Blood Debt (Judah Black Novels Book 2) (27 page)

I shook my head. “If Crux has her, why didn’t you just send the ice giant after him?”

“Because Crux is my master,” said the big man without hesitation. “And I serve him. What purpose do I have if not to serve my master?”

I had to close my eyes and turn away. Inside, my heart was breaking for Sven, for Mara…But Sven was indirectly responsible for the deaths of dozens. The fact that he didn’t fully understand what he had done wouldn’t matter to BSI. With such talent, they’d be more than eager to lock him up and throw away the key if they didn’t decide to dissect him in a lab first. Of course, I couldn’t let him go free, either. But I could cross that bridge when I came to it.

“Do you know where your master is now?”

He shook his head. “But I bet he is angry. I missed being there to feed him. He’ll be very cranky.”

Never mind he’ll give you the beating of a lifetime for failing to kill me
, I thought.
And then kill you.

“Why did Crux tell you to attack me, anyway?”

“Because you were looking into the missing fae, questioning Kim and the deal. And you refused him his blood debt. No one ever tells master no for anything.” He shifted in his seat. “Can I leave now? I’d like to go back to my master.”

“It’ll be a little while more. Just one more thing, Sven. The giant you sent to protect Tammy, what exactly did you tell it to do?”

He thought for a minute, putting a finger to his bottom lip. “Protect Tammy.”

Well, there was a spark of hope but it was also a little worrying. Clearly, the giant thought Harry and Kim were a threat to Mara. The mess at Mara’s place told me it also thought Crux was a threat when he showed up to abduct her. Mara must’ve taken down the wards protecting the place to let it in. Did she know Sven had sent the giant to protect her? Had she figured it out before me? That was the only thing that made sense. She did have more puzzle pieces than I did.

But it also meant the giant could show up wherever Crux was holding Mara and cause even more collateral damage. It didn’t seem to care who it killed as long as it got to its target.

I swallowed and asked Sven, “Are you able to call it again or control it?”

He shook his head. “I tried. It won’t listen.”

Looks like calling the thing off isn’t going to work
, I thought. Once it got its orders, the giant was bound to complete its task or die trying. That complicated things.

“Thanks, big guy,” I said, reaching across the table to pat him on the arm. It felt like patting steel.

Sven blinked. “Sven. My name is Sven.”

“Of course it is, big guy. Stay here. I’ll send someone in to keep you company.”

Out in the hallway, I stopped the first cop I saw. “Make sure he doesn’t leave,” I told them. “But don’t handcuff him and, whatever you do, don’t make him angry.”

“Yes, ma’am. What should I do if he gets agitated?”

“Call me or Agent Helsinki immediately.”

I stole a glance back through the one-way mirror at the gentle giant whose good intentions had murdered countless innocents. What kind of punishment was fair? If I arrested him, the best case scenario had Crux filing a petition to deport him, claiming Sven was property. Then, Crux would kill him because there’d be no way to proceed without making it a public fact. If I let him go, he’d just go back to Crux…who would kill him.

The big man found the remote and changed the channel to some cartoons. His face lit up with glee when he saw it and booming laughter echoed out of the room. I turned away, knowing there was nothing I could do.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

In the next room, Abe was grilling Robbie, as I expected. Robbie wore an expression of cool rage, watching Abe stalk across the floor with the patient hunger of a tiger on the prowl. I knocked on the door to Robbie’s interrogation room and then popped it open.

Robbie butted in before I could say anything. “There she is. Tell this git to sod off and get my lawyer or else bloody process me and put me in a cell so I can get my bloody phone call.”

I stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind me. I must have looked as pissed as I felt because Robbie’s demeanor shifted. His back straightened and he folded his hands in front of him as if he were in Sunday School instead of an interrogation room.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me Mara was dancing in your club?”

Robbie narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“And I know about the loan you took out from the Stryx on Kim’s behalf. That’s why she’s so pissed at you.”

“What’s this?” Robbie sat up. “You’re off your nutter. I called for my lawyer. I’ve got a right to legal representation.”

“Why? Have you got something to hide?” Abe asked, leaning on the table.

