Wicked Fantasy (26 page)

The wizard glared at them. “I don't know how, but you're responsible for this. Do something.”

“Hell.” Conall worked his way over to where Asima was leaning against the leg of one of the kilt-wearing actors who took part in the fantasies. She was peering upward.

Gerry joined Conall. “I don't think you'll find the snake under that kilt, Asima.”

Startled, the guy moved away.

Asima shifted her attention to Gerry. “Snakes hide in unexpected places.”

Conall made an impatient noise. “Look, call off your cats. I promise I'll get the collar back to you.”

Asima offered him a regal nod. “I'll expect it by morning. And you might suggest that the snake keep a low profile until all the girls have left. They don't have my forgiving nature.”

Conall and Gerry waited only long enough to see Asima and friends head back to her room. They escaped the castle just as Holgarth bore down on them.

Gerry breathed in the warm night air before turning to Conall. “Since Sparkle's out and about spreading her special brand of sexual cheer, I'd guess that Edge is taking care of Sweet Indulgence.”

He nodded. “The store's just outside the park's entrance. It's a nice night. Let's walk.”

“You said you wanted to find Jinx first. Oh, and why do you have to talk to Edge?” Everything had happened so fast that she didn't question what he was doing. Not good. Her career in sales had taught her that winners always knew the what and why of everything around them. She was fast losing touch with both.

He shrugged. “Jinx could be anywhere in the park by now. I don't think he'll stay in the castle. The messengers of Bast are powerful enough to sense him there. And Edge can solve one of my problems.”

Gerry pushed aside her continuing worries about Dell and her job so she could focus on the night and the man walking beside her. “Problem?”

He didn't get a chance to answer, because as they took a shortcut through the employee parking lot, Conall stopped to peer into a car.

“What?” Gerry was just getting into the walk—the feeling of rightness in having this special man beside her, the sensual awareness that arced between them, the total relaxation of knowing she was safe with him and . . . No, wouldn't touch the L word. But cared for? Maybe. It could happen.

“My car.”

Surprise, surprise. Somehow she'd expected a Hummer, all hulking and macho. What he had was an ordinary midsize. Guess he didn't need a car to prove his manhood.

He yanked the door open. “There's a naked low-life shifter in the backseat.” Conall pulled Jinx out of the car.

Unrepentant, Jinx grinned up at him. “Good thing you keep this blanket in your car. It wasn't safe to go back to Asima's room to get my clothes.” He sighed. “You're gonna make me give back that collar, aren't you? You know, if you'd let me keep something, I might lay off for a while.” He shrugged. “Or not. I got mouths to feed. Talking of mouths, any chance of making a fast-food run?”

Conall held out his hand and waited until Jinx dropped the collar into it. Then he slammed the car door shut and motioned Jinx to follow him. He didn't speak.

Jinx glanced at Gerry. “He always this grouchy?”

“Guess you bring out his inner bear.” Gerry tried to ignore the stares they were getting as Jinx trailed them wrapped in a blue blanket. “How'd you know that was Conall's car?”

“I didn't. When I hit the parking lot, I took human form so I could move faster and look in windows. His was the first car with something inside I could use to cover myself. I thought I'd wait until no one was around, then slip back to my room. Bad luck I chose his car.”

They reached Sweet Indulgence, and Conall held the door open for her. When Jinx hesitated, Conall yanked him inside.

Edge was leaning on the display case looking bored. The cosmic troublemaker might not be her choice in men, but no woman could ignore how yummily delicious and sensually dangerous he was. He brightened when they walked in. “I was just thinking about you guys.” He grinned. “And how to derail your love train.”

The word “love” hung in the air, and Gerry looked away from it. So tempting, so fraught with dangling supercharged wires to singe her heart if she ran into them.

“Before she went off for her night of scheming and manipulating, Sparkle told me she'd blabbed about our bet. Part of her scheming involves keeping me trapped here so I can't work on Banan and Destiny.” His smile faded. “Not much happening on that front.”

