Claimed (16 page)

Botros tapped his screen, and it projected a three-dimensional image of a mangled piece of metal, speckled and pitted from the explosion. “That’s all that’s left of it.” He tapped the screen again, and the image disappeared. “He did precise work, that Jian. Not to mention we found receipts in his house for some of the material used to make the bombs.”

There it was. Hard evidence Jian had been responsible. But it still didn’t explain
why
he had done it.

“So, Doctor, talk to me about you,” Botros said, pulling her back. “Your boss, Dr. Cassidy, says you’ve put enormous pressure on yourself since arriving at Harvard. She said she was worried about your mental stability.”

“What?” Galena whispered. Sure, Dr. Cassidy had expressed concern for her, but questioning her sanity?

Botros nodded. “She said the pressure to come up with this vaccine you’re working on was too much. She said she was worried you were beginning to break down.”

“As I told Dr. Cassidy, I
have
been under pressure,” snapped Galena, “but that’s no different than when I was at Pitt. I handle pressure well and have the record to prove it.”

Botros’s eyes traced her face, settling on the swollen patch on her cheek that sh
e’d
tried to cover with makeup. “Yeah? You haven’t ever dreamed of just letting it all go? Maybe escaping from all that pressure and scrutiny? I hear academia can be tough. And for you?” He blew a breath from between pursed lips. “You’ve had quite the career so far. Every eye on you. I couldn’t blame you if you wanted to get out from under it.”

Dec leveled a glacial stare at the detective. “How about you stop the fake-empathy game and just say what you think, Detective Botros?”

The detective arched a thick black eyebrow and put his hands up. “Oh, Mr. Ferry, my apologies.” He didn’t look sorry. In fact, he looked a little amused and a little angry. Like he would love nothing more than to stick it to the Ferrys. “But since you insist, I’ll be honest here. See, Jian Lee left a suicide note. What do you think it said?”

Galena felt a ball of ice grow inside her as she remembered Jian shouting in a guttural voice,
Your fault!
“I have no idea,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Well, how about I show you?” Botros tapped his screen, and a typed message floated in front of them.

Mei,

I am so sorry for what I have done. I hope you will someday forgive me. Please know that I never wanted this to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. She forced me to do it. She gave me no other choice. I love you. It’s torture to leave you, but I cannot go on like this. Remember me, please.

~Jian

Galena blinked back tears as she read his note, addressed to his wife of only a few months.

“Sad, isn’t it? Now, who do you think ‘she’ is?” asked the detective. “The woman who he says forced him to do these bad things?”

“Again, no idea,” whispered Galena.

“And what would you say if I showed you this?” Botros tapped his screen again, and Galena shivered as she read the projected words, a chat message to Jian dated a few days before the bombings.

I’m still waiting to hear from you. Confirm that you’re ready to move forward or I’ll be forced to follow through with my promise. As you know, the new mutation of the Marburg virus is particularly deadly, and there’s no vaccine yet.

Galena’s stomach turned. Someone had been threatening Jian with
disease
? Her fingers locked around Dec’s as rage rushed through her. “Who sent that to him?”

“Oh, whoever did it was very clever,” said the detective. “Probably thought sh
e’d
never get caught. All kinds of encryption and whatnot. Took us awhile to dig the answer up. But here it is.” He tapped the screen, so hard that his fingernail made a sharp snap against the surface. And up popped a little box containing an encoded string of information. He tapped another button, which decrypted the jumble of letters and symbols, revealing a system log, including a time stamp and authentication credentials.
Her
authentication credentials. “It came from the central computer in your lab, Dr. Margolis. The one only
you
had access to. And we cross-checked that time stamp with surveillance records. You were the only one in your lab when it was sent.”

He stood up from behind his desk, gesturing at the closed metal door. Two cops immediately came into the room—they must have been watching them on camera the whole time. “Galena Margolis,” said Detective Botros. “You’re under arrest for the murders of Ankita Bhasin, Nadya Odrova, Katsumi Phillips—”

“What the fuck is this?” Dec shot up from his chair as the police approached Galena. “You sneaky bastards. You tell her you’re going to ask her a few questions, and instead you ambush her like this?”

Botros glared at Dec. “I have no doubt you can get her a very good lawyer, Mr. Ferry, but the evidence is solid, and it’s my job to remove murderers from the streets. Are you going to obstruct me? Am I gonna have to arrest you, too?”

A rough hand closed around Galena’s wrist, and she looked up to see a police officer, cuffs out. Too shocked to cry, she searched for Dec and noticed his clenched fist. He looked like he was ready to fight the detective like he had those Shades last night, just to keep her safe. “Dec,” she murmured. “Don’t.”

He whirled around, rage and horror in his eyes. “This is bullshit.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to get you out of this.”

