against the tile, letting it scald down my back. Malik wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill me. There was last night’s little ambush to think about. I doubted Alan Hinkley had been in on the plan—he was probably nothing more than a mind-locked patsy—but I still had questions for him, once I got my phone back from the Blue Heart.
I grabbed a towel and briskly rubbed myself dry, then ran a comb through my hair; it would dry quickly enough in the heat. I scowled at the bites on my breasts. The scabs had washed away, leaving little pink holes.
Who had sent the two revenants after me? A vampire, obviously; but they’d have needed a witch to cast the stun-spell and attach it to the garden railings. And Malik had said he’d been hit over the head by a fae. Well, that combination wasn’t such a common one—in fact, the only vamp/witch/fae combo I could think of was at the Bloody Shamrock—but why would Declan want to kill me, a sidhe? There was no reason I could think of, at least none that fitted the larger picture in my mind.
But I was betting a certain cluricaun called Mick would be able to fill in some of the details that my picture was missing. And then there was the update I had for Declan about Melissa’s death—getting Mick to deliver the message was a much safer proposition than delivering it to him myself after dark.
Next stop the Bloody Shamrock.
As I stared thoughtfully at my reflection, blood seeped from the fang mark just above my nipple and ran down in a watery pink drop. Crap. I scoured the towel furiously over my chest, chucked it on the floor and yanked open the bathroom door.
I had a visitor.
Finn was standing next to the window, watching the street below. His horns were sharp above his blond hair and he had a glower on his face that suggested he wanted to disembowel something. And the black shirt and trousers weren’t making him look any friendlier. Damn, I didn’t have time for a repeat of yesterday’s ‘Big Bad Boss’ routine.
I grabbed the towel and wrapped it round me. ‘Just exactly how did you get in, Finn?’
‘You’ve got no wards, Gen.’ He turned, his gaze flicking over me then settling on my face. ‘And the lock wouldn’t keep out most humans—’
‘Forget it,’ Angrily, I waved away his explanation and headed for the bedroom. ‘It’s my day off. I’ve got plans, and I’m sure whatever you want can’t be that urgent
I yanked on a pair of briefs, then delved inside my wardrobe, pulled out a pair of jeans and tugged them on. What the hell did Finn think he was playing at? Twice he’d let himself in now—did he think I lived at Waterloo Station or something?
‘I came round to see you last night, Gen.’ Finn’s voice came faintly through the closed door. ‘Toni said you’d had some problems at Tower Bridge, with the gremlins.’
And damn Toni, with her stupid bet! What was she trying to do, play matchmaker? Why couldn’t she just worry about her own love life, instead of trying to organise mine? I grabbed a green strappy vest and jerked it over my head.
Finn’s voice came again. ‘She told me you’d been hurt.’
My anger started to subside and I briefly touched my cheek, then shivered as I remembered Malik doing the same thing in the taxi. One of the gremlins had thrown a spanner and I hadn’t moved quickly enough; an accident of course, since he’d been aiming for one of his pals. The bruise was gone now; thanks to Malik healing me. I shoved that disturbing thought away and slipped my leather waistcoat off its hanger and pulled it on.
‘But you weren’t in,’ Finn continued. ‘I was worried about you, Gen, especially after yesterday morning. ’
‘I texted and phoned, then when there was no answer, I let myself in and looked around.’
I dropped the boot as apprehension filled me. Pulling the door open, I said, ‘What do you mean, you “looked around”?’
He was leaning, shoulder propped against the wall, just outside the door. His mouth turned down like he’d sucked on some salt. ‘You’d left your computer on, so I checked it out.’
And found the Blue Heart website. Damn. I’d been hoping that my evening’s entertainment wouldn’t get out for a couple of days—looked like my luck was out.
‘I came looking for you’—his moss-green eyes darkened—‘and guess where you were? All dressed up and getting into a taxi with a sucker in Leicester Square. Stupidly, I decided to follow you, thinking you might be in trouble.’
The thought of him doing the proverbial knight in shining armour act—however unneeded—made something soften just under my breastbone. Not that it made any difference; any possibilities with Finn had been just wishful thinking, even more so after last night. And now I was beginning to think my job might end up as wishful thinking too.
‘Victoria Embankment Gardens, Gen.’ His voice was soft, accusing, his anger simmering just under the surface. ‘I watched you and the vampire chat, and then I saw you go in alone. I saw those two lads.’
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to. I knew what came next better than he did. I headed for the fridge, the sick feeling back in my stomach.
‘I go running in, and next thing I know, I’m taking a nap in the bushes, and when I wake up the place is deserted. But even though someone’s tried to wash it away, there’s still blood—if you know where to look.’
That had to be where Malik killed the revenants. I grabbed the vodka and poured some into a glass, trying to stop my hand from shaking. The story was nearly over. All I needed to do was let him tell it, give his ultimatum, and then he’d be gone, and I could get back to what I’d been planning.
‘Then this morning I heard some interesting news. A jogger found two naked bodies by Hammersmith Pier— human males, in their late teens, early twenties—both had their heads and hearts missing.’
I stilled in shock, then my brain kicked in. What the hell were the bodies doing there? Why
Finn carried on in the same quiet, insistent voice, ‘Now there are a few things that would take the head and heart—dragons, gargoyles, demons. But what seems to have everyone stumped is that the penis and testicles had been torn off both bodies.’
I blinked in surprise. Head and heart were easy: they’d been vampires, after all—but why the other? Puzzled, I turned to frown at Finn. ‘Weird,’ I murmured.
He pushed off the wall and started walking towards me. ‘Not when you consider it’s a vengeance particularly favoured by the
Then I connected all the dots. I was the only
‘Yesterday at dawn, I find you covered in blood, but not injured.’ He stared back at me, his mouth thin with anger. ‘Then last night I see you fighting with two lads, and later they turn up dead. That’s a lot to put down to coincidence, Gen.’
‘Why don’t you just shove that idea where it belongs?’ I shouted, fear making my own anger rise. ‘Even if I had done it, no way would I be stupid enough to leave evidence that pointed right to me!’
‘I’m going to ask you, and I don’t want to ask it thrice, so no prevaricating. Just give me a straight answer.’ Emerald flashed in the hard green of his eyes. ‘Did you kill them?’
Shit, I hated the thrice rule. It wasn’t just that it forced a fae to tell the truth, but it made you feel so awful.
‘No,’ I snapped, ‘I didn’t kill them.’
He took a deep breath, his eyes closing briefly, and the anger seemed to flow out of him.
‘Happy now, are you?’ I shoved him in the chest, ‘Now you’ve had your little trial and jury scene?’
He stumbled back. ‘I’m sorry, Gen. I had to know.’ He ran a distracted hand through his blond hair and rubbed his left horn. ‘I had to ask—’
‘Fine. You’ve asked. I didn’t.’ I balled my fists. ‘Now if you’ll just leave, I can get on with what I was