Robbie looked from me to Abe. “You’re mad, the both of you.”

“What do you know about Kim’s deal with Crux?” I said.

“Kiss my arse, copper.” Robbie rose out of his seat.

Abe pushed him back down. “Sit down. You are not nearly as threatening as you think you are.”

Robbie’s eyes were on fire with defiance. “What say you take off these irons and we go out back and settle this like men? You can show me those half-blood fangs of yours aren’t just for show and I’ll teach you why my name, my true name, is a black curse in Faerie.”

Abe flashed his fangs and made a small growl. “I have nothing to prove to you.”

“You’re a coward, that’s what you are. A bloody
mudak
.”

In a move faster than my eye could perceive, Abe reached out and grabbed the back of Robbie’s head. With a loud grunt, he heaved it into the tabletop so hard the table split in two. Robbie, who was still cuffed to the table and stunned, went down, one arm going each way as the table cracked in half.

“Abe!” I shouted, going forward to stand between them. “Jesus!”

“I do not take kindly to being insulted in my mother tongue,” Abe said, flashing his fangs.

Robbie didn’t lose consciousness, but he did have a good-sized gash on his forehead. It didn’t stop him from chuckling in a dark tone. “Oh, I am so going to sue you!”

“No, you’re not,” I said, pulling Robbie up. “Because, let’s face it, you deserve worse. After you sent us on a wild goose chase out to Kim’s, both of us almost got killed. This spat between you and Kim needs to end so we can get some answers.” I helped him back into his seat and adjusted the table as best I could. “That debt you got her into, that’s the whole reason your people have gone missing.”

Robbie looked up at me, wide eyed, blood streaming down the side of his nose. Out of fear the sight of the blood would trigger something in Abe, I gave the half vampire a wary look. But Abe just crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.

“What do you mean?”

“Crux,” I said, sliding into the seat across from Robbie. “Blackmailed her into letting him take your people.”

“I can bloody well guess why.” Robbie lowered his head to wipe a thumb over the side of his nose. Then he showed us his red thumb. “Do you know what this is worth to men like Crux? There’s a fortune running through my veins.”

“So you wanted him dead,” Abe said. “Him and Kim but you got Harry and the girl instead, is that how it went?”

“Everyone wanted them dead!” Robbie shouted. “Even his own family hated that prick. I was in the back of the line as far as murdering Harry Continelli went.”

“It wasn’t him,” I said, stone faced.

“What do you mean it was not him?” Abe spat. “He is fae, Judah. If anyone can open a portal, it has to be another fae. We recovered enough illegal spellcraft supplies from his office to make a convincing argument he summoned the ice giant you are so concerned about. He sent it after Kim. He killed Harry!”

I got up out of my seat. “Can I speak to you outside, Agent Helsinki?”

Abe’s eyes were slits as he glared at me. But he didn’t fight. He went over, jerked the door open and said, “After you, Agent Black.”

Once we were both outside in the hall, he slammed the door shut. “What was that?” Before I met Abe, I didn’t think it was possible to both yell and whisper at the same time but, somehow, he managed it and it was more threatening than it sounds. “You cannot just barge in here like you know everything and ruin my whole case. I have more than enough to charge him and juries have convicted on less.”

“Robbie is a criminal but he’s not a killer.” I pulled Abe to the window next door. “There’s the man who opened your portal and helped a giant through to kill Harry and Kim.”

I pointed at Sven, who was still smiling and giggling at his cartoons. We watched as Sven took a carton of apple juice in one massive hand and sipped at it through a straw.

Abe looked at Sven, then at me, then back to Sven. “Bloody Mary,” he said in the form of a curse. “You cannot be serious. I have seen his file. That oaf is barely capable of wiping himself, let alone killing fifteen people. And he’s certainly no twenty-foot-tall ice giant, capable of turning people into…what did you call them?”

“Draugr.”

He stared at me. “You are not serious. This is a joke.”

“He’s got the chops, believe me. And he’s smarter than you think. He did it to protect someone. Abe, I don’t think he understands what he’s done but he gave me a confession.”

