Living with the Dead (36 page)

"Shit! No. We need all hands up front. Their car is disabled, right? You managed that, I hope."

A chilly, "Yes, sir."

"Then, Solheim, scout the perimeter. Don't let them escape. Barrett, Mac, follow me."

When they were gone, Finn helped Robyn to her feet.

"We need to warn Hope and Karl," she said.

"I know. You still have the gun?"

She reached into her jacket. It slid out easily now. All in the angle, she supposed.

"Any idea how to use it?" he asked.

"I'll figure it out."

HOPE

After what Rhys told them about Adele, Hope supposed she should have been able to dredge up a few ounces of sympathy for her, growing up in a cult, believing she'd been sold by her mother.

But she'd given her "sister" birth control pills so she'd be forced into what Hope could only call group rape. She'd preyed on Colm's infatuation, then abandoned him, knowing he'd been conditioned to avoid capture with suicide. She'd murdered Portia Kane, Judd Archer, the bike officer and, if Rhys guessed right, an innocent bystander at the fair.

So as Hope stood in a garden and watched Adele – battered and bowed, her gun in the hands of the young woman she'd betrayed, her arm in the grip of the woman whose son she'd gotten killed – there was no mercy in her.

With each new accusation, Adele's terror spiked. And Hope guzzled it down.

"You have betrayed the kumpania," their leader, Niko, said. "You've maliciously interfered with your sister, Lily. You've caused the death of your brother, Colm. And you've committed the ultimate betrayal, conspiring with a Cabal – "

"No! It's not true. None of it. I – "

Neala cuffed the side of Adele's head. As Adele cried out, Neala's expression didn't change. When she'd first dragged Adele to the meeting place, delicious chaos vibes had danced around her, her grief mingled with the thrill of bringing her son's killer to justice.

Rhys said Neala had been a beautiful woman, but the years had been harsh, and she looked a decade older than him, her bright red hair pulled back tightly, making her appear all the more severe.

"The evidence has been presented and accepted, Adele," Niko continued. "I've rendered my judgment and now it's time to pass sentence. As our laws dictate, you will be stoned by those you betrayed – "

Adele's scream drowned out the rest, her terror so pure the demon gobbled it down and clamored for more, writhing in anticipation of such a gloriously chaotic death, such a –

Neala smacked Adele again and the girl blacked out, that momentary cutting of the chaos cord enough for Hope to fully realize what was going on.

"No," she said, stepping forward. "You can't execute her. She's going into council custody."

"Yes." Adele shot straight, steadying herself against a birdbath. "That's right. I claim council protection as a supernatural – "

"Adele?" Lily said. "Shut up."

"That's enough, Lily." Niko turned to Hope. "I'm sorry, but Adele is ours and we do not recognize the council's authority. We have the right to execute – "

"By what law? Not council, not Cabal, not human, and maybe you don't like to 'recognize' those, but you sure as hell better start. There's an innocent woman accused of Adele's crimes, who could go to jail if Adele vanishes off the face of the earth."

Karl moved up beside her. "Hope is right. We're taking – "

"No, you're not. I'm sorry about this woman, but she's not our concern. Adele is, and we're going to – "

"I'm pregnant," Adele blurted.

"Oh, gods," Lily muttered. "Here we go with the lies."

"It's not a lie. You have pregnancy tests in your room, don't you? Go get one. I'll take it right now and you'll see."

"The father." It took a moment to track the whisper to its source and even then, Hope didn't need to pinpoint the sound, just the face it came from – Neala's, a note of hope in her voice that wrung Hope's heart as no sob story from Adele ever could. "Is it Colm?"

Hearing that, Adele went still, like a predator catching a scent, and in her eyes Hope saw a beast less human than her demon, than Karl's wolf, stripped of humanity, only instinct remaining, eyes glittering with a cunning that could pass for intelligence.

"No, it's not Colm." She looked around and Hope swore those bloodied and swollen lips smiled. "It's Thom."

