“Meow?” Smoke sat on the kitchen counter, staring at me as I waved a strange wand over every wall, fixture and trim.
“Don't look at me like that.” I'd already gone through the living room area. The guy at the store said this would reveal any bugs. The more I searched, the worse I felt. There had to be a bug, because if there wasn't...
Not Fate, but what about Lars? Perhaps, but I didn’t think so. I knew a liar when I met one. I swiped the handle past the dome light in the hallway. Beep, goddamn you!
Paddy, where the hell are you? I couldn't even say it out loud anymore, for fear Malokin would hear somehow. I walked out onto my balcony and leaned over to make sure I was alone out here.
“Universe person? You out there somewhere? Could use a little help. A note? Something?” I leaned on the railing and then looked up again. “Look, this is the thing, I know I muddled up some of your plans before, and maybe I was a bit pushy about getting what I wanted. I'm trying to say, I know I wasn’t that cooperative in the past, but I'm trying to be now. Problem is, I don't know what to do.”
Scanning the horizon, I waited for something. I slid down and sat on the wooden deck and just watched the waves break. After more than an hour, with no notes sailing down to steer me in the right direction, I walked back inside and closed the door.
My work phone sat on the counter and I punched Fate's number in but hit delete. I did this three more times as I paced the living room before I threw the phone on the couch.
I'd meet Malokin alone. He wanted me. As long as he did, he wouldn't kill Kitty or me. I'd go, find out what he wanted and figure out a way to give it to him. And if I couldn't, I’d figure out a way to kill him.
Time to go shopping for an arsenal, because as of right now, I was a highly under-stocked agency of one.
Chapter 11
Table for Two
Malokin had offered to send a car to my condo but I'd declined the gesture. Instead, I climbed into my ancient Honda Civic and did my ritual rub of the dashboard, before turning the key. The engine whined to life after making a couple of choking noises.
“Sorry about this.” I patted the dash again. “I guess neither of us planned on sticking around this long.” I switched on the FM radio and found a classic rock station before I pulled out of my lot. “Now, tonight might be a bit rough, so try and conserve your energy. We might be making a run for it later on this evening. I'm going to need you at your best.” I tried to have faith in my old Honda, but if she had to be my getaway car, I was dead before I even got there.
My plan was to go, scope Malokin out and gather intelligence. Best case scenario, I discovered Kitty's location for a future rescue mission and got the hell out of there. Worst case, I might be changing employers...again. Hopefully this would be a temporary position and not another thousand-year commitment.
It took me about two hours to get to Charleston, since using the doors wasn't an option. I wasn't ready to disclose where I was going, even to beings who rarely spoke and had acquired a fondness for me. More likely it was the polish I supplied them with, but I’d prefer to think it was me. Hey, we all wanted to be liked.
Driving usually had a calming effect on me but not this time. Even as I drove into one of the most stunning areas of South Carolina, I couldn't relax enough to enjoy the beauty.
Malokin's address was a magnificent old waterfront mansion, with columns framing the entrance. It looked as if it had been there since before the Revolutionary War. The guy did seem to have impeccable taste. Sticking out like a donkey in a herd of stallions, I parked in front of the house and walked up the stairs toward the grand entrance.
A servant dressed in black answered the door. He spoke before I uttered a word.
“Follow me.” He turned and started up the grand spiraling staircase before I replied, leaving me to shut the door and follow. I trailed him through several rooms until I wondered if this whole tour was simply about demonstrating Malokin had money.
I felt like tapping the butler on the shoulder and saying, Yeah, I get it, he’s got some cash. Isn’t there a direct route? Finally, we made our way through a sitting room and out onto a second floor veranda, which overlooked the back gardens.
Malokin was sitting at a table in the shade of the blue roof, two glasses of wine sat on the table, a bottle between them.
He stood as I approached.
“Join me, please.” He smiled and pulled out the chair for me. “I'm glad you called.”
“There are always two sides. I'm open to hearing yours.” The bullshit I spewed was so thick it was amazing he didn't laugh in my face as I said it. He didn’t look na?ve. I needed to thread in some discontent or I'd have no shot of him buying it. “The Kitty situation will need to be resolved, of course, before we can move forward.”
He walked around to his chair, dressed in another expensive black suit. I rubbed my hands along the jeans I wore and smoothed down the loose blouse. It's not like I could've worn a skirt. I had knives holstered at my ankles and a gun tucked against my ribs.
“I believe in going into a negotiation with an open heart and mind,” he said as he sat down across from me.
His open-heart comment hit a note in me. Had I made sure the safety was on the gun I'd bought off the Jinxes? Hoped so, because I couldn't check it now. I leaned to the left, trying to leave a little room between my skin and the gun handle, just in case.
“I'd like to hear why you seem to have such an interest in recruiting me?” That might have been the first truly honest thing I'd said in a month. Why me? Couldn't they find someone else to drag into their mess? First Suit and now him? Don’t you people ever chase willing girls?
“I'm sure you've noticed that this world isn't running very well.”
“That depends on your perspective, to a certain degree, doesn't it? Perhaps it's not going the way you prefer, but maybe it is for others?” I weighed the risk of being poisoned and decided to take a sip of wine. I'd strolled into his lair. If he wanted me gone, he didn't need to poison me.
“Have you noticed how unbalanced things seem?” His voice dared me to deny the obvious.
I'd been thinking the very same thing myself, just the other day, as I'd done a job in Montreal.
“No, not at all.” I denied it anyway. Hopefully he’d assume I was stupid and therefore worthless to him.
“I can see you aren't as open minded as you'd like to have me believe, but that's okay. I have confidence you'll come around.” He lifted the bottle and topped off my glass. “I think it's time for new management. I want you to join me.”
“You think you could do a better job?” Of course he did. His type always thought that. To be fair, though, this place did look quite a bit better than what we had going on over at the office.
“Definitely.”
“But why me? Why do you want me so badly you have to drag Kitty into this?”
He reclined back in his seat and crossed his legs. He looked like a southern gentleman, but I was sure he was anything but.
“Cigarette?” he asked, opening up a jeweled case that sat by the wine.
“No, thank you.”
He lit up and then blew out a stream of smoke before he began to talk. “I need people who have control. Did you know you had more control over your existence than any other human I've ever encountered in all the years I've been around?” He stared at me while he spoke, watching for a reaction.
And I was having a strong one. The idea that he’d been in my life—on some level—for longer than I knew, revolted me, but I tried to hide my disgust. “You clearly know me very well. Who exactly are you?”
“For now, let's just say I'm someone that thinks it's time for a change.” He smiled and said nothing more on the subject.