Page 3 of Courting Danger
Richmond turned to his partner, a sneer pulling his lip back. “What? You going totattleon me, King? Go whine to the sergeant? You should go work for the rat squad. Or Paranormal Crimes. I hear they love snitches.”
Stiffening, King shook his head. “Put the bag down.”
“He’sgoing to say I can search it,” Richmond said, his grin that of a schoolyard bully used to getting his way. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you won’t mind if I look inside.”
“You’re welcome to,” I said. I’d bet that he had some homophobia to go with that hair trigger temper. “But I’d probably use gloves. I came here on vacation, so it’s mostly just dildos. Lube. Some harnesses, you know I like a little light BDSM, so there’s a few toys in there that have been inallmy orifices. And I haven’t had a chance to wash anything yet, too busy with all the gay sex I’ve been having. I’m doing a whole tour of the coast. Started in Santa Barbara, going to finish in SanDiego. Like a gay sex tour kind of thing. So, search away, but, you know, gloves and maybe a mask.”
“You’re a queer?” Richmond dropped the bag like it was on fire, wiping his hand on his pants. “Pervert. I should take you in, see how you likeourorifice search.”
“Sounds kinky,” I said. “But I actually have plans tonight. So, if your safety check is done, I’d like to get to them. A lot of gay sex to have tonight.”
“We’ll let you get to it,” King said. His face was almost blank, but the slightest hint of a smirk hid in his eyes. Oh, I liked him even more.
“He’s a pervert, we should take him in,” Richmond growled, stalking close to me. He got in my face, but I’ve dealt with scarier than him before and I wasn’t planning on backing down.
“Please, officer,take me,” I said, holding out my hands as though I was inviting cuffs. I worried I was playing the bit too hard, but then I saw King yawn to hide his grin.
“Richmond, you want to explain why you’re bringing him in, be my guest,” King said. “It sounds like maybe youdowant to search his bag?”
“You’re a freak. Why’re you defending him? He another of your alchemist buddies? Someone from yourstudio?” Richmond sneered, glaring.
With a slight straightening of King’s shoulders, I saw the point sail true and hit home. No wonder he liked rules. Alchemistslivedfor rules, or, more accurately, they practiced magic by them.
With a shove, Richmond pushed past me and took long steps down the hall. He stomped down the original wood stairs, and I winked at King.
“You sure you don’t want to stick around?” I asked. “I’m better company.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said, eyes heating me to my bones like a hot shower after a long day. “Mr. Ferro.”
And okay, so Mr. By the Book wasn’t such a stick in the mud after all. I was about to invite him toleave his card, when a scream ripped through the house. A slam shook the entire second floor.
Two
King was already out the door, his gun drawn as he raced down the stairs after his partner. We found Richmond on his back, face white, pupils blown wide. He was muttering to himself, the words faint.
Searching for whatever had hurt his partner, King brought his shoulder closer to his mouth and used his free hand to press the button to speak.
“Dispatch, this is unit 547,” he said, voice clipped. “I have an officer down, unknown assailant. I need a bus and backup.”
There wasn’t any response to his request. Frowning, he tried again. “Dispatch, this is 547, do you copy?”
Static whirred and whined like it was a living thing until it finally popped, leaving the radio unresponsive, even when King reached down to his belt and tried twisting knobs. Pulling out my cellphone, there wasn’t any signal, even though I’d had full bars when I’d stepped into the house. My brows pulled together and a tight feeling closed around my stomach.
It wasn’t good, and I needed to get some defenses up fast. If King was an alchemist, that meant he had some skills, but alchemy also had some funny beliefs about things like ghosts. Nomatter how capable he was, he wasn’t going to be any match for what might come.
My shoulders tensed. I was alone, with one civilian, and analchemist. It was not my best night.
King examined his own phone, clearly seeing that whatever hurt his partner had cut us off. He looked around, still frowning. Glancing at me, Richmond, and the surrounding rooms, still lit in a warm glow, he made a decision quickly.
Bending low, he checked his partner’s pulse and then said, “Richmond. Can you hear me? What happened?”
Richmond’s lips moved, but the words were so soft that King had to bend until his ear was nearly on Richmond’s mouth. I didn’t need to know what Richmond was saying. The ghost had escalated, and I didnotwant to see what it did next.
“Who? What girl?” King leaned back. His black eyebrows pulled together. “He says there’s a girl. Do you know anything about it?”
I shook my head. “No, sorry. I’m going to go get my bag.”
Without waiting, I sprinted upstairs, grabbing the duffel that Richmond had thrown on the bed. Retracing my steps, I unzipped it as I moved, pushing aside the pajamas (a gift from Laurel), toothbrush (a gift from my dentist), and booze (a gift for when I’d exorcised this ghost). At the bottom of the bag, I found the weight that Richmond had complained about.