She gave him the bravest smile she could muster. “I know.”

Botros stepped between them. “We’re going to take you down to booking, Dr. Margolis, and get you settled into a nice cell.” He turned to Dec. “She’ll be available to meet with a lawyer in a few hours, son. Arraignment will be tomorrow.”

“Galena,” Dec said.

“Go, Dec,” she whispered, unable to force any volume into the words. “I’ll be fine. Take m
y . . .
pendant, would you? I don’t want to lose it.” And they would confiscate it, she knew.

As the cold metal of the cuffs bit into her skin, Dec mumbled something to the detective, who stepped out of the way. Dec came forward, his eyes on hers. “I’ll talk to you in a few hours,” he said, reaching around to unhook the clasp of her Scope. His fingers slipped along her neck, and she closed her eyes, wanting to cling to the comfort of that sensation for as long as she could.

“Tell Eli you’re taking care of it, okay?” Eli would go crazy when he found out about this, and she didn’t want him to do anything to get himself in trouble.

“I’ll handle this. All of it,” Dec said, leaning down and touching her forehead with his. “You’re going to be all right.” He took her face in his hands and gave her a quick, unbearably sweet kiss on the lips, and then he turned away, stuffing her Scope into his pocket. “Detective, if I find out she’s been mistreated in any way—”

“I know, Mr. Ferry. I know what your family can do. Just know that I’m on the side of justice here, okay? That is the
only
thing I care about.”

Dec’s jaw was rigid as he allowed two police officers to escort him from the room.

“Ready to head to booking, Doc?” asked the detective. “Might as well get used to the idea of being here. No judge in his right mind is going to grant bail.”

Galena didn’t bother responding. She hadn’t felt this out of control and helpless in a while, but it settled on her like a heavy, suffocating blanket. Her hopes that she would be spending the afternoon with Dec, letting him closer, getting to know him, it all seemed like a stupid, naive dream, something from a life that had never been hers, not really. She knew she should be focusing, thinking carefully about how she could get out of this, defend herself, refute their evidence. But as the detective took her arm and guided her out into the hallway, so long that she could barely see the end of it, all Galena felt was numb.

CHAPTER TWENTY

D
ec slammed his way through the doors of Psychopomps and stalked over to Walter, whose eyes went wide as he looked up from the screens in front of him. “Mr. Ferry, are you all r—?”

“I need to see Aislin,” Dec snapped. “Right the fuck now.”

Walter blinked and tapped at one of his screens. “Aislin’s in a meeting with the French ambassador at the moment and—”

“Now.”
Dec leaned forward. “I don’t care who she’s in with. Call her and tell her I’m coming up.”

Walter glanced over at the guards at the elevators, and Dec gave him a hard-edged smile. “They could stop me, Walter, but how would it look? Guards taking down the CEO’s brother in the lobby?
I
don’t care, but Aislin would. You want to set her up for embarrassment? Go ahead. Because I would fucking love to punch somebody in the face right now, so bring it on.”

Dec unfastened the top button of his shirt and then began to roll up his sleeves. H
e’d
had to leave Galena in the fucking police station, in
handcuffs
. The look on her fac
e . . .

Walter, who had gone pale, poked at his earpiece. “Uh, Ms. Ferry? Yes. I’m so sorry to disturb you. But I have your brother here, and he’s quite agitated.”

“Agitated?” Dec chuckled. “You haven’t
seen
agitated yet.” He flexed his fingers and rolled his head on his neck.

Walter’s lips barely moved as he spoke quietly, like he was afraid the people queuing up behind Dec would hear him. “He’s threatening to make a scene, and—okay. Thank you.” His eyes met Dec’s. “She’ll see you.”

“Perfect.” Dec turned on his heel and strode toward the elevators. The sun shone through the glass facade of the building, stark against the polished granite floor. Outside, the canals and sidewalks were bustling with people, barreling through their lives, trying to survive each day. And somewhere in the Veil, a soul was calling to him. Dec ignored the pull, though. Yes, he was taking the risk that the soul would become rabid while it waited. Yes, he almost never took that risk. But today? There was only one person on his mind, and she was very much alive, and he was determined to keep her that way.

The guards made way as Dec walked into the elevator that would take him to Aislin’s office. He folded his arms as he ascended, trying to calm down. Going in hot was Cacy’s style, and one of the reasons she and Aislin didn’t get along. He was usually mellower. But again, not today. Somehow, in the last twenty-four hours, Galena’s well-being had become his number one priority. And not just because he was honoring his father.

Because she was unique. Stunningly smart, dangerously beautiful, and hauntingly vulnerable, all in one. Brave, too. Braver than she gave herself credit for.

