Some Kind of Magic (18 page)

“We all kind of want to impress you from time to time,

Branigan.” Like there was no sugar in his mouth, Cal"s lips

twisted. “You have no idea how hard it is to… look at you.”

He ducked his head and stopped talking.

Ray had a feeling Penn"s eyebrows were up. His own

were down. But no matter how hard he stared, Cal wouldn"t

look back at him.

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123

“Okay, fine.” Ray made a show of giving in, and Cal

raised his head, though his eyes stayed safely on Benedict

for another few moments. “I"ll stay here.”

There were cots downstairs if he had to sleep. A shower

in the gym. And he was in a police station. “Penn"s got my

back.” So did the others. Werewolf or not, he was one of

them.

“Damn straight I do.” She nodded, but reached out and

grabbed Cal"s hand. He smiled tightly at her and sucked on

another cube of plain sugar.

Of course in the station it would be harder to avoid Cal,

or so Ray thought, but then it didn"t seem to matter. Cal and

Benedict took chairs next to Penn as they all worked out a

new suspect list, one full of people who would either want to

frame Ray or claim his attention, and Ray had to think of

every criminal he"d ever arrested who"d sent him cards from

prison or promised revenge.

It was difficult work. Partly because Ray had made a lot

of arrests, and partly, mostly, because at every sound he

looked up to find Cal. Cal seemed to be having more trouble

than usual staying in one spot. He had wandered to every

desk but Ray"s. Ray was painfully aware that his desk was

the one place where Cal normally would have settled.

Cal wouldn"t sit there now. Wouldn"t want to be around

him after a rejection like that. Knowing it was the right thing

to do didn"t make it any easier.

After an hour he had to get up, stalking toward the

bathroom just to get away. He scanned the halls as he went,

though no one would be foolish enough to try anything in a

police station.

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124

He was only inside a moment before the door swung

open behind him so hard that he jerked around. Cal was

almost sparking, vivid and lovely even in horrible lighting.

“In a bad mood, Ray?” Only it wasn"t anger in Cal"s

voice, in the wind, and Ray took a step forward before he

could think better of it. Cal"s hand stopped him. He was

hurt. So hurt. “Or is it that I"m a fairy and you can"t be seen

with me? I didn"t think you were like that.” Cal was

practically gasping out one realization after another. “You…

you"re
not
like that, Ray. You never have been.”

He raised his chin to look Ray right in the eye. It called

to mind Nasreen"s words again. There was such certainty as

he stared at Ray, like he knew everything, but then a

moment later he was dropping his head and turning to direct

a look at himself in the mirror. Whatever he saw there made

him flinch.

He smelled of doubt and still so much pain that Ray

ached for him. He moved forward again, this time Cal didn"t

stop him.

“It"s like you and my dad are just ganging up on me,

telling me not to live in the clouds, that I should know about

reality and not just my rainbow-colored Ray dreams. But

they
aren"t
.” He was urgent and serious, something in his

expression familiar as he stepped back to the wall and let

Ray loom over him. “And I"m not an idiot—”

Ray grabbed his hands, then glanced around, though he

already knew the room was empty. “Of course you"re not.”

His voice was rumbling, his temperature rising to be so close

again.

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He felt the pull of Cal"s scent, his confusion, lingering

hurt, but he was already staring up and leaning toward Ray.

Ray slid a hand to the wall. Cal"s breath was on his lips.

“Ray. Ray Ray. Should I… should I tone it down? My

mom…. My dad. Look I… whatever they say, I know it was

probably why….”

Cal"s hand turned into his, and Ray took his hand back

from the wall to stroke his fingers over Cal"s wrist. The wrist

that had been offered to him in too many teasing gestures to

count. Cal was frowning at him, breathing hard. “But that

isn"t you, Ray. It"s never been you. I could tell that with one

look, even if I was so confused at first.”

“You were confused?” It was easier than asking about

that first look.

Cal nodded slowly, studying Ray all over again and

streaming out more nonsense. “Mom was always saying

humans are weird, but they"re not really, just different, and

you"re not human anyway and my mother is a little… odd I

mean, she"d have to be, to hook up with my dad, because,

bleh, what is that about anyway?”

“He"s a good man, your father.”

Cal just snorted.

“Of course you"d say that, with your cop bond and your

„the work is everything" mentality.”

“You"re a part of that work too.”

“Hmph.”

Which meant he"d gotten the best of Cal, something so

rare that Ray nearly smiled. His heart was hammering in his

ears, but when he inhaled, when he looked, there Cal was.

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“There is no answer to that except that I"ve never heard

him say that. Or you for that matter. What?” Ray must have

looked surprised. “I wasn"t joking about impressing you,

Ray, you have to know that. What I would do to get you to

take me ser—well, you know.”

Ray frowned, feeling a bit lost. They"d already slept

together. If that"s what Cal was talking about, then he wasn"t

making sense.

“Cal.” They were alone. There might be no better time.

“What do you….” He had no right to ask that after today. He

shook his head and gentled his tone with effort.

“I thought fairies couldn"t lie,” he offered softly instead,

watching Cal"s mouth make a circle. “Your father thinks the

world of you, and you know it. He"s the reason you"re here.

Why you work here, I mean.” Ray was hot all over suddenly,

as though he"d said something wrong. “He… just wants

what"s best for you.”

