Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (4 page)

Delia
nodded as she went to Aurora’s bassinet. “And you’re a Succubus,” she said
plainly. She met Lily’s eyes with challenging brown ones of her own. “But I
won’t hold that against you if you don’t hold it against me.”

Lily’s
eyes widened a fraction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. With
everything going on, I found it weird that Troy was leaving the baby with
anyone. I just figured that you were a member of his Pack.”

A
laugh escaped Delia. “There’s no need to apologize,” she said easily. “I’m used
to the questions. It’s just so rare that I’m meeting someone other than a
Mage.” She picked the baby up and motioned towards a nearby chair. “Do you want
to feed her? It’s almost that time, and I’m sure it would make everyone feel a
little better.”

Lily
looked at Aurora and nervously bit her lip. “I’ve never held one before. What
if I drop her?”

Delia
shook her head. “Sit down. I’ll be right here. But I can’t check on the others
with her in my arms.” She nodded when Lily sat in the rocking chair. “Now, just
hold your arms like this, and she can rest comfortably right here.”

Lily
couldn’t stop the smile that crossed her face when Aurora started to grunt and
whine. She didn’t like having her sleep disturbed. Lily glanced at Delia when
the nurse pressed a small bottle into her hand. “It’s not too hot or anything?”

“Everything
was ready for Troy to feed her. Just put the nipple near her mouth. She’ll
latch on and drain it dry, watch.”

Lily
did as instructed and mused when Aurora latched onto the bottle and started to
drink. “You are a precious little thing aren’t you,” Lily whispered as she
started to slowly rock the chair back and forth. She smiled gently when Aurora
opened honey brown eyes and looked at her. “Everyone should be fussing over
you, but there are some stupid people out in the world and they want to hurt
your mom.” Lily smiled as the baby reached out and grabbed one of her fingers.
“The only reason why they took her was because they’re scared of her. I bet you
didn’t know that your mom is one of the most powerful people I know. Nothing is
going to keep her away from you. And your daddy and uncles and everyone are
going to move Heaven and Earth to find her.”

“We
will find her,” Barry said softly. When Lily looked up, he stepped closer to
them and looked down at his niece. “
It’s
how we find
her that worries me.”

Lily
looked up into his face and saw how torn he was. Part of her wanted to rant at
him. It had been stupid of him to keep something as important as the End Days
under his hat. Another part understood why he did it. She shook her head and
turned her attention back to the baby. “We can’t think about that. Not right
now. The boys will need everyone to be strong. And then we also have to make
sure hot heads stay cool.”

Barry
nodded as he knelt next to the rocking chair. “That’s why Dad sent Sloane out
with Jimmy. I’m pretty sure he’s ready to tear the DMV apart looking for Madi.”
Barry reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind Lily’s ear. He watched her
for a long moment before he turned his attention to the baby in her arms. “But
why go after Madison?”

“Why not?”
Lily noticed
Aurora’s slack jaw and gently pulled the bottle away from her. She looked
around the nursery and saw that Delia was walking towards her with a white
cloth in her hand. “She’s finished.”

Delia
smiled as she took the baby away from Lily and lifted her up onto her own
shoulder. With practiced ease, she started patting the baby on the back. “I
just got a call from the front desk. Troy and Dennis are on their way. We’re
going to have Aurora checked out a little earlier than expected,” she told
them.

There
wasn’t a doubt in Lily’s mind that Dennis pulled some strings to get his
granddaughter out of here and safely tucked away with the Wolf Pack. “That’s
fine,” Lily said. Without thinking, she stood and took Barry’s hand into her
own. “I want to talk with Barry in the hall. If it’s not too much trouble, can
you leave her someplace where I can see her?”

From
the look in Delia’s eyes, Lily’s worth just went up. “That won’t be a problem,”
she replied before taking the baby to the bassinette in front of the large
window.

Lily
nodded her thanks and guided Barry out of the room. When the door closed behind
them, she turned to Barry. “I’ve been thinking,” she started. “To answer your
question earlier, Madison was the easiest target. She just had a baby. She’s
weak, and everyone was more concerned about Aurora than they were about
Madison. That’s just the way childbirth is.” She waited for him to nod before
going on. “As for this whole Apocalypse prophesy, Daddy always taught me that
Fate won’t be denied. So there would have been no amount of preparation that
could have stopped this, so don’t think that I blame you. But I think there may
be an out clause, or something that could stop this.”

“Like
what?”

