Priceless (8 page)

I leaned against the doorframe, paper bundle held loosely in my arms
, as if it were not important at all
.
“
If I didn
’
t know better, I
’
d say you were following me.
”
I
looked
up at him from under my eyelashes.
“
In fact, I
’
m beginning to think you want a repeat of this morning.
”
I ran my tongue over my bottom lip.

His face coloured under his olive complexion. Oh yeah, he hadn
’
t forgotten.
If only I
’
d tried this trick of Milly
’
s years ago
.
He regained his composure quickly
,
though I did detect a smirk on his partner
’
s face. No doubt Mini-Me had been razzing O
’
Shea relentlessly about kissing a pers
on of interest.

“
What are you doing here
,
Adam
son?
”
O
’
Shea growled at me.

I blinked up at him.
“
Me? I
’
m visiting a friend. He has a printer
.
”
I shifted the bundle of papers to get his attention
.
“
I don
’
t have any high tech stuff like computers. Pref
er to have things on hard copy. I don
’
t think that
’
s against the law now
,
is it?
”

Mini-Me piped up.
“
Of course not
,
miss. We
’
re just doing our duty, following up on leads.
”
His voice trailed off as O
’
Shea turned his glare on his partner.

I continued to smile
as O
’
Shea
’
s glare returned to me
, let
ting
the laughter fill my eyes. His dark eyes narrowed. I started to chuckle. Couldn
’
t help it. I fanned my face and took some deep
,
gulping,
over-
exaggerated breaths.
“
Oh man, you two are way too much fun! Do you hire out
,
or
do you only do your act
for friends and persons of interest?
”

They were both frowning at me now
,
and O
’
Shea reached out and snagged the bundle of papers. I heard a squeak from inside the house and silently prayed for Kyle to hold it together for a few more minutes.

O
’
Shea glanced over the heading of the bundle of paper and flipped through a few pages.
“
You catching up on some light reading?
”

I shrugged
.
“
I
’
ll read anything. Especially when I have nothing better to do.
”
I gave him my best innocent eyes, keeping them wide and batting my lashes. An exaggeration for sure, but we both knew I was lying
;
he just couldn
’
t prove it.

He snorted and handed the papers back to me. We
also
both knew he didn
’
t have a warrant for anything, so unless they traced the hacker here already, which I didn
’
t think they had, there wasn
’
t any reason for him to continue harassing me.

“
Are we about done?
”
I asked
.

“
Not by a long shot
,
Adamson. Not by a very long shot.
”
He turned on his heel and strode away, Mini-Me following in his wake.

Kyle shuffle
d
up behind me.
“
You know those guys?
”

“
The big guy
has
been following me around for nearly ten years. You get kinda used to it.
”

“
But the
y
’
re
FBI. Why would they follow you around?
”
Kyle
’
s voice trailed off and I looked over my shoulder at him. He was just a kid
—
brilliant, dorky
,
and so naive it almost hurt to look at him. I told him the truth though
;
he deserved that much from me.

“
They think I did a very bad thing
, that I killed my sister
. And some days
,
I think the
y
’
re
right.
I could have stopped those who took her, if I
’
d been trained then.
”

I stepped into the bright sunlight, the cold cut of the wind going right through me.

8

I drove for an hour
,
heading west
before I
pull
ed
off the interstate and into a gas statio
n
, just
as the
autumn
sun began to set.
I was too
far from home to make it before I
’
d just have to get up and leave again in the morning. It was better to get a good night
’
s sleep and start fresh in the morning
—
that
’
s what Giselle always said
.

There was a motel across the street, half decent, clean and close to the highway. I
’
d stayed there before when I hadn
’
t wanted to make the
three-
hour trek from Bismark all the way home. All fuelled up
,
I pulled a u-turn and crossed the street, glad I always kept an overnight bag in my
J
eep
alongside an array of weapons and equipment not so easily found at a corner drug store. A
girl can never be too prepared.

