Karma (Karma Series) (20 page)

“
Nope.”

“
Why?”

“
Because this soggy mess is bad enough without having to look at cracked open faces oozing pus.”

“
That bad?” His face scrunched up as he asked.

“
Yes. And your face doesn’t make it any better. Why, what do you see?”

“
The people look the same, but they have trails in front and behind them. Sometimes the trails are very strong and some are translucent.”

I'd just taken a rather large bite when he nudged me.
“There.”

I turned to see Maxwell
walking through the airport on the way to the terminal. He looked worse than ever and I had a hard time swallowing back the bite of half chewed food. I forced it down with a swig from my water bottle.

“
You couldn't have given me one more minute?” I stood and tossed my sandwich in the trash. So much for food.

“
He can't get on that plane,” Fate said as I sat back down. “If we lose track of Maxwell, we might never find Suit again.”

“
Are we on our own?” I looked upward.

“
Are you asking me or are you trying to talk to the universe again?”

“
I’ll settle for anyone that will answer me.”

Fate put his hands out as he lifted an ear upward.
“Yeah, I’d say it’s just us.”

“
How do you know he can't get on that plane?”

He was already standing and motioning for me to get up as well.
“We don't have time to discuss it right now. Just keep him off the plane. The attendant looks like she’s about to call for boarding.”

“
How am I supposed to do that?”

“
Any way you can. I'll go up and try to stall the attendant.”

“
But how?”

“
It doesn’t matter how. Just don’t let him get on that plane.”

I watched as he literally swaggered over to the attendant, a young pretty thing in her twenties.
Maybe he’d sleep with her and ask if she was still going to get on the plane. I cringed as the thought entered my head. I pushed the thoughts from my brain. Being the
used, bitter girl
wasn’t a good look.

I sashayed over to Maxwell
. Or tried to, anyway. I'd never really practiced sashaying, there’s not much use for it in the courtroom, so I tried to emulate Luck.

Maxwell’s
eyes lit with recognition as soon as he saw me, while I tried to hold down the soggy sandwich.

“
Maxwell? I thought that was you!”

“
How are you?” He stood and took my hand in greeting. It was hard to keep the smile on my face with the bad karma. It actually looked like he had pus dripping onto his dress shirt. How was it that only I could see this?

“
Good!”

“
How's everything going?” His eyes darted to my stomach briefly as he asked, a reminder of the pregnancy ruse last time we'd met.

“
I lost it.” I said it in a soft voice as if it was hard to speak of.

“
Oh, I'm so sorry!”

“
My husband and I split and the stress of it all...” I added a dramatic shrug, the kind that said I was disappointed but accepting.

“
I understand.”

“
Were you heading out?”

“
I was about to catch a flight to New York.”

“
Oh...” I tried to weigh that comment down with as much disappointment as I possibly could. I'd never been a natural flirter, so I wasn't sure if it was coming across as intended, or more like I had a sudden stomachache.

His lips were pressed together
and his eyebrows pulled close in confusion. But I’d seen the way he’d looked at me when he thought I was alone. I could pull this off. A soft gesture would push him off the cliff.

“
I was hoping you'd come back to my hotel and have a drink?”

His face lit up and I belatedly realized I'd touched down an
F5 instead of the gentle breeze I'd been going for. It didn't matter. It had worked.

“
Let me just go up to the counter.”

I grabbed his arm.
“No. Just call them. It'll be easier.”

“
But the counter is right there?”

I tugged on his arm.
“I hate airports. I need to get out of here, right now.”

He looked at me
, and the way I was now clinging to his arm, and acquiesced.

He dug out his phone as we walked away from the terminal. I looked back to make sure Fate saw, but instead of looking happy, or even relieved, he looked a little pissed. Another reason we didn't make good partners. He was way too angry.
I did what he wanted and he still wasn’t happy.

Our hotel was across
the street from the airport. We walked into the lobby, arm in arm, and I started steering us toward the bar. Maxwell steered us to the elevator. Maxwell won, for now. He tugged me into the elevator after him.

“
What floor?” His hand hovered near the keyboard.

“
Eight.”

The button lit and he came and stood beside me, arm snaking around my waist. Between the look of his face, skin cracking and oozing and the smell he gave off, it was almost impossible to not pull back, let alone keep the smile on my face.

I was trying to remember why we were keeping this guy alive. Oh yeah, Suit wanted him dead. As I was choking on the scent of rotten eggs, I wasn't confident in that choice. Would it be so bad if we let Suit have his way with him?

