Death's Daughter (13 page)

Thomas leaned forward until Carmela pressed herself firmly against the wall.

“You’re scaring me, Thomas.”

“Good. I’m going to make something perfectly clear to you and then you can decide where your loyalties lie, with me or your spawn.” He placed a hand on the wall on either side of her, boxing her in. “Juliana is my mate. We are United. Now what do you think I will do to those who stand in my way for revenge or those who attempt to get between us?”

Carmela’s eyes grew wide. “I had no idea.”

“Did you know what he did to her?” Thomas pushed the words through his clenched teeth. His jaw ached with the pressure.

She shook her head. “No, not until you told me. How could you even think that?”

He cocked his head to the side. “I don’t know what to think anymore. Not about you. Where was the portal programmed for?”

“If it was one of the originals that I purchased for him, most likely here. This was his home. He did have a couple programmed for Paris and Sydney. He liked to travel.”

Dread chilled Thomas at the thought that his prey could be so close to his bride. “Have you heard from him?”

“What?”

“Since I started hunting him, have you heard from him? Or better yet, have you heard from him in the last six months?”

“Once. It was right before you became demon-ridden. He was angry and wasn’t making any sense. He said he’d found a way to access his magic again, but it hadn’t lasted. He claimed he could get it back permanently but your woman had taken what he needed.”

Thomas thought of his enemy’s melted face and wondered if it had anything to do with his reclaimed magic ability. “What did Juliana take? And how could he possibly cast magic?” Raoul had been a fairly powerful mage prior to his turning, but vampires did not retain the ability to use magic once they were turned. More than one mage had been known to go on an uncontrollable rampage when they found they could no longer connect to their magic. It was one of the reasons the Council had forbid the turning of mages and witches.

“I don’t know. I told you he wasn’t making any sense.”

He studied her, trying to determine if she told the truth.

“I swear, that’s everything I know.”

He pushed himself off the wall and gave her some space. “I’ll believe you for the moment, but I’m keeping the mage. If what she says matches what you’ve told me, I’ll release her and you’ll be in the clear.”

Her tongue darted out and wet her lips. “And if it doesn’t?”

His gaze sharpened. “Well, that shouldn’t be an issue. After all, you’d never lie to me, would you, Carmela?” When she didn’t respond, he crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “And don’t even think of going to the Council. If you do, I’ll make sure they are aware that you sent my mate and my second into a trap laid by the demon. You know the Council’s stance on the protection of our mates.”

She shook her head. “But I didn’t know she was yours.”

“That’s not how I remember it. As I remember, you’ve known for years. After all, you are one of my oldest friends. Why would I keep the knowledge from you?”

Chapter Fifteen

Juliana woke the next morning in a sea of lush comfort and warmth. She shifted her weight and burrowed deeper into the covers, reluctant to leave the sanctuary that was Thomas’s bed. She’d feel bad about running him out of his room, but he was the one who moved her things into the room the night before and insisted she stay there. She’d argued until he confirmed he’d sleep in one of the guest rooms.

With a sigh, she acknowledged to herself that she couldn’t stay in the bed forever. No matter how comfortable it was. She threw the covers back and shivered in the chilly air. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she glanced at the clock. Six o’clock. The carnival opened at ten. At least she’d gotten a few hours of undisturbed sleep. They’d been up until midnight creating the coverage plan for the fairgrounds. The logistics were a nightmare but thankfully, Mephisto was being cooperative. To a point. Juliana only hoped all the groups involved stepped up and sent as many officers as they could to help out. Obviously the more people they had, the easier the coverage would be.

After a quick trip to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth, she opened the door of the bedroom. She sucked in her breath in surprise and froze in the doorway. Flowers covered almost every surface of the room. There were roses in various shades, vibrantly colored daisies and a miscellany of other blooms. Hundreds of dollars’ worth, at least. And where there weren’t flowers, balloons of nearly every color hovered at various heights.

She turned toward the kitchen and found Thomas leaning against the island, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt that clung to his well-defined muscles. Her mouth went dry.

The corners of his mouth turned up in amusement. “Happy Birthday,
Joya
.”

Her face heated and she dropped her head. She hated being the center of attention and he knew it. He came to stand in front of her and cupped her cheek in his hand. Gently he motioned her face up so he could look in her eyes. His thumb ran along the soft skin of her jaw. She wanted nothing more than to lean forward and press her lips to his.

Instead, she said, “Did you get any sleep at all?”

* * *

He didn’t miss the way her eyes followed the twist of his lips as he dropped his hand and stepped back. “I got enough.” Truthfully, while he’d arranged everything, Nicholas had seen to the delivery about an hour ago. No, Thomas’s lost sleep came from the tiny box nestled safely in his dresser drawer. He’d decided to wait to propose until after this case was over. His mate had enough on her mind. And there was still the very real possibility she’d say no.

