Inked Magic
| Inked Magic | |
| Jory Strong | |
| Penguin (2012) | |
| Rating: | **** |
| Tags: | Romance |
From the New York Times bestselling author of Healer's Choice comes the story of a woman with the power of touch. Skin doesn't lie to her. It is her gift, sometimes her curse. She feels what others felt, and sees the things held in their memories... With the touch of her palms to the skin of a crime victim, San Francisco tattoo artist Etaín can see the faces of the guilty and draw them. Changeling elf but unaware of it, at odds with her police captain father and FBI agent brother, magic and gift have put her in the path of two compelling men.Cathal Dunne, the son of an Irish mob boss, needs Etaín's help finding the rapists who left his cousin for dead. Eamon, a powerful elf lord, is determined to make her his consort-wife.Her gift once made permanence impossible when it came to a lover. Now, as she approaches the transition to fully Elven, her survival depends on keeping two. One of the men is willing to share her. The other isn't-until the search for a sexual predator turns deadly, and only by paying magic's price will there be any future at all.
P
RAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF
J
ORY
S
TRONG
“The world is gorgeous, the characters are fantastic, and the plots will draw you in!”
—
Errant Dreams Reviews
“Intriguing from the start and deliciously erotic.”
—
Darque Reviews
“Jory Strong will leave you hooked and hoping for more of this dark world.”
—
Romance Junkies
“Urban fantasy readers will relish
Ghostland
and look forward to more escapades in Jory Strong’s new California (and beyond).”
—
Genre Go Round Reviews
“Jory Strong writes an enthralling story, which will quickly immerse readers in a futuristic fantasy.”
—
Romance Reviews Today
“A beautiful, passionate story . . . Tender, loving, erotic, and consuming.”
—
Joyfully Reviewed
“Strong’s terrific tale should win her many new fans. Really good stuff!”
—
RT Book Reviews
Titles by Jory Strong
GHOSTLAND
SPIDER-TOUCHED
HEALER’S CHOICE
INKED MAGIC
Anthologies
PRIMAL
(with Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, and Ava Gray)
Titles by Jory Strong
GHOSTLAND
SPIDER-TOUCHED
HEALER’S CHOICE
INKED MAGIC
Anthologies
PRIMAL
(with Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, and Ava Gray)
ORY
S
TRONG
HEAT | NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2012 by Valerie Christenson.
Cover photo by Tony Mauro.
Cover design by Sarah Oberrender.
Cover art direction by Rita Frangie.
Text design by Laura K. Corless.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
HEAT and the HEAT design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Heat trade paperback edition / February 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Strong, Jory.
Inked magic / Jory Strong.—Heat trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-425-24537-8 (pbk.)
1. Women tattoo artists—Fiction. 2. Changelings—Fiction. 3. Elves—Fiction. 4. Rape—Investigation—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.T777I55 2012
813.6—dc23
2011019141
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Thanks to my parents.
A thousand acknowledgments wouldn’t be enough to adequately express how much your support means to me.
One
F
og turned the cemetery into shades of black and gray. It lay on those gathered around the grave, a wet, heavy shroud muting the sounds of grieving as the priest spoke his final words and mourners moved toward the immediate family.
Cathal didn’t cross to offer his condolences, though his mother did, resplendent in designer black and tasteful jewelry. He remained in place even as his father and uncle departed without a word.
They glided through the fog like a pair of ravens, black coats shiny with moisture.
Harbingers of death
, he thought, knowing that scattered among the mourners were police as well as FBI and ATF agents.
He lingered, trying to recall the dead girl’s face, to dredge up personal memories of Caitlyn, something beyond the smiling photographs present in the funeral home. He failed. All that came to him were thoughts of his cousin, Brianna, and with it, guilt over how seldom their lives intersected.
In the span of a year Brianna had lost her mother and brother.
And now this.
Drugs and gang rape and the death of a friend.
Insanity and murder, if not by intention, then by end result.
He should have made more time for her. He should have . . .
With an acknowledgment of failure, he left the gravesite, returning
to the long line of automobiles parked against the curb, transport back to everyday life.
Two heavily muscled men emerged from the gloom as his father and uncle neared identical dark-windowed Mercedes. The men opened back doors, then stood, waiting at attention like the soldiers they were.
Words passed between the brothers. Icy intensity rather than heated argument, accompanied by a glance in his direction before his uncle climbed into a car and was driven away.
A sense of foreboding settled around him but he didn’t slow his footsteps or refuse when his father indicated with a wave that he was to get into the back of the remaining Mercedes. He surrendered his cell phone, a precaution against being listened in on by the authorities, then got into the car.
The doors closed, walling off sound and the possibility of being overheard. His father’s eyes locked on to his. “The animals responsible for this can’t go unpunished.”
Despite knowing his father’s idea of justice involved a shot to the back of the head and an unmarked grave, he said, “I agree.”
“Good.”
The tension left his father. “Good,” he repeated. “A source passed on a name at the funeral. There’s an artist who can help us identify the guilty parties. But there’s a complication.”
The sense of foreboding deepened. “What complication?”
“She might be related to a cop. The guy who passed on the name didn’t know whether it was true or not. All he could say for sure was that she’s got a freaky way with victims.”
“So call in a favor. Have a case file opened. There’s enough about what happened to Brianna and Caitlyn to force an investigation. Let the police make arrangements with the artist. Let them handle it officially and prosecute the guilty parties.”
His father tilted his head toward the empty parking place in front of the Mercedes. “This is personal business. Something your uncle and I need to take care of ourselves. The sooner the better. If you were
around more—and I’m not saying you should be, I understand your reasons and I respect your decision—then you’d know Denis isn’t thinking straight. First losing Margo, then Brian. Now this.
“He’s hurting. And a man in that much pain is capable of striking out, damn the consequences. That’s why I’m asking you to run interference here, to minimize the collateral damage by approaching this woman. Pull the right strings to get her to visit Brianna and come up with pictures of the responsible parties.
“Maybe it’ll be simple. Cash for services rendered. Maybe she wants to be a rock star and you can make it happen for her. Maybe she’s lonely and you can convince her between the sheets. Show her a little love so she’ll
want
to help out here and be willing to keep quiet about it afterward. If you set your mind to it, you can get it done.”
“And if I don’t? If I can’t?”
His father shrugged. “Then my conscience is clear. I’ve tried to do the right thing, walk the line as much as I can given the situation. But I’m not going to stand between Denis and the animals responsible for drugging and raping his baby girl. I’m not going to turn my back on family. Justice will be served on behalf of those two girls, regardless of whether you involve yourself in this matter or not.”