“
What were you doing at the airport, anyway?”

“
I've got family here. I just dropped my sister off.”

“
They let you in the terminal?”

“
My cousin works security.”

He nodded, buying my story.

The doors slid open and I walked as slow as I could toward mine and Fate's hotel room. I fumbled around in my purse.

“
Oh no. I can't find my key. I must have lost it! We're going to have to go to the front desk.” I looked up at him. Was he buying this? It looked like he was. I thought I was actually quite a bad actress, but I guess he must have really wanted to believe.

“
Hang on.” He walked away and I saw a man with a nameplate on further down the hall. What the hell! I'd had decent luck my entire life. Everything had gone smoothly right up until I died. Now? Nothing went right.

“
I'm really not supposed to do this,” the man said as he walked back over with Maxwell, his skin glowing even brighter in comparison to Maxwell's oozing. “But okay.”

A minute later he was opening the door and wishing us a pleasant evening. Thanks
, bozo. Good job. Glowing karma or not, I wanted to trip him down the stairs, right now.

I walked in the room and looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes of stalling and his plane would be gone. Fifteen
very long
minutes, as he stared at me like I was a rump roast and it was dinnertime.

Fate's thi
ngs were here and there, but Maxwell didn't seem to care enough to ask about them. Really? You don’t notice a guy’s shirts hanging in the open closet?

“
Come here,” he said, patting the bed next to where he'd just taken a seat.

“
Let me make you a drink first.” I opened the mini bar. Long Island Iced teas had a lot of stuff in them. That should kill a whole whopping minute or so as I opened up all the mini bar bottles. I could probably “freshen up” for another five.

“
That's not what I want.” His hand snaked around my waist from behind and he pulled me into him. Never should’ve turned my back on him.

“
What the hell is this?” We both turned to see Fate standing in the doorway. I was glad I knew it was an act or I might have been nervous, because he looked pretty damn pissed. He appeared exactly like the angry husband about to be cuckolded. Now
Fate
would make a good actor if he ever went human.

“
You said you split!” Maxwell said, turning on me.

And you had no problem ignoring all the male items in the room
, you sniveling jerk.

“
I lied.” I threw my hands up in a bewildered way. “I hate to tell you in this uncomfortable fashion, but I'm a bit of a loosey goosey.” I had a hard time not laughing at my own words. No one else seemed to find me as funny as I did though.

Maxwell was putting as much s
pace between us as he could now, as he tried to circle around where the seething Fate stood, toward the door.

“
I had no idea. She lied to me,” he said to Fate in what sounded like his best fake indignation.

Am I the only lousy actor here?

“Get. Out.” Fate said, his jaw tense and his veins pulsing.

Maxwell scrambled from t
he room and I didn't blame him. Fate was really putting on a great show, maybe a little thick for my tastes, but good nonetheless.

He even slammed the door after him.

“What about the plane? Can he still make it?” I asked as soon as we were alone.

“
It left early.”

“
Any sign of Suit?”

“
I've got it covered.”

“
What's wrong with you?”

“
You don't follow directions well.”

“
You said keep him off the plane. I kept him off the plane.”

“
You bring him here, alone?” I watched him walk out, slamming the door, again.

“
Jerk!” I screamed at the door. I gave him a ten-minute lead and made my way back to the airport. Time was running out to find the murderer before I would move on and I didn't have patience for his games.

I looked down into my purse to make sure I had the knife I'd packed. I wasn't leaving here without handling this situation. Fate could figure out another way to prove his conspiracy theory. I'd never had an interest in finding alien burial grounds, JFK's killer or any other such plots. Taking out the direct hand in my murder would suffice for me.

I didn't know where Fate had gone after his arbitrary order. Guy seriously needed to lighten up a little. Still couldn't figure out what had gotten him all in a puff. He complained when I didn't do what he wanted; now he was going to complain when I did.

I was standing across from the entrance of the airport
, stewing over why he was so irritable, when I saw the cops arrive. Too many cops and all with a purpose.

He can't get on that plane,
Fate had said. I’d been so pissed off about my food I hadn’t even thought about what that meant at the time. Only one thought sprang to mind, and unfortunately, I was afraid it was the most likely.

I crossed the street quickly, not caring
about Suit at that minute. I entered the main airport lobby. There were screens everywhere, all with the same picture of a fiery mess.

I edged in closer to one of the
TVs, trying to hear the details.

