Living with the Dead (35 page)

ADELE

Adele pulled the backpack from its hiding place in her bedroom, where she'd kept it packed since learning she was pregnant. She didn't really believe Rhys was on his way. He wasn't a fool. Maybe he would have come back someday, for his son, but Colm was dead and he'd never known about Thom. Rhys hadn't been part of the kumpania long enough to be trusted with the secret of the seers.

She'd always suspected the kumpania was behind Rhys's supposed death. Earlier, when she said she'd seen him, Niko had admitted it, saying she was old enough to know the truth, how they'd let this durjardo into their midst, given him one of their daughters, a job, a new life. Rhys had repaid them by trying to kidnap Adele and Colm and sell them to the Cabal. He was a monster, and they'd had to kill him.

All Adele remembered was Rhys coming to her late one night, Colm sleeping in his arms, telling her it was time. For weeks he'd promised to get her out and find her grandmama. It had been their secret.

Niko and the other men had caught him and hauled him before the phuri, while Colm and Adele were bundled back to bed. Then Rhys had been gone. The kumpania said he'd been exiled and, a few months later, died in a car accident – a fitting punishment from the gods.

Even when Adele had been old enough to suspect the kumpania had murdered Rhys, she'd cursed him. He'd promised her freedom and he'd failed. He was weak. He hadn't been willing to take chances, to make the bold moves.

Maybe he
had
planned to sell them to a Cabal. It didn't matter. Whatever happened thirteen years ago, Rhys would be a fool to return. Yet the phuri were convinced he was coming to see Neala now that their son was dead. Sentimental and silly. Why would you want to grieve with the wife who'd tried to kill you?

Unless...

If Rhys had escaped and the kumpania had been convinced he was dead, he couldn't have done it alone. Who would have helped him, if not Neala?

She remembered how Neala had acted when told her husband might still be alive. She'd been quick to protest. Too quick.

Adele straightened, backpack dangling from her arm.

If Neala had rescued Rhys from a death sentence, that would be treason. Prove it, and Adele would be rid of her enemy. She wouldn't need to run.

No, after what Adele had seen in Neala's face, she knew the woman wouldn't rest until Adele paid for Colm's death. Threat of exposure for treason wouldn't stop her. And now if Rhys was coming, if Neala told Rhys she thought Adele was responsible for Colm...

Time for Adele to settle her future as she should have done the moment she'd realized that killing Portia Kane hadn't solved her problem. Get out, contact Irving Nast and finish the negotiations. Don't let him know she was panicked. Use his greed to cut a fast deal.

The kumpania wouldn't come after her right away. They'd be too busy grieving for Colm and worrying about Rhys. They'd presume, in her own grief, she'd run. By the time they started their search, she'd be safely with the Cabal.

She heard Hugh shout outside. A car door slammed. She raced to the window.

It was Rhys. Worse, he'd brought Robyn Peltier's friends.

All three had their hands up – Rhys and the young woman holding theirs high, the dark-haired man's at chest level, a halfhearted effort as he surveyed his surroundings.

Rhys was talking. Adele cracked open the window. Someone answered – Bernard, she thought, but couldn't be sure. Hugh and whoever was with him were on the front porch, out of her sight line.

"Who're they?" Bernard demanded, turning to Rhys.

"Delegates from the interracial council."

The council? No
way
. Rhys was bluffing, and she had to run down there and warn –

How? The kumpania knew nothing about Robyn Peltier. Explaining that these were Robyn's friends would do no good.

"You brought the council here?" Niko – she'd know his voice anywhere. "On our property?"

"I left my gun in the car, Niko, not my brain. The council knows these two are with me. We've arranged to have the kumpania coordinates delivered to them in three hours if we don't make it back to L.A."

"And what's going to stop these two from bringing the council back?" Hugh said.

"When you hear what I have to say, that's going to be the least of your problems. Niko, you and I both know your bullshit about the council being part of the Cabals is just that. But regardless of who works for whom, you don't want either the council or the Cabal out here."

"We'll go inside," Niko said.

"No, we'll speak in the meeting – "

"Rhys!" Robyn's friend yelled.

Rhys spun as Hugh charged. Lily – stupid Lily – screamed in terror. The dark-haired man shot forward, grabbed Hugh by the arm and swung him off his feet. Swung the brawny young man up like he was a misbehaving child, then held him by the collar at arm's length. When Hugh struggled, the man only shook him.