“Please,” Cal scoffed. “What he
thinks
is best for me

without ever asking me or telling me what he"s planning

or—” Cal suddenly narrowed his eyes without letting go.

“And he, like a few other people I know, knows nothing

about fairies and their finer emotions, and if you want me to

not jump you, Ray, you need to stop touching me.”

“I"m considering it, Snapdragon,” Ray snarled back at

him, suddenly on the verge of jumping Cal himself. But he

made himself release Cal"s hands. Cal"s smile at that pushed

him just a bit closer. “I"m not the one who left this morning.”

Which, damn it, wasn"t what he"d meant to say at all.

Cal lit up, literally. “Oh, is that why you"re pissy?” he cooed,

and Ray hurriedly stepped back.

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127

“Look, you shouldn"t be here, Cal. Parker. You need to

go. You"re brilliant, but we don"t need you here. I don"t.

And—”

“You are such a liar, Ray.” Cal"s voice went from fond to

annoyed in two seconds. He was close to yelling. “You are

such a damn liar. I can"t believe you! You"re not even good at

it!”

The door burst open, and Ray twisted to stand in front

of Cal, ignoring the flurry of protest until he saw Ross, and

his heart slowed back down to what it always was around

Cal.

Ross was staring hard at Cal behind Ray"s back before

he focused on Ray.

“There a problem, Detective?” he asked with attitude,

but his dark mood wasn"t directed at Ray.

“No.” If he could control his breathing, that might be

believable. The last thing Ray needed right now was for word

of this to get out. “No, there"s no problem. I was just leaving.”

Somehow he didn"t think he was fooling anyone, least of

all Cal. But that he could deal with. Later. Much later. When

this was all over, and it was safe, and he had the release of

the woods to look forward to.

He moved forward, brushing past Ross and forcing the

man back. He didn"t turn to look at Cal, but he could hear

him, smell him, just a few steps behind him all the way back

to the bullpen.

IT WAS a long day. Ray was starving and dizzy with exhaus-

tion after only a few hours and trying not to show it to the

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128

frowning, furious half-fairy staring at him from too far away.

Cal was stiff and scowling as much as a fairy
could
scowl,

eating sugar cube after sugar cube like he needed the boost.

Almost
unhappy
.

Ray just stared back, or pretended to ignore him, and

focused on solving this damn case. Until finally, around shift

change,

Cal

left,

making

the

sudden,

dramatic

announcement to Penn that if he left he"d be missed.

“To be missed, one of us has to be gone,” Ray tossed

back, because it was painfully true, and Cal narrowed his

eyes before disappearing out the door. Benedict glared at Ray

again as he followed Cal out.

Penn then turned to him, and Ray pulled up another

name from the list on his computer to get a location. His

nose itched with Penn"s concern, but he raised his head,

straining to detect every drop of Cal"s scent as it faded. When

it was just the ghost-smell, he bent back to his work and

didn"t comment.

It was going to be a longer night.

WELL after dinnertime,
one
of his dinnertimes, when he

could tell without looking that the moon was high, and he

still hadn"t eaten, Penn had plopped candy from the break

room vending machine onto his desk and frowned at him

until he"d opened it. Chocolate covered almonds. Which was

some protein at least, though every sweet, crunchy bite

made him think of Cal.

Whom Penn was not mentioning. Which from her was as

bad as her saying something, and because secrets between

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129

partners weren"t a good idea, he finally turned to her and put

his hands out on his desk.

“What?”

“I"m pretty sure I don"t need to know anything.” She

kept her eyes on her work and spoke like he had asked

something else entirely. “After watching you two dance for a

few years, I think I"ve got it, thanks.”

“It"s not what you think. It"s not his fault,” he said

instantly, and she blinked rapidly a few times.

“No one said it was. In fact….” She tapped out

something on her keyboard, then made a note. “What do you

really think about his theory, now that he"s gone? You

believe him, don"t you? You have this whole time.”

Not what he was expecting. But Ray looked down at his

list of names. Even if most of them were still incarcerated, it

didn"t mean anything. Not with magic involved. “I can"t think

of anyone who would do this. But coincidence is… unlikely.

He"s right.”

“But you still don"t like it.” She looked at him at last.

“It"s why you sent him out of here—one of the reasons

anyway.”

Ray jerked, then gave her an evil look, setting his jaw. “I

can"t help that I need him to be safe and—”

“I know you can"t.” She smiled softly. “I know, Ray. But

he"s going to figure it out too.”

“Doesn"t matter.” He glared at his computer screen, then

went quiet as Penn"s phone rang. She looked startled as she

answered, then calmed and started to nod.

“Uh huh,” she murmured about six times, probably well

aware that Ray didn"t have to prick up his ears to know it

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130

was Cal on the other end of the call. Calling
her
. Ray yanked

at his tie, then decided to listen to more than just tone, right

as Cal ended the call.

“And since he"s listening, I"ll say goodnight. Anyway I—”

He didn"t finish. In true fairy fashion, he hung up without

saying goodbye.

“He"s worried. About you.” Penn filled Ray in, in case he

was in any doubt. “Also still mad. Do you think he"s hidden

candy
everywhere
?”

“Of course he has. And he"ll get over it.” Probably. And if