“
It went down soon after it took flight without any kind of warning or distress signal,” the newscaster said, the camera never budging from the scene.

“
I told you to stay in the room,” Fate said from beside me.

“
You tell me a lot of things I don't listen to.” I turned on him. “You knew.”

“
Not here.”

He turned and walked out of the airport. I left as well, not having the stomach to watch anymor
e and wanting answers.

He was crossing the street when I caught up to him and yelled, “Admit you knew!”

He turned and stopped.
“I don’t remember denying it.” He shrugged like it was no big deal and then turned and kept walking.

I followed after him.
“Why didn't you try and stop it?”

“
I couldn't,” he said, stopping in the middle of the parking lot.

“
Would you have if you could?”

“
No.” He was straight faced without an ounce of regret.

“
Why? Aren't we supposed to be making this place better?”

“
You're still thinking like a human. We aren't here to make it better, we're here to keep everything in line. There's a significant difference between the two.”

“But Harold said I could—”

“Harold was giving you the company line. He said you could get your murderer too, knowing you wouldn’t be able to do it on your own.”

“
I can't wait to get the hell out of this and away from all of you.”

I caught the movement out of the corner of my eye. We had an audience. Suit was standing in the shadow of a van, watching our every move.

Fate moved closer to me and whispered softly, “Don’t look at him. Just follow me back to the hotel.”

“
But we'll lose him.”

“
No, we won't.”

“
Do you have other skills I'm unaware of?”

“
Not skills. Resources.”

“
If I follow you and we lose him—”

“
We won't. But I’d love to know why he seems so interested in you.” He closed the gap even more, “If you’re lying to me, I will kill you.”

He turned on his heel and took off toward the hotel.

I could stay here with Suit, who’d already killed me once, or follow Fate, who only threatened death. Really, it was a no brainer.

***

Dinner came and went, as we sat in the hotel room and watched the clock strike midnight.

I was sitting by the window
, calling myself every kind of name in the book for relinquishing control, again.

“You said you had '
resources.
' Where are they and why aren’t they calling? Did they lose him?”

“
They'll call once he sets down somewhere.” A knock at the door signaled the room service he'd called in and I went back to staring out the window.

I wanted to do something but I had no idea where to even begin to find
Suit. Why did I listen to him? Why? I was mad at him and furious at myself.

“
Here. I got you a tea.” He placed a filled teacup on the table next to me.

I eye
d the peace offering. It wasn't nearly enough to take the edge off the anger I had at him for blowing it. But I
was
in the mood for tea.

He went back to one of the queen beds and leaned against the headboard, watching
TV. Strike that, feigning interest in the TV. He was actually watching me. Why? What was I not seeing, here?

I eyed the cup of tea on the table and then slowly brought it to my lips. I'm a tea drinker. There isn't a blend that exists I haven't tried and I'd never tasted one like this.

I wanted to spit out the tiny sip immediately but I couldn’t. He drugged my tea. Why? I didn’t think it was lethal. He could’ve taken me out countless times before now, if that was his objective. That only left him wanting to keep me away from Suit.

That wasn’t happening.

But what do I do now? I could feel his eyes on me from across the room. I couldn’t tell him I knew. It would force a confrontation I'd lose. If I didn't drink it, it might
still
force a confrontation I'd lose. If I drank it, no immediate confrontation, but I’d definitely lose.

I did the only option I could think of. I chugged it back as quick
ly as I could then got up. “I'm going to take a shower. I still feel disgusting from being so close to Maxwell.”

He nodded but didn
't budge or seem alarmed.

I shut the bathroom door and turned the water on full blast. Luckily, there was a radio system in there
, too. I turned that on for good measure. Now, to throw up.

That was
n't going to be easy since I don't throw up. I've got a pretty tough stomach that only the worst of flus can take down. I grabbed the toothbrush Fate had picked up for me, then poked and prodded my tonsils like it was a full time job.

Every minute counted but I finally emptied my stomach while I thought about how I was going to make Fate pay for whatever he was up to. And that was alarming. What was he doing?

I jumped in the shower to put on a good show and then walked back in the bedroom with my hair dripping wet, adorned in a comfy white terry robe. I didn’t say anything as I lay down on the other bed and pretended to pass out.

He didn't waste much time.

“Camilla?” he said about ten minutes later.

When I didn't answer, I heard him get up and move around the room. The door opened and
shut shortly after.

I jumped off the bed, pulled the robe that hid my clothes underneath
off and ran out the door after him.