He didn’t know her well. And he probably shouldn’t want to, since they were together only for convenience, to make a physical connection that would provide her with the protection she needed. He couldn’t help the longing h
e’d
felt as he held her this morning, though, the pride at being the man who got to put his arms around her, the man she trusted enough to fall asleep with. And he couldn’t help the raw rage and panic he felt now, knowing she was going to be locked in a cell and charged with crimes she had absolutely nothing to do with.

The elevator door slid open, and Aislin was standing there with two women and one man, all attired in perfect business suits.

“
À tout à l
’heure
, Ambassador Tailler,” Aislin said, ignoring Dec as he stepped out of the elevator.
“Encore une fois, je suis désolée pour l’interruption.”

“
À la prochaine
,
”
the oldest of the women replied, eyeing Dec suspiciously. Then she and her people got on the elevator.

Aislin waited to speak until they heard the quiet whir of its descent. Her nostrils flared slightly as she turned to Dec, her blue eyes cold. “Threatening to make a
scene
? Really, Declan.”

“I’ve just come from the Boston PD. They arrested Galena. They’re charging her with the murders of all those people who died in the bombings.”

Aislin went very still. “That is a significant negative development.”

“That’s an understatement,” Dec ground out, heading for her office.

Aislin followed, her high heels clicking. “My contact was unaware—”

“Obviously. The detective’s a guy named Amil Botros. Heard of him?”

Aislin moved behind her desk and tapped at the screen embedded in its surface, then spent a moment gazing at the results. “He recently transferred from New York. A distinguished record.”

“Yeah. He seemed like h
e’d
be happy to defy us. He produced all this ‘evidence’ that Galena was threatening the guy who made the bombs.” Dec raked his hand through his hair. “As if Jian only did it because she forced him to. And he’s dead, so I’m sure the cops would be happy to find a live person to pin this on.”

“What kind of evidence?”

Dec rolled his eyes. “In his suicide note, Jian Lee said a woman was forcing his hand. They’ve also got threatening messages that were supposedly sent from a computer that only Galena had access to.”

“What kind of threats?”

“The one I saw seemed to be saying the Marburg virus would be unleashed if the guy didn’t take some action.”

“So the threat involved a deadly, contagious disease.” Aislin’s gaze was steady on him. “Are you sure she
didn’t
have anything to do with this?”

“What?”

Aislin sat down in her chair. “Galena Margolis has been severely traumatized. She has also been thrust into the limelight, a lot of pressure for someone who’s been through so much. And she is extremely intelligent. Are you absolutely certain that she didn’t arrange this as a way to have this responsibility removed from her shoulders?”

The rage and frustration ran hot across Dec’s skin. “Yeah, I’m sure. She was completely distraught at the deaths of her volunteers and her lab assistants.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t guilt?”

“Of course she felt guilty,” shouted Dec. “Innocent people died just because they were connected to her research. But it wasn’t because she actually killed them!”

Aislin was silent, and Dec closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “All right,” he said slowly. “If Galena’s so intelligent—and trust me, she is—why the hell would she send messages from a machine
only
she had access to?”

He opened his eyes to find Aislin looking thoughtful. “She didn’t try to cover her tracks at all?”

“The detective said there was a lot of security around the messages, but still. Galena would know better.”

“Was the message sent at a time that her presence in the lab could be confirmed?”

“Yes. At a time she was the only one there. But—”

“Declan, what do you expect me to do?” Aislin rose from her chair. “It sounds like they’ve built a fairly strong case against Galena, and although we do have pull within the department, we can’t stop Detective Botros from pursuing this right now. People are in an absolute uproar over these bombings, and our board is equally upset over my consenting to make Galena a Ferry. Put those two things together. We’ll have to let the wheels of justice turn for a little while.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. The ‘wheels of justice’? The PD is underequipped and understaffed. They’re virtually irrelevant. We go around them all the time. Hell, don’t we
own
them?”

“I’ve been the CEO for a
week
, Declan. I’m working to form alliances with all our subsidiaries, including the police, and to earn the board’s trust. If I overuse my leverage, especially in a way that draws more negative publicity, there will be consequences. Rylan had many allies, both human and supernatural, and I need to show that I can control both the company and the empire.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “And meanwhile, we’ve had two dozen unauthorized Markings, and any day we’re going to hear from the Keepers about the time of the summit. It could go either way. They could punish Moros for losing control of his Kere, but they could punish us, too, for not being able to stop them.”

“So you’re willing to sacrifice Galena?” Dec asked, his voice shaking.

“Don’t put words in my mouth. I consented to her Claiming, didn’t I? We took responsibility for her, and now she’s immortal. What else do you want from me?”

Dec couldn’t help but squirm. Galena
wasn’t
immortal, but now didn’t seem the time to tell Aislin that he hadn’t held up his end of the deal. “She won’t exactly be able to do her research if she’s in prison.”