She
chewed on her bottom lip as she looked back at the sleeping baby. “Revelations
said something about seven seals right?” she asked. Bright green eyes looked at
him. “Seven seals have to be broken in order to call all four horsemen, right?
What if the last ones are never broken?”

“It’s
the last four seals that call them,” Troy said as he and Dennis approached. He
walked over to Lily and gave her a gentle hug. “Thank you for trying though.
And for staying with the baby,” he whispered into her ear.

Lily
returned the embrace. “Feeding her was fun. Think nothing of it.” She then
stepped back and looked into his troubled golden eyes. “And I still have a few
of my father’s journals. Maybe I can find out something that could help us find
her.”

Troy
nodded.
“Do that, please.”
He then looked into the
nursery and gazed at his daughter. “And keep us posted. I have to move the kids
someplace safe. There’s no telling what’s going to come after them now that
their mother’s gone.”

Dennis
frowned as his son went into the nursery. He then looked at Barry and Lily. “If
the person that took her wants this mess to come about, it’s easy to know
what’s going to come after everyone.”

Barry
nodded in agreement.
“Madison herself.”

Lily’s
eyes locked onto his. “What?”

“You
said it yourself. She’s one of the best. If there are seals missing, she would
be the perfect person to send after them.”

Her
heart broke as she realized the full implications of what he was telling her.
“So you may have to fight your own sister.” As Barry nodded, she wrapped her
arms around him. “Do you think you’ll be able to?”

Barry
was silent for a long moment as he thought about his little sister. He had seen
some of her skills while she was growing up. Then as a Keeper, there had been
times when he had to clean up after one of her missions. He shook his head,
hating his answer. “I wouldn’t stand a chance against her.”

Lily
looked at Barry. There was nothing she could say that would make this any
better for him. He looked worn and beaten compared to the way he looked when
she walked into Eric’s hospital room. “Let me take you home,” she said softly.
When he raised an eyebrow, she smiled. The last time they had gone to his
apartment didn’t end well. “We’ll go to my place. I’ll look through my father’s
stuff, and you can sit on my couch, watch the fight, and drink my beer. Okay?”

Barry
pulled her close and buried his nose in her long wine colored locks. “That
sounds perfect,” he said into her hair.

Barry
stood back as Lily opened the door to her apartment. Since leaving the hospital
they remained mostly silent. From his point of view, it had been a comfortable
silence. Lily sung along with a few songs on the radio. Of course, when she
realized he was still in the car with her, she stopped. A small smile crossed
his face as she allowed him into her home. There were many sides to Lilavanti
Dallas. She wasn’t the mousey woman she portrayed at work, nor was she the
seductress her nature demanded her to be.

He
looked around the apartment and smiled. Lily’s apartment looked to be a mirror
of the woman. Everything was covered in vibrant colors or spoke of comfort. A
familiar orange couch caught his eye, making him laugh. “You kept this?” he
asked.

Lily
smiled as she took off her coat. “Dylan said that I could keep anything I
wanted,” she answered. “It was comfortable and matched the window treatments.
So why not?”

Barry
laughed. Before she married Crispin, this was Dylan’s apartment. His youngest
sister lived for comfort and shock value. That couch had become the joke of
many family meals. “I’m surprised Sloane didn’t sneak up here and burn it while
she was gone.” He sat on the sofa and sighed in pleasure when he sank into the
cushions.

“He
loves this thing,” Lily laughed. She went over to the kitchen area and grabbed
two beers. “There have been plenty of Housewives marathons watched on it.”

Barry
couldn’t deny how good it felt to just sit back and laugh. He accepted the beer
Lily held out to him and popped it open. When she looked at him, his smile
started to slowly fade. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

She
shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just used to Sloane. He
waves his hand and the cap disappears.” Lily shrugged as she opened her own
bottle. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s basically the only person that’s
been here.”

Barry
zeroed in on that. “Not even the friend you’ve been hanging out with?”

Lily
leaned into the cushions and sighed. “I may have embellished a little,” she
confessed. When he looked at her, she shrugged. “There was a fox shifter that I
tried to date. We hooked up the last two times I needed to feed. He’s never
even come into this neighborhood.”

Without
thinking, he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. “Well then, his
loss.” When she looked at him, he smiled. “I mean, this is one of the finest,
most comfortable couches in the world.” The vice around his heart eased when
she started to laugh. “I mean it. I think there were songs written about it in
Russia.”

“You’re
being ridiculous,” Lily said as she drank.

