Devon Monk - Hell Bent

“I don’t really do that anymore. You could talk to Davy.”

“Can’t find Davy.”

“Then check in with Sunny. She’ll know where he is.”

“I thought Sunny was in Florida or something. Visiting family?”

“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t remember Davy mentioning anything, but I haven’t seen him since last week.”

“Maybe I’ll stop by the Den, see who’s running things while she’s gone and he’s wherever he is.”

“That’s a good idea. And, Shame, I’m really sorry you lost your job. And that you had to . . . that you and Terric had to break magic for us. Because we couldn’t. Because I couldn’t.”

“Allie, those are not your worries. It is what it is. And it worked out fine. We used magic together and I didn’t have a single moment of wanting to snog him.”

That got a short laugh out of her. “He wouldn’t have argued.”

“He would have had a coronary.”

Terric stepped out of the building. Spotted me. “Speaking of, I’ve got to go now. I’ll try to come by soon. Stay in touch.”

“Be careful, Shame.”

“What, and ruin my streak?”

I thumbed the phone off and held it out for Terric.

“You really have to get your own phone,” he said, taking it from me.

We started toward the car.

“I have a phone. It’s at the inn. In my room. With my clothes. And my coat. And my boots. All of which I’d love to have, but you won’t take me there.”

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll take you there. Did you and Dash find anything?”

“Not a clue. Checked on Al and Zay. He’s fine, she’s fine. She doesn’t know anything about Thomas or Dessa.”

“What about going to a bar?” he suggested. “Dessa picked you up at a bar last night. Picked you up the night before, come to think of it. You might run into her there.”

“Not without my coat. My good coat.”

“Two-year-olds have more patience than you.” He slid into the driver’s seat.

“That’s because two-year-olds have coats,” I said, getting in the other side. “Also, I saw Dessa. She doesn’t know who Brandy Scott is, but now she’s looking for her.”

“Alone?”

“I offered her our side of the sandbox. She said no.”

He shook his head and drove. “We’ll need to track her.”

“I’m already on it.”

We pulled up to the inn a few minutes later. The drive had made me realize how damn tired I was. I didn’t know if it was from breaking magic with Terric, Zay practically snapping my neck, or just the last couple days of way more activity than what I’m used to, but right now sleep sounded better than a bottle of booze.

“You want me to wait while you get your coat?” Terric asked.

I yawned hugely. “No. I’m going to catch an hour of sleep.”

“If you go out looking—”

“I’ll call you.” I got out, opened the back door, took the statue and the baseball bat I’d nicked from the office. Started walking.

Stepped into the inn, and waited until Terric pulled away. Then I stepped back out again, walked around to the back of the building, and got in my car. Keys were in the glove box. So was my phone.

Dialed Sunny. She had been a hell of a Blood magic user, studied under my mum for a couple years. Fell in lust with Davy Silvers, and sort of moved in with him. She and he managed the Hounds in the area, making sure security, info, and tracking jobs were fulfilled, that the Hounds stayed clean, and that paychecks got cut.

“What do you want, Shame?” Sunny answered.

“Nice to hear from you too, Sunny. You back in town yet?”

“Just got in a couple hours ago. Is there a reason you’ve suddenly crawled out from under your rock?”

“Ouch. Also, yes. I need a Hound to follow a woman by the name of Dessa Leeds. She came into town a couple days ago. Ex–government spy of some sort. Packs heat. I don’t want anyone to engage or get in her way, but she’s looking for someone I’m looking for, and I want to know if she finds her.”

“Who do I bill?”

“Me.”

She laughed. “Right. Who do I really bill? Terric?”

“Sunny. This is my thing. It’s not the Authority’s thing, it’s not Terric’s thing. Bill me.”

“If you don’t pay—”

“I will.”

“I know where you live, Flynn.”

“I know. Just call me if you find out anything.”

“I’ll call if you keep your phone on.”

“Promise.”

I could hear her sigh. “Anything else?” she asked.

“Have you seen Davy since you got back?”

“No. He said he’s on a job.”

“Who’s shadowing him?”

I heard the clicking of a computer mouse, as she looked up the job records.

“I don’t know.” She sounded concerned. “Do you know something about this?”

“Eli Collins is in the area. Davy knows it. There’s a chance he’s trying to hunt Eli on his own. When you find Davy—as I am certain you will—tie him down somewhere and keep him out of this, okay?”

“I will,” she said. “Shame?”

“What?”

“It’s nice to have you back.”

We both thumbed off our phones since that was about as much mutual affection as either of us could handle.

I sat there for a second thinking out my next move. I really was tired, but it wasn’t my most pressing problem.

That was how to deal with Jeremy before he harmed Terric.

I needed Jeremy out of the picture. But he was just a cog in the machine that wanted to use Terric. It made more sense to take out the mainspring of the operation. Which meant it was time for me to deliver a personal message to the Black Crane.

I’d been out of the loop on the criminal activity in the city for more than a year. I had no idea where the Black Crane was headquartered now, and it wasn’t really something I wanted to ask the police or the Hounds.

I needed someone who knew the dark side of the city and wouldn’t rat me out to the law, or anyone else, for that matter.

I knew just the man. I dialed. Waited. He picked up on the fourth ring.

“Cody Miller.”

“Cody, this is Shame. I need a favor.”

Back in the day, Cody and I had been young, reckless men. His terrible gambling skills had nearly gotten him killed, but his amazing ability with art and magic put him under Allie’s dad’s employ for a while, where he’d made wondrous things like Stone, the gargoyle. He had also been the best damn forger of magical signatures in the States—maybe in the world. That caught the attention of all sorts of unsavory folk and he eventually managed to get in the way of people, living and dead, who wanted to rule the Authority and magic.

To make sure he wouldn’t ruin their plans, he’d been Closed, several times. Finally his mind had broken. For several years, he’d been nothing but a childlike shell of a man. But when our last-ditch effort to save the world included trying to join light and dark magic, he had volunteered to be the Focal—the vessel in which magic would be joined again.

It should have killed him. Instead it mended his mind and destroyed his ability to use magic. Joining magic had changed him in good and strange ways, just like the rest of us. Just like the world.

“A favor? You owe me, Shame. I should be collecting from you.”

“What’s stopping you, mate?”

“Well, you don’t have a job.”

“Employment is overrated. This will be worth saying yes.”

“What are you up to?”

“I need to go make a point clear to some people.”

“People.”

“Black Crane.”

Silence, while he rolled that over. “Why?”

“It’s personal.”

“I’m going to need more than that if I’m getting into this with you.”

“So that’s a yes?”