A Little Street Magic (28 page)

We were staring at him. He smiled. “I have a few people... ‘scoping out the situation,’ I believe the saying is. Fledglings of mine, quite stealthy.”

Stannett shook his head. “You and I need to have a long talk after this.”

“I’d be delighted to do so.” Derrick half-bowed. His smile faded. “The couple has been discovered. They’re all going into a room.”

“Three hostages.” Damian rubbed the back of his neck. “Confined space.”

“And they can leave any damn time they want, with a teleporter on hand.” Urgency gnawed at me. “Why haven’t they?”

“Good question.” Logan slid his arms around my waist. “They want something.”

“But what?”

T
hat question was answered ten minutes later, when they released the prostitute’s customer. He came out with his skinny arms in the air, dressed in nothing but black socks and white boxers. I did a double-take, because I was positive I’d seen him on TV. In fact, during a commercial for a church. “Don’t shoot, for the love of God, don’t shoot!”

He had a note. Stannett read it. “They want Agent Pacelli’s laptop.”

“Why?” I asked then face-palmed. “The list?”

“And they want you to bring it.” He looked at me.

“Huh?” My attempt to step back only resulted in firmer contact with Logan. His arms tightened around me.

“I don’t like the idea of her going up there alone.”

“Me neither.” But I would, and he knew it.

Stannett began bagging the note. “If she doesn’t they’ll send the woman out, via a window.”

“Good luck with that. Either Derrick or I can catch her.”

He tilted his head, looking at me. “On fire.”

“Oh.” They weren’t playing around. Except, they kind of were. “They could get the damn laptop themselves. Why do they want me to bring it to them?”

“No idea, but we have one hour.”

That wasn’t much time to come up with a plan. “I need to talk to Liam before I go up there.”

“I’ll send for the laptop.”

I shook my head. “I’ll get it after I talk to him.”

“B
riar has TK and he’s telepathic. Renee can cloak and do stuff with air.” Liam paused. “Yodal’s a fire guy like me. Jimmy and Isobel teleport, and Jimmy can see stuff when he touches things.”

That covered most of the abilities we’d figured they had. “What about the sixth person?”

Liam scowled. “He’s the one that’s gonna kill you, you nosy bitch.”

Logan smacked him on the back of the head. Damian and Fuentes pretended not to see it.

“What can he do?” I asked.

Shooting Logan a sullen look, Liam answered.

“He’s got TK, gets these visions—that’s how we know what we’re looking for and how to get to it—and he’ll liquefy you from the inside out. You ain’t gonna look so pretty, once Frank’s done with you.”

“I can’t wait, but I am curious why Frank’s so eager to meet me. Do you know why?” To my relief, I sounded normal. Funny, because my stomach was doing flip flops.

“It was that article. Crowing about how you could be the most powerful psychic in America. Frank thinks he is.” Liam grinned. “He don’t like it when people challenge him, or when they outshine him.”

I was going to kick Nate Brock’s family jewels so hard the next time we crossed paths, they’d be lodged in his throat for the rest of his life. “Guess we’ll find out, won’t we? You’ve been really helpful, Mr. Scumbucket. Thanks.”

He tried to spit on me, but I slapped it back in his face with perhaps too hard of a shove of TK. Too hard, because he hit the side of the patrol car. “Oops. Sor...actually, I’m not. Toodles.”

We left Officer Fuentes to put him back in the car, and I led the way back to Stannett and Derrick. “Some guy named Frank is the leader. He’s the water caller. How do you stop a water caller? I like my insides just the way they are.”

“Can you shield?”

I hesitated, and Damian answered. “She has before.”

Derrick tilted his head. “But can you?”

“I don’t know. It’s only happened a few times.”

“You haven’t been able to duplicate it.”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“I see.”

“We’re about forty minutes away from Burning Woman,” Stannett said. “A good plan would be nice.”

“It’s usually appeared when I’m in mortal danger.”

“Yeah, except when Merriven was beating the hell out of you, or during the battle in the Pit, or when the demons were about to cut you open,” Logan said.

“One was a private pocket realm. The other two were out of sync. This is my world,” I pointed out.

“Okay, then my next question is, do you think it’ll appear?” Logan was watching my eyes.

“He says I’m his favorite psychic.” I was putting my faith into my theory that Sal was the being behind that shield. “Do you think a mortal could shield against a god?”

“No,” Derrick said. “A mortal being cannot stop a god. Not without the help of another god.”

“Then it’s got to be him. Okay. I’m going to get the laptop.” I touched Logan’s arm. “I’ll be okay.”

“You’d better be.” He forced a smile. “You owe me cooking lessons.”