There
was
a lot happening on Gerry's front. Usually she'd stand with eyes closed as she sniffed the mouthwatering scent of the forbidden—chocolate. But with Edge and Conall so close together, she chose instead to do a little comparison shopping. And not for chocolate-covered nuts.

It didn't take her long to choose. Conall's presence filled the store. His sleeveless T-shirt showcased his tanned, muscular arms and powerful shoulders. His gray eyes tracked Jinx's every movement. Even with Finis, alias Edge, alias Mr. Death, in the room, Conall's whole package still shouted “top of the food chain” loud and clear.

“How much do you want to win this bet?” Conall narrowed his gaze as Jinx's attention turned to the diamond stud in Edge's ear.

“A lot.” Edge's expression grew speculative. “If she wins, she gets to mentor me. She'd love the power trip.” Speculative slid into deadly. “That wouldn't be healthy for either of us. If I win, she'll be so glad to see my back I bet she won't even whine to the Big Boss when I take off.” Speculative returned. “You look like someone with a deal to make.”

Deal? Gerry didn't know anything about a deal. And she liked to be kept inside the loop when deals went down that might impact her.

Conall nodded. “Holgarth did a favor for me tonight. In return, he made me promise to keep an eye on Jinx twenty-four-seven. Can't do that.”

“What favor?” See, this is what Gerry hated. Playing catch-up.

“Holgarth awakened the Guardians of the Castle. Those are the gargoyles beside the great hall door. They'll make sure Dell won't be able to disappear the next time we meet.”

Okay, that was good. At another time, she'd want to know how Holgarth activated the gargoyles, but right now she had too many more important things on her mind. Like why Conall didn't fill her in first. Where was the partnership, the planning together, the sharing of ideas?

“So you want me to make sure Jinx doesn't sneak off with any more jewelry. It's doable. I can bind him to me.” Edge's gaze shifted to Jinx. “And don't even think about my diamond stud, shifter. I don't play nice.”

“Hey, I'm just looking. How many carats?” The avaricious gleam was back in Jinx's eyes.

“Not enough to make it worth your life.”

Jinx nodded his understanding.

Edge turned his attention back to Conall. “If I watch him, I'll want a few favors in return.”

“Jinx is my responsibility, so maybe you should be dealing with me, Edge.” She was pretty sure this wasn't an equal opportunity partnership.

The gleam in Edge's eyes said he heard the irritation in her voice and was hoping for a show of open hostility. “So who's the decision maker here?”

“Me.” Gerry and Conall answered together.

Gerry glared at Conall, but he fought off the negative vibes she zapped at him. “What do you want?” He kept his attention on Edge.

“I want Gerry and you to talk to Banan and Destiny. Convince them that sex between them would set Galveston on fire.”

For the first time, Conall looked at Gerry for her opinion. Too late. She was totally ticked. “Sex isn't everything. Consideration for your partner's feelings and mutual respect are way up on my list.” She hoped her stare let Conall know he was at the bottom of her personal list.

Conall exhaled impatiently as he turned back to Edge. “What else?”

“No sex with each other until I win.” His smile was a mocking twist of his lips. “That shouldn't take long if you do your job with my couple.”

Conall looked pained but nodded. “Okay.”

Gerry wasn't about to do any nodding. “No sex? No one dictates that part of my life.” She wasn't above compromising, though. “I guess we could talk to Banan and Destiny.”

Edge raised one expressive brow. “A difference of opinion?”

Conall finally gave her his full attention. “We need to do this. Without Holgarth's help, the demon could appear anywhere, take you out, and then just disappear.”

“Oh, so this is about me? Who would've guessed? I sure would've liked to be part of the planning committee.” Gerry heard her sarcastic-bitch voice, but just couldn't stop herself. She met Edge's amused gaze and then looked away. “I bet Sparkle would keep an eye on Jinx if she knew Edge was trying to make a deal with us.”

“Yeah, Sparkle has a fantastic jewelry collection.” Jinx gave everyone his happy-ferret grin. “And she's not as touchy as this guy.”