The elevators were to the right but
I took the stairs to the roof. As long as he was walking, I'd be able to figure out what direction and follow him. If he was driving, I was screwed.

I saw him walk out of the front of the building...and get into a white SUV. I slammed my fist down onto the roof I was squatting
on. Now what?

I could try and take off after him
on foot but I wasn't sure that was going to do me much good. Even if I tried to steal a car, by time I figured out
how
to steal it, he'd be gone.

And then
, gently sailing down from the sky, came a bright neon green slip of paper. It fell neatly to where it lay just beside my foot. On it, an address, and the color and make of a car.

I looked upward.
“Dude, I'm sorry for all the lousy things I might have said about you or your people...your office. You know, let’s not drag this out. You get the point.”

I shoved the paper in my back pocket and headed toward the parking lot.

***

I pulled up to a
two-story building about twenty minutes south of the hotel. There wasn't a house or other structure in sight. I hadn't even seen a light, other than my headlights, for miles.

He wasn't alone. There were five other cars besides the white SUV
parked at the side of the building.

I parked a good distance away and then I
slowly crept up next to a window by the door.

It was pitch black out here—
so as long as I stayed out of the light, I was pretty sure they couldn't see me.

Suit
was sitting in a chair in the center of the barren warehouse. I wanted to punch my fist on the wall next to the window. Double-crossing jerk!

Fate stood dead center in front
of him, with Lars to his right, and three other large men to his left. And not a single one of them showed any kind of aura. Was it possible one of the other three were human? Yes, but not likely. What the hell was going on here?

Fate walked toward the man until he was inches away from his face. I knew he was talking to him
, even though I couldn't see his face or hear the words. He straightened up and walked away, then turned back lightning fast and punched the guy in the face. The man and the chair flew backwards together, blood already dripping down his face.

I took a step back and then caught myself. I needed to hear
what was being said.

“
If I tell you, I'm dead anyway,” the man screamed loud enough that I could hear him through the pane of glass.

Fate didn't bother looking at him when he said the next words.
“You'll wish it was him killing you if you don't tell me.”

Lars stepped forward, grabbed the front of the guy
’s shirt in one hand and the chair in the other and dragged them both upright.

“
What are you doing with them?” Fate asked Suit.

“
You've got the wrong guy. I'm not what you think.”

“
You're exactly what I think. Don't play stupid. You know what I am.”

Lars stepped back.
“You want to kill him?”

“
No. I want answers and I’ll keep him in chains until I get them, if need be.”

He
wasn't going to kill him. The only thing I'd wanted. But I wasn't moving on until this guy was dead.

“
So what do we do?” Lars asked.

“
Work him over but keep. Him. Alive. I'll be back shortly. I've got to go handle something.”

When Fate headed toward the door to leave, I scrambled to hide around the corner.

Pressed against the wall, I tried not to even breathe until I heard his footsteps receding. When I didn't hear any at all, I started to wonder if he'd stayed inside.

U
ntil he was right in front of me. I turned to dodge to my right and his hand slammed into the wall. I changed direction and the other one came slamming down.

Without any other option, I looked right at him.
“I take it you'd like to talk?”

He didn’t smile.
“How are you here?”

“
You mean at this locale or alive?” Considering he'd slipped something into my tea, it was a valid question.

“
If I wanted you dead, you would be. How did you get here?” He moved in closer.

“
I got a memo.”

His eyes squinted as he tried to stare me down. “Why do you keep getting memos?”

“I guess the universe likes me better.” This was definitely one of those moments I should be playing nice—he had something I wanted. And yet I couldn't. Sometimes I'm amazed I've made it this far in life without ever being punched in the face. If that never tipped me off to some sort of universal intervention, I guess nothing would've.

He took a step back and then turned his back on me
, looked upward, and shook his head.

Aha! I wasn’t
the only one that tried to talk to the universe!

He finally turned back.
“I don't get it, but if it wants you here, I can’t stop you.” He started walking toward the door and looked back at me. “Are you coming?”

I pushed off the wall and followed before he decided to change his mind again.

We stopped right outside the threshold, where we still had a view of the man. Lars was now leaning over him and looked like he’d done more than that from the swelling over Suit’s left eye.

“
This group,” he pointed inside, “what’s going on here, goes a lot deeper than a few tattoos and a couple of secrets. You walk in, and you are in. Do you understand what I mean?”

“
For what? The little time I have left?”

“
And what if, for some reason, you decide to stay?”

“
I told you. I'm not staying.”