North Dakota is known for its farming, badlands
,
and good people. Not so much for its
high-
end hotels, gourmet cuisine
,
or
anonymity
. This
little motel was no exception. Hiding my body from prying eyes, I slipped my favourite weapon into place
:
A
two-
foot long blade, edged in silver and copper
,
with a custom
-
fit handle just for me. No
,
I wasn
’
t going hunting
for
vampires and I hadn
’
t read too many comic books
as a kid
. But
,
most supernatural creatures weren
’
t bothered by modern weaponry. It tended to piss them off rather than do any actual harm. Handle down near my right hip and blade tip near my left shoulder blade, it was held in place across my back, not
only
by sheaths and leather, but by a
spell put together for me by Milly. My throat closed up as I thought of my sister
-
friend. That
’
s what we
’
d been for nearly ten years
;
now she was just gone. I took a deep breath and let it out, putting her out of my mind as I examined the rest of my tools. Ten daggers, also edged in silver and copper, two lariats, one tazer
,
and one
high-
powered crossbow
with
bolts
on top. Underneath
,
there were packages of herbs and poultices, again prepared by Milly, to use on everything from burns, cuts
and
broken bones
to
head injuries. With everything accounted for and my blade underneath my jacket and securely in place, I went to check in.

The desk clerk nodded at me as I walked in, his battered cowboy hat pulled low over his ears and a few stray grey hairs sticking out at the edges. John had checked me in here more than once
.

“
Find any kids today
,
Ry?
”
He was
also
the only person I let get away with shortening my name
;
he was
,
after all
,
in his eighties and I figured he
’
d earned his right to say whatever he wanted to at
his
age.

“
Nope, not today. Kissed an FBI agent
,
though. That was kind of fun.
”
I winked at him and he smiled back at me. It was a routine game between us
.
I told him the truth and he thought I was funning him.

“
Did you make him blush?
”

I scooped my room key off the counter.
“
Come on
,
John, you know a lady
’
s not supposed to kiss and tell.
Then again, I
’
m not much of a lady, so yes, I made him blush and his partner too. Too hot to handle
—
you should know that about me by now
,
John.
”

He guffawed and said,
“
Off with you now
,
girl. I swear, an FBI agent?
”

I stepped back out into the quickly cooling night air and walked down to my unit. Number thirteen. I liked it, and it was the one everybody else avoided so I didn
’
t have to worry about how many peopl
e had left their little nasty bits behind
in the communal bed. Gross
,
I know, but something to think about next time you stay in a hotel.

It was still early
,
so I sat down at the small but real wooden desk, pulled out a pen and paper
,
and began to write down what I knew so far. At the top of the page I put India
’
s name, age, hair and eye colour, suspected abilities
,
and quirks
her parents told me about.
I had nothing else to speculate on except what groups could possibly want her and her abilities as a spirit seeker.
That
had been my first inclination when
I saw the pictures
—someone
who could commune with the dead with great ease and
for
whom
the dead held a great affection. Like someone who was good with animals, spirit seekers rarely had to
actually
seek out spirits
;
the dead came to them
,
flocked to them in droves, desperate to be heard and remembered. There were times that it was a temporary phenomenon. Children had been known to grow out of their abilities as they hit puberty.
But those who didn
’
t were powerful and very, very rare.

I scrubbed my hands back through my hair and laid my head on the desk, on the paper with all of India
’
s stats.
“
Where are you kid?
”
She didn
’
t answer, not that I really expected her to.
I hated the fact that I couldn
’
t
track
a child on the other side of the veil. My stomach growled suddenly, reminding
me
I hadn
’
t eaten since breakfast.
Leaving off with the list making, I headed out for something to stave off starvation.

There were no pizza joints out this way, or any other type of foods that could be delivered
,
so I settled for gas station gourmet. A bag of chips, two pepperoni sticks and small carton of milk. Carbs, protein and dairy, a nice balanced meal.
The night air felt good, cleansing
,
with the constant wind that was just a part of the landscape
,
and I found myself walking away from the hotel, taking a side street into the nearest suburbs.