Niko strode forward, bellowing, "Blasphemy! How dare you ever suggest such a – "

"Because it's true." Now that curve in Adele's lips couldn't be mistaken for anything but a smile. "You can run any tests you want. I'm carrying Thom's child." She turned to Rhys. "Congratulations. It may not be Colm's, but you're still going to be a grandfather."

Silence. The chaos came in uncertain spurts.

"What?" Rhys said finally.

"Thom. Your – " Adele's horrible smile stretched. "Oh, that's right. You don't know. Really, Neala, now would be the time to tell him, ease the loss of one son by letting him know he still has another. His firstborn."

Rhys turned slowly. "Neala?"

Neala's pain hit Hope like an energy bolt. Karl grabbed her.

"You remember your firstborn, don't you?" Adele said. "The one Neala told you died? He didn't, but he's a retard. They keep him locked in a bomb shelter under the property, so they can use his powers."

"Neala?" A plea now, Rhys begging her to tell him this was another of Adele's lies.

Neala's pain hit Hope again, knocking her back into Karl's arms, her eyelids fluttering, seeing Neala step toward Rhys, her lips parting in an apology that Hope heard, over and over, in Neala's thoughts, but wouldn't reach her lips. Then, behind her, Adele spun, grabbing the gun from Lily's hand.

A scream. A shot. Neala staggered, eyes rounding, that apology stuttering in her head, desperately trying to find a way out, and then the chaos, the sweet, sweet chaos...

"Neala!" Rhys shot forward, grabbing her.

Hope tried to focus, but the chaos was so sweet, so perfectly sweet...

"Call an ambulance!" Rhys shouted.

It wouldn't help. Hope could feel Neala's life seeping away, her terror, chaos thundering all around, then a young man's voice yelling, "Niko! Niko!"

Footsteps pounded across the patio stones.

"Niko! Men – " Panting, gasping for breath. "Armed men. Guns. Hugh saw them. They're – they're all around – "

A scream cut him off. Then another.

Niko's voice rose above them. "No! It's all right. They aren't here to hurt us. Stay calm. Everyone stay – "

A shot. A crack. The peppery smell of tear gas. A long, keening scream. Then the smoldering pit of chaos detonated.

FINN

Finn got himself and Robyn close enough to see what was going on, but they couldn't hear it. He'd sent Damon for that. Damon hadn't been pleased; he wanted to watch over Robyn. Finn could have pointed out that if they were attacked, there was nothing Damon could do, but that would be cruel. Instead, he told Robyn they'd need to get closer, so they could listen in and, at that, Damon decided he could handle eavesdropping duty.

They were still in the small strip of woods bordering the property. Finn had caught a glimpse of Solheim, patrolling the fence. He was sticking to his post, though. His only task now was preventing Finn and Robyn from leaving.

As for who Solheim and the others really were and how they got here and where Madoz was, those were questions for later. With cell reception and the route to his radio blocked, he was on his own. As he watched the drama unfolding in the distance he had a feeling that being alone might be a good thing. Bringing in the law could turn a touchy situation into a tragedy. If Robyn was right, Adams and the others operated outside the law for good reason.

Adams, Marsten and Rhys stood in a garden between a cluster of four houses. Finn counted six people with them. There could be more standing at the perimeter, but his angle wasn't good, the houses partially blocking it.

He could clearly see Adams and Marsten, and that was the important thing. Together with Rhys, they were bookended by men with rifles, but those weapons dangled, a perfunctory threat. The only other gun he could see was held by a dark-haired girl, pointed at a young blonde whose face he'd never forget.

That face was now bloodied and battered, which brought a smile to Finn's lips. He felt a twinge of guilt at that, hearing his mother admonish him against ever taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. But it was a very small twinge.

Clearly Adele Morrissey's crimes had been exposed and now they seemed to be negotiating to turn her over to Adams and Marsten. And though they didn't seem to be in immediate danger from the commune people, he had to get a warning to them about
these
guys.

At a movement, he glanced over to see Damon jogging back. Perfect timing. He'd get a report on the whereabouts of the fake police squad, then –

"They're going to stone her!" Damon called, still running.

"Stone?" Finn said.

"A stone what?" Robyn said, popping out from behind the binoculars. A sheepish smile. "Sorry." She paused, then said hesitantly, "Is Damon back?"