"Before we talk, I should explain." Rhys pointed to the young woman. "She is an Expisco half-demon. You don't know what that is, I'm sure, but you just got a demonstration. She can read negative thoughts. If you try to attack, like Hugh did, she'll know before you make a move."

"And... that?" Lily had stepped off the porch and pointed at the dark-haired man.

Even from the window, Adele saw the man lift an eyebrow. "
That?
Hardly polite." He threw Hugh toward her. "What am I? Let's just say I won't fetch a stick for you. I won't beg for treats. And, no matter how nicely you ask, I will not roll over and play dead."

"A werewolf?" Lily squeaked, and for once, Adele didn't sneer at her terror.

If this man was a werewolf and the woman a half-demon – and whether they were or not, they were obviously supernaturals – then Adele had made a horrible, horrible mistake.

Robyn Peltier was no human, easily killed, quickly forgotten. She was a supernatural. Maybe even on the council herself. Or maybe being in L.A. meant she was part of the Nast Cabal. If so, then whatever deal Adele had with Irving Nast had evaporated the moment she set her sights on Robyn. Adele's imagination scampered about like a mouse caught with the lights on, running this way and that in a panic, imagining death in every corner.

Adele slammed her hand down on the heat register, the metal vent biting into her skin. By the gods, she was as bad as Lily, sniveling and cowering in fear. Yes, this was a problem, but it wasn't her fault. There was no way she could have known Robyn Peltier was a supernatural. The woman had tricked her, by hiding her powers and luring Adele in.

All that mattered right now was that those two were friends of Robyn's, meaning they were about to expose Adele.

She glanced at the window. Everyone had retreated elsewhere to talk. When they came for her, she had to be gone.

She took a few minutes gathering her money. Her brain still scampered and gibbered, and she couldn't concentrate, checking three past hiding places before remembering the latest.

She stuffed the cash into her pocket, down with the seer's room key she'd grabbed on her way over. She'd planned to visit Thom one last time, get a quick fix on Robyn Peltier, maybe on that detective too. No time for that now, but she would keep the key. One more problem to distract the kumpania. Tending the seers would be more important than hunting her.

She looked around. Did she have everything?

Footsteps tramped onto the porch. The front door squeaked open.

"Adele?" Hugh called. "Niko wants to talk to you."

She took a deep breath and shouldered her bag. Footsteps echoed across the floor below. Adele crept to the other window, the one overlooking the back porch.

She eased the window open and crawled out just as the stairs creaked. She closed the window all but an inch, stepped to the side and pressed against the wall, hidden under the leafy branches.

The bedroom door opened.

"She's not here," Bernard called.

"Check the closet," Hugh's distant voice replied.

Bernard's footsteps lumbered across the room. The door squeaked. A grunt. Another squeak as he shut it.

"Nope."

"Look in the other rooms. Niko says she came back here."

Adele thanked the gods that clairvoyants couldn't remote-view one another. She waited until Bernard's footsteps retreated. Then she climbed onto an overhanging limb, shimmied along it and down the trunk. She darted to a shadowy pocket beside the porch. A pause, listening intently before she leaned out.

All was clear.

She took a slow step, hunkering down, ready to sprint to the next house. Then Lily lunged from behind that house, waving wildly for Adele to stop. Hugh strode around the corner, heading for the main house. Adele jumped back out of sight. As soon as Hugh was gone, Lily leaned out and waved Adele over.

Adele didn't see a choice. If she went the other way, the stupid girl would probably draw Hugh's attention trying to attract hers.

When Adele reached her, Lily pulled her into a tight hug, trembling against her, voice cracking as she said, "They've gone mad, Adele. Everyone's gone mad. The things that awful man Rhys is saying about you. The lies. How can they believe him? I tried to defend you, but..." She sobbed. "Hugh told me to be quiet. Then he hit me, Adele.
Hit
me."

Too bad Adele missed that. She patted Lily's back and made suitable noises of sympathy.

Lily went on. "He's been so angry. Like it's my fault. Like I wanted the other men to... to..."

More pats as Adele peered over Lily's shoulder. The barn was a hundred feet away, and in it, plenty of implements to help rid her of this annoyance for good.

"Wherever you're going, Adele, I'm going with you. I'm going to help you escape." Lily sniffled and straightened. "We'll run to the barn. You can hide in there while I divert attention."

Adele tried not to smile. "Sure. The barn. Good idea."

