Deadly Lover (7 page)

She wrapped her arm more tightly around her middle, wanting to retreat and hide, but determined not to let her fear or her ghosts get to her.

“If you’re so damn clever,” she said. Self-preservation had provided a back bone for her shaky voice. “You don’t need my help. Go to Sean. Work with him.”

“I can’t.” He kept his voice low. Calm. “The Council would never allow me to be involved officially. Our jurisdiction is limited to The Zone. Both crimes occurred outside.”

Lily shook her head. “Surely they want this over. It’ll be difficult to convince the public you’re not a threat with this kind of thing going on.”

“I fear they’ll be convinced to restrict all of our people to The Zone as the solution.”

“It might prevent any further attacks.” She didn’t like the idea, but it couldn’t be dismissed.

“And how long should we stay behind the walls?” He leaned in for a moment, pressing against her own private boundaries, then stood in an explosion of pent-up emotion. “Should we wait the length of the killer’s life span?” He paced away, giving her the breathing room she desperately needed and leaving her feeling terribly alone.

Lily carefully rebuilt the walls of her composure, then stood and laid the knife on the table. “Metro will come up with something. Give them a chance to work the physical evidence.”

Jolaj pinned her with a hard stare. “And will they be able to pursue the investigation if it leads them to Deepwater?”

“You think Deepwater is responsible?” She didn’t want to believe they would use what had happened to Kiq to do something like this.

“I don’t know. But who else would know what toxins cause us to react this way? A secret we’ve managed to keep away from the public for twenty years.”

Lily considered the possibilities. “Maybe one of your people.”

“All of the attacks have occurred outside The Zone.”

“That doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been an Ormney.” She took note he didn’t directly deny one of his people could be capable of the crime.

“If your investigation leads you to look at us, I will cooperate fully.” His big clawed hands clenched at his sides. “My wish is to stop the person responsible whoever he may be. If we work together I’m certain we can put an end to these attacks.”

Lily tightened her hand around the figurines resting in her palm. She hadn’t been able to save Kiq, but maybe she could save some of his people. Maybe then she’d be able to banish the guilt and panic that paralyzed her with constant second-guessing. In her work, hesitations got you killed. Until she’d come to peace with Kiq’s ghost she’d be unable to go back to the job.

The only way Lily could get access to Metro’s case would be through Bradley. Just the thought of him made her head hurt, but she had to do this. Hell, maybe she was turning into a masochist.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll call my contact at Ormney Affairs in the morning and start reviewing the case files as soon as possible.”

Jolaj dipped his chin in a brief nod. “Thank you, Agent Rowan.”

Lily shrugged off his gratitude and walked over to her mini-chiller, desperately needing some space, some sense of normalcy. “In the meantime, tell me about the first attack.”

He followed her over to the meals bar, but kept a careful distance as if he understood her need for a space.

Lily pulled out two boxes of lyte-water and set them out.

“It happened several weeks ago,” he explained. “As I said, they found the bodies in a container near the docks. Fresna worked there loading cargo.”

Jolaj took the water she offered, but opted to stand across the bar rather than sit on one of the stools.

“He never returned from his meal break,” he continued. “They went in search of him after their shift. They found the container locked from the outside.”

“They started looking in cargo containers at random?”

“No. They tracked him. Our sense of smell is very keen.”

Lily’s hand tightened on her drink. “So, they found the bodies. Did they recognize the woman?”

“Yes.” He made a slight back and forth motion of his head that might have been a subconscious nod. “They had seen her in one of the restaurants near the docks, but they had no other information.”

Lily took a long sip of the cool water. When Metro had found the body in the river, they would have questioned everyone at the docks and the businesses nearby, looking for any witnesses, but she’d have to work it through herself. With better information, more details, she might do better. Find someone who would remember something. “You said the container was locked, but why didn’t he
slip
out? I wish there was some way we could be sure he died inside. Maybe he was moved there.”

“If he’d been drugged as we suspect, he may not have been able to think clearly enough to
slip
.”

“Your friend Lanyak didn’t have any trouble
slipping
when he was drugged.”

