Pink Princess Fairytini (Fairy Files #2) (18 page)

“Shit,” I said, rapidly running through our options. “I’ll call Vin and Mercury and Buddy. They can talk to people and maybe get answers the police can’t.

Harvey nodded. “Good. I’d oversee the whole thing, but I’ve got to be somewhere.”

“That’s okay.” I pulled out my phone and dialed Vin. “They’ll take care of it.”

Harvey stepped back. “In that case, I should get back to work. Call me when you’re back in town, Chloe.”

“Sure,” I said, but I was distracted. Vin answered the phone, and I didn’t notice Harvey walk out.

“You know,” Frost said. “It wouldn’t kill you to let the guy feel useful once in a while.” We were in a rental car, since I refused to ride to Texas on the back of his motorcycle. I was driving, something I hadn’t done in years, and it felt better than I’d expected. The cool leather of the steering wheel in my hands, the speed, the easy maneuvering. Fun.

Vin, Mercury, and Buddy had all agreed to go talk to Livvy’s neighbors and friends, and we were off to find my long-lost cousin. It all felt like a bit of a wild goose chase to me, but it was better than doing nothing.

“Are you talking to your imaginary friends again?”

“No,” he said, with a heavy sigh. “I’m talking about you and Harvey. As a human, he’s probably feeling a bit inadequate next to you and your superpowers.”

“Oh, believe me,” I said. “He is not the least bit inadequate.” Yes, I knew I was deflecting and, no, I didn’t care. I focused on the landscape of the panhandle and wondered if I might catch sight of a gator or a deer on the roadside. Or a gator eating a deer.

“Funny,” Frost said, jolting me out of my reverie. “I’m pretty sure Harvey wants to be more than just a bed toy to you. He needs to feel like you need him, like he has something to offer.”

Now he was just annoying me. Didn’t I have enough troubles without him critiquing my love life? “What’s with the interest in my love life? Why don’t we talk about yours, instead? Ye of the invisible mate.” I knew Frost had a mate, or so he’d led me to believe, but I’d never seen her.

“I don’t need any help with my love life,” he said, a bit of a growl in his voice. I was glad I wasn’t the only one annoyed. “Men like to feel needed.”

I sighed. This conversation was really impinging on my enjoyment of driving. Something I hadn’t done in three years, since I rarely left Sarsaparilla and used public transportation in the city. “We called him as back-up when we went to talk to Nate.”

“Something we could have called any officer to do.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know why I bother.”

“Because you want to see me happy,” I said in a sing-song voice. I suspected he actually just wanted to help Harvey out. I was pretty sure he liked him better than me.

“Yes,” he said, his tone deadly serious. It shocked me so much, I almost drove off the road, but I managed to right the car before any damage was done. “I want you to be happy, Chloe. I think Harvey can make you happy, but only if you stop pushing him away.”

Shit, what was wrong with me? “I’m doing the best I can. I just…I…Losing my club and all this shit with the missing kids and my mother and the rebellion and a grumpy Mercury, I just…I don’t even know how to help myself. How do I let him help me?”

“Tell him how you feel for starters. Let him get to know you, all of you.”

I couldn’t explain why that thought made my heart seize in my chest, but I suspected Frost was right. “Yeah? Is that how your mate won you over?”

He shook his head, his fond smile so sweet it made me ache. I’d never been on the receiving end of such fond affection. “No. I’m a bit of a masochist, I guess. It’s her spiky, unpleasant side that really gets me going.”

I chuckled at his surprising declaration. “You like it rough, huh?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No. I love it rough.”

I hate mirrors. I prefer to judge my outside by my inside
. –Chloe Frangipani

Of course looks matter. We are all judged first by our appearance
. –Althea Frangipani

“Wow,” my cousin, Sandra, said. She sat on her living room couch wearing a shimmery tank top and ripped jeans, her spiky purple hair and lip ring the perfect accessories for her outfit. I was a bit jealous of her delicate facial bones that made her hair, piercings, and trashy clothes such a statement. She pressed a hand to her heart. “I’m so honored that you want me to be the maiden who gets fed to the dragon, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I have an appointment at the salon.” Her attitude, however, left a lot to be desired. It contrasted with the peaceful vibe of the living room, all light colors and modern décor with lush, green plants covering every available surface.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “You must not have heard the part about missing kids.
Kids,
Sandy. Don’t you want to help them?”

