Hell Bent bm-1 Read online

  “That’s a nice piece of magic there, Shamus,” Clyde said. “What’s going on?”

  He settled in a chair against the wall across from Terric’s desk, and I leaned against the door, my arms crossed over my chest.

  “We think Eli Collins is killing people,” I said.

  “Collins the Cutter?” he asked. “You think he’s back in Portland?”

  “There have been a string of murders here lately,” Terric said. “Which might be connected to him. There has been an even longer string of missing persons. Have you been briefed on them?”

  “Detective Stotts mentioned the case when I stopped in yesterday after the meeting. Thought I’d check with you on anything else you know that he doesn’t.”

  “I’ve been keeping him up to date on everything,” Terric said. “Except for what we just found out. Joshua Romero was found dead in his car down on Burnside today.”

  Clyde exhaled and sat back.

  “Did Joshua and Eli have history?” he asked.

  Terric shook his head. “I don’t know. Other than the battles here a few years back, I don’t know if they ever crossed paths.”

  “How did he die?” Clyde asked.

  “Magic,” I said.

  “Like the bodies that keep showing up in Forest Park?”

  “There’s been more than one?” I asked.

  Terric nodded to me. Then to Clyde. “Not quite. Joshua was cut—glyphs were cut into his skin. Death, Pain, and Binding.”

  “And you think Collins did this?”

  “He’s done it before—cut spells into people,” I said. “Davy Silvers.”

  “I know about Davy.” Clyde rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Why didn’t you go to the police if you think it’s connected to the other deaths?”

  “Because if it is Eli, then we have another problem on our hands,” Terric said.

  “Go on.”

  “He’s killing with magic,” I said. “Unless he’s come up with some kind of technology to increase magic’s power, then the only way one man can be strong enough to kill someone with magic is . . .”

  “If he’s found his Soul Complement,” Terric finished.

  Clyde’s eyebrows ticked up. “Damn.”

  He took some time to think that through, while I exchanged meaningful glances with Terric. Was he going to tell Clyde we needed the files and some time to track Eli without every person in the Authority and on the police force knowing what we were doing, or was I?

  “I wasn’t involved in Closing Eli all those years ago,” Clyde said. “Victor took care of that, I think. But I’ve briefly looked over his file. Especially after he was a part of the fight to rejoin magic you were all involved in. As I recall, he was instrumental in saving Soul Complements then.”

  “That was then,” I said. “Allie was calling the shots and he listened to her, devil only knows why. As soon as he got the Soul Complements to safety, he disappeared.”

  “Tell me what you have planned,” he said.

  “It’s not much of a plan yet,” Terric started.

  “Well, you should know that Ter here agreed to let an ex-government assassin in on this case.”

  “The redhead out there?”

  “We agreed,” Terric said. “And we don’t know that she’s an assassin, just that she’s ex-government.”

  “With a sniper rifle,” I said.

  Terric sighed. “She said her brother was killed by wounds similar to Joshua’s. She has a personal stake in finding the killer, and seems pretty intent on dating Shame.”

  “It’s not a date,” I said. “It’s pizza.”

  “She poisoned you.”

  “Just a little.”

  “Isn’t that what your kind call foreplay?” he asked.

  “My kind?”

  “So she’s a liability,” Clyde interrupted.

  “She’s someone who has information we can use,” I said. “On the Breaker hunt.”

  Clyde held my gaze, then shifted his look to Terric.

  “She could be useful,” Terric admitted. What did you know? He actually agreed with me. “And I don’t think we’d have any problem handling her.”

  “When was the last time you two used magic together?” Clyde asked.

  “It’s been a while,” Terric said.

  Which was good, because frankly, I couldn’t remember the last time he and I had actually used magic together, as in hand in hand at the same time to break it and make it do really dangerous things.

  That little scuffle in the alley with the ox, Hamilton, didn’t count. I’d been angry, and while Terric’s proximity meant I could draw stronger spells, just like the Mute spell that was currently keeping this conversation from being overheard, we had not broken magic in a long, long time.

  “I’d like to keep it that way,” Clyde said. “The Overseer is recommending Soul Complements get the hell out of Dodge. I agree. And if you are stubborn enough to actually stay in the area—yes, I’m looking at you, Flynn—then you’d better not pull on magic. And neither of you should break it.”

  Terric frowned, and opened his mouth, but Clyde continued. “Because breaking it sets off sensors we think the government has developed. Sensors that will lead them to the people breaking magic.”

  “That’s new,” Terric noted.

  He nodded. “I’ve had some enlightening conversations with the Overseer the last couple days. Breaking magic will only paint an even larger target on your heads.”

  “We weren’t telling you we were going to break magic,” I said. “We’re telling you—”

  “Asking you,” Terric corrected.

  “Fine,” I said, “asking you to give us a day or two to hunt for Collins.”

  “Before we get the police or anyone else in the Authority involved,” Terric said.

  Clyde shook his head. “No.”

  “Come again?” I said.

  “No,” he repeated.

  The rings on my right hand crackled with red. I shut my mouth on what I hoped was a smile. “No?”

