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Jesse?
Adams daughter, the one we were trying to keep safe from the bad guys, said Tad, moving behind the officer so he could see his notes. She spells it J-E?S-S?E. And Im Tadlike tadpoleshort for Thaddeus, but dont go there, and my last name is Adelbertsmiter. He spelledthat for him, too. Twice.
The officer turned to force Tad to give him some space, but Tad just followed him around.
Thank you, the officer said firmly. What happened to the wall? He looked at me, but Tad answered that, too.
I was eating Jesses brownies when someone rang the doorbell. I sent Jesse, Gabriel, and the kids into one of the bedrooms and went to answer the door.
So you let him in?
Do I look like Im five? asked Tad indignantly. No. I asked who it was and he said he was UPS and had a package for us. I told him to leave it on the porch cause I was naked, just out of the shower.
I thought you were eating brownies, said the officer, who seemed to have resigned himself to having Tad hanging over his shoulder.
I was. Tad shook his head. I lied to the guy. I was there to keep the kids safe, no way was I opening the door to some stranger. There are things out there who can take it for an invitationand you dont invite evil into your home.
No, said the officer faintly, I can see that you wouldnt.
Tony rubbed his mouth to hide a smile. Tony had seen Tad in full-blown Look-At-Me mode before. It wasnt that Tad was lying to the police officer, but, like a good stage magician, hed keep the police looking where he wanted them to look. I didnt know what Tad was trying to cover up, but with Adam here and safe, I didnt really care.
I thought you fae couldnt lie? said one of the kids who was supposed to be cleaning Sylvias stuff off the ground.
Tad nodded at him.Yeah, thats only the true fae and some of the halfies. All that kind of stuff doesnt apply to me. Cause I lie andhe spread his arms to invite everyone to admireIm still here.
Behind me, Adam laughed quietly.
Anyway, continued Tad, now talking to the crowd instead of the police, the supposed UPS guy, he said he needed a signature. I told him to leave a form and wed pick the package up at the UPS officeand thats when he unlocked the door with some kind of picklock or magic, I wasnt paying attention because he tried to hit me with a stun gun. When that didnt work, he drew a freaking sword and tried to take off my head.
Asword? said the officer, who was starting to look as though he was having trouble keeping up.
Tad nodded.I know, right? Weirded me out, too. I guess he was pretty old, cause he knew what he was doing with that thing. I took two years of aikido at school, and he made a monkey out of me. I wondered if anyone would notice that although Tad was pretty banged up, there were no sword cuts. I drew him back farther into the apartment to give the kids a chance to escape. Sometime in there, he tossed me through the wall.
All the people who were cleaning up the mess near him and the policemen and policewoman who were listening to his story looked at Tadbecause he didnt look like hed been tossed through a wall. Tad wasnt good-looking, his ears were too big and they stuck out and his nose was flattened as if hed gone three rounds with George Foreman, but when he wanted people to watch him, they did. It wasnt magic; it was force ofpersonality.
Half fae, he told them again. Sometimes it helps. He looked up at the hole, too, and shook his head and winced. Doesnt mean it didnt hurt. I ran back up and kept him occupied while the kids escaped. I tossed the desk at him, knocked him out the same hole hed knocked me through, and by then you guys were pretty close. He picked himself up and ran.
Apparently we werent going to talk about Asil. I glanced around, but didnt see Brans wolf anywhere. Maybe Asil was responsible for Tads look-at-me-not-at-what-Im-hiding performance.
Adam, what can you tell me about your kidnapping? Tony wasnt as caught up in Tads performance as the other cops were.
Adam gave him a tired smile.Im going to get some rest. Ill have my lawyer get in touch with you, and Ill give a full statement tomorrow. Okay?
Tony gave him a reluctant nod.Fine. Get in touch before ten tomorrow or Ill give you a call. Mercy, your turn.
I thought about the body in the back of Marsilias car and tried to decide where to start.
She didnt see much, Tad said, and this time I could feel his magic push past me, focusing Tonys attention on him. How about she takes Adam home, and they both talk to you tomorrow. I know who this guy was because hes a spriggandthats a kind of fae and fairly rare, thankfully, because they are nasty, bitter mischief-makers one and all. This one is a pureblood, and that makes him a renegade because hes not holed up in the reservations with the rest of the fae. Theres only one renegade spriggand. He goes by the name of Sliver and usually hangs out with a half-fae woman called Spice. They hire out as muscle or assassins. I didnt see any woman, but she might have been keeping watch.
Spice must be the dead woman in the trunk of Marsilias car. It would have been a good time for me to tell the police about herher death was self-defense. If I told them right now, it would look better than if they found out about it later. But I was content just resting against Adam and couldnt find the impetus to say anything.
Tony frowned at Tad.And why do you know the names of assassins for hire?
Tads brilliant facade soured. Because even though they dont care a fig for the half-bloods, the pureblooded fae send us lists of fae who did not answer the Gray Lords call. We, the rejected, are to watch out for these fae and turn in any purebloods we see.
Tony nodded slowly.I see. And if you dont turn them in?
Tads smile left entirely, and he looked very adult. Nothing good. The Gray Lords dont have much use for half-bloods.
Tony blinked a couple of times and bit back whatever homily had come to him. Finally, he looked around at the destruction that was getting cleaned up. It was a crime scene, so probably no one should be cleaning yetbut it was also Sylvias private papers flying in the wind.
No bodies on the ground, said the officer Tad had cornered. No one bleeding. No lawsuit because Mr. Hauptman is paying the damagesthough well need to do a report just in case. We can let them clean up, Tony. He looked at Adam. Mr. Hauptman is coming in tomorrow to make a statement about his kidnapping. That works for meTony?
Tony frowned at me, and Tads magic lit up again. Finally, Tony said, Okay. He looked at Sylvia, and his face softened. Why dont you give your keys to one of your neighbors so they can lock up after theyre done cleaning the mess? Ill take you to Kyles house, so you can look in on the kids.
8
ADAM
Adam kept his mouth shut and left his arms wrapped around Mercy so that he was anchored and didnt snarl at the nice policemen.
He kept his eyes off her face because he was having a hard enough time with all the noise and people as it wasthe bruise that covered half her face would not help. His instincts kept shouting that something waswrong, and had ever since hed seen the desk land, and he couldnt tell if it had missed her. Hed stopped breathing. The thought of his world without Mercy in it
Well, that didnt help him calm down, either. He had the feeling that enemies were watching, that no one was safe. It was just the aftereffects of battle, dealing with his kidnappers last night and interrupting Mercys fight this morning. That on-edge feeling had been familiar even before he was a werewolf.
Adam politely refused to answer any of Tonys casual questions as they waited for Sylvia to converse with her neighbors. The policeman finally gave up prying. He was a good cop, Tony, and knew that there were things they were hiding; but Adam had scrubbed in the shower of the unfinished winery while they were waiting for Elizaveta to showup. He knew that the only stains left of his killing spree were invisible ones, and he knew how to hide those, even from a good cops instincts.