“Don’t call me Sandy,” she said. “You don’t even know me, had no interest in knowing me, until you needed something from me.”

“Everything okay out here?” A man, tall and lean and dark, with wild dark hair that stuck out all over his head, stepped into the living room, wearing boxers and nothing else. He looked at me and Frost and smiled. “Hey, y’all, I’m Brace. What’s all the yelling about?”

“I’m Frost,” Frost said, rising to his feet to shake Brace’s hand. “And this is Sandra’s cousin, Chloe.”

“Family?” Brace asked, his whole body going tense. He eyed Sandra. “What did I tell you about letting family in?”

“Didn’t know she was family until they were already inside,” Sandra said. “I’ve never met them before. The gatekeeper sent them my way.”

Brace nodded and sat on the arm of the chair Sandra was in. “Oh, well, alright then,” he said. “Sandra’s family here in Houston is a pack of wild, crazy good-for-nothing—”

“Enough,” Sandra said. “They aren’t interested in me or my family. They just want to feed me to the gatekeeper in exchange for answers.”

The accusing look Brace threw my way made me feel a tiny bit bad. “Answers that might lead us to some missing kids,” I said. “Fae kids.”

“Huh.” Brace rubbed his chin and looked at me and Frost for a long moment, his eyes such a vivid green I wondered if they were colored contacts. “What exactly does Benny want?”

“You know him?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Yeah, everyone knows him. I did some work for him back in the nineties.”

I really wanted to ask him what kind of work he’d done for the gatekeeper when he couldn’t have been more than a kid, but I figured that would be going too far.

Brace gave me a smug look, like he knew what I was wondering. “So, what’s he want from Sandra?”

“Her blood,” Frost said. “He’s already had Chloe’s, and he wants something new.”

Sandra shook her head. “And what happens when he tastes my blood and realizes I’m a half-blood?” she asked. “I don’t have any physical fairy traits, so I figure I’m more human than fae.”

“I’m a half-blood, too,” I said. “He seemed to like the novelty.”

“Great. And what if he decides he wants more of me?”

“He won’t touch you if Brace says you belong to him.”

Brace groaned and shook his head. “I’m not facing Benny again, man. I was lucky to get away with my life the last time. There’s a bit of bad blood between us.”

“Thanks a lot,” Sandra said.

“When I wanted to claim you, you refused. Now you’re mad at me, because I won’t?”

“You wanted to
marry
me,” Sandra said, marry sounding like a bad word. “They’re just saying you have to claim me to keep the dragon from eating me.”

Brace stretched his arms above his head and stood, his boxers dropping almost obscenely low on his lithe hips. “What does it matter? You aren’t going to do it, anyway.” He strolled out of the living room into what looked like a kitchen and started opening cupboards and banging pots around.

“It’s the principle!” Sandra yelled at him.

“I’m making eggs,” Brace answered. “Y’all like eggs?”

“Sounds good,” Frost yelled back. “In fact, I’ll help.” He stood and left the room like it was on fire. The coward.

“Fucking cowards, both of them,” Sandra said.

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me, and Sandra gave me a real smile in response.

“How long you two been together?” Sandra asked.

“Oh, we’re not together,” I said, not sure if I should admit this to a woman who might soon have reason to rat me out to Benny the dragon. “He just claimed me to satisfy the gatekeeper. Benny wanted…more from me than I was willing to give.”

“I can imagine,” she said, running a hand through her spiky hair. “Now, tell me about these kids and why I should give a shit.”

I told her what I knew and what it all might imply about the nightmare realm creeping into Rubalia and, possibly, into the Non. She listened and nodded, but didn’t answer. Brace hollered for us to come into the kitchen and have some eggs and fresh baked bread.

“He’s such a fucking housewife,” she said. “I’ve tried to break up with him three times, but his damn bread is too good to give up.”

“Not to mention the sex,” Brace said, striding into the room, an apron covering his bare chest. “Quit whining and come eat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sandra said.

We had scrambled eggs and fresh baked bread for a late dinner. After we were all done, Sandra cleared the plates, and I followed her to the sink to help.

