Wicked Fantasy (3 page)

Gerry coughed to get their attention. “Umm, has anyone seen my pet snake? He slipped in here—”

Oomph. The women shoved her against the wall as they all stampeded from the restroom like the wrinkle fairy was in hot pursuit. The two women still in the stalls screeched as they lifted their feet off the floor.

“Is it poisonous?” This from the stall nearest the exit. Sounded terrified. “If I tiptoe, can I slip out the door?”

“Who the hell would bring a snake into a club anyway?” The middle stall. Sounded really cranky. “I bet it's illegal. Where's my cell phone? I'll ask my lawyer.” Rooting-around-in-purse noises.

Uh-oh. Gerry had to keep them there until she cornered Jinx. He'd be waiting for the first woman to open the door so he could slither out. “Leaving is so not a good idea. Jinx attacks anything that moves. Stay still. And keep your feet off the floor. He loves ankles. Can we say bloodthirsty predator? He enjoyed the last ankle he bit so much that he left his little fang embedded in it. Don't worry, though, the fang grew back.”

Silence. Okay, that had worked out semi-nicely. Gerry figured it wouldn't take her long to locate Jinx and then—

Someone flung the restroom door open. Damn. Jinx's body was a green blur as he made a break for freedom. “Stop him!” If she didn't catch Jinx, she may as well flush her budding career down any one of the room's toilets. What were her chances, though, that any woman walking through the door would collar Jinx?

But the hand that reached down with blinding speed to scoop Jinx up was very male. And very familiar. “I think you have some explaining to do.” Conall's sexy mouth was drawn into a grim line.

He glanced at the stalls. “I have the snake, ladies. You can come out when I leave. Be sure to talk to Sparkle Stardust. The club will want to make up for all your mental anguish.”

“Mental anguish? Give me a break.” Gerry blinked to keep from rolling her eyes.

“Mmm. Every club should have a sexy guy in the ladies' room for little . . . emergencies that come along.” Eyes peered at Conall through the cracks in the stall doors. The middle stall was in a better mood now.

Conall held Jinx by his tail. The ring slid from the snake's body and into Conall's open hand. He studied the ring before handing it to Gerry. Then without speaking, he pulled open the door and waited for her to walk past him.

Once in the hallway, he studied the little green snake still dangling from his fingers and then speared Gerry with a tell-all-or-die glare. “Talk.”

Urp. Gerry stared up at Conall. Way up. Good Lord, he filled the whole doorway. And he looked determined.
Really
determined. She didn't blame Jinx for not trying to change back to human form. This guy would make green Jell-O out of him.

There'd be no escaping without feeding Conall some kind of story. Possibilities raced through her mind, all completely implausible. If she couldn't think of a believable lie, she may as well tell him the truth. He'd think she was crazy, but that was fine with her. As long as he gave Jinx back.

She nodded at the snake. “Jinx is a thief. He's also a shape-shifter. I work for a group dedicated to making sure that nonhuman entities obey Texas laws.” There. He'd gaze at her blankly and then either laugh or shake his head in disbelief. “Now if you'll give Jinx to me, I'll see that he doesn't visit the Castle of Dark Dreams again.” She held out her hand.

Jinx turned his beady little eyes toward her, and Gerry didn't have any trouble reading his intention. He'd wait until Conall was gone and then he'd return to human form, counting on his speed and strength to escape from the rookie cop. Was he in for a surprise.

Conall raised his hand, moving Jinx out of her reach. Jinx looked a little panicky as the floor grew more distant.

“Uh-uh. Don't touch. Thieves don't slither in and then just slither out. I figure Jinx came in this direction because he left his clothes in the men's room. I'll go get them and then we'll meet you outside the castle. Jinx and I need to have a man-to-snake talk.” Conall smiled at her, but the humor didn't reach those cold gray eyes. “So you police the paranormal world? A cool but strange job for a human.”

“Uh, right.”

“Give the ring to Sparkle. She'll get it back to the owner.”

Gerry stared wide-eyed as he turned and walked into the men's room, leaving her standing there. Not only did he believe her, but he'd kept Jinx. She was screwed.

