“Maybe you’re right.” He took my hand. “Maybe I just don’t want something that nasty to be coming after you.” We walked for a while in silence. His hand felt strong, clasped around mine.
We stopped at Kane’s building on Winter Street. He folded his arms around me and drew me close against him. I pressed my face into his muscled chest. He was warm, so warm, and even here in the middle of the city he smelled like a forest after a summer rain.
He stroked my hair. “Do you want to come in?”
Yes, I thought. More than anything, I wanted to go up to Kane’s apartment and feel warm and protected in his king-sized bed. I was tired of standing alone against the demons. I wanted Kane to hold me and fill me with his strength and let me know that everything was all right. But I had things to do. I sighed, rubbing my cheek against his jacket. “I thought you had two dozen phone calls to make.”
“I can make them later.” He put a finger under my chin and gently lifted my face to his. His lips met mine, and the kiss melted through me like warm chocolate. I wanted to press myself closer to him, explore more deeply, feel those lips touch my skin all over. But I shook my head.
“I can’t. I’ve got to get cleaned up, then go back to the North End to collect the rest of my fee from Lucado.”
All that melting warmth evaporated as Kane went rigid. His arms dropped away from me as he stepped back. His eyes narrowed. “Did you say Lucado—Frank Lucado?”
“Yeah. The real estate developer. He was my client tonight.”
“You did a job for Frank Lucado.”
“I just said I did. So what?”
He made an exasperated noise. “Vicky, Lucado is one of the biggest contributors to Seth Baldwin’s campaign.”
“So?”
“So? So?How can you say ‘so’? You helped a guy who wants to drive us out of the state.”
“I didn’t help him. I did a job for him. When I’m on the job, I don’t care what my client’s politics are.”
“It’s not a matter of his personal politics. Lucado has spent a couple million dollars to support a candidate who’d strip PAs of all legal rights and protections. All of them, Vicky. If Baldwin wins, any human could kill you or me and still be acting within the law.”
“I know that.”
“And you don’t care, do you? Anything to make a buck. Even if it comes out of the pocket of a bigoted criminal.”
“Lucado’s never been convicted of anything. And just because the guy’s a jerk doesn’t mean he deserves to suffer Harpy attacks night after night. I don’t discriminate in my clients.”
“No, not you. Only if they’re poor. Then demons can torment them forever, for all you care.”
That was a low blow. In truth, most of my clients were wealthy because the wealthy had more demons. Take Harpies. Rich people had rich enemies. Hiring a sorcerer to sic a flock of Harpies on somebody was illegal, and that meant it wasn’t cheap. People with no money usually took a more direct route—like using their fists—to settle their differences. But I wasn’t going to argue that point with Kane tonight.
I glared at him. “You have no right to tell me who I can or can’t take on as a client.”
“And you have no principles.” That was Kane—he lived for peace, justice, and the American way. Oh, and turning into a huge, slavering, bloodthirsty wolf whenever the moon was full. He squared his shoulders, making a visible effort to control his anger. “Well, you’ve already done the job, so there’s no point in arguing about it. Just stay away from him from now on, all right?”
“I don’t know. I thought I’d invite him to go down to Baldwin’s campaign headquarters and stuff envelopes with me.”
“Not funny. Vicky—” He put his hand on my arm, and I jerked away. For a moment, I thought with longing about how close we’d been, how warm I was, just a few minutes ago. Oh, the hell with it. I wasn’t going to take orders from a politically correct werewolf. Or anybody else, for that matter. I turned away.
“Wait—” For a second, I thought he was going to apologize, and a little warm spot opened up inside me. I looked at Kane, ready to be generous, ready to accept his admission that he was wrong. “I just thought of something,” he said, his eyes thoughtful. The warm spot froze over. How could I forget—Kane was always right. In Kane’s own mind, anyway.
“What?”
“That Hellion showed up at Lucado’s condo, right?”
“Yes.” Whatever Kane was thinking, it was so interesting to him that he didn’t notice I was throwing icy monosyllables at him.
“What if the Destroyer was after Lucado? You took the job just yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Right.”
“So, what if the Hellion went there to claim another victim? Then it saw you there and got sidetracked.”
“What if it did? I don’t see where you’re going with this.”
“Maybe the sorcerer is on our side. If Lucado’s dead, Baldwin loses a big source of revenue. The election is less than a week away. Both sides are pouring money into their campaigns. By taking out Lucado, someone’s trying to slow Baldwin down.”
He gestured as though he’d just finished his closing argument to a jury. Clearly, he thought he’d nailed it. I shook my head. Time for the rebuttal.
“If the sorcerer had wanted Lucado dead, he’d be dead.” And so would I. “Whoever sent the Destroyer called it away after it had delivered the message. It was a warning, Kane, not politics.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Besides,” I continued, “the Destroyer boasted that it’s going to obliterate the whole city. If Boston’s toast, it doesn’t exactly matter who wins the election.”
“Someone’s got to be governor. Might as well be our guy.” Kane’s eyes shone. He was really taken with the idea that someone was trying to rub out Baldwin’s biggest supporter. “Okay, you did the job. Fine. But now stay away from Lucado. It’s not safe.”
“I’ve got to collect the money he owes me.”
“Sure, sure. But after that, you’re done with the guy, right?”
The truth was, I didn’t have any reason to hang around Lucado after he’d handed over the second half of his payment. But I didn’t want Kane to think I was doing what he told me to do. “We’ll see.”
He sighed. “You’re impossible, Vicky.” He leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek. “But I do kinda like you.”
“Kinda, huh? Be still my heart.” I said it lightly, but part of me was still mad at him. And another part—a very big part—was aching for another one of those long, deep kisses. Clearly, and in too many ways to count, tonight was not my lucky night.
After Kane went into his building, I headed home, thinking about what he’d said. For all his high-and-mighty principles, Kane would be thrilled if somebody offed Lucado. Just to undermine Baldwin’s campaign. Kane would never attack Lucado himself, but I was pretty sure that he wouldn’t lift a finger to save the guy, either. For me, ethics were a lot simpler. If you had a problem and you could afford my fee, I’d help you out. And if you were a demon and you came after me, I’d kill you. So I wouldn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize any time soon. My system worked for me.
14
JULIET WASN’T THERE WHEN I GOT HOME. PROBABLY ALL that bloodlust at Creature Comforts had sent her out on the prowl. I peeled off my bloodstained clothes and checked the mirror. I’d cleaned up a little in the ladies’ room at the bar, but I was in dire need of a shower. I took a quick one and then crawled into bed. I was due back at Lucado’s at seven to show him the dead Harpies and finish our business. I set the alarm for six thirty—a mere three hours away—and was fast asleep two minutes later.