Finn nodded. Her gaze traveled past him, searching for some sign of Damon. Disappointment flickered through her eyes, so sharp it was like an ice pick, a breathtaking jab of empathetic pain.

"Finn?" Damon waved his hands in front of Finn's face. "Could you stop staring at my wife and listen to me?"

Finn thought he heard a bite in Damon's voice, but when he glanced up, the ghost just looked impatient.

"I said they're going to
stone
Adele."

"You heard wrong."

"No, I did not. Her group, those people, they call themselves a company or something, they just held a trial. They convicted her of a whole pile of shit and sentenced her to be stoned by the whole group. Hope's arguing. She wants to take Adele back to that council and – "

A shot. A scream. Damon wheeled with a, "Holy shit!" Robyn lifted the binoculars, but Finn snatched them, ignoring her cry of protest and pushing her down to the ground as he lowered himself to his knees.

He swung the lenses to Adams and Marsten. Adams lay in Marsten's arms.

"Finn?" Robyn yanked on his sleeve. "What's happening?"

"They're down – taking cover," he added quickly. The lie came easier than any he'd ever told. "They're okay. Just – "

Another scream. Another shot. Armed gunmen rushed from behind the buildings, shouting orders. A mushroom cloud of tear gas exploded.

Finn shot to his feet. Robyn grabbed his pant leg. He put his hand on her head, keeping her down.

"Stay here."

"I'm not – "

He dropped to one knee, his face coming down to hers. "You need to stay here, Robyn. Please. Do you still have the gun?"

She nodded.

"Then
stay
. You aren't trained for this, okay?"

That did it – not safety issues but the reminder she wasn't qualified.

She lowered herself into the grass, then stopped, looking up. "Damon? Go with him. Help him."

Damon leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "I will, baby."

Finn cut through the field, praying everyone was too busy to notice him. Damon ran ahead, ready to call back a warning if anyone took an interest. No one did.

The smoke floated out until Finn couldn't see, and moved by sound alone. After a moment, he recognized one of the shouting voices. Karl Marsten calling for Adams. When he ran toward the voice, he smacked into Marsten, who spun, lips curling in a snarl.

"I'm not working for the Nasts," Finn said quickly. "I – "

"I know. Find Hope," Marsten said, then was about to dive back into the smoke when Finn caught the back of his shirt.

"Is she shot?" he said. "I saw her fall – "

"No, that was – " He waved Finn off. "We – " A coughing fit cut him short. "We need to find her before she
gets
shot."

He turned again, but Finn still had a grip on his shirt. "That gas is going to knock us flat before we do."

Marsten's red-rimmed eyes blazed, and Finn thought he was going to deck him. Then his jaw flexed and he gave a curt nod. "We need gas masks. I thought I saw – "

A figure staggered out, bent double. Rhys. Marsten grabbed him, just long enough to recognize him – and recognize that he wasn't someone with a gas mask – then dropped him. Finn dove in to catch the man before he toppled.

"I thought I heard you," Rhys croaked, squinting up at Marsten. "Where's Hope?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. They have gas masks, right?"

"What?" Rhys coughed so hard that blood flecked Finn's pants.

"Those men. They have gas masks, don't they?"

"I think so."

"Good."

Marsten strode back into the thick of it. Finn tried to grab him.

Rhys caught his hand. "If you like the current configuration of all your body parts, I wouldn't do that. He'll be fine."

"I'll cover him," said a voice behind Finn.

He turned to see Damon jog off after Marsten.

"Does he have a gun?" Finn asked.

"He doesn't need one. You're the detective who's after Adele, right?"

Finn nodded and looked in the direction Damon and Marsten had gone.

"He's fine. Really," Rhys said. "But if you want Adele, she's long gone. Last I saw, she was making a break for it."

"Robyn."

"What?"

Finn took off at a run. He'd left Robyn alone, without even Damon to watch her, and now Adele – the woman who wanted her dead, and who could find her anywhere – was on the loose.

He didn't slow until he reached the spot where he'd left Robyn. There, on the ground, lay the pair of binoculars.