He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Curse it. He was a coward. That’s all there was to it. At this rate, it might be another ten years before she got the ring.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes. Of course.” He forced his hands to stay by his sides. He could tell from the look on her face she didn’t believe him. A knock at the door to the rear hall saved him from any more questions. He opened it and took the room service cart from the worker on the other side.

She was already waiting at the table for him when he returned. “I hope there’s coffee on that thing.”

As if he’d forget it with her around. He poured them both a cup from the carafe on the cart and handed hers over. She took a sip and hummed with pleasure. “What’ll you have?” he asked, taking the lids off the food. The kitchen had sent up a selection of everything from steak and eggs to fruit and yogurt.

Juliana looked the choices over and settled on eggs, ham and pineapple. He took a steak and eggs and sat next to her. She kept looking around the room at all the flowers and balloons. It seemed he’d actually managed to surprise her. That was a rarity and he intended to enjoy it. After they’d eaten in silence for a while, he grabbed a bag sitting on the table beneath a vase of red—and white roses and handed it to her. He leaned back in his chair to watch her open it.

“You didn’t need to get me anything else,” she said, her cheeks flushed again. “The flowers were enough.”

He loved her fair complexion almost as much as he was certain she hated it. “Just open it.”

She reached into the bag and pulled out the tissue-wrapped bundle. She peeled back the paper to reveal the prize inside and her eyes lit with joy. He sighed in relief. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Her fingers ran over the detailed impression of a rowan tree burned in the leather cuff he’d spent hours on. Every moment over the last weeks when he’d thought of her, he’d worked on her gift instead. After the image had been perfected, he’d added a layer of golden dye to offset the burnt leather. She kept turning the bracelet in her hand, examining every surface.

“May I?” He held out his hand.

She placed the leather cuff gingerly in his palm as if afraid it might break. He smiled as she held her wrist out for him. His whole reason for making this for her was its durability. It could hold up to a lot of damage without being ruined. He tied the cuff in place with the corset like lacing, letting his hands linger longer than necessary.

She looked at it in wonder as she pulled away. “Wherever did you find it?”

“Around.” He was unwilling to admit to her the time he’d spent creating her gift. “I know you have to be careful about what jewelry you wear while you work, but I think this can stand up to most anything.”

“Thank you, Thomas. I love it.”

He looked at her for a moment, with that smile solely for him and thought again about giving her the ring. Instead, he merely said, “You’re welcome.” Coward.

* * *

Juliana ran her fingers over the cuff on her wrist for the hundredth time since Thomas had placed it there. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as they drove to the fairgrounds. Something had been distracting him since he came home. She wished she knew what it was, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it so she left it alone. She sighed.

He reached over and rested a hand on her leg, rubbed his thumb back and forth. “Everything okay?”

She smiled at him, hoping it reached her eyes. He had done his best to make today special for her despite the task in front of them and she’d be damned if she’d ruin it because she was feeling melancholy. “I’m fine. Thank you again. For everything. It was a nice morning. Even if we are up way too early.”

Thomas chuckled and took his hand back to make the turn. “You’re welcome,
Joya
. For the third time.”

She immediately missed his warmth and gave herself a mental shake. She needed to focus on her job. They had timed everything so the agents, officers and Wardens would all arrive at the fairgrounds two hours before the carnival opened. That way she had time to assess their numbers and have everyone in place before the crowds started arriving. Because if one thing was certain, the people would come. People always thought the worst wouldn’t happen to them, that they were immune. Until it did.

Tonight they were going to try to keep the worst from happening to anyone else. They parked near the entrance with a paltry few other cars and Mephisto met them as they got out. He wrapped her in a hug and she did her best not to squirm away. She’d grown to like Mephisto over the years, but when she first met him, she’d had nightmares for a week.

“Thanks for letting us invade your fairgrounds,” she said when he finally released her.

“Anything for you, my sweet. We may end up with a few stragglers, but most of the help you’re getting is here already. They’re waiting inside for you,” he said.

She glanced around the parking lot and frowned. Given the jurisdictional nightmare this thing had been from the beginning, she knew it would be difficult getting the help they needed but she’d been hoping for at least a couple of dozen men. The cars she saw wouldn’t hold half that many. True, some could have taken portals. She’d just have to hope for the best. She opened the back door and got her sword off the seat. After she strapped it in place, she nodded at their host. “Lead the way.”

Mephisto smiled and led her through the entrance and across the fairgrounds. They seemed so much larger than she remembered, now that she had to worry about watching them and protecting the people within. There was a large midway complete with a game alley, a couple of vendor tents, several food vendors and even a large nightclub set up in one of the permanent structures. At least, they wouldn’t have to worry about covering that, as minors weren’t allowed past the door.

