Tales of the Otherworld (7 page)

“As a master of the underhanded business maneuver, I beg to differ. It’s spiteful. Sneaky is the sign of a clever manipulator. Spiteful is the sign of a petty one.”

“Point taken.” I finished the beer.

“Grab another,” he said. “Dinner will be a couple of minutes.”

“Nope, one’s my limit.” I crushed the can and tossed it into the trash.

“She’s not going to give up on Dhamphir,” he said. “You know that. By associating with her, you’re setting yourself up for trouble, even if you stay out of the deal. And I suspect she won’t let you stay out of the deal.”

“I’m not budging on that. She knows it. Still, I think I’m going to have to break it off with her. Which I hate. I came to Chicago just for her.”

“Then maybe it’s time to leave Chicago.” He stirred the noodles. “Come to L.A. Work for me.”

When I didn’t respond, he looked over. “You knew that was coming eventually. Yes, I wanted to learn those spells for the boys, but as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’ve reached the limits of my talents in that regard. There are still a few things I’d like to work on, but …” That elegant shrug. He lifted a noodle and offered it to me to try.

“Not enough to keep coming by every month for a lesson,” I said. “So this is the big moment, then. Come work for you or bye-bye training—yours and mine.”

His lips pressed together, the old chill creeping into his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that, Eve. I’d think you’d know that by now.”

Did I? Not really. Kristof may have loosened up, but I never doubted that once I outlived my usefulness, he’d be gone.

When I didn’t answer, he turned his back and pulled the pot off the stove, shoulders and jaw set, not a glance or word my way.

“What do you want me to say?” I asked when he handed me a plate of pasta. “You came to me for training. You stayed in hopes of cultivating a future employee. I’m a professional asset. I know that.”

Those cool eyes lighted on mine, holding my gaze for a moment before he said, “I don’t cook dinner for my professional assets, Eve.”

I took a deep breath, then let it out. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just— Wait. Why am I apologizing? Who’s the guy who told me never to mistake a business relationship for a social one? Keep my distance. Be on the lookout for the angle, because there’s always an angle. You just admitted you’ve been hanging around because you wanted to hire me. That’s an angle, isn’t it?”

A moment’s pause, then: “Yes, I suppose it is.
I
will apologize, then.”

He took his own plate and gestured at the living room. We went in and sat, plates on our laps.

After a few bites, he said, “I would like to hire you, and I think it’s a wise business move for you. You’ve learned enough from Lavina. Time to do something else. Leave her. Leave Chicago. Come to Los Angeles. I’ll rent you an apartment—”

“Uh-uh. I don’t need—”

“It’s convenience, not charity, Eve. If you work for me, meeting in a hotel once a week won’t do. I’ll find a decent building where I can get two apartments. One for you and one, presumably, for myself, to conduct my affairs in privacy. My family will approve of the discretion and won’t bother me.”

“I don’t want to move to L.A. Lavina isn’t the only contact I have here. I don’t want to work for one person either, Kristof. That’s too …” I shifted. “It’s not me. I need other work. Other jobs. Balance, you know? So I keep my fingers in. I’ve built a rep now. I won’t lose it by dropping out.”

“Your reputation will follow you to L.A. I’ll make sure of it. As for taking on other jobs, that’s fine. But I really think you should move.”

“No. I’ve built a life here. Okay, maybe a year isn’t exactly your idea of permanency, but for me, it is. If working for you means moving, then the answer is no.”

He ate a few mouthfuls of pasta, then nodded. “All right. I’m not pleased about it, but I’ll agree to your terms. You can work out of
Chicago and work for others as well as for me. The first task I had for you is in Chicago anyway. Detective work. I need to track down …”

After we parted I realized that he wasn’t “displeased” with the arrangement at all. I’d done exactly what he wanted—agreed to work for him. Throw in parts he knew I’d balk at—moving and having one exclusive employer—and by the time we were done haggling, I’d forget I hadn’t been sure I wanted to work for him at all. Sneaky bastard. Can’t say I wasn’t warned, though. Kristof got what he wanted, by any means necessary. Had to admire that in a guy.

So I started doing jobs for Kristof. Most of it was intelligence and legwork. Find this scroll for me. Find this person for me. Find out more about this person for me.