Conall firmed his lips. “Sparkle has too many other agendas. Besides, he's freaking death. Who'll be more ruthless?”

“Damn straight.” Edge looked pleased.

“Sparkle, for one, if she finds out about the no-sex clause in this agreement.” Another thought occurred to Gerry. “Maybe you think a woman can't be ruthless.” Gerry's latent feminist genes rose to the occasion. “Horse poop. If Jinx crossed Sparkle, she'd crush him with one hand while she put on her mascara with the other. Then she'd slip on her favorite pair of Manolo Blahnik stilettos before strolling across his lifeless body to get to her earrings.” Fine, so that was a little extreme. But right now she was truly ticked.

His face was all angry male. “Morrigan says I have to protect you, so consider yourself protected.” He looked back at Edge. “We accept your terms.” Then to Jinx. “Stay with him until we come to get you.”

“Uh-uh. No terms accepted. Wasn't there a serve clause in that curse? Someone who serves does
not
make the decisions. I think—”

“Typical Kavanagh.” With that muttered condemnation, Conall slammed from the store.

“Assertive women are sexy.” Edge looked interested.

“Forget it.” She followed Conall into the night.

Playing the “serve” card had been cheap. Her only excuse? He was being such a . . . She sighed. Okay, so there was no excuse.

Once outside, she looked around. Conall was nowhere in sight. Luckily, the area was well lit, so she didn't feel uneasy about the dark. But she was alone. What if Dell—

She only had an instant to register the wooden spear whizzing toward her before Conall sprang in front of her and plucked it out of the air.

“Well, that was exciting.” Gerry clenched her fists to stop the shaking. “You gotta give Dell credit, he's an opportunist.”
Calm.
She was an officer of the law, always cool under fire. At least that's what the police manual said. “Actually, I could've used my preternatural speed to throw myself out of the way.” If she could've gotten her brain into preternatural thinking mode. “Talking of preternatural speed, you don't have it. So how'd you grab that spear out of the air?” She finally gave up and allowed herself to shake.

“I've had eight hundred years to hone my reflexes.” Conall broke the spear like a matchstick and then flung the two pieces away. “And I know you can take care of yourself.”

She could see his admission didn't come easily.

“But I couldn't take a chance. I acted.” His expression said he hated justifying what he did.

“Thanks.” The strain between them made her uncomfortable. She rushed into speech to fill the awkward silence. “Where was Dell? I didn't see him.”

“He dematerialized as soon as he'd flung the spear. He couldn't do that inside the castle now.”

Left unsaid was that she'd better stay inside the castle until they sent Dell back to hell. That made sense. She hated to admit it, but maybe she owed Holgarth a kind word. Gag.

“I apologize for reminding you that serving is part of the curse.” The attack and his awesome save had cooled some of her anger at Conall. “And I'm not a typical Kavanagh. At least not from what you've told me of your life.”

“Guess not. No Kavanagh ever apologized to me for anything.”

He met her gaze, but she couldn't read his emotions. Time for a subject change. “Do you think Dell is still hanging around?” The thought of an invisible demon hovering at her back gave her chills.

“No. Once he knew he'd failed, he'd be out of here. Dell might be able to dematerialize and appear somewhere else, but I don't know how long he can remain invisible if he stays in one spot.” Clasping her hand, he started toward the castle. “If we're going to fool the demon into thinking you're dead, it won't be in this kind of setting. We need a good plan that allows us to control all the variables.”

Talk about stating the obvious. “No kidding.”

Conall didn't look comfortable talking about her pretend death, and she sure didn't like listening. “I've had enough excitement for the night. We can talk to Banan and Destiny tomorrow. Let's go back to the dungeon.” She had to take a poke at him, though. “Where we definitely
won't
have sex.”

He growled low in his throat, and she smiled. Conall O'Rourke would rue the night he made that agreement with Edge. She made her plans as they walked.

Once inside the castle, she waited while he delivered the collar to Asima and placated Holgarth. When they walked into the dungeon, Sparkle's sensual décor was a blast of sexual heat.