“But, they have to understand that I am who he wants,” I returned in a matter-of-fact tone. “There’s no other bargaining for them to do.”
“Believe me, Rowan, they know that,” she assured me. “But that is simply not how things are done.”
Her phone chirped again. I had lost count of the number of phone calls coming in and out of this apartment throughout this evening, so this was just another to add on to the pile.
“Mandalay,” she answered, speaking into the device almost as soon as she flipped it open.
We all stood there, gathered in the kitchenette as if seeking some type of comfort within our small clutch. Safety in numbers, shared empathy, I don’t know. I couldn’t tell if it was actually working or just feeding the tension.
The expectant silence grew, as our only access to even her side of the conversation came in the form of reflexive nods occasionally coupled with scattered “yes’s” and “uh-huh’s.” After a trio of minutes, during which our edgy anticipation swelled into a thick bubble around us, she finally uttered something more than a monosyllabic response.
“Are you absolutely sure?” she asked whoever was at the other end of the line, her features creasing into a frown. “You want both of them? No, I’m sure he will be agreeable to it. Okay. Thanks, bye.”
She closed the cover on the silver device and clipped it back to her belt before looking at all of us. Then she allowed her gaze to center on me.
“That was the HNT,” she said. “The lead hostage negotiator wants us to bring you and Felicity to the scene.”
CHAPTER 30:
A gelid rush of foreboding injected itself directly into my heart and spread quickly through veins and arteries with each successive beat. My entire body took on a frightening chill. Hollowness filled my chest, and after a moment, my brain pointed out that I wasn’t bothering to breathe. I released my mental grip on the feeling of icy terror and allowed my autonomic reflexes to continue once again unimpeded.
Even though I’m certain that my heart had never actually stopped beating, I would swear that I felt it stutter a bit as it seemed to restart.
I looked at Agent Mandalay and then slowly shook my head. “Call him back and tell him I said no.”
“Do what?” Ben asked with confusion in his voice.
“But, Rowan, I thought you…” Constance began.
“Me, yes,” I cut her off. “Felicity, no way. She’s not getting anywhere near that sick bastard.”
“Rowan…” Felicity brought her head up as she spoke.
“Listen, Row, the scene is secure,” Ben offered.
“I don’t care,” I returned. “What do they want her there for anyway?”
“To interview,” Mandalay said. “The same reason they want you.”
“Interview about what?”
“Porter,” she returned. “He called her today, so she’s had direct contact with him as well. You need to understand, Rowan, the HNT looks for every piece of information they can possibly use. No matter how insignificant you may think it seems, they want to know about it.”
“Fine. Then she can tell them everything he said to her by phone if they want to know that badly,” I asserted.
“Rowan,” Felicity interjected again. “You’ll not be going without me then.”
“Honey, you know as well as I do what Porter has done. I’m not willing to take the chance.”
“Aye, but I am.”
I shook my head vigorously. “No, Felicity, I can’t accept that.”
“Rowan,” Mandalay began, “I can understand your concern, but think about it. There are over two dozen police officers on the scene, and that isn’t even counting FBI and SWAT. Now, where else could Felicity be safer?”
“Right here as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m going,” Felicity announced.
“No,” I stated in the most adamant tone I could muster. “If they want me there, fine, but only me, not you. Those are my terms, and they’re non-negotiable.”
Felicity had pulled back slightly and now fixed me with an unforgiving stare as she piped up again. “Aye, but they’re not yours to dictate, Rowan. If you are going then I am going. Those are MY terms.”
“Felicity…”
“No,” she insisted, her glare hardening. “Best you not argue with me on this because you won’t win.”
“But…”
“Aye, Caorthann, I said no.” The stern quality that filled her voice when she cut me off was as much magickal as it was earthbound, maybe even more so.
This time, her use of the Gaelic version of my name was coupled with an undeniable energy. She meant to drive home a point, and she did so with earnest. She was correct. I couldn’t win, and continuing to argue was just a waste of time. My desire to protect her was being trumped by her desire to protect me. Any other cards I could play would only bring us to an impasse.
I frowned and brushed my hand across the lower half of my face then shifted my gaze back and forth between Ben and Mandalay as I spoke. “Okay, but I want her as far removed from this as possible.”
“Both of you will be,” Mandalay replied. “The HNT is just going to be interviewing you, that’s all. So you definitely won’t be in any line of fire.”
“I’ll get our coats,” Felicity announced, pulling away from me and skirting around Ben as he shuffled to the side.
“It’s gonna be okay, white man,” my friend told me.
“I hope so,” I replied. “I don’t have a very good feeling about this.”
“Twilight Zone?” he asked.
I centered on the anxious energy that was using my spine as a multi-lane thoroughfare and felt the ache rise inside my skull as my scalp tightened. “Yeah, definitely.”
Constance tried to assuage my obvious fear. “It’s going to be okay.” She gave me a slight smile then looked over to Ben. “We can take my car. Where’s your coat, Storm?”
“On the couch.” He gave a nod back toward the living room. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” she answered as she stepped around him. “Just don’t get used to it.”
“Jeez, Mandalay, now you sound like my wife,” he jibed over his shoulder.
Her voice filtered back to us. “I knew I really liked Allison for some reason.”
Ben swiveled his head back and focused on me. He stared at me in silence for a moment then jutted his chin toward me in a quick gesture as he brought his hand up to gingerly smooth back his hair.
“You seein’ somethin’?” he asked quietly. “One of those visions?”
“No. Just feeling some stuff right now.”
He gave me a questioning look. “So can’t you do some hocus-pocus or something?”
“I wish I could.”
“What about tossin’ some salt around?” he asked. “I’ve seen you two do that. Ain’t that some kind of protection thing?”
“Yes it is,” I replied. “But trust me, this apartment has already been salted enough to give an elephant high blood pressure.”
“So there’s nothing you can do?”
“Stay grounded,” I replied. “That’s about it, I guess.”
“Well do that then,” he instructed. “So does this have anything to do with all that floppin’ around you were doin’ earlier?”
“I don’t know, Ben.” I reached up and began massaging my scalp again. “Maybe. I still have no idea what that is all about. All I can say is that something about this just feels wrong. It’s almost like it’s a big puzzle, but there’s a crucial piece missing that would bring it all together and let you see what the picture is. Do you know what I mean?”
“Well, I don’t know about a puzzle, white man,” he echoed. “It seems pretty straightforward to me.”
I shook my head. “No. There’s something hinky about all of this.”
“Hinky how?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know.”
“You ain’t helping me here, Row.”
“That’s pretty much the theme of the day, isn’t it?” I retorted. “I’m sorry. This is all just going pretty fast, you know?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I know.”
I started to glance at my watch out of reflex and realized that I hadn’t put it back on after my shower since it had been shattered. I turned and looked over my shoulder at the automatic coffeemaker. The digital display shimmered a five into a six as I watched, displaying the time as 8:36.