A Little Street Magic (29 page)

“We’re the top of the heap. We can break into anything, go anywhere, and no one can stop us.” Frank paused. “We can live like kings and queens, taking whatever we want, whenever we want it.”

“Right, so why take a bunch of magical junk?” I asked, wondering exactly what I was supposed to do. Too bad I hadn’t practiced teleporting stuff I wasn’t touching. A cell phone was one thing. Two people? Entirely different.

“Because we can,” one of the other men said. “If we have it, they can’t use it against us.”

“Smart.” I kind of needed some guidance, and flicked a glance at Pacelli. He frowned. “If I join you, what do I get? See, I’m already a queen.”

Frank smiled. “I didn’t say the offer included you being one of us.”

There it was, Liam being right. “Well, that sucks. I guess my answer will have to be no then.”

He lifted his hand, and my breath caught as I glanced at it. A dark stone winked at me from the ring on one of his fingers. “I think your answer’s yes. Isn’t it?”

Bastard had cracked the code on Thorandryll’s mesmerizing ring. I felt myself nod, my face going slack. Frank moved his hand, and my eyes followed the ring. “I got her. Told you assholes it’d be easy with this.”

I was so screwed.

“Make her do something.” Isobel crawled onto the bed, and put her hand on his leg. She licked her lips, watching me. “Make her kill the hooker.”

The prostitute began to sob and beg. Agent Pacelli closed his eyes.

“That would make it clear who’s boss, huh?” Frank nodded. “All right. Jones, throw the hooker out the window.”

I didn’t try to fight the order, because I knew there was a vampire outside. Just used my TK to lift her, and sent her flying backward. Glass shattered and broke as she screamed, dropping from sight. A blur followed her, and I breathed a private sigh of relief as those in the room began laughing. She wouldn’t end up splattered, but I hoped she hadn’t been cut too badly, going through.

Agent Pacelli was glaring at me. Let him...as if I could do anything about that anyway. Frank’s lowering of his hand didn’t matter. I was under the ring’s spell, and didn’t have to see it anymore.

There had to be something I could do, but at that moment, nothing was coming to mind.

F
rank ordered me to stand beside the door and not use any of my abilities. I obeyed, because trying to resist didn’t work. The psychic band of psychos were in no hurry to vacate, appearing completely unconcerned by the knowledge that the place was surrounded.

No vampires came bursting in either. I figured that had to mean the one by the window had heard or seen enough for them to realize what had happened.

Logan would be worried sick, and I couldn’t contact him to let him know I was all right. Well, mostly all right.

Unless I could break free of the ring’s spell, when they decided it was time to leave, I’d be going with them. I’d become a murderer, killing people because Frank wanted me to. I’d probably never see my family or friends again. I’d never see my dogs or Logan again.

The realization sent a tear down my cheek, and Pacelli’s glare softened. He was watching me, but listening to them as they fought over which city they were going to rampage through next, and with how much of a bang they’d leave Santo Trueno.

“I say we blow everyone down there sky high,” Yodal said.

“Even better, make her do it.” Isobel pointed at me. “Bet some of her friends are down there.”

“Her guy’s down there.” It had to be Briar speaking. Liam had said he was the one with telepathy. “Shifter named Logan.”

When had he found that out? Had he been eavesdropping on us, or did he pick it out of my mind when I was thinking about Logan a minute ago? Or he could’ve gotten that information from Pacelli. It wasn’t exactly a secret. Nothing was secret, when Schumacher was determined to tease you.

Frank scowled. “That could be a problem. Jimmy, why don’t you grab her guy, bring him up here?”

“You want me to drop in on a bunch of armed cops?” Jimmy shook his head. He’d been the one who’d taken the laptop from me. “No way in hell. They got that pretty boy vampire down there. I heard Renee tell you that.”

Crap, had O’Neal seen the other vamps? I hadn’t, and didn’t think anyone else had, either. We only knew they were there because Derrick had told us so. I flicked a look at Briar, but he didn’t seem to be focused on me.

“I’ll go get him.” Isobel stood and stretched, before cracking her knuckles. Her thin lips stretched into a leer. “Can we keep him for a while? It’d be fun.”

“Get him, and we’ll see.” Frank twisted the ring around his finger. “Might keep him as a whipping boy for her.”

No, no, no. This is not happening
. I watched Isobel blink out of existence, my mind spinning.

“Nah, let’s just kill him. Nice and slow, while she watches.” Yodal called dancing flames to his fingertips. “I haven’t had much fun lately.”

My fear went up in flames of my own as anger filled me. He had to go down first, Frank second. Those two were the scariest. If O’Neal were outside the room, she’d have to open the door to come in, cloaked or not. How long would it be before Isobel returned with Logan?

Maybe she wouldn’t. Derrick and Stone were both out there. Logan was with them.

I heard a faint sound out in the hallway, followed by a thump loud enough to attract Briar’s attention. “Something’s going on out there.”

“Then go check.” Frank pointed at me. “You come over here, stand in the corner by me.”

