Page 46 of Deader than Dead

Rather than Asher, it was Cade who answered. “Germany.”

“You put a private detective on her?” I asked.

Cade nodded. “Of course. She may have got the jump on me once, but it won’t happen again. Whatever the outcome of this meeting, I intend to keep you fully informed of her whereabouts.” He paused, presumably leaving a space for me to say thank you. When I didn’t, he carried on regardless. “And no, we don’t know why she’s gone to Germany or how long she intends to be there. All we know is that she went alone and is currently staying in a private property on the outskirts of Berlin.”

“It could just be a holiday,” Bellamy suggested.

“It could,” Cade agreed, “but I doubt it. Abigail O’Reilly, from what we’ve discovered about her so far, is not the type of woman to holiday without a purpose.”

He nodded to Asher and Asher produced another folder and passed it across to me. When I opened it, pages and pages of information greeted me about the mysterious O’Reilly, Bellamy leaning over so he could see it too. I quickly skimmed some of it before closing the folder. It needed more careful reading later when we were alone. This time, I managed a thank you. And if it sounded somewhat grudging, then Cade would just have to deal with it.

He nodded. “We’ll let you know if and when she sets foot back on British soil.”

The knowledge that O’Reilly wasn’t currently in London felt like a great weight lifted off my shoulders, and I could tell Bellamy felt the same, tension draining from his body.

Cade lowered his gaze to the piece of paper. I presumed it signified we were moving on to item number two on the agenda. I couldn’t wait to find out what that was. He lifted his gaze to mine. “I’m currently in talks with the licensing board. There are a few more hoops to jump through, but I’m confident that I’ve talked them round and they won’t revoke your license to practice necromancy.”

My blood momentarily ran cold. It was Bellamy who reacted more strongly, though, almost somersaulting out of his chair with outrage. “Wait! What? Can they do that?”

“There are regulations that have to be followed when practicing necromancy,” Asher said so drily that he may as well have been reading from an instruction manual. “Statutory limitations as to what is permitted and what isn’t. Raising a graveyard full of Victorian skeletons does not come within those limitations, I’m afraid.”

Bellamy laughed. “What was John supposed to do? Let them have the mask and sacrifice his life? Our lives?”

“Which is why I’ve made an incredibly strong case for there being extenuating circumstances,” Cade said. He looked to me. “It’s a time thing. I will sort it, but unfortunately, until that point, you can’t practice necromancy.”

“Ridiculous,” Bellamy muttered. “They should be thanking him for preventing O’Reilly from getting her hands on the mask.” He shook his head. “How did they even know, anyway?”

“They have their sources,” I said. “What they don’t know isn’t usually worth knowing.”

I jerked my chin toward the piece of paper Cade still held, keen to get this over with so we could get out of here. “Next.” He shifted slightly in his chair, his gaze straying toward the box I’d dumped on the floor. “No,” I said, “I won’t change my mind.” Bellamy stirred next to me, but stayed quiet. No doubt he was wondering at what point I’d finally reached a decision after dithering for days. Truth be told, it had hit me as soon as I’d arrived at the building, the thought of never having to come here again a tantalizing thought that just wouldn’t go away. It was impractical and left me without a source of income, but, nevertheless, it was what felt right at the present moment.

Cade’s fingers twitched on the arm of the chair. “What if I offered you a considerable increase in salary?” He looked to Asher once more, the ice prince producing another piece of paper from his seemingly never-ending supply.

“I have a contract here,” Asher said. He folded over the first couple of pages, tapping his finger midway down the last page to bring my attention to that part before passing it over. Ignoring the urge to bat his hand away, I took it. My eyebrows rose as I stared down at the figure outlined in black and white, the amount almost twice what I currently made. “You should have blackmailed me,” I said without lifting my gaze from the string of numbers. “Told me that keeping my license depended on me still working for you.”

"I thought about it," Cade said, surprising me with his honesty. “But then I figured that was less likely to make you say yes, not more.” He sat forward in his chair, prompting me to tear my gaze away from the contract. “I realize we haven’t always had the best working relationship.” He ignored my snort. “And I would say that’s both of our faults. Me, because I can be…”

“Curt?” I offered. “Unwilling to listen to feedback? Short-tempered? Prone to having favorites of which I didn’t make the cut?”

Bellamy’s fingers curled around my elbow in a cautionary warning not to take it too far. I heeded it and stopped. He was going to make an excellent angel on my shoulder.

Cade inclined his head. “And you can be…”

I held a finger up. “Oh, please, allow me. Sharp-tongued. Snarky. Perpetually late.”

“Insubordinate,” Asher offered, earning a glare from me.

“I can’t argue with any of those points,” Cade said with a smile. “But what I’m proposing is a fresh start for both of us. We weathered a storm together. It should bring us closer. And before you make your decision...” His gaze swung across to Bellamy. “I have an offer for you, too.”

Bellamy frowned as Asher passed him another sheaf of paper. “What’s this?” I very much wanted the answer to that question, too.

“Another contract,” Cade said smoothly. “An opportunity for the two of you to work together. Or at least close to each other. You have a set of skills we could put to good use. Good legal use.”

“You want me to be your pet thief?” Bellamy asked with a slight smirk. “What kind of things are you envisioning will need stealing?”

“Sometimes,” Cade said carefully, “things need taking off the table before they become a problem. Like the Bontifi mask, for instance. Had we known of its whereabouts prior to O’Reilly making her move, we could have removed it from play, and none of this would ever have happened. Normally, we outsource, but it would be good to have someone on staff we can call on.”

There was one slight problem with the scenario Cade had outlined. If Bellamy hadn’t stolen the mask, he would never have died, and we would never have met. We would have continued with our separate lives, living in neighboring areas but remaining oblivious to the other’s existence. Therefore, despite my less than charitable opinions about Cade’s part in the whole thing, I couldn’t help but feel that everything had happened the way it was supposed to. Which, yes, I recognized was a hypocritical stance. Sue me.

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