N
o one saw me pop into the station. There wasn’t anyone at the office that late, either, when I made another quick stop there.

Surprise people, Sal said, and I planned to. I closed my eyes. “Sal, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m probably going to need a helping hand in a few minutes. It’d be really nice if you could lend one.”

I waited, but there wasn’t a response. Had I expected one? Not really. I picked up the laptop again, and returned to the motel. “Got it.”

Logan’s sniff was barely noticeable. He narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

“I have people in place,” Derrick said. “They will enter at the first sign you need them.”

“Okay, thanks.” I took a deep breath, and another after Logan kissed me. “Let them know I’m coming in.”

“Wait a minute. Your first priority is yourself and the hostages. If you can get all three of you clear, just do that. Hear me?” Once I nodded, Stannett dialed the number included on the note. “Jones has the laptop. She’s on her way in. Yes, alone.”

He nodded, and I started my walk into the motel.

W
hen I stepped through the doors, a female voice came from the left. “You’re good at following orders.”

“Gee, thanks. Where do I go?” I was hugging the laptop, and letting my fear show in my expression.

O’Neal laughed. “Straight up the stairs. I’ll be right behind you.”

Did she have a weapon? I really hoped not as I crossed the foyer to the stairs. She wasn’t silent, but her footsteps were quiet enough to be hard to hear over the rush of blood in my ears.

Sweat was beginning to flow from my underarms, moistening my shirt. I’d be shopping for a new brand of antiperspirant tomorrow, assuming I made it through the night. Ugh, why did I have to think things like that?

Tase’s good luck charm was a lump in my jeans pocket. I’d forgotten about putting it there. Maybe it’d give me an edge. A girl could dream, right?

“Room 236,” she said, and poked me in the back with something sharp enough to feel through my coat. “Frank’s been dying to meet you.”

“So I’ve heard. Liam says hi.” That earned me another sharp poke, and I wasn’t sure she didn’t break skin.

“Open the door.”

Someone did, another of the men. He grinned. “Frank, your girlfriend’s here.”

I stepped into the room enough to let him shut the door. Didn’t know if O’Neal followed me or not.

The room was small, maybe an eight by ten rectangle. The only furniture was a saggy bed, nightstand with two drawers, and a small table with one chair. The bathroom was behind the door, the cabinet with sink on the outside of it, next to the small table.

“Fancy,” I said, trying to figure out who was who in the dim lighting. Agent Pacelli and the prostitute were sitting under the single window to the left of the bed. They were against the wall, their hands and feet tied together. The hooker was a skinny brunette with tear-smeared, heavy makeup; she couldn’t have been more than sixteen.
Holy crap
.

“You’re a smart ass.” The man who’d spoken was reclining on the sagging bed, his arms and ankles crossed. “I don’t like smart asses.”

“And I don’t like psychopaths, so I guess we’re even, huh?” One day, I’d be scared speechless. Today was not that day. I held out the laptop. “Here it is.”

Frank was white, well-built, and ugly as sin. A thick scar ran down his jaw and neck. I wondered what had made it. His eyes were too small for his face, while his nose looked like someone had broken it several times, leaving it a shapeless blob. He had buzzed, black hair.

A flicker of shadow at the window caught my attention, but I didn’t dare try for a closer look. Just knowing there was a vampire out there, and on my side, helped steady my nerves. I smiled, giving the laptop a wiggle. “You do want this, right?”

The other four were as spread around the room as possible. Isobel sat down on the bed’s right side. She was tiny, with a pointy chin and short, wispy brown hair. “Want me to grab her heart for you?”

I felt my eyes narrow, and cocked my head to stare at her. Could she actually teleport a body organ out of someone? What a disgusting idea.

“Take it,” Frank ordered, and the man closest to me grabbed the laptop. I let him have it, immediately straightening my coat.

“You got what you wanted. How about letting those two walk out of here?” I jerked my chin at Pacelli and the girl.

“How about you close your mouth, before I close it for you?” The guy who spoke was my height, and built like a brick wall. His arms were bigger around than my thighs. “I’ll melt your lips together.”

He was the other pyro, Yodal. Check. I had four identified now. Not sure what use that’d be, but it was something. If they decided to jump me all at once, I was dead. Unless Sal had been listening, and jumpstarted a shield for me.

“Back off, Yodal.” Frank scratched at his scar, squinting at me. “I’m gonna give you one chance to make the right decision, girly.”

“About what?”

“About joining us.”

“Oh. Okay, give me the sales pitch.” Not what I had expected, after my talk with Liam, but I put on an expression of interest, and gestured at Pacelli, who stared back. There was dried blood down the side of his face from a minor scalp wound. “I mean, it’s not like he offered me a job.”