Excuse me, maam? It came again, and I turned back around, fluffing my hair and smiling. I had a bent and dilapidated FIB sign under my car seat that I could put in the window when I was at crime scenes, but that wouldnt help me today. At least I had my license.
Hi! I said brightly, waiting until he asked for it before I dug it out. Im Rachel Morgan. From Vampiric Charms? Nina, uh, one of your bosses, told me to come out and take a look. I had stopped in a spot of light, and squinting at the thin, overly aggressive witch in an I.S. uniform coming toward me, I tucked my hair back. I should be on the list.
Identification? he said, the word nasty and sharp. He was ticked that hed been relegated to the parking lot when he wanted to be at the scene. I knew how he felt.
Sure. I handed it to him, my cold fingers fumbling. Im with Ivy Tamwood and the pixy? God! What was it with me making everything a question? Id been asked here.
Identification? he said, the word nasty and sharp. He was ticked that hed been relegated to the parking lot when he wanted to be at the scene. I knew how he felt.
Sure. I handed it to him, my cold fingers fumbling. Im with Ivy Tamwood and the pixy? God! What was it with me making everything a question? Id been asked here.
The mans confusion cleared, but he didnt hand me my license back, looking down at it with mistrust. Oh! Youre the, uh . . .
My eyes narrowed at the derision that had crept into his voice. Demon, I finished for him, snatching my license. Yes, thats me. My charmed silver felt cold as I shoved my licenese away. Sure, be mean to the demon when shes got no magic. Theyre over there, huh?
I turned away, teeth clenching when he called after me, Maam, if you could wait a moment? You need an escort.
Since when? I thought, my heels clumping to a stop. Behind him, at my car, Wayde made a bunny-eared kiss-kiss at me and went back to sleep. Irate, I leaned against a tree growing into the sidewalk. The trunk was still wet from last nights rain, and I crossed my arms and gestured to the cop that I wouldnt go anywhere.
He gave me a warning look and actually touched his wand, but when I pushed myself away from the tree, he turned and paced quickly to the van. Satisfied, I slumped back. Stupid ass. Now my mood was thoroughly ruined.
Sighing, I strained to hear the radio chatter, but it was too far for anything but background gibberish. Jenks would have been able to hear it from here. Ivy, too. My gaze went to the nearby music hall, and I shivered. The building had gorgeous architecture, but there was something wrong with it. Even the gargoyles avoided it.
A faint, familiar voice pricked at my awareness, and my face, screwed up in a squint from the sun, slowly became a frown as I turned to the park. The masculine sound rose and fell in a politically practiced wave designed to soothe, assure, and convince. It brushed against me with the warmth the November breeze lacked, and my pulse jumped. Trent? What was he doing out here?
The sidewalk was still empty, and I pushed away from the tree again, concerned as I remembered his missed call an hour and a half ago. If it had been important, wouldnt he have called Ivy or Jenks? But they were already out here. Damn it, Id missing something, and I took a step forward when he and Nina came around a bend, their pace holding a businesslike quickness.
Jerking to a halt, I hesitated. Nina looked about the same. By all appearances she was channeling that undead vampire as she slapped Trent on the shoulder and pulled them to a stop when she noticed me waiting. They were too far away to hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that Trent wasnt happy.
I hadnt seen him in months, apart from visiting Ceri when her little girl, Ray, had been born. He looked good, if a bit preoccupied with hiding his anger behind a pleasant, fake smilebetter than good, actually, and I fidgeted, remembering the passionate kiss that Id promised to forget. His fair hair moving in the breeze caught the light, and I could tell the movement bothered him when he tucked it behind his ear. He was clean shaven, ready for the office as he stood in a patch of sun in his thousand-dollar shoes and a wool overcoat that came down to his knees. It hid his athletic physique, but Id had a pretty good idea of what was under itevery wonderfully toned, tan inch of himthanks to having burst in on him in the shower once. Oh my God, seeing him with a towel around his shower-wet hips had been worth the entire twenty-three hundred miles stuck in a Buick with a carsick pixy.
He was about my age, my height, and way out of my tax bracket, even if he had given up on his bid for mayor and was no longer even a city council member. The illegal bio-drug lord, murderer, and real-time businessman blamed it on wanting to devote time to his new family, but I knew that coming out of the closet as an elf had hurt him politically. I felt no sympathy.
The thought of his silky hair in my fingertips as my lips moved against his rose through me, and I looked away as he and Nina clasped hands. The woman shook like a man, firm and aggressive, with a mens club air about her. Why is Trent out here? I probably shouldve used that hour and a half and called him, but Id been afraid of what he wanted.