Anger roiled, and she thought about racing after him, using her superior strength to body-slam him to the floor, and then ripping Jinx away from his grasp. What a satisfying thought.

Of course, she'd have to do this in the men's room. In front of men performing necessary bodily functions. Not the low-key approach Payton favored. Maybe Payton was right about not calling attention to her . . . uniqueness.

Okay, she could handle this. First she'd get rid of the ring, and then she'd retrieve her prisoner.

It didn't take long to find Sparkle. She was waiting for Gerry at the end of the hall. “A mob of women almost knocked me down a few minutes ago, and I just saw Conall go into the men's room holding a snake. Dare I hope for an explanation?” Her eyes were bright with curiosity as she led Gerry back to her table.

“No.” Gerry didn't have time for idle chitchat. She held the ring out to Sparkle. “I found this in the restroom. Someone must've taken it off when they washed their hands.” The lie didn't matter since she'd never see Sparkle again.

Sparkle took the ring and stared down at it. “So glittery, so beautiful.” She sounded mesmerized.

Weird. Gerry half expected her to fly off to her nest with the shiny bauble, cawing happily. “Well, it was great meeting you, but—”

“You should answer your phone.” Sparkle never once glanced away from the ring.

Gerry frowned. “Why? I turned it off when I—” Her phone rang. What the . . . ? She pulled the phone from her pocket. Yeah, it was definitely ringing. She moved away from the table to take the call.

“Gerry, this is your supreme leader. I assume no one is listening.”

Gerry sighed. Supreme leader? God save her from old vamps who'd once been dictators of small third-world countries. “I hear you, Payton. What do you have?” She knew her boss wasn't calling about Jinx. Little pissant thieves didn't warrant a call from Payton the Pompous.

“I just received a tip from a reliable but anonymous source that one of the most dangerous entities on earth is staying at the Castle of Dark Dreams.” Payton oozed self-importance. “Unfortunately, you're the only one we have on the spot.”

She could almost hear his frown. Gerry grinned. Tough shit. This was her chance to prove she could handle more dangerous criminals than Jinx. “Name and description?”

“Mmm.” Payton would be studying his computer screen right now. “He has many aliases. I'll e-mail you a list. Usually only uses a first name. No last name on record. Tall, sandy-colored hair, amber eyes, and irresistible to women. Oh, and he has a grim reaper tattoo on his right arm. Do not, I repeat,
do not
try to apprehend. If you locate him, simply observe whom he meets and what he does. I've recalled Burke from his assignment. He'll be down to take over as soon as possible.”

Gerry narrowed her eyes. Not if she had anything to say about it. She was ultracompetitive. Always had been. This was
her
man. “What type of entity is he, and what's he wanted for?”

She spoke quietly as she glanced at Sparkle. Sparkle offered her a finger wave before turning to the two angry-looking women bearing down on her. Gerry guessed these were the “mentally anguished” women from the restroom.

“It doesn't specify what type of entity, but he's wanted for marrying, fleecing, and then permanently disposing of five hundred wealthy women.”

Five hundred?
Wow. If she handled this case right, she would advance right up the paranormal police ranks. “So he's offed a bunch of wives. Definitely a creepy criminal. But he's just dangerous to his wives, right? I mean, he's not a whoever-gets-in-my-damn-way serial killer?”

“The report says he murdered three hundred twenty-one husbands and one hundred fifty nosy neighbors who ‘got in the way' of his marriages.” Payton was starting to sound a little bored.

Too bad. This was her butt on the line. “So that's it, right? Just his wives, their husbands, and their neighbors?”

“Along with ten pizza delivery guys, four meter readers, three pool boys, and two carriage drivers who saw too much.”

Gulp. “Carriage drivers?”

“He's been around for a while.” Payton coughed, his signal that the briefing was over. “Good luck. Oh, did you catch Jinx?”

“Yes.” Kind of.

“Good, good. I'll let you know when Burke is on his way.” Payton hung up before she could involve him in a chat about a few minor details.