My legs felt like lead as I moved. The new vantage point gave me an excellent view of the door, but I could barely see the window, and Pacelli’s head, from the corner of my eye. I could’ve reached out to strangle Frank, if I’d been able to move my arms. I was angry enough to do it.

Briar and Yodal went to check, leaving the door open.

“Think I’ll let Yodal have her guy. He’s getting on my nerves with his whining, the sick bastard.” Frank scratched at his scar again. “I don’t like shifters anyway.”

“Isobel does.” Jimmy was shivering. He was bone thin, and his teeth weren’t in great shape. Meth head? “She screwed her way through nearly the whole pack, back home.”

“She ain’t screwing this guy.”

No, she was not. Logan was
mine
. The thought growled through my mind, and I thought another echoed it. She wasn’t going to touch him, Yodal wasn’t going to torture him.

Jimmy fidgeted, looking at the door. “What’s taking them so long?”

“Calm down, and stay put. You’re my ticket out of here.”

Jimmy didn’t move, but he also didn’t calm down. “Shouldn’t she be back with the guy now?”

Pacelli chuckled. “I think your friends may have run into trouble.”

Oh, now he wanted to help. My insides squirmed, and I wondered if Sal had hitched a ride again, but the movement didn’t feel the same, exactly.

“Shut up.” Frank waved a hand in the agent’s direction, and specks of blood broke out on Pacelli’s face and hands. “I don’t need you anymore.”

“What if he’s right? Isobel should’ve been back. The guys have been gone too long. Maybe that sound was someone jumping Renee.” Jimmy was scratching his arms, his eyes blinking at a furious rate.

“I am right,” Pacelli said. “It’s just you two now. They’re captured.”

“I said, shut up.” Frank’s second wave brought blood pouring out of the agent, who screamed in shocked pain.

Repulsed, I tried to move, but nothing happened. I couldn’t even yell at Frank to stop.

I need help. Sal!
My mental scream appeared to go unanswered, but then I realized my right arm was moving. Neither of the men noticed, Jimmy dancing back from Pacelli’s bloody, screaming figure, and Frank watching the agent bleed.

The squirming had stopped, but something was still moving inside me, and it had control. My hand dove into my coat, under my shirt, and grabbed.

A second later, I was free of the spell, my ears ringing from the shot. Pacelli fell silent, Jimmy blinked out of sight, and slowly, oh so slowly, Frank toppled over onto his side.

I’d shot him. Or rather, whatever had taken control of my body had shot him.

Isobel reappeared, clinging to Logan’s back with her arms around his neck. She sang out, “Got him!”

I swung my gun from Frank’s body to her head. “I got someone too. Now it’s your turn.”

Surprised, she didn’t react fast enough. Logan took three steps back, slamming her into the wall. Her head bounced off, and her eyes fluttered shut. Lowering my gun, I said, “We need to get Pacelli to the ambulance.”

“Are you okay?” He let her drop to the floor by taking a step forward.

“I’m fine. Pacelli’s not.” I tucked my gun into my coat pocket, listening to the soft, satisfied purr echoing in my mind.

“Y
ou used your gun?” If Damian’s eyes grew any wider, his eyeballs were going to fall out of his head.

I dropped it into the baggie Schumacher was holding out. “I do have a license, and I practice.”

“Yeah, under duress. Kate’s shared how much you complain about that. But you never carry it.”

“It’s a good thing she did.” Pacelli winced. He was on a gurney, already hooked up to an IV. They’d cleaned some of the blood from his face. “He was killing me.”

Stannett stood with his arms crossed. “You said you were under the influence of that ring.”

“I was. Guess hearing him screaming was the final kicker in breaking free. I’d been fighting it the whole time.” I signed the paper Schumacher shoved under my nose, and calmly continued lying. “I didn’t know what using TK or whatever on Frank would do. But I figured a bullet would stop him, and what he was doing to Pacelli, for sure.”

Damian was shaking his head. “You
never
carry your gun. Why did you even have it?”

“Someone told me I was becoming too predictable.” I gave Schumacher his pen back. “I’m trying not to be predictable anymore.”

“I
s that really what happened?” Logan looked over from the driver’s seat.

“Was it that obvious I was lying?”

He chuckled. “No.”

“I couldn’t break free.” I hesitated. “I tried, especially when they were talking about bringing you up and killing you. Or rather, letting Yodal slowly burn you to death. But I couldn’t break free of the spell.”

Logan nodded. “So how’d you manage to shoot the guy?”

“I didn’t. Cerridwen woke up, and she did.” There was no other explanation, especially with the purring afterward. “But I think she’s back asleep now. Or maybe she’s left. I don’t know.”

“Okay, so the First Queen’s spirit woke up, took over your body, and managed to shoot the guy right in the head.” He nodded. “Makes perfect sense.”

“No it doesn’t, but it’s what happened.” I was tired, and there was blood on my coat from Pacelli. “This is one of those nights when I really wish I was a normal person.”

Logan put his hand on my leg. “If you were a normal person, you’d be dead.”

Couldn’t argue with that.