“We don’t all have the same level of skill, Agent Rowan.” His voice transmitted a trace of disappointment, as if her generalization bothered him. “Lanyak’s natural abilities were keen and he had trained for many years.”

“And the other victim?”

“I do not know what his natural talents were, but he had no training beyond the basics we all learn as children.”

Lily took another sip of her water and watched Jolaj do the same. As he tipped his head back to drink, his eyelids twitched. The lighting bothered his eyes. She wasn’t wearing her com-lens so she had to use voice commands to adjust them. “Lights seventy-five percent.

The room dimmed to a more comfortable level for them both. He blinked several times and his pupils widened. “Thank you, Agent Rowan.”

In some crazy way, his few weaknesses reassured her. But, he knew her darkest secret and that wasn’t reassuring at all.

“If we’re going to be working together, you should call me Lily.”

“Lily.” He said her name like he was tasting it.

An unexpected ripple of pleasure buzzed up her spine. She decided not to think too hard on that surprise. “Okay, so your guy couldn’t get out of the container. That doesn’t explain why he went inside in the first place and why the woman would have been there.”

“I’m not certain why they were there. The men who found them said she seemed to have died quickly, but he bled to death after tearing the flesh from his body.”

Kiq had done that. Torn at his own flesh. It was the reason she’d gone into the chamber with him. To stop him from hurting himself. She’d been so sure he wouldn’t hurt her. That she could reach him. Stupid.

Thinking of Kiq it was impossible not to make a mental comparison with Jolaj. The patterns of the Law Keeper’s face reminded her of cat, with the stripes on his forehead curving up from his eyebrows and disappearing into his hair. There was the strip across his eyes and parallel lines that crossed his cheeks. All of his stripes were more subtle, less vivid than Kiq’s.

Lily shivered, still wet from her shower. “Is there anything that ties the two men together?”

Jolaj hesitated. “Aside from the circumstances of their death, being found with a human woman, no. Nothing.”

“I’ll want to speak with the workers who found them.”

He nodded. “I can arrange it for tomorrow morning.”

“Make it afternoon.” Lily took another sip of water. The accelerants used to rapidly heal her injuries always dehydrated her and she could feel the effects setting in. “It will take me some time in the morning to get cleared to work on this.” She also wanted time to go over the evidence reports.

Jolaj walked slowly around the bar and stopped beside her. “You should still be in the med facility.”

She knew the fatigue had to show in her face and she’d been leaning against the bar more than she might have otherwise. He stood too close, eyes full of concern, looking every inch the strong, protective male, and despite the panic he could so easily trigger, she wanted to step into his warmth. “I don’t like med facilities,” she said, suspecting that she was starting to sound whiny and hoping she was too tired to panic again. “You should be in The Zone.” It was hours past curfew. “You want to tell me how it is that you’re not?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t think I do.” He smiled at her for the first time and her stomach flip-flopped. He took a deep breath and his hand hovered near her arm as if he wanted to touch her but didn’t dare. “I should probably get back.”

“You probably should.”

His hand fell back to his side. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow. Good night, Lily.”

A slight vibration disturbed the air and rippled across her skin like a caress. Then he disappeared.

Lily decided to meet with Bradley in his office at the Federal Building downtown. She could have used her secure link and handled everything from the comfort of her apartment, but she wanted to keep their association formal and professional. The seven-block morning walk to the nearest glide-rail station had helped her work out the aches and soreness left over from her most recent injuries. By the time she stepped off the train into the fifth floor lobby, she was ready to face whatever the day would throw at her.

A brief detour through security to clear her weapon and a quick trip up the express elevator landed her in the sleekly modern interior of the Ormney Affairs office. In an effort not to look too out of place, she’d paired her Dad’s black leather coat with black wool trousers and a black turtle neck she’d dug out of the back of her closet, but the familiar weight of her pulse pistol, nestled under her left arm, made her feel more comfortable in her own skin than she had in months.