“I’m heading to work, babe,” Brace said and disappeared into the back of the house.

“What’s he do?” I asked, wondering who started work at nine at night.

“He’s a DJ at my club. And he has a day job with a landscaping company.”

“Your club?”

“Sure,” she said. “I manage a night club in downtown Houston. Why do you look like that?”

“I own a night club in Sarsaparilla. Or I did.” I told her all about Ephemeral as we finished cleaning up and returned to the living room with glasses of wine. Frost was on a phone call to Mary Beth to see how things were going at the office.

“That’s a sweet idea for a club,” Sandra said. She looked thoughtful. “I’ll give Benny my blood. But I want something in return.”

“Okay,” I said, exhaustion starting to weigh me down. “Hit me.”

“See y’all later,” Brace said as he left.

“Bye, sugar,” Sandra called after him.

“I want a job, a good job, in Sarsaparilla for me and Brace. He loves to DJ and I want to manage a club. Most of all, we want to get the hell away from my mooching family. Somewhere too far for their rusted out Chevy to get.”

“Will you take my word?” I asked. “I know a few club owners, and I’m sure I can get you something soon, but not tonight. You can crash at my place as long as Brace cooks.” I’d put up with quite a lot in exchange for good food.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll take your word, but we have to leave as soon as Brace gets back. Let me go get us packed.”

I sat up straighter. “You’re just going to leave your house?”

“It’s a rental,” she said, standing and heading for the bedrooms. “And if we can disappear without my family knowing, it’ll be totally worth it.”

Frost sauntered over and sat down on the couch next to me. “Can’t quite believe you just invited your doppelganger to live with you.”

“She doesn’t look anything like me,” I said. “And it’ll be worth it if we get the information from the gatekeeper.”

He smirked. “I hope you’re right. For your sake. I’m pretty sure I’ll be amused either way.” He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes.

“Thanks for the support.”

He opened one eye. “Glad you finally noticed.” He stretched out an arm and motioned for me. “We should try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long night.”

I ignored his invitation and laid down on the other end of the couch, my head on a throw pillow. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, since I’m pretty much nocturnal, but I was out, somewhere between a thought and a worry, not long after my head hit the pillow.

I was awakened by the most horrific screeching and my first thought was there must be a fire. I tried to sit up, but was restrained by an arm wrapped around me like a vise. “Pretend to sleep,” Frost whispered in my ear, and I realized that my pillow had been replaced by his hard chest.

Before I could contemplate that change, the screeching turned into yelling and I decided to follow his advice. “You can’t just leave us with nothing,” a raspy, old voice yelled. “We’re your family.”

“How’d you know we were leaving anyway?” Sandra asked. It sounded like they were in the kitchen.

A long silence followed, interrupted only by someone clearing their throat repeatedly.

A gasp and something metallic hit something else metallic. “You bugged my place
again
?”

“Well, now, don’t get angry. We didn’t mean nothing by it. There’s just nothing good on T.V. in the summer,” a male voice said.

“This,” Sandra said, the words spit out between what sounded like clenched teeth. “This is exactly why I’m leaving. I am not your source of entertainment. I am not your nanny for all of your little spoiled brats. I am not your loan officer that you never, ever, ever pay back. And I am sure as all hell glad I’m only related to you on my father’s side, unlike Bobby here who’s related doubly.”

Another gasp. “How dare you,” the raspy voice said. “We fed and clothed and took care of you after your mother abandoned you. The very least you can do is help us out now and then.”

“Help you out?” Sandra asked. “Help you out? I’ve all but supported you for the last three years.”

“Hey, Babe,” Brace said. The sound of a door closing echoed. “I see the leeches have stopped by.”

“You,” the raspy voice said, in a tone worthy of an evil witch in a Disney movie. “Stay out of this.”

“Brace, we’re leaving,” Sandra said. “I’ve got your stuff packed and in the truck.”

“You can’t leave,” the raspy voice shrieked.

A gunshot rang out and the whole house went silent. “That’s our cue,” Frost said. “Let’s head out.”

Together we leapt from the couch and headed for the front door. Sandra and Brace came barreling out after us a moment later, a pistol in Sandra’s hand.