With Lavina, while I’d made it clear from the start that whatever rumors she’d heard, I was not an assassin for hire, that didn’t keep her from having me play the heavy now and then, roughing up slow-paying clients. Kristof never asked for that. He knew that if I was going to use violence, it was for my benefit—spell-blast someone who’d screwed me over, not someone an employer
said
screwed her over.

His monthly lessons stopped, but his monthly visits didn’t. Now we needed to discuss business. That could have been done by phone, but neither of us suggested it. We followed the old routine with the hotel suites, only now those visits included dinner—cooked or room service, depending on the hotel—and usually stretched on long after business was concluded.

As we relaxed with one another, the discussions got more spirited. Heated, even. Only on one matter, though, did they spill over into outright argument: the subject of Lavina.

He’d been right. She was still pursuing Dhamphir. She hadn’t pestered me for my involvement, but I knew that if she got in trouble, I’d suffer by association. I’d decided it was time to slide out of this relationship—preferably before the Cortezes came after her.

So I’d stopped getting her training. The relationship could have
ended there, because I’d been careful to keep our books balanced, never taking lessons I hadn’t already “paid” for in service. But I recognized that Lavina was a valuable contact to keep, so I still did a few jobs we’d already discussed.

I tried to make it clear, without being rude, that I considered this a favor, yet she seemed to think it was her due, like charging someone for a hotel room if she leaves halfway through her stay. Kristof wanted me to cut ties then, saying she’d only keep pushing if I didn’t. But I couldn’t risk my reputation, so I said I’d finish up.

He was right…again. Even after the jobs were done, she kept finding little things connected to jobs I’d done earlier, insisting they were part of the original task. She was cunning about it, though, not pushing me too hard, giving me only small jobs, easily done. Keeping me on the line. Keeping that last string attached. Keeping control.

Eventually, I said to hell with it. If she drove me out of Chicago, that was her loss. When she called, I’d ask how much the job paid. She got the message. If she wanted it badly enough, she did pay. Finally, that winter, when I told myself I’d be done with her in a job or two, she called and wanted me to do something a whole lot bigger.

“I’m meeting with Nico Tucci to discuss a partnership in the Dhamphir matter,” she said.

“I don’t—”

“—want anything to do with taking over Dhamphir. I know that, Eve, and while I think it’s a mistake to be so skittish around the Cabals, that’s a lesson for another teacher to impart. What I’m asking is only for your bodyguard services at the meeting.”

“Because Tucci is a sorcerer? With a history of double-crossing his partners?”

“Exactly. But I also know that he does so only sporadically, suggesting he can be trusted under the right circumstances. He came to me on this matter, which is a good sign. And I intend to proceed with caution, which is why I’m asking for your help. You’ll accompany me to this meeting, but take no part in the negotiations.”

“Hired gun only?”

“Yes. For one evening’s work, I will pay you five hundred dollars, which is more than reasonable. After this, I won’t bother you again. Your debt is paid.”

My debt had been paid months ago. I didn’t say that, though. She was obviously desperate, and this was just the opportunity I needed to part on good terms.

“Where and when?” I asked.

Lavina led me to an abandoned warehouse. I think that at some point someone decreed that all clandestine meetings must be held in one. Woe to the criminal overlord who lives in a city thriving with commerce, with no empty warehouses to be found. He probably needs to build one, just to have a place to arrange late-night meetings.

I suppose the allure is that combination of enclosed and open. You’re hidden from prying eyes, yet within a cavernous space, making an ambush difficult. Still, there’s nothing to stop you from being jumped as you walk in or out of the building. Or being attacked from all sides once you’re in there. A flawed concept, and one I was painfully aware of as I moved into the lead.

As I was casting my sensing spell, my pager buzzed. I silenced it and checked the display. Kristof. His third page since late afternoon. I should have called him back, but he had a sixth sense for knowing when I was up to something. I shut off my pager.

I cast sensing spells and got two pings, one on either side of the doorway. I motioned for Lavina to wait. Then I slid soundlessly to the warehouse and cleared a peephole. A thick-necked thug leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Standing watch, not lying in wait. Same with the guy on the other side.

I motioned Lavina toward the door, then cast a binding spell on the first thug before walking through. It was just a precaution, and I released the spell when his partner greeted us with a grunt and waved us through.