With Lily watching her back, Adele ran to the next house. Lily caught up, then watched again as Adele made it to the barn. Adele walked into the dim interior, the bone-chilling dampness seeping through her clothes, the stink of beast and shit filling her lungs. By the gods, she'd be glad to get away from –

An ear-shattering
crack
made Adele stagger forward, the barn exploding in a blinding light. She dropped to her knees, arms flying up to protect her head. Another crack. Another explosion that left her ears ringing, her stomach pitching.

A bomb. Someone had rigged the barn with a –

A blow between Adele's shoulder blades knocked her face-first into the hay, the chaff filling her mouth and nose. She tried to cough, but her head pounded like it would split if she so much as whimpered.

Another blow, this one glancing off her shoulder. There was no bomb. Someone was beating her. She tried to push up. Her stomach lurched and she gagged, vomit dribbling out.

A kick in the ribs flipped her over and she saw her assailant, a featureless figure looming over her, shovel raised. That shovel swung down like a scythe. Lily's face appeared above it, contorted into a gargoyle mask of rage and hate.

Adele twisted out of the shovel's path. It struck her hip, fresh pain jolting through her, the shovel glinting as Lily swung it up again.

"That's enough, Lily," said a voice behind them. "For now."

Neala walked over and stood beside Lily. She looked down at Adele. Her eyes glowed, glittering orbs in a grinning death's head, pale skin tight over her sharp cheekbones and chin.

Adele flipped onto her stomach and grabbed fistfuls of hay, pulling herself along the floor, trying to escape.

"Did Lily tell you she got the results from Dr. Briar?" Neala said. "He was running tests, trying to understand why they couldn't conceive. Seems she was taking birth control pills. And it seems someone's been a very sweet sister lately, bringing Lily's coffee every morning."

Lily walked over and kicked Adele's ribs again, making her squeal like a spring piglet at the slaughter. "You think that hurts? It's nothing compared to what Hugh's going to do to you when he finds out."

"Hugh," Adele rasped. "It was his idea. The pills. He wanted to marry me, and if you couldn't have kids, you'd have to go to the kitchens, and he'd be free."

"Is
that
what happened?" Lily said sarcastically. "How can I ever repay you for telling me the truth? I know, I can let you go, right?"

"If you don't, he'll kill me. It's not my fault – "

"Nothing ever is, Adele," Neala said. "Lily, grab her other arm. We don't want the others to miss out on Adele's wonderful stories."

ROBYN

Robyn watched Detective Findlay walk along the gravel shoulder behind the compound where Hope, Karl and Rhys had gone. He was returning to the car after talking to the rest of the team. He had his gaze down, watching the ground intently, as if it teemed with scorpions, but when a can lay in his path, he stepped on it, giving a start when it crunched underfoot.

Frown lines creased his broad face. When the wind ruffled his hair, he shoved the strands back from his face, frown deepening, gaze returning to its intent study of his path.

Preoccupied, but not with ghosts. Robyn had already learned to recognize that look, that dreaminess, so jarring on his craggy face, like a cowboy wistfully gazing at the mountains, dreaming of a ranch of his own.

This current preoccupation seemed equally out of place, too intense, too angry. Deep in thought, and whatever those thoughts were, he didn't like them.

He climbed into the driver's seat and stared at a dead bug on the windshield, as if trying to commune with its spirit. She didn't expect him to speak. The tension between them had been stretching ever tighter since the medical offices.

She couldn't regret her reaction, nor shake the feeling that it had, under the circumstances, been the right one.

For Detective Findlay, though, this was a job, and she didn't expect him to put himself on the line for Hope and Karl, no more than she expected him to let her – his suspect – do the same. An irreconcilable clash of priorities that had settled into an irreconcilable war of intractability.

Even when Detective Findlay had finally managed to call for backup, it had only seemed to blacken his mood more. Apparently, he was stuck with a team from the sheriff's department, men he didn't know. He'd tried getting hold of a detective named Madoz, wanting him to be in on the takedown, and had been told he was on the way, but there was no sign of him yet.

She cleared her throat. "Detective Findlay – "

"You don't need to call me that."

"What's your name?"

He blinked, apparently having forgotten that somewhere between the gun showdown and the car chase, they'd failed to perform proper introductions.

"John," he said. "But everyone calls me Finn."

"Which do you prefer?"

He paused, as if it had been so long since anyone asked, he wasn't sure. "Finn's fine."

