Priceless (38 page)

“
So
,
which one of you was played by Wil Smith?
”
I lean
ed
a hip against the bars.
“
I mean, you
’
re b
oth white, so . . .
.
”“
I lifted an eyebrow at them.

“
You need to come with us
,
Ma
’
a
m
.
”
They opened the door, cuffed me
,
and escorted me down the long hallway, up the stairs and out the front door into a waiting black van. Just like the ones that had been chasing us.
The Arcane division was not something I wanted anything to do with. I hadn
’
t even had a chance to read through the pa
pers I had on them yet.

Slumping backwards, I leaned against their hands.
“
I think I
’
d rather stay in jail, to be honest
;
black vans and I just don
’
t look good together.
”

They said nothing, just picked me up, opened the door
,
and tossed me in. The back of the van was dark, only s
plashes of light from the street lamps
peek
ed
in through cracks near the back door. They drove for
close to three hours
, long enough to get us well out of town, long enough for me to slip the cuffs from back to front and try the door multiple times.

When the door slid open I launched myself out into the
early morning
sun, the wind whipping my hair around my face
,
blurring my vision for a split second. I stumbled to a stop. We were at my house.

“
Inside. Move
.
”

N
ow, thoroughly confused, I did as I was told.

Stepping lightly, I climbed the steps. The front door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it with my shoulder and peeked in. Sitting in my living room was O
’
Shea, Milly, and a man in a suit who had to be FBI by his posture alone
, but
I didn
’
t recognize
him
. Older, he had streaks of grey in
his
light brown hair
.
B
rown eyes that looked as though they might have flecks of green in them were his best feature. His face was jowly, nose offset
,
and it looked as though he had an overbite. But there was an air of confidence that made me think he was in charge.

The stranger stood.
“
Ms. Adamson. My name is Agent Valley.
”
He motioned at my handcuffs
.
“
Here, let me take those off for you.
”

O
’
Shea stood
.
“
No, I
’
ve got it.
”
He stepped over to me and
I
tried not to look him in the face, tried not to think about him and Milly in bed together. She always did move fast. He unlocked the cuffs, his fingers lingering for split second on my wrists.

Ignoring the others, I asked him the only question that really mattered to me.
“
Did the kids make it out okay?
”

He smiled, really smiled
,
and I hated how my heart tried to flop about in my chest like a fucking Labrador retriever whos
e
best friend just showed up.

“
India is back with her parents, though I think you need to speak with them still. And Jake is in intensive care, but it looks like he
’
ll pull through.
”

Relief swept through me. Two kids were back where they belonged. Now I could f
inally shift gears and deal with the rest of my crazy life
.

“
Please have a seat, we have a lot to discuss
,
”
Agent Valley said.

Frowning, unable to even guess at what was about to happen, I shook my head.
“
No, I
’
ll stand.
”

He shrugged.
“
Fine, fine. You
’
ve been exonerated of any charges relating to the deaths of the Agents at the mineshaft.
”

“
Why? How?
”

Valley shrugged.
“
We know it was a Harpy. Nothing to do about that but post men to keep people away from the beast.
”

Shock rippled through me
;
my jaw dropped and I shut it with an audible click.
“
But . . .
what . . .
how?
”

“
We are a part of the Arcane division of the FBI, Ms. Adamson. We know a great deal about the supernatural and we
’
re doing our best to manage the inter
actions between them and humans. It doesn
’
t always go well.
”
He barked out a dry, humourless laugh.
“
As I suppose you already know from your own experiences with the law.
”

“
Ok
a
y,
”
I said
.
“
Fine, you know about us. Good for you. What does that have to do with me?
”

Valley nodded to O
’
Shea.
“
Liam here
has
also been exonerated, though he can
’
t go back to the division he was in. Even though we have a plausible cover story, we can
’
t convince all the other Agents that the death of one of their own, by one of their own
,
was
acceptable.
”

Both of my eyebrows shot into my hairline and before I could ask, O
’
Shea explained.