Like how the hell was she supposed to catch a nonhuman killing machine when she'd only been on the force for a few months? Yeah, she'd wanted to move up from tracking the Jinxes of the world, but this guy sounded seriously homicidal.

Okay, choices. She could hang around until Burke rode to her rescue. Not a choice at all. Her extreme drive for success had paid high dividends in her sales career before she became vampire. She intended to parlay that same drive into a great career at PUFF. To do that, she had to ID this murderer and then bring him down.

Right now, though, she had a snake to arrest. She'd worry about Hell's Husband afterward. She turned to smile at Sparkle, who'd made short work of her two outraged customers. “I think I'll be staying in the castle for a few days. Hope they have a free room.”

Sparkle looked way too pleased. “Oh, yesss. I'll have time to expand your sensual universe beyond your wildest dreams. That's assuming you have any wild dreams.” She almost purred at the possibilities. “September is busy, but talk to Holgarth and he'll get you a room. You'll find him in the great hall organizing the nightly fantasies.”

Fantasies? Oh, right. The Castle of Dark Dreams was part of Live the Fantasy, an adult theme park where people could role-play until they dropped. Good thing she didn't have any desire to act out strange and scary scenarios. Been there, done that. Besides, she had work to do. A killer was on the loose and probably scoping out another rich wife even as they spoke.

“Will do. Now I've got to go out and collect my snake.” She winced as she realized what she'd just said. Sparkle would bury her under a deluge of questions.

Sparkle merely smiled as she slipped the ring onto her finger and held it up so she could admire it some more. “Enjoy your stay in the castle. And don't forget to water the plant.”

Plant? What the . . . ? Gerry didn't get it. Where was the curiosity and anger over the snake? Well, she wasn't going to hang around to find out. “See you.” Then she hurried from the club and out of the castle to where Conall waited in the shadows with Jinx.

Gerry paused to let the darkness wrap around her. She loved the humid warmth of the Galveston air. No more freezing her buns off during Chicago winters. Although it wasn't the cold winds that blew her out of her hometown. Too many life-altering events happened there, and some memories weren't all warm and fuzzy.

She glanced up at the looming castle, which was spotlighted for effect, and then down at the shadowed figure of Conall. For whatever reason, both sent an unwelcome chill down her spine.

The huge keep with its four square towers along with a moat, curtain wall, and drawbridge had a sort of savage beauty. But even though it was white, no one would ever mistake it for a fairy-tale castle.

Almost the same could be said for Conall. Savage beauty was a perfect description. But she didn't understand her frisson of fear as he watched her approach. Sure, he was big, buff, and really scary. But he was human. That should cancel out any worry on her part. It didn't.

Oh, what the hey, she was letting the castle's brooding atmosphere get to her. She pasted on a smile as she reached the two men. “So, Jinx, had a busy night?” Gerry put off meeting Conall's stare, but she could feel it.

“That was a great ring. I coulda fenced it for big bucks. You got no heart, lady. I have a mortgage and car payment to make in three days.” He twisted his narrow face into an expression of pitiful desperation.

Gerry sighed and ignored Conall's restless movements. Jinx wasn't a big man, but Conall made him look even smaller and more nondescript. And that's what Jinx wanted. A thief no one remembered was a successful thief.

“Gonna tell me about your starving wife and children now?” She kept her expression neutral.

She watched Jinx calculate his chances with that story. He must've seen something in her eyes because he shook his head. “No wife and children.” His expression brightened. “But I do have an old, feeble mother who—”

“Shut up.” Conall had spoken.

Everyone shut up. Gerry swallowed hard and searched for her missing voice. God, the man was walking intimidation. She wondered if she'd have that kind of presence after a few more years of experience. Nah. That talent was natural. You either had it or you didn't.

“Your prisoner bit me.” He held up his thumb. Sure enough there were tiny twin fang marks on it.

“Yes, well, I'm sorry for that. I'll take him off your hands now and—”

“No.”

The deep resonance of the word bounced around in her head for a few seconds before triggering her anger. “I don't think you have a say in the matter, Mr. McNair. I represent the Paranormal Undercover Field Force and . . .” Oops, she hadn't meant to blurt that out.