She winces. “Unfortunately, I have. The Kims are mercenaries. They’re hired magic. They’re who you call when you have a dirty job to do and you don’t have a shade bound to a candle to do it for you.”
I squint at her. “Sun wielders? Really?” When I think of mercenaries, I think of weapons or explosives, not a warm sunny day.
“One Kim acting alone could give you second-degree burns over all your exposed skin in under three minutes. Two Kims working together could fry your skin completely off your body in that amount of time. With three or more, they could cut you in half with the strength of the beam they could produce.”
“Fuck.”
“The Kims are not good people. Even so, vampires and witches don’t normally work together. Rumor has it that the senior Kim has a terrible gambling problem. It could be as simple as money. Valeska must have something over them if they’re working for her.”
I swallow. “Do you think there’s anything we can do aboveground to influence them to abandon the project?”
She squirms. “I doubt it. I can’t imagine Valeska makes it easy for her allies to break their agreements.”
“But we could try right? I mean, what good is all this money I’m supposedly getting from Tony’s estate if I can’t use it? Can we try to buy them off?”
She frowns. “I think it would take more than you have, unfortunately. Valeska is quite wealthy. Not to mention, the amount you’ll end up inheriting from Tony’s estate is far from settled. The probate court is still working on dividing his assets. He had a will, but it was made years before he married you and didn’t include everything. I haven’t seen the proposed breakdown yet from our financial team. I suspect you’ll get something but not everything.”
“Fair enough. I wasn’t expecting anything.” I shrug. “Honestly, I’ll be relieved when it’s over. I don’t want any connection to Tony or his family.”
She nods. “That’s what I thought you’d say, and that’s how I plan to proceed on this. I’ll only involve you if we need a decision.” She stands. “Which reminds me, I have a stack of work at the office that desperately requires my attention.”
“Sorry.” I wince. “I’ve been taking up way too much of your time lately.”
She hugs me. “You’d do the same for me.”
Our eyes meet again. “I would.”
She starts for the door and I follow. “Um, Maeve, you will help me go back again if he’s not able to free himself, right?”
She stops at the door and squeezes the bridge of her nose. “One week. I want you to wait at least one full week before trying again. You should be completely recovered by then.”
I smile and nod. It feels like forever, but Damien looked strong in his dream. Remembering the feel of his arms around me causes some of the tension in my shoulders to drain away. Maybe all he needs is more time to free himself. “Thanks, Maeve.”
She gives me a supportive nod. “See you after work for magic lessons.”
I beam at her. “You’re still going to teach me?”
She laughs. “Yeah. Is it too much to hope it will keep you out of trouble? Just so you know, I never want to find myself in Morpheus’s office again.”
“I think it will help me take my mind off Damien while he’s finding a way home,” I say softly.
She smiles. “That’s the spirit.”
I let her out the front door and return to my soup.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rings. I rise to unlock it. “Did you forget some?—”
A man in a suit stands on my stoop. “Eloise Harcourt?”
I take another hard look at the guy. Short brown hair, a bit too much scruff, a suit that looks like it came off the rack at a warehouse store. I wonder what he’s selling. Must be desperate to travel all the way out here. “Can I help you?”
He pulls a wallet from his pocket and opens it to show me a badge. “Branson Fuller, FBI. Can I ask you a few questions about your late husband Tony Denardi?”
Not a salesman. Anxiety shoots through me, and I shift nervously on my feet. When it comes to Tony, there’s the truth and then there’s what the world thinks is the truth. If the FBI is involved, I can only guess that something somewhere isn’t adding up. I rummage through my exhausted mind for what’s safe to say to this man.
“Um, why?” I swallow and press a hand to my chest. “It’s still such a shock to me how they found him.”
He slides his badge back into his pocket. “Right. Shocking,” he mumbles. “That’s why I’m here. Just covering all my bases. Do you mind?” He gestures inside and gives me a warm smile. “It should only take a few minutes.”