He led her to a large white tent on the far side of the grounds that housed rows of tables where people could eat. When she stepped past the flap and inside, she froze. The tent was crowded with people. At least a hundred men and women sat at the tables or stood around them waiting for her. She looked at Mephisto in surprise.

He smiled, flashing yellow teeth. “Employee parking.”

She scowled at him. He’d known what she was thinking and he still hadn’t said anything. Asshole. Thomas chuckled behind her. Yeah, he was an asshole, too. Curse them both. Jeremiah came to stand beside her. A look around the room revealed several other familiar faces. Clayton, Deke and Rebel, the Wardens she met earlier, were all there. Standing next to Leo and Taft was Nathaniel. He’d either come on his own or Ben had finally lifted the psych leave. He gave her a little finger wave and a toothy grin. There was one face she didn’t see, but had expected. She leaned toward Thomas. “Where’s Michael?”

“There’s another matter that requires his attention,” was all he said. She studied him looking for some indication of what was so damn important Michael couldn’t be here to help them. Thomas merely looked at her. She turned back to the group.

Also scattered around the room were several uniformed and plainclothes officers, agents and various other people she couldn’t place. “We’ve got about sixty agents, officers and Wardens. The rest are carnival employees,” Jeremiah told her.

She moved to an open area at the front of the tent. “I want to thank all of you for coming. As you know, we’re here because there is the very real possibility that the Thief will strike here tonight. While it would be safer if the carnival would shut down,” she held up her hands as the employees started to grumble, “I understand that isn’t going to happen. And quite frankly, this may be our best chance of catching this son of a bitch. So here’s how this is going to work. I’ve been informed that all the employees have radios. Is this correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Mephisto said from behind her.

“I also understand you have several codes you use to indicate trouble. Use the same codes, radio into Mephisto, he’ll relay the pertinent information us. If you think you have eyes on our perp, your code will be ‘candy man.’”

“What’s he look like?” a man directly in front of her asked.

That was it, wasn’t it? She had an army of men and women looking for a killer and they had no idea what he looked like. “There are few certainties. Odds are it’s a man. We do know that he can use magic, though that won’t help much with a visual identification. Watch for anyone who seems to be paying more attention to the children than the carnival. You’ve all done this long enough that you know what’s normal behavior and what’s not. Just be on the lookout. We’ll also be passing out some photos of a man named Gregory George as well as a ghoul named Oliver. They may have something to do with the case, but we aren’t certain. Just keep an eye out for them.”

Jeremiah moved through the group passing out copies of George’s old mug shot and Oliver’s driver’s license picture. “If you work the gates, take the photos with you. Check them against everyone who comes in, but be discrete. I want uniforms scattered throughout the fairgrounds. Be visible. Let people know you’re here. Plainclothes, try to blend in. Be inconspicuous. There’s no reason for him to know exactly how many of us there are or how closely he’s being watched.”

“Inconspicuous? Like you with that sword on your back?” Nathaniel called, earning several laughs.

“Walker Norris couldn’t be inconspicuous if she tried,” Taft replied to another round of laughter. Heat flooded her cheeks. Thomas’s intense irritation radiated through their link. She double checked her shield and found it still firmly in place, which meant the emotion was strong.

She shook her head without looking at him, hoping it was enough to send her message. They weren’t doing this. Not here. Not now. Not ever. When the irritation spiked again she glanced over. Clayton stood in front of Thomas with his arms crossed over his chest. Clayton kept his back to him, was completely nonthreatening. His whole purpose was simply to stand between her mate and Taft. Her lips twitched and Clayton gave her a little bow of his head.

She turned her attention back to everyone else. “All law-enforcement personnel will be provided with earpieces. Agent Grace will be in the office monitoring the assigned frequencies. I’ll be stationed somewhere high where I can have eyes on everything. While our ultimate goal is to catch this bastard, we will only fail today if we lose another child.”

Everyone was silent as those words sunk in. “We’ll just have to make damn sure that doesn’t happen then,” Clayton said, breaking the silence. At his words, the group scattered, the employees heading to their assigned locations and the law-enforcement personnel headed to Jeremiah to get their earpieces.

Nathaniel, however, made his way to her. “Hello, pup.”

“Ben finally lift your psych hold?”

“Kind of. He has to approve all my assignments, but yeah, I’m back to work.” His wide grin indicated his happiness with his change in status. “By the way, what did you do to the boss man this time?”

Her brows shot up to her hairline. “Nothing that I’m aware of. Why?”

He cocked his head to the side. “He wasn’t acting like himself. Hard to put my finger on exactly, but there’s definitely something going on. Usually you’re to blame when he’s like that.”

“Not this time,” she assured him. Unless of course he was still irritated at her taking over the investigation, but there hadn’t been a choice on that. Once they had confirmation the Thief was operating outside of New Hope’s jurisdiction, it became the Agency’s headache whether they wanted it or not.