To my relief, Mary was sitting at her desk, her manicured nails clacking away rapidly on her laptop, her lovely brow furrowed in a deep frown. “Well, you’ve certainly made a mess of things,” she snapped the moment I darkened her door.
I blinked at her, surprised she’d even noticed me. “Sorry?”
She glanced away from her screen and gave me a mildly reproachful look over the top of her naughty librarian glasses. “Al called me.”
Oh, shit.
I swallowed, trying to act nonchalant. “Oh? What did he say?”
“He said that under no circumstances was I to release Nicky Blue to you.” She pushed back from her keyboard and swiveled her chair so she could face me. “He said it was for your own protection.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Mary—”
“I told him it was too late,” she interrupted. “I’d already released him.”
I gaped at her in dismay for a full five seconds before I was able to say, “What? When?”
“We hadn’t even processed him when I received a call from the head of the Tribunal, demanding I release Mr. Blue at once,” she explained. “He must have some friends in pretty high places to move that fast. I didn’t even file the paperwork until about an hour before Al sent the boys to pick Nicky up. Someone was already talking to the right people before we’d even brought him in.”
No wonder Nicky hadn’t been concerned.
“So . . . what did Al say to that news?” I asked.
Mary shrugged. “What could he say? We’ll still go through the motions of a hearing and all of that to appease the Agency, but it’s pretty clear how it’ll come out.”
I tried not to let my relief seep into my voice when I asked, “Where’s Nicky now?”
A rare smile tugged at the corner of Mary’s mouth. “Down in processing, I imagine.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Mary. I owe you one.”
Mary shook her head. “No, you don’t. Now, get the hell out of here before any other shit hits the proverbial fan. I’ll see what I can do where Al’s concerned.”
“Why?” I asked, not meaning it to come out so incredulously. I grimaced and quickly amended, “Sorry, no offense—but it’s just that you’re not exactly known for your altruism, Mary. Why help me—or Nicky for that matter?”
“You deserve to be happy, Trish,” she said, her words clipped. “Everyone does. Al’s been hung up on you for a hell of a long time—”
“How did you know that?”
“—and it’s time he moved on, don’t you think?”
I studied her for a moment, understanding dawning. “He’ll probably need someone to talk to, you know. Someone to assure him this is all for the best.”
She nodded. “Yes, I think you’re right.”
“Well, I hope he listens to what you have to say,” I told her, meaning it. “I do care about him, you know.”
“So do I.” She jerked her chin toward the door. “Now, get the hell out of here and go find Nicky. I have somewhere I need to be.”
I offered her a smile and hurried away from her office to the processing area, but the person at the desk told me that Nicky was already released to a tall gentleman with gray hair.
Eddie Fox.
I should’ve known that Nicky’s loyal second-in-command would’ve been the one handling things. No one knew exactly where Eddie had come from, but everyone knew him to be a friend to Nicky and a savvy businessman who had helped Nicky run his empire for decades. Even since taking up with Red’s Gran, he’d continued to be the face of Nicky’s business enterprises. And I had no doubt that if there were any strings being pulled, it was Eddie doing it.
Now I just had to figure out where the hell they’d gone. Would Nicky have headed back home or gone elsewhere? He knew I’d be following him to headquarters, so I found it hard to believe he’d leave without trying to track me down or give me a message. I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and started to dial him but then realized I had no idea what his cell phone number was.
It was also at that point that I realized I had five missed calls—all from the same person. “Oh, shit,” I muttered, noticing the date. I quickly hit the Call Back button on the touchscreen and waited.
“It’s about damned time!” Lavender Seelie snapped when she answered. “I was about ready to send out a spell to search for you! Is everything okay? Seth and I stopped by your apartment and it looked like a tornado had hit. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all morning! I even thought about calling Tess precoffee to see if she knew where you were.”
I laughed a little in spite of her obvious concern. “You were desperate if you thought about calling Red in the morning. She only gets one cup of coffee per day with the pregnancy, you know. She’s already a little testy.”
“This isn’t funny, Trish,” Lavender retorted. “We were worried. My magic has been popping sparks all morning.”
I ran a hand through my curls, feeling like the worst friend alive. “I’m so sorry, Lav—there’s some really crazy shit going on right now. I totally forgot that you guys were going to be in town today. Where are you right now?”
“At FMA headquarters,” she said. “I had to give my statement for James Charming’s hearing on the fraud and racketeering charges.”
I had to grin a little at this news. Cinderella’s ex-husband and Lavender’s former employer deserved everything he got, including the years he was looking at in FMA prison for all the shady deals he’d cut in the past and the people he’d screwed over. He’d already been serving time for his assault on Lavender the previous fall, so it looked like he might be hanging out in a cell for a good long while.
“I’m at headquarters, too, but I’m getting ready to leave,” I told her. “I can meet you in the lobby if you’re finished with everything.”
“See you there in five,” she said before hanging up.
I was so relieved to see Lavender and Seth standing in the FMA lobby that I had to choke back tears as I hugged them both. “God, it’s so good to see you guys,” I said, blinking the blur from my eyes.
“What’s going on, honey?” Lavender asked, putting her arm around my shoulders and leading me toward the doors that opened up to the street.
I covered my face with my hands for a minute, wondering where the hell to start and desperately wishing I had Nicky with me at that moment to at least remove one concern. “I can’t talk here,” I said, glancing around. “Can we go somewhere else?”
She nodded. “Of course! Have you had lunch yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I—”
“Not leaving without me, are you, doll?”
I whirled around at the sound of Nicky’s voice and relief washed over me like a tidal wave when I saw him strolling toward me, wearing that lopsided grin of his. I rushed to him, throwing my arms around his neck and squeezing tightly as his arms came around me and he buried his face in my hair.
He chuckled a little as he pulled back to peer down at me. “Don’t think I could ever get tired of you throwing yourself in my arms.”
“Where the hell have you been?” I demanded. “Mary told me they released you almost right away.”
He shrugged. “Had to stop by and say hi to an old friend, thank him for doing me a favor.”
I frowned at him, curious whom he meant and assuming he was talking about one of his friends in high places, but before I could ask about it, I heard a polite cough behind me and turned to see Lavender standing there, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. “I see you do have a few things to tell me about,” she drawled. Then she grinned at Nicky. “Hey there, stranger. We were just going to take Trish to lunch. Care to join us?”
“I don’t like this,” Lavender was saying, shaking her head stubbornly. “You can’t do this on your own. It’s not safe—especially now that you’ve quit the FMA.”
“We’re just looking for answers right now,” I assured her. “There’s more going on than Al understands. The Agency isn’t being straight with him, and for all their claims of trying to stop the vampires that have been popping