Tucci stood in the middle of the room with another bodyguard. A quick sensing spell revealed two more at the other side of the building. I flashed five fingers to Lavina.

“Five bodyguards?” she said, her voice ringing through the empty building. “Really, Nico. I know I said I was bringing Eve, but you’re giving her ego a boost it doesn’t need. Two would be quite sufficient.”

When Tucci hesitated, I held up three fingers.

Lavina sighed. “All right, three. Do you see what you’re creating here?”

Tucci agreed to three, which is what Lavina and I had agreed on earlier. He sent two of his goons out. I followed them halfway to the door, cast a sensing spell and shook my head.

“If she can still detect them, they’re too close,” Lavina said. “Send them back to the car.”

He radioed instructions. I waited, then cast again and nodded.

“All right,” Lavina said. “Let’s talk. You want Dhamphir. I want Dhamphir. The only thing standing in our way is—”

Tucci tossed a photo at my feet. As I bent to pick it up, he threw another, then a third, all facedown. I gathered them, straightened, flipped them over, and swore.

Lavina waited, hand out. I gave them to her one at a time. In the first, Richard Granville lay in his blood-soaked bed, staring empty-eyed at the ceiling. In the second, Rick Jr. was facedown in his spaghetti, sauce and blood spattering the white tablecloth. In the third, his brother, Alan, floated at the bottom of his tub, electrocuted.

“I thought you’d like that last one,” Tucci said to me, pointing to Alan and smiling.

I didn’t smile back. I looked at Lavina. She calmly surveyed the photos, then stacked them.

“Messy,” she said. “I suppose what they say about your family’s connection to the mob is true. That could be a problem.”

“
That
could be a problem?” I said. “Hell, I don’t care how he killed them. He slaughtered a family with direct ties to—”

“The Cortez Cabal,” she said with a sigh. “So you insist. I’ve failed to see the evidence for that, Eve.”

“I showed you the evidence. You won’t believe—”

Her look told me I was out of line.

“You let your bodyguard give you business advice?” Tucci said. “
That
could be a problem, Lavina.”

“Former bodyguard. This is Eve’s last job with me. As you see, her mouth is a bit of a problem. A weakening in the spinal column doesn’t help matters.”

She gave me a withering look. I wasn’t withered. There was a difference between ballsy and suicidal, and killing the Granvilles had crossed it.

“Sorry, Lavina, but you knew how I felt about this. My employment ends here. If you want a bodyguard, I’ll escort you to your car now.”

I turned to go. She launched a binding spell, but I was ready, ducking fast and hitting her with a knockback. She stumbled back, her spell disrupted.

“Show some respect, Eve.”

“I am,” I said. “Otherwise, I’d have used my energy bolt. You knew my limits. You crossed them. I’m still offering to finish this job by escorting you—”

One of the thugs slammed a fist into my jaw. I didn’t see that coming and it hit full force, teeth rattling, blood spraying as I staggered back. I launched an energy bolt. He flew halfway across the warehouse, letting out a squeal of shock and pain. When the next one ran at me, I doubled the power and he dropped on the spot, howling, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. The third took a step toward me. I lifted my fingers. He stopped.

I turned to Lavina. “May I leave now?”

“Go,” she said. “And I’d suggest you keep going, Eve, because I’m not going to forget this.”

I met her gaze. “Neither will I.”

I didn’t make it out that easily. Tucci still had two guards within radio distance. They tried to ambush me. I was ready, but I still ended up with a second-degree burn on my arm from the one who was a fire half-demon. I killed the other. I could have incapacitated him and run, but we were beyond that point. Come at me with five thugs and I can’t leave them all standing.

The one in the warehouse probably wouldn’t survive his injuries either. I don’t regret that. They’d have done the same to me. Two deaths would only bolster my reputation. I didn’t do it for that reason, but it was a factor.

That first blow had left all my teeth intact, thankfully, but my split lip and bloody nose meant I was covered in blood. No taxis for me. I didn’t care, I could use the walk. It gave me time to reflect on my mistakes.
Reflect
isn’t quite the right word, I suppose. I’d screwed up, and I
knew it. I gave myself proper shit for it and spent the walk thinking of all the ways I could have handled it better.