and refusing to look at me. “I let the way I feel about you interfere with the job,” he said, his word clipped. “It won’t happen again.”
The heat of my anger instantly faded, replaced by a different kind of heat—one that started in the pit of my stomach and worked its way up to my cheeks. “The way you feel about me?” I echoed softly.
Nate’s gaze darted down at me so briefly I almost missed it. But he recovered quickly, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and giving an indifferent shrug. “We’ve been colleagues, friends, for a while now,” he said evasively. “In case you haven’t caught on yet, I care about you.”
“Ah.” I swallowed my disappointment at his very benign, platonic admission, wondering what exactly I’d been hoping he’d say. I lifted my eyes to his, finally catching his gaze full on, and gave him a gentle shove. “Well, the feeling’s mutual, so stop being a dumb-ass. It’d really piss me off if something happened to you.”
Nate laughed in a loud burst, then inclined his head in a bow of acquiescence. “I’ll do my best,” he replied, his grin returning. “And I’m sure you’ll be there to pull me back in line if I slip up.”
“You bet your ass.”
For a moment, we stood there together, the heavy silence deepening as a palpable tension began to build. I took a step forward, not sure what I had intended by the movement. I think I was going to maybe slug him in the shoulder or something equally flippant, but instead, I grabbed his lapels in both fists and brought him close to me, pressing my forehead against his chest until his arms came around me.
“This was so much easier when I was on my own,” I mumbled into his shirt.
Nate pulled back enough to grin down at me. “Yeah, but if you were on your own, who would you dazzle with your sparkling wit and endearing irascibility?”
I gave him a sour look. “Bite me.”
“See,” Nate chuckled, putting his arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward the door, “this is exactly what I’m talking about. Those clever one-liners would go unappreciated.”
“Well, I suppose having you for a partner does have its advantages.”
“Nice right hook, by the way,” he complimented as we stepped back into the hallway.
I couldn’t help but smile, rather proud of how I’d gotten the drop on him. “Thanks. You like that, you should see my uppercut.”
Nate’s laughter rumbled deep in his chest. “I’d rather not; thanks all the same.”
“So, you up for another visit?” I asked, glad to have the pressing matter of a murderous werewolf and a questionable suicide to distract me from more pleasant thoughts of black flame tattoos and sculpted pectorals. “I’d kind of like to drop by Seth’s restaurant, see what he’s been up to this afternoon.”
Nate cast a sidelong glance my way. “A little less convinced of his innocence?”
I shrugged. “No, but I’d sure love to hear that he was at work this afternoon and couldn’t possibly have trashed a certain forensics lab.”
“Speaking of the forensics lab,” Nate said, “seems a little too coincidental that the creature should attack and tear the place apart just when Trish was close to a breakthrough with the crime scene evidence.”
He had a damned good point. “Lucky guess?” I posited. “Everyone knows where crime scene evidence goes when Tales are involved. Isn’t it possible that the person behind this just got a little worried and didn’t want to take a chance on Trish finding something that would give away his identity?”
Nate scowled in response. “Maybe. But if he was trying to destroy evidence that would reveal his identity, why attack while we were there and risk getting caught?”
My steps slowed while I thought over what Nate had just said. It
did
seem a little too coincidental. And risky. It would have been a lot safer for the creature to ransack the lab after hours when there was no chance of being caught or killed.
“Unless he wanted us to see him,” I said aloud. When Nate gave me a quizzical look, I explained. “Sorry. I was just thinking—maybe this was all for show.”
Nate blinked at me. “Why go to all the trouble?”
“Bait and switch?” I guessed.
Nate shook his head. “A diversion? From what? If anything, it’s only made us more intent on finding Seth. Sorry,” he said, holding up his hands in front of him to ward off the sharp look I sent his way. “I just mean that after this attack, it’s even more imperative that we find the killer—it attacked us in our own forensics lab, for crying out loud. And, I hate to say it, Red, but Seth’s our remaining suspect at the moment.”
I gave him a tight nod. “I know.”
Nate took hold of my elbow and drew me to a stop. “I know I asked you in on this case, but if you want me to try to talk to Seth on my own, I will.”
I shook my head and squared my shoulders. “No, I’m good.”
Nate’s brow furrowed with concern. “Are you sure? You’ve been through a lot in the last few days.”
“I’m fine!” I snapped. Then, feeling guilty for biting his head off, I said in a softer tone, “Trust me, okay?”
Nate studied me intently for a long moment. “Okay,” he said with a tight nod. “Your call. So, as long as you’re up to it, what do you say we go grab a late lunch at Seth’s restaurant?”
My mouth began to water at the mere thought of food. “God, yes! I’m starving!”
With food on the line, I hurried down to the parking garage with Nate on my heels. “Why don’t you let me drive?” I offered. “I can get us there faster.”
Nate looked down his nose at me. “Just get in the car.”
The entire car shuddered and shook when Nate started it up, making my head pound in time with the high-pitched whistle coming from under the hood. I sat on my hands, resisting the urge to make a smart-ass remark.
Nate glanced over at me. “This thing is a piece of shit, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
He sighed and turned off the car. “Okay, so what do you say we take a cab?”
“To the restaurant?” I asked.
“To Gran’s,” Nate replied. “We’ll pick up your car, then go have a chat with Mr. Wolf.”

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