  Terric sighed. “You don’t want us hunting Eli?”

  Clyde kept his attention on me, even though he was answering Terric. “I don’t want you hunting Eli. I don’t want Davy involved either, in case you’re wondering. And I don’t want some unknown woman anywhere near our business. We work with the law, gentlemen. We are not vigilantes. We do not pursue personal agendas or revenge. Our job is to take care of Authority business as smoothly and discreetly as possible. We have never used Breakers as assassins. We aren’t going to start that now.”

  “We didn’t say we were going to kill Eli,” I said.

  “I heard you. But I know you, Shame. This isn’t your call anymore. Neither of you is the Head of the Authority. I am. If you want to remain on the payroll in some other capacity, then you’re going to have to get used to my orders and follow them.”

  “Why are you always looking at me?”

  “Because I know which of you won’t play by the rules.”

  I gave him my best smile. “I like rules. They make that cracking sound when they break.”

  “Shame,” Terric said. “He’s right. This isn’t our call. It’s his. Is there anything you need from us?”

  “Your keys. Dash has already given me access to the files and everything else.” He paused a minute.

  I was not paying attention to him. Because I was angry, and angry only led to hungry, and most days, like say when Clyde was not telling me what I could and couldn’t do, I liked him.

  “...to see you both check in here if you’re staying. We’ll need to come up with protection plans,” he was saying. “You remember there’s a meeting in a few hours with the Overseer, right?”

  “We’ll be there,” Terric promised, as if I weren’t standing in the room. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  Clyde pushed up onto his feet. “You and I square, Flynn?”

  “Not really.” Like I said, he and I did not bullshit each
other.

  “You know what I don’t get about you?” he said.

  “How I get all the chicks?”

  “How after years of doing jack-all, you finally decide that today, and this one thing, is something you’re going to apply yourself to. The one damn thing I have to tell you not to do.”

  “I could come up with other damn things you wouldn’t want me to do.”

  “I’d rather you put your energy into staying alive.”

  “Yeah. Well, that’s not really my thing.”

  “When you decide what your thing is?” He stepped toward the door and fixed me with a look. “Warn me, okay?”

  “Now, where’s the fun in that?” I asked.

  I dropped the Mute spell with a slash of my hand, and black light snapped across my rings.

  Clyde shook his head and walked out the door.

  “Shame,” Terric said before I could take a step. “You and I have a meeting this morning.”

  “I heard. I’m not going anywhere until then.”

  He nodded. “And lunch. With Dessa.”

  “Don’t need you to be my secretary, Ter.”

  He was still sitting behind his desk, fingers resting lightly on the surface. “Good. I’ll be out in a minute.” He swiveled his chair so he could stare out at the city.

  Dawn was rubbing the black off the sky. Looked like it wasn’t going to rain for a change.

  I left him to his moping and joined the others in the main room.

  Dessa and Dash seemed to have hit it off pretty well, laughing over something—I think a recent movie.

  I wondered how much information she’s gotten out of him. Knowing Dash, zero.

  She was drinking a cup of coffee, and looking . . . well, comfortable.

  When she saw me coming and gave me that smile? Something inside me went warm and my heart tapped a hard beat.

  What was wrong with me? It’s not like I’d never seen a beautiful woman before. But her smile. That smile. For me. It was undiscovered country and I wanted that. Wanted to make her smile.

  Those thoughts set off alarms in my head. The warm feeling in my chest felt a lot like happiness. Maybe even hope. Two things that had never worked out well for me.

  Things that might be best ignored.

  “You two seem to have gotten chummy,” I said.

  Dash leaned against one of the empty desks. I wondered, not for the first time, why we had so damn many desks that no one ever sat at.

  “Good coffee, good company,” Dash said. “So, what’s the word?”

  I shook my head. “We’re not going to pursue this.”

  Dash nodded and took a drink of his coffee, keeping an eye on Dessa. He had excellent instincts.

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  I sat on the edge of an empty desk and stuck my hands in my jacket pockets. “I don’t know how much research you’ve done on the Authority, but you must know that we have rules, structure, policies. We work inside the law. Yes, we kept Joshua’s death quiet for a few hours, but we’re getting the police involved. We’re turning the investigation of his death—and who killed him—over to them.”

  Dash stood. “I’ll start making calls.” He strolled off to his office, stopping to talk with Clyde, who was on his cell phone near the far window.

  “Really?” she said. “This is how you’re going to play it?”

  “Isn’t a game, darling. We’ve had our see of things, and we’ll be turning all information over to the police. You’re welcome to come along if you’d like.”

  She stood. Left her coffee behind. Stepped up in my space.

  My body responded to her: heartbeat, blood, breath. Pounding. Needful.

  I didn’t let it show. But I wanted to. Wanted to smile, and draw her in, and kiss her again until her clothes fell off.

  “If you’re lying to me,” she said.

  “I’m not.”

  She studied my face, the corners of her mouth pulling just slightly downward. Searching for my tell.

  “This isn’t my poker face,” I said. “This is my truth face. We’re off this case. Now, if you want to make everyone’s life a little easier, you could go talk to Mr. Turner over there and tell him what you know about . . . everything.”

