Patrick forced his breathing to stay even with long practice. Since Chicago, he’d kept the threadbare tie to his sister’s soul locked down, walled off, and buried deep.
Maybe that hadn’t been enough, especially after Paris, when the Morrígan’s staff had sought to cleave his soul from his body in exchange for a resurrection. Srecha’s blessing had ultimately paid the price required, but the sentience of sort that lived in the staff had still left its mark on him. Ethan must have discovered the connection in Hannah’s soul and used it to target him.
“Youssef Khan died Thursday, between one and two o’clock in the afternoon,” Louis said, staring at Patrick. “Where were you at that time?”
“Don’t answer that,” Danai said to Patrick, all her attention on the two attorneys. “My client will not be pressured into a false confession while I’m sitting right here.”
Patrick bit his tongue, trying not to twitch. If that time of death proved to be accurate, then Youssef had been killed while he’d been meeting with Lucien and Ashanti. He wondered if someone had followed him to Ginnungagap, if they’d attacked Jono to flush Patrick out and drive him to the one person whose secret Patrick couldn’t afford to give up.
Lucien was his criminal informant, and the master vampire’s diplomatic immunity had been approved by the government. Patrick’s ties to Lucien weren’t the problem. It wasn’t even Ashanti’s secretive presence on American soil. It was the fact both vampires could walk in daylight, and that was a myth that could not afford to become fact. It would too easily spin out of control, painting every Night Court in existence with a false ability, and plunging the preternatural world into chaos.
Fear was a motivating factor in every massacre perpetuated against everyone and everything in the world. Patrick refused to have that blood on his hands, even if Lucienwasa fucking bastard.
“We scheduled this meeting to give your client a chance to make things easier on himself,” Preston said.
Danai’s voice was frigid when she spoke. “And I told you on the phone we had nothing to say. The meeting is over. I require time with my client without government interference.”
She slid the lab report back across the table, and Preston picked it up. He tucked it away in the folder and placed it all back into his suitcase, seemingly unsurprised at Danai’s pushback.
“It’s always a pleasure, Danai.”
She arched one dark eyebrow, disdain dripping from her lips. “I can’t say the same, Preston.”
The assistant US attorneys left, as did the guard when another waved him out. Danai waited until the door shut before letting out a harsh sigh.
“You sound like you know them,” Patrick said.
“I’ve tried several cases in the SDNY court where Preston was the prosecutor. He works out of the Office of Public Corruption division and is as hard-nosed as they come,” Danai said.
Patrick clenched his hands into fists, fingers throbbing from how tightly curled he held them. “So what now?”
“You’re being charged with murder under flimsy evidence, a hate crime due to Youssef being a werecreature, and obstruction of justice due to your position as a federal agent.”
“Is that all?” Patrick asked with a wince.
She gave him a thin smile. “Honestly, you’re not the worst case I’ve handled.”
“It kind of feels that way, at least for me.”
“Your arraignment is set for tomorrow. I’m doing everything I can to get you released on your own recognizance. Aside from that, I’ll be requesting the court issue a writ for habeus corpus et animum for a necromancer to raise the dead for a deposition.”
Patrick had no idea how that would play out, but he didn’t have any hope of getting to walk free. “How much will my bond cost?”
If it was in the millions, no amount of tithes would be able to cover that, not that Patrick would ever touch anything but his own money for something like this—money which was nowhere close to seven figures.
“Federal courts don’t issue cash bond.”
Which was a nice way of saying a jail cell became your home away from home.
“Do you think the court would be more willing to release me if there was money on the table as collateral?”
Danai sighed. “We can do a secured bond if you like. Marek already made it clear he’d be willing to pay for it, but I’d counsel against requesting one.”
“It would probably go over well in the court of public opinion.”
“That’s not where you’re being tried.”
Patrick raised an eyebrow. “You and I both know that’s not true.”