A twenty-something man in an expensive suit greeted her from behind the reception counter. “Good morning.” He smiled warmly. “Mr. Rubeiro’s in the conference suite at the end of the hall on the left. I don’t think he’s expecting you, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you go on back.”

Lily nodded, not bothering to tell the man he’d mistaken her for her sister. At least she hoped he had. She’d hate to think Bradley had been so sure of her that he’d sent her identification to the receptionist. She made her way to the conference room. The far wall was all glass and a barely discernible door led out onto a patio covered in foliage.

Bradley stood as she entered, as did the Ormney Elder seated across from him at the triangular conference table. The design should have eliminated the appearance of seating opposing forces and yet it was clear that she’d walked into a meeting between adversaries.

The Elder was dressed in formal robs and completely gray. His stripes were so faded she couldn’t tell what his original coloring had been. Acknowledging her with a curve of lips, he clasped his hands behind his back. “What an unexpected pleasure, Mrs. Rubiero.”

Mrs. Rubiero.

It didn’t matter that Lily hadn’t wanted the title in years. His mistaken greeting wriggled through her like termites exploring the newly discovered convenience of old, long abandoned tunnels twisting through her foundation.

Bradley rounded the table and stood beside Lily. “Councilor Vaj, this is Agent Rowan. She’s my wife’s twin.”

Amethyst eyes studied her, full of curiosity. “Ah, yes. I see the differences now. Forgive me. It has been some months since I last saw your sister.” Vaj dipped his head with a polite nod.

She wanted to ask him about the differences he saw. She hadn’t seen Rose in
years
. She’d made a few trips to DC to see her mother, her brother...but she’d avoided her sister, and Rose had made herself easy to avoid.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Councilor.” She made her best effort at a polite smile then switched her gaze to Bradley. “I came to discuss the request you made yesterday, but I didn’t realize you were in a meeting. Is there somewhere I can wait?”

A satisfied, closed-mouth grin snaked onto Bradley’s face. “You’ve reconsidered, then?”

She agreed with a quick nod.

“Excellent news.” Bradley’s exuberance grated and his explanation to Vaj didn’t improve the situation. “Agent Rowan is going to help us with the investigation.” To Lily, he said, “Vaj and I both feel this is our top priority at the moment.”

Vaj’s expression seemed open and relaxed, but he made her uncomfortable on many levels. Being Ormney was enough to keep her on edge, hyper-aware of his size and the claw-tipped hands he clasped behind his back.

She took in a calming breath and focused for a moment. She’d killed one of his people yesterday. Someone who’d probably been as much a victim as the woman he’d attacked. That made two Ormney men she’d terminated. Possibly two good men she’d removed from the Ormney gene pool.

Bradley had introduced Vaj as Councilor, one of a council of six, the Ormney governing body. She didn’t know if he knew Jolaj had enlisted her aid or if they even knew each other. Jolaj had said he couldn’t be involved officially. He’d also said the Council had been given all the details of Kiq’s death.

Lily’s hand moved to her stomach as if she needed to hide the scars. “It’s an honor to meet a member of the Continuation Council.”

“Ah, you’re well informed,” said Vaj. “Few humans show an interest in our governance.”

She shrugged. “I can’t claim to follow Ormney politics, Councilor. But the medallion.” Lily indicated the symbol on the pendant Vaj wore on a thick cord around his neck. “It’s a Council symbol, right?”

Kiq had kept a small leather bound book embossed with a similar symbol.

“Ah, yes. The Perpetuation Medallion symbolizes our commitment to the Principals of Perpetuation. A reminder that we must always represent the good of our descendants. Each member of the Council wears one.”

Vaj pointed to the broad top end of the first triangle and traced his finger down to the center circle, only the tips of his claws showing. “Many contribute to the making of one—” he drew his finger from the center to the broad base of the bottom triangle, “—and the one contributes to the survival of the many.” He wrapped his hand around the medallion in a gesture that looked habitual.

Bradley smoothed a hand down his suit jacket. “The Council negotiated the treaty allowing the Ormney to make a home here. And it’s up to them to ensure the terms of the treaty are followed to the letter.”