  She placed her hand on my knee. Heat scorched across my body. And I held my breath on a groan.

  Keep it cool, Shamus. Keep it cool.

  “You’re going to take orders from him?”

  “Today I am.”

  “What about tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow looks good too.”

  For a second, her mask slipped, and the woman who was grieving for the brother she loved was standing there, with hope breaking in her eyes. “So you’re telling me no. Again.”

  “That’s the way it has to be.”

  She glanced over my shoulder. Terric was still in his office watching the sun rise on the end of his career. Dash and Clyde had closed themselves in Dash’s smaller office.

  No help there.

  “Shame,” she began. “You could give me a list of names, and I’ll take it from there. I can stay out of the way. Out of your way, out of the way of the police investigation. Please. You won’t even see me.”

  There she was again, the woman behind the mask. The one who was willing to do anything to see that her brother’s killer was taken down. The one who rescued purple turtles for babies.

  “Who says I don’t want to see you?” I said softly.

  “Do you?”

  What was I thinking? The best thing I could do for her—the best thing I could do for anyone—was keep them far away from me and my hunger.

  “Well, we do have a lunch date,” I said, trying to keep it light.

  “Yes,” she said. “We do.”

  “I’m not going to give you any information, though,” I said.

  “I understand that. I’m sure we’ll find something else to talk about.”

  “Good. Oh, and, Dessa, if I were you, I’d give up on the revenge business.”

  She shook her head and lifted her hand away from my knee. “No,” she said quietly, “you wouldn’t.”

  I gave her half a smile before she turned to walk away. She was absolutely right. When it came to revenge, there was nothing on this earth that could stop me.

  Chapter 12

  Dessa said good-bye to Dash, got the address of the pizza place, and was gone.

  “Maybe you should invest in a bulletproof vest,” Dash said as he picked up the stray coffee cups and returned them to the coffee station.

  “Wouldn’t do me any good,” I said. “I don’t think she’d aim at my heart.”

  “Bulletproof jockstrap?”

  I grinned. “Helmet. I think if I really crossed her, she’d take me down with one clean shot.”

  He chuckled and walked off tugging at the cuffs of his shirt. The windows were bright enough, there was no use denying day had arrived. The pulse of the city was pumping.

  I sat at one of the empty desks and tried to push the spike of hunger away. Nothing here to consume, Flynn. No one deserved that kind of death.

  I rolled my fingers, grinding the rings between them, the metallic scrape becoming a rhythm to cover the song of the living. I closed my eyes and tried to lose myself to it.

  Dash set something down beside me with a clunk.

  I opened my eyes.

  “I hate this plant,” he said.

  Then he turned his back and walked toward the half-filled boxes by my old desk and started packing again.

  I glanced down at the plant. A fern, I think. Did a check on the room: Eleanor wandering between desks, Terric and Clyde standing between the offices, talking quietly, Dash packing crap out of my desk.

  No one was watching me.

  I took a breath. Control would be good. Focused on the fern. This, just this one plant, was all the life I could have. So I was going to savor every damn frond.

  I dragged the fingertip of my left hand gently along one arching branch of the
thing, drawing out the life slowly, leaf by leaf, all the way to the arrow-sharp end, draining it, killing it. Reducing it to fragile brown bones.

  I licked my lips, and my finger trembled just a bit as I moved on to the next branch. Repeated the process. Then again. And again. Slow as I could. Like a ritual. Like this would be the last life I’d ever taste. Like it could fill the endless hungry hole inside me.

  Didn’t work. Nothing stopped the hunger.

  Still, it was something. An offering to the monster. Enough to keep me in the clear for a few more minutes.

  Which, really, was as good as it was going to get.

  “...or are you going to walk?” Terric was asking as he strode across the room.

  I glanced up, then around. Yep, he was talking to me.

  About that time he noticed the dead plant next to me. His expression shifted from annoyed to something else.

  “I’ll drive,” he said a little more gently. “Dash, I’m sorry to leave you with the packing. I’ll try to be back this afternoon.”

  Dash gave Terric a smile. “The last thing you need to worry about right now is paperwork,” he said. “I got this. Good luck at the meeting.”

  “See you boys soon,” Clyde said.

  “Shame?” Terric pointed toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  So we went. Hallway, elevator, street with people headed to work, headed to breakfast, headed home, and finally, his car.

  I ducked in, my heart pounding too hard.

  “Are you . . .”

  “I’m hungry,” I said.

  “Do you want—”

  “No. Don’t. Just don’t talk to me for the drive.”

  Terric started the car. That was the last of the world I paid attention to other than Eleanor’s cold hand resting against the back of my neck, which did some little good to cool the fire burning in me.

  I closed my eyes behind my sunglasses and pushed the life around me away, far away.

  If I could disappear in my head for a year, it wouldn’t be long enough.

  Came to with the scent of bacon filling my senses.

  Opened my eyes. I was still sitting in the passenger’s side of the car. The engine was not running. The car was parked. Eleanor was nowhere to be seen.