"Okay, so is the team ready to – "

A rap at the window. Finn lowered it. A beefy man leaned in too far, the invasion of space making the detective's shoulders square.

"Alvarez," the man said. "Just got here. My boys tell me you don't like my plan, Detective."

"I don't see any reason to put Ms. Peltier in further – "

"No danger, Detective. My boys are the best. I need her on-site to ID her friends, make sure we get them out."

"Out of what?"

"We don't know what we're facing in there. Our records show it's a multifamily residence. Some kind of commune, we think. We have to be prepared for the worst."

"Which is why Ms. Peltier shouldn't go in. I can ID her friends."

"We'd prefer her, for absolute confirmation."

"I want to speak to – "

"It's okay," Robyn said. "I'll go."

Finn didn't like that, lips tightening. Alvarez thumped the window sill and backed out. "All set then?"

He walked away without waiting for a response.

As they took up position in the woods surrounding the property, Finn only got moodier, snapping at the officers in a way that suggested he never snapped at anyone and didn't like hearing himself do it. But that didn't stop him either.

He seemed to be in communication with his spirit guide, but Robyn got the impression that at the moment, the ghost wasn't doing much guiding.

"I need you two over there." Alvarez pointed into the patch of woods bordering the property, then smacked binoculars into the detective's hand. "That's a safe distance. Have her pinpoint her friends and radio me with a full description of their location and apparel. Solheim here will go with you."

Alvarez marched off with his men, leaving an officer about Finn's age with a heavy brow and a heavier frown. He waved them into the forest and followed at their heels, rifle in hand. Every few seconds, Finn would glance back, as if being marched to a firing squad.

Robyn picked her way through the bush. When her feet got tangled, the detective pulled her up short and yanked wild grapevines from her ankles.

"Is this really necessary?" Finn said. "We can barely walk here."

"Cover," was all Solheim said.

When they were finally in deep enough, Solheim grunted for them to stop. Robyn could make out houses in the distance, and what looked like people moving between them, but it was so far away she doubted she would recognize Hope and Karl even with binoculars.

She glanced at Finn, who was squinting through them. She expected him to echo her thoughts, but instead he said, "How do you adjust these?"

Solheim grunted again, a sigh whispering through it this time. He set his rifle down and took the binoculars. Finn stepped back, behind Solheim, giving him a better vantage point. Robyn squinted, straining to see Hope's denim jacket.

"See this dial?" Solheim lifted the binoculars to his eyes. "You need to – "

A crack. Robyn spun to see Solheim falling, Finn behind him, gun raised.

As she stared in shock, Finn knelt beside the officer's body. "Out cold. Good. Now help me pull him – "

"You – you just knocked out a cop."

"He's not a cop, Robyn. None of them are."

"What?"

The detective rose, pushing his gun back into his holster. "I have no idea what's going on here, but I don't know any of these men – "

"Because they're from the sheriff's office!"

"Who we've been working with on this case, and I don't recognize a single name. Madoz is a no-show. I can't get through to my station. My cell phone is blocked. And look around. What are we doing out here?"

"You wanted me to be safe. This is – "

"They're sidelining us. Getting me out of the way. You gave them full descriptions of Adams and Marsten, down to what they're wearing. Why do you need to do that again?"

"You called for backup. On your police radio. I
saw
you. You can't tell me – "

"Something happened."

She took a slow step back. "Oh, I know what happened. You called for backup, expecting to get men you know, men you could control. Hope was right. You do work for that company."

"What? No. I – "

Robyn turned and ran. She felt his fingers brush her back, then an "oomph" as he stumbled in the undergrowth.

"Robyn!"

She reached into her jacket pocket for the gun, but it snagged and refused to come out.

"Robyn, just stop and listen – "

She ran faster, ducking to avoid a low branch, then, at the last second, grabbing it, pulling it as she ran, letting go, hearing it whip back, Detective Findlay cursing as he tripped again, trying to avoid it.

"Rob – Bobby!"

Grapevines seemed to snake from the ground, wrapping around her feet and she stumbled, twisting, hands flying up to ward him off.

"What did you say?" Her jaw wouldn't unhinge enough to let the words out properly, her fury so hot she could feel it, see it, white sparks exploding before her eyes.

"Bobby," he said. "Damon called you – calls you – "

"Don't you dare!"