“
The story is that Martins was in on the
child-
kidnapping ring and that he shot at me first. Of course
,
it doesn
’
t hurt that I showed up at a hospital with two of the missing children and the bodies of two others.
”

Valley leaned back in my favorite chair and stretched his legs out in front of him
;
short as they were, they didn
’
t even reach the coffee table a mere two feet away.
“
We
’
ve pulled
Liam
into our division
. But
”
—
he
raised a finger
—
“
h
e needs a partner.
Someone who is savvy to the ways of the supernatural elements of this world, someone who can help him, and in turn help us.
”

I folded my arms across my chest, the
tightening of bonds and responsi
bil
i
ties I didn
’
t want creeping in around me.
“
And if I don
’
t agree to this?
”

The senior agent shrugged.
“
Nothing. This is not blackmail. We need you. You
’
d be on payroll of course,
and would
have access to all
of
our training facilities, weapons and
any
equipment you
’
d need.
”

“
Could I still go after my own cases?
”

He shook his head.
“
No, anyone who comes to you would then be put through the system. Of course, you
’
d still be brin
g
ing children, people home.
”

Licking my lips, I looked to Milly. She shrugged ever so slightly.
“
I need to think about it
.
”

Valley agreed, stood
,
and handed me his card.
“
Call me when you
’
re ready to do the right thing.
”

I had to hold back an
urge to strike out at him for poking at my weak spot. Guilt was the one thing I couldn
’
t escape, the one thing th
at drove me more than any other, and of course, those shrewd eyes that had a moment ago seemed kind, saw that in me.

Valley left, but O
’
Shea stayed behind. Milly stood, touched the agent on the shoulder and said,
“
Call me.
”

He nodded, his eyes tracking her as she left the room. I didn
’
t have any right to feel upset. Milly always got the guy
.
I
t was nothing new. Ignoring my traitorous emotions, I faced O
’
Shea.

“
What about your partner, Martins? Will his name be blacklisted?
”
It was stupid to ask, but I wasn
’
t sure what else to say. How could I be his partner? It wouldn
’
t work
.
W
e were too different.

“
His family will get a sizeable payout, and his funeral will be all paid for. No expense spared. It was the best they could do. Until the government decides to let the general populace know, it
’
s the best we could come up with.
”
His shoulders sagged.
“
I want you . . .
”

My breath caught.

“
. . .
as my partner.
”
His dark eyes lifted to mine
.
“
But
I
’
d
understand if you turn
ed
it down.
”

Nodding, I said nothing, for once somewhat speechless. I wanted to go back to the days
where
I felt nothing for this human standing in front of me. Nothing but contempt, anger, maybe even hatred. Simple to feel those things, not so simple to start caring.

“
I
’
ll let you know.
”

He nodded and brushed past me, the scent of his cologne and the mint I remembered from his lips catching me off guard,
making
me sway on my feet.

The room was silent, but for the steady breathing that was my attempt to calm the confusion rushing through me.

A sniffle at the door caught my ear. I lifted my hand, not needing to turn around.
“
Alex.
”
The
re was the
scrabble of feet on the rough wooden floor
,
and then
a
large furry body wrapp
ed
around my legs
and
helped to ground me. I crouched down
and hugged him;
buried my face into his neck.

“
Rylee sad
,
”
he
grum
bled, his arms awkwardly circling me
.

“
A little. But I
’
ll be okay.
”

“
Harpy sad too.
”

I
’
d forgot
ten
about that little detail. I stood, brushed my face off
as
though I wasn
’
t crying and strode to the door.
“
Where is she roosting
,
Alex?
”

He bolted out the door and I trotted after him
.
H
e made a
beeline
for the
half-
rotted barn. Pushing the door open, I stepped into the
mote-
filled air
. The
light streamed through the broken slats
and
gave a
picturesque
scene
, if
not for the Harpy doz
ing
in the old hay.