Abe snorted and crossed his arms. “One that will never hold up anywhere. No one is going to convict a five-year-old in a man’s body. And Crux will protest if anyone tries. He will file a petition to have his property returned. The lawyers will argue, as property, Sven cannot be held responsible for his actions. And Crux is untouchable. He is a diplomat. I’ve seen this go through before. In the end, Sven gets killed. Is that what you want?”

I stared at the floor. “No.”

“Then let Robbie take the fall. He is a criminal and you know it. If anyone I have met in Concho County so far deserves to be behind bars, it is him.”

Robbie was guilty of half a dozen small crimes. I didn’t like the guy and he’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since I came to Paint Rock. But he’d done good, too. He’d found jobs for all the displaced fae that he could. More importantly, he wasn’t guilty. I just couldn’t bring myself to put the cuffs on him for something he didn’t do. If I didn’t, though, Crux would kill Sven.

There was the slim possibility I could prevent it by having Crux arrested. He was, after all, involved in human trafficking…fae trafficking. Whatever. But it relied on INTERPOL doing their job. As he was here on a diplomatic visa, the best I could do was detain and deport his sleazy ass. I had to hope INTERPOL wasn’t in the Stryx’s deep pockets. I had no way of knowing.

“No, Abe,” I said at length and turned to him. “Robbie will get his, but not today. Today, we’re going to get the real bad guys.”

He frowned at me but, in the end, conceded with a nod. “If you are certain that is how you want to progress. I can let him go.”

“I’m not so sure I want you to do that yet, either.”

He raised an eyebrow and then reached up to adjust his big, floppy hat. “Why?”

I told Abe what I knew about Mara. Afterward, he leaned back, frowned at me and said, “Well, a hostage certainly complicates things.”

“I was thinking a hostage exchange,” I said, gesturing to Sven. “Crux will want his blood slave back.”

“I thought you were against letting a killer go free?”

“I am,” I explained. “We do the exchange and then promptly detain both of them for questioning. The plan is to hold onto them long enough to get INTERPOL involved, arrest Crux internationally while we try to figure out what to do with Sven.”

“So, at the end of all this, you want me to take Sven into custody?”

“It’s not what I want,” I answered gravely. “But I don’t know what else to do.”

Abe gave me a long look. “Do you believe in fate, Judah Black?”

“I think fate is a cop out. Destiny was invented so people didn’t have to take responsibility for shaping their own futures.” I turned to him, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. “Why?”

He slapped me on the shoulder hard enough I stumbled forward. “Perhaps a solution will present itself. As my father used to say, fortune and misfortune often live in the same house. Speaking of…” He gestured back to the interrogation room where Robbie waited. “Shall we go inform Mr. Fellows of our plan?”

I smiled. “Right after I have Tindall make a phone call.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I told Robbie I wanted to do the exchange at Aisling.

Robbie listened intently to what I had to say before sneering and saying, “No bloody way. Not on your life. I won’t agree to it. It’s my club, and if I let you wreck it, what’ll it get me?”

Abe, who was leaning against the wall, said, “It is a hostage exchange. No one is going to wreck the place. Besides, you do not have a choice. If you refuse to help Agent Black, I will arrest you.”

“What for?”

“Possession of several controlled substances with intent to distribute for one,” Abe said with a shrug. “And each one of those is a felony.”

Robbie lowered his head, but the expression he wore wasn’t shame. His eyes were boiling with anger. “You just expect me to stand by while you arrest Crux? I’ll gut him for what he did to my people,” Robbie spat. “If you’re too yellow to do it, give me the bloody stake. I’ll drive it straight through his scheming little heart and tear his head straight off for good measure.”

“We cannot let you do that,” Abe said.

“Why not?”

“Because he’s a vampire prince.” I sighed and sat down in the chair. “As much as I’d like to let you kill Crux, his head on a platter here means a lot of pissed off Stryx. They’ll start calling in more blood debts and, before you know it, it’ll be your head decorating their centerpieces on the table. Is that what you want?”

Robbie narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “I’m not about to just sit by after he’s taken my people and let the law handle it. He took four fae lives. He should be made to suffer.”