Barry
couldn’t help but watch her. This was one of the first times he ever saw her
with her guard down and she was radiant. He turned away from her and stood. She
wouldn’t appreciate his staring. It didn’t matter that her eyes were so vivid,
he could fall in them and not care about drowning. Barry ran his hand over his
hair before taking another drink. “Do you think you’ll need any help going
through your father’s stuff?” he asked.

Lily’s
smile faded. It wasn’t fair that she and Barry were sitting in her apartment
sharing drinks while his sister was facing who knew what. “I don’t know,” she
said honestly. “Most of the stuff from his apartment is in my spare room. I
haven’t had the heart to go through any of it.” She stood and ran her hand
through her hair. “I guess I should get started, huh?” she asked before turning
and walking down the hall.

He
couldn’t help but follow her. “I can help,” he offered. When she turned and
looked at him, he shrugged. “I need something to do. And I’ve seen
the prophesy
. Maybe I can finally be of some type of help.”

Lily
looked into his eyes for a long moment. Biting her lip, she nodded and opened
the door to the room she housed all of her foster father’s belongings.

* *
* * *

Jimmy
growled as he slammed his car door. None of his contacts knew anything about
what was going down with Madison. Ever since the family meeting with Barry, he
had been busy combing the streets trying to find something, anything, that
could lead them to his sister. He looked at the small house one of his
informants dwelled. Tsukiko wasn’t going to be happy to see him, but she would
have to get over it.

He
walked up to the door and glanced back at his car. Sloane sat in the passenger
seat. The Metal Worker was just as anxious as he was, but he possessed the good
sense to know that the Japanese Oracle wouldn’t utter a word to anyone but
Jimmy.

“Tsukiko,
you know why I’m here,” he said as he knocked on the door. As expected, the
door opened to reveal a young girl with long black pigtails. Jimmy looked at
the little girl and hugged her tightly.
“Hi Dori-chan.
Is she going to make me fight her?” he asked.

The
little girl smiled brightly and shook her head. She stepped around Jimmy and
motioned for Sloane to come as well. “Mama said that our family needs help. And
that you’ll be going on a long trip soon, so you have to be ready.”

Jimmy
looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. Tsukiko was never this helpful.
At least not in all of his years of knowing her.
He moved
past the 10 year old and walked into the house where a woman with long black
hair stood over a pot of miso. “What do you know?” he asked sharply.

Tsukiko
Himura looked at him and fought the urge to snap at him. She stayed silent for
a moment before turning back to her soup. “Things are about to change soon,
Jimmy,” she said as she slowly stirred her pot. “Your sister is going to do
things she won’t forgive herself for.”

Jimmy
looked over his shoulder and saw Dori leading Sloane into the house. He smiled
at her as she settled next to him. “We’ve put that much together, Tsukiko. Can
you tell us anything else? We heard that she’s one of the Horsemen of the
Apocalypse.”

“You
are connected to all Four Horsemen. I have not seen your connection to
Conquest, but there will be a bond between you two. War is your Alchemist.
Famine is your Succubus. Death is the one you seek.” She looked at the two men
and shook her head slowly. “There is a lot of pain headed your way. I don’t
envy any of you.”

“Again,
we know this,” Jimmy mumbled. He ran his hand through Dori’s hair and held back
a sigh. “Is there anything we can do to get Madison back? Do you know where she
might be?” He glanced over to Sloane and knew one of his biggest secrets was
about to be brought to light. “If you know anything, for our daughter, tell
me.”

Tsukiko
pressed her lips together as she looked at the man with Jimmy. She shook her
hair away from her face and met his stunned gaze. “You will have to construct
another horn. The last one was broken, and your heart is going to need a bigger
one,” she said simply. Before Jimmy could say anything, she turned to him. “As
for my daughter’s aunt, she will find you soon enough. She will be hunting for
two Seals; one for War, the other for Famine. If those break, Hell will be
unleashed on Earth.”

Dori
pulled away from Jimmy and went over to a small window box. She pulled out what
looked like golden statue and returned to his side. “Grandpa sent this to me.
He said to give this to you right before Death starts knocking on your door.”

Jimmy
accepted the figurine and examined it. It was shaped like a dragon caught in
flight. “This is one of them, isn’t it?”

Tsukiko
looked at Jimmy with dark eyes. “A wise man never seeks war,” she said simply.
When he nodded to her, she turned back to her miso. “Are you and your friend
staying?”

Jimmy
turned his eyes to Dori and slowly shook his head. “I have to keep up the
search for Madison, but I’ll come and see you soon. Alright, Sweetheart?” he
asked.