Aislin tucked a wisp of blonde hair behind her ear. “It is not my responsibility to remove all possible obstacles between Galena Margolis and her mysterious, magical vaccine. Moros has indicated that she is not fated to die in the near future, and now I have done my part in preserving the fabric of what is meant to be.”

“That’s bullshit,” said Dec. “And it sounds a bit like Ry. You want Galena to live, but you don’t want her to be able to finish her research?” He studied her face. H
e’d
thought she was done with Rylan. Sh
e’d
stripped him of his Scope and locked him up. But no
w . . .
“Have you talked to Rylan lately?”

“I’ve spoken to him. I will not decide his sentence until after we meet with the Keepers. He seems remorseful for what he’s done.”

Dec shook his head. “It’s an act. Don’t fall for it.”

Her face was blank and her voice was flat as she said, “I daresay I’ve known Rylan a bit longer than you have, Declan, and I’ve been here at Psychopomps since I graduated from college. More than two decades before you were born. I have no doubt you are an excellent paramedic, but don’t you dare come here and tell me how to conduct my business.”

The condescension in her voice made his teeth clench. This was the first time Aislin had pulled that card, and it burned. And it was also the first time Dec wished he
had
joined the corporate world, because maybe h
e’d
be doing a better job of helping Galena if he had. “I’m not telling you how to do your job, Aislin, but are you so certain Rylan doesn’t have some rogue Ker buddy on the outside, doing his dirty work?”
Like Luke?
The blond Ker obviously hated Galena, and with disease as his weapon of choice, he had better reason than any other Ker to want her out of the picture.

“If Rylan had communicated with a Ker, we would know. He’s closely guarded both here and in the Veil. I think we should assume, therefore, that the rogue is working on its own. However, we should also be willing to consider the possibility that Galena is not completely innocent.”

“If you knew her, you wouldn’t be saying that,” Dec said, his voice gravelly.

Aislin arched a pale eyebrow. “Are you certain that
you
know her, Declan? I acknowledge that the bond has brought you close to her, but knowing a woman’s body isn’t the same as knowing her secrets.”

Dec looked away from his sister’s penetrating stare. “She’s dead set on completing that research, Aislin. She has zero reason to destroy it. If she did, all sh
e’d
have to do was quit.”

“Harvard spent billions of private investor dollars to make a lab for her. Her speech at the fund-raiser was in every single news feed in the world within a few hours. It would be a highly publicized and damning humiliation if she even
tried
to quit.”

“So is getting charged with murder!”

Aislin nodded. “I regret supporting your Claiming of her. I will do what I can to keep this from reflecting poorly on you.”

“I don’t give a fuck about how it reflects on me. I need our best lawyer, and I need you to pull every string you can. She shouldn’t be in there.” His throat suddenly tightened. “She’s probably scared out of her mind.”

Slowly, Aislin approached him. “I thought you were only doing this out of obligation, Declan.” Her face softened into a gentle smile. “After all, you’re one of the most honorable men I know.”

He didn’t feel honorable now. He felt desperate. “You’re honorable, too, Aislin. And you know that the honorable thing to do is to help her.”

Except—the Ferrys and Kere would be
delighted
if Aislin had found a way to neutralize Galena without starting a war or violating the treaty. It would put Aislin in a doubly powerful position as she faced the Keepers of the Afterlife. Hell, it was even better than Rylan’s strategy had been. Dec eyed his beautiful, poised sister. She was one of the most powerful people in the world. And that was no accident. All the heat inside Dec turned to ice.

She put her hand on his arm. “You
care
for Galena.”

Damn straight, but he wasn’t about to admit that to someone he didn’t fully trust and have it used against him. He looked out the window, at the sun reflecting off the high-rises of downtown. “I just think she has important things to do. I want to fulfill my obligation.”

She gave his arm a quick squeeze, and then her hand fell away. “I cannot make you any promises right now,” she said, returning to her desk, all softness gone. “But you may engage the services of Nan Drummond. She is our best defense attorney.”

“Can’t you use your contacts at the PD to quash this, though?” It wasn’t like the Ferrys didn’t do that all the fucking time.

But none of them had ever been charged with murdering fifteen people and destroying several city blocks, either.

Aislin’s look said she was thinking the same thing. “If Galena is innocent, then Nan will be able to get her out of this. It may take time, but—”

“She may not
have
time,” Dec snapped. “It can’t be good for her, locked in a cell in the city jail. Do you have any idea what could happen to her in there?”

“Nothing that could kill her, obviously. But I will call and request additional protection for her. It would cause an uproar if she was hurt and healed right before people’s eyes.”

“
That’s
what you’re worried about? Do you know how fucking heartless you sound?”