He reached for her elbow, then drew back, glancing to the left with a gruff, "I know. I'm sorry," before turning back to Robyn. His lips twisted in what she supposed was a wry smile, but it looked like a grimace, and seeing it, she knew what he was going to say, what he was going to tell her, the lowest, cheapest ploy he could think of.

"Don't you dare."

"Rob – "

"If you tell me that Damon's here, helping you, I will – I will – "She could think of no threat great enough.

Detective Findlay stepped back, voice softening. "He says he calls you Bobby because he misread the place setting tags at Ava's wedding. It was a fancy script and he thought it said Bobby, and even after he knew your name was Robyn, he figured everyone must call you Bobby, so he kept using it, and it was months before anyone straightened him out."

The rage reignited, tears evaporating. "
Everyone
knows that story. They told it at our wedding, for God's sake. You and your people dug up everything they could, getting this lie ready to spring – "

"Fair," he said quickly, desperation flashing in his eyes. "He – Damon – said you like fairs. Yesterday when we went there, he was telling me how much you liked..." He trailed off, glancing to the side as if listening, then nodding emphatically. "Okay, okay. He says you two went to the fair last year with a couple of his college buddies. Damon threw up on the Tilt-a-Whirl and promised to do the housework for a month if you said
you
were the one who got sick."

The ground tilted as if, for a moment, she was back on that ride. They'd never told anyone that story, which was the point of course, saving Damon from endless razzing by his friends, who'd been on the other side of the ride and missed seeing which one of them threw up. Robyn teased him about it mercilessly, trying to blackmail extra chores for months.

If
she'd
never told anyone, and she knew
Damon
would never have told anyone...

Her gaze lifted to the spot beside Detective Finn's shoulder.

"Damon?" Again, that slow tilt of the world shifting, and it was like when she was eighteen, getting her wisdom teeth out, the anesthetic taking hold, a languorous wave of delicious warmth washing over her, her whole body relaxing and surrendering to it. She felt that again, swaying, muscles letting go as if she'd been holding them tight for six months and all she could do was stare at that spot, that empty spot, and say again, "Damon."

She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, praying that when she opened them, she'd see him, see some part of him, if only a shimmer of light, something she could reach for.

She opened her eyes to dark forest. "What's he saying? Can he hear me?"

"He can, and he's saying that while he'd love to chat, you've got a psycho SWAT team on your tail, and you need to move your, uh, rear."

She hiccuped a laugh, hands flying up to stifle it. "Damon."

"You're going to talk to him, Robyn. I promise." Finn stepped toward her, taking her by the elbows. "When this is over, I'll tell you everything he wants you to hear. But right now..."

"I need to move my ass."

He smiled, a genuine smile, the first she'd seen from him, his eyes crinkling. "Exactly. Now, if we go this way – "

He wheeled, head jerking up as if hearing something. Then he spun back, big hand slamming her between the shoulder blades, and hissing,"Down!" She hit the ground, her sore shoulder knocking against a tree trunk. She swallowed a gasp of pain as he dropped beside her.

"Isn't this where they're supposed to be?" a voice asked.

Another answered, more distant, muffled. Robyn tried to listen, but all she could think about was Damon, here, right here with her, watching her, and everything she wanted to say, and how much she'd give to hear his voice, just
hear
him. She squeezed her eyes shut. How greedy was that? Only hours ago she'd have given anything for
this
much – the chance to know he was truly and beyond doubt someplace, that he was okay, that they would get the chance they'd been denied that night on the highway, those last moments to say everything that hadn't been said, that it always seemed there'd be time – days, months, years – to say.

"Shit! It's Solheim. He's been knocked out."

That snapped Robyn back to the present. She tried to creep forward for a better look, but Finn laid his arm over her back, holding her down.

"Solheim, come on, wake up."

A groggy "Wha – ?"

"Goddamn it, you were supposed to take care of them. You fucked up, didn't you? They saw you pull your sidearm."

"Wha – ? No, I never – It's right here. I – I was looking through the binoculars, then..."

Robyn didn't catch the rest, her mind looping back to the first bit. Take care of them? Pull his sidearm? She remembered trudging through the forest, Finn glancing back at Solheim, her thinking he looked like a prisoner being led to a firing squad.

Because he was.

No, that was crazy. Why would – ?

Why not? Finn was right. These men weren't police officers.

Running footsteps crashed through the forest. "Solheim, Barrett, Mac! Alvarez needs you up front. Something's going down." The footfalls stopped. "You took care of them, right?"

"They got away. We were just – "