“Not what I meant.” I stared back. “Are you coming in or...?”
“He is asleep, in there?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t make him sleep in his car.”
Another unblinking glance. “Good. I will await him inside.”
I locked up after telling the crow to make himself at home in the living room. The feeling we’d all been somehow played lingered long after Trace had finally woken, been fed breakfast by James, apologised on behalf of his familiar, then left in a sputter of exhaust that made me fear for his vehicle’s health.
I urged James to shower, raced through my own ablutions, and was still pondering the scheming abilities of crows when James slid into bed beside me.
“You changed the sheets,” I murmured as he pulled the covers up.
“Mmm.” I heard his throat work in the darkened bedroom.So much for not mentioning Trace, you fool.“Wanted you to myself today.” A sharp swallow. “Is that okay?”
I scrabbled for his arm and tucked it over my hip, wriggling until we were perfectly spooned, him slotted behind me in the position we’d adopted as our usual. “Absolutely, love. Whatever you need.”
The power of the sun drowned out any reply he might have made. We slept.
14
TRACE
Two daysafter I left Poplar, I was back once more, in the early evening so I could share a meal with James before the others arrived. He made a simple pasta dish with a side salad. I complimented him on his cooking, which brought a rosy glow to his pale cheeks. Edwin sipped gin and seemed on edge. I presumed it was because this had all been his idea and he didn’t want to look like a tit if it failed. Somehow I didn’t think it would fail, mostly because as Dalziel was bringing his son’s mentor with him, they had a full blood Fae to ensure the magic would work. That didn’t mean I could ignore the way my gut clenched with anticipation.
As the sky darkened, we headed outside to move the garden furniture out of the way, then walked around to what would become my driveway if this all worked. Edwin glanced at his phone. “They’re on their way.” He lit a cigarette and paced up and down until the throaty purr of an engine made him look up and smile.
“That’s Baxter’s motorbike. I’d know it anywhere.”
James’ eyes grew wide. “Baxter rides a motorbike?” He looked a little starstruck.
Baxter pulled into the driveway. Her passenger dismounted before she even cut the engine, immediately divesting himself of his helmet and ruffling up his dark hair.
“Fuck, that’s better. Hate them, but couldn’t chance getting stopped for violating regulations. Sweet ride though.” He beamed at Baxter and pulled out a mobile, frowned at it, then his expression relaxed as a dark-coloured people carrier pulled into the space directly behind the bike. “Oh good, Luc can stop freaking out about us being separated now.” He turned wide sapphire-blue eyes on the three of us. “Uh, maybe don’t mention I said that to him? Hello, Edwin, Trace. And uh…?”
“James, this is Charley, Dalziel’s son. This is James, my friend and shadow.” Edwin looked amused. Charley seemed as irrepressibly cheerful and chaotic as ever. He wiped one hand down his jeans then shoved it at James with a manic grin.
“Wow, you’re a shadow? That’s like, a cool gig, right?” He eyed Edwin for a second, then returned his megawatt smile to James. “Make sure he spoils you rotten. Only fair when you’re legit a walking sippy cup for his lazy vamp arse.” He punctuated this statement by flashing his fangs, which made James choke out a laugh, then pulled a self-deprecating face. “Someof us still have to chase our supper. La tragédie, c’est moi. Oh, ’scuse me.”
He turned away as everyone piled out of the car. I noted Luc, the young shifter, take his place next to Charley and immediately start running his hands over his mate as if checking he was in one piece. Baxter caught my eye and rolled hers, but she grinned at me, so I reckon she was used to the sweethearts’ nauseating togetherness and not offended by the young wolf’s implied insult to her driving skills. The kid didn’t look like he could help himself.
James caught my eye. “Wow,” he mouthed. I nodded. Wow indeed. Charley was alot.
Dalziel embraced Edwin warmly. “You know everyone, obviously,” he said, his soft Scottish burr holding a note of caution. He reached for me next and held out a hand. We half shook, half hugged.
“It’s good to see you again, Dempsey, although I wish it were under better circumstances. The legal team ran through every possible potential loophole we could exploit in case there was a way to prevent the demolition of your cottage, but that bastard Filey went through all the right channels. He’s slime, but he’s untouchable.” His brows furrowed. “For now. Anyway,” he brightened slightly, “you haven’t met Hector and Stephen. They’ve been with me for a century and were happy to lend a hand tonight.” He ushered forward two very different-looking pale-skinned men.
“Hi there, I’m Hector.” Somehow I hadn’t expected a London accent to come from the mouth of the burly guy who extended his hand first, nor the easy smile and seemingly chill manner; he looked brooding and scary, but his demeanour was anything but. Short, dark-haired and square-jawed, he was jacked like he could take buildings apart with his bare hands. All I knew about him was he worked for Dalziel at his Lanarkshire home, as did the second vampire to greet me.
Unlike Hector, Stephen was tall, slender, and blond, with pale green eyes that barely landed on mine before looking away. He barely touched my hand, murmuring a quiet hello. I couldn’t help but notice he looked daggers towards Edwin.Interesting.
I shot an easy smile at Pavel, Dalziel’s shadow, although it had taken me a moment to reconcile him tonight in what I assumed was his off-duty clothing with the immaculate, fade-into-the-background, formal-wearing slip of a man who’d recently kept an entire houseful of assorted supes fed and watered without so much as breaking a sweat. Now, Pavel gave off the vibe of a mashup between an androgynous, ‘heroin-chic’model at an edgy fashion shoot and a 70s glam rocker, clad in candy-striped harem pants, clunky sandals, and a sleeveless white leather vest, his hair free from any product and blowing around his ears like a dandelion clock seconds before a child takes that huge inhale. His bare arms glistened with…was that glitter body cream?He smelled like flowers and honey and rain. It went to show we really never knew a person until we’d seen them at workandat play.
Which left Isher, the Fae. Standing a little apart from the rest, he peered through the yew hedge where it was thinnest, then his lavender eyes found mine.
“That’s the garden, right?”
“Yes. I was hoping to get a way made through this from the drive, but for now we’ll have to walk around.”