Dori
smiled and nodded. “Then I can show you my collection of stars,” she said
before giving him a hug. “I’m going to go practice my dance now. Bye, Daddy.
Bye, Uncle Sloane,” she said before running down the hall and up the stairs.

Sloane
looked between Tsukiko and Jimmy before shaking his head. “You have got to be
kidding me,” he said with a sigh.

Tsukiko
ignored him and looked at Jimmy. “She has started having dreams. Last night
they were so horrid that I had to sedate her. Your family needs to stay away
until after the blood has been spilled. That will be the only way she can have
peace.”

Jimmy
pinched the bridge of his nose at the thought of not seeing Dori for possibly
weeks. “It might not be that simple,” he said darkly. When she folded her arms
over her chest he shook his head. “I just found out that my great-aunt was an
Oracle. So she’ll be getting the power from both sides,” he snapped. When Tsukiko
looked away from him, he growled. “You knew?”

She
turned her soup off and went in search of two bowls. “I told you that I wanted
your family’s power. This shouldn’t shock you nearly as much as it is.”

Jimmy
ran his hands over his face. Comments like that made him want to strangle her.
He straightened and put the small dragon in his pocket. “I’m leaving. I’ll
check on her soon.”

Tsukiko
watched him as he left. Her eyes then turned to the man still standing in her
kitchen. “Now would be a good time for you to tell the King that he will have
to destroy the snake. Otherwise all will be lost.”

Sloane
nodded slowly. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said before locking eyes with Tsukiko.
“And just so you know, once all of this is settled, that little girl is going
to know the rest of her family.”

Tsukiko
watched as he turned and walked out of her house as well. She knew that Jimmy’s
family would circle around her daughter. Once this crisis was over, Dori was
going to need as much of her family as she could get.

* *
* * *

Sloane
sat in the passenger’s seat of Jimmy’s car and closed the door. Over the years
that he had been a part of the Maxwell family, he had seen more than his fair share
of lies, secrets and scandals. One of the most entertaining follies was the
first time Madison had gotten pregnant. Troy had gone off to California without
a clue, but he ended up staying with Madison and Alex for a few weeks while
they moved from their apartment to the estate she currently lived in. But to
find out that Jimmy had a 10-year-old daughter was too much.

Jimmy
glanced at him before starting his car and driving away. He knew it was only a
matter of time before the rest of his family found out what he had done.
“Whatever you’re going to say, just say it.”

There
were too many things to say and Sloane knew it, but there was one thing that he
needed to know before anything else. “Why keep her a secret?”

Jimmy
inhaled slowly before answering. “Tsukiko thinks she knows what we’re like. She
didn’t want to be overwhelmed with my family trying to always see Dori.” When
Sloane snorted, he couldn’t help but smirk. He then shook his head and turned
toward the highway. “She’s also grown up with people constantly trying to use
and abuse her for her visions. To the few that go to her looking for answers,
Dori is a little orphan that Tsukiko is raising. Only her family and I know the
truth.”

Sloane
looked out of his window and thought about the situation. “This is screwed up.”
The idea of a little girl having visions of the future that were so hellish she
had to be sedated, gave him chills. “But you have to let your family know. It’s
only fair.”

“I
know.” Jimmy tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove. Things with
Tsukiko had always been strange, but something about this visit put him on
edge. “Mom’s going to have a fit,” he said suddenly.

Sloane
nodded as he continued to watch the skyline. “And I’m going to sit back and
watch. I’m debating on if I should record it.” He glanced at Jimmy and smiled.
“This is the kind of thing that you could sell tickets to.”

Jimmy
shook his head and laughed. “Truer words,” he said as Sloane’s cell phone
started to ring. He kept his attention on the road as he tried to listen to the
conversation his brother-in-law was having.

“Yes,
this is Sloane.” Sloane fell silent as he started to play with the ring around
his finger. Only news about Eric would make him play with it. “Yes. That’s
great news. We’ll be right there.” When he closed his phone, he looked at Jimmy
with tears in his eyes. “That was the hospital. It appears that there are signs
that Eric is waking up.”

Jimmy
glanced at Sloane’s face and smiled at the stunned expression the metal worker
wore. He then changed lanes and motioned towards to Sloane’s phone. “So let’s
head back to the hospital. While we’re on our way, you can call Mom, and give
her the good news.”

Sloane
wiped his eyes and laughed as he thought of the man he loved. Everything was
still spinning out of control, but at least he would be able to have his
husband back. Playful brown eyes looked at Jimmy as they headed towards the
hospital again. “And you can explain to everyone that you have a 10 year old
Japanese daughter.”