Page 53 of Capitol Matters

I didn’t need his keys, permission, or evencooperation. I could free the people myself and would if he protested too much.

“Fitch, we can’t do that,” Donovan argued. “They’ve seen us.”

“And they’ll have seen us in two weeks, too. That’s not going to change.”

Donovan blew a breath that ruffled his dark brown hair. “We have to get memory potions, remember? Grimm said—”

“Fine.” I waved him off. “We’ll get the fucking potions. Right now.” Turning on my heel, I walked quickly toward the Bronco. “Get in the car. I’m driving.”

Despite the blood pulsing in my ears, I heard Donovan’s feet skidding across the asphalt before he darted in front of me. He held up his open palms and stood, cringing with his eyes squeezed nearly shut. Thinking I might throw him back or worse.

“Wait, wait!” he exclaimed. “We can’t leave him like that.” He bobbed his head toward Yankee Doodle’s unit door.

Magic swelled inside me, ready to lash out. “Why not?”

Peeking through a squint, Donovan slowly relaxed, but he kept his hands raised.

“He… he didn’t want to be in there, Fitch,” he stammered. “Can we let him out first? Please?”

My mouth twisted into a frown. “Well, he sure as hell isn’t walking out if that’s what you had in mind.”

Donovan sighed. “I don’t feel right leaving him.”

Body disposal was not my area of expertise, but I knew a guy. Not Vinton. He would take the corpsestraight to Grimm, and the first thing Donovan had asked me this morning was not to tell Grimm.

So, more accurately, I knew a guy who knew a girl with a healthy appetite for flesh. Bonus that keeping our pet zombie well-fed kept her from prowling the streets for her next meal.

Pulling out my cell phone did not put Donovan at ease. He crept closer as I scrolled through my contacts.

“Who are you calling?” he whispered, straining to see the cell’s screen as I raised it to my ear.

Three rings in, a groggy voice came across the line.

“Bloody hell, Farrow, it’s nine in the fucking morning.”

“The world is awake, and you should be, too.” I smirked. “Question for you: how does Maggie feel about frozen entrees?”

Donovan’s expression went deadpan. “You’re unbelievable.” Shaking his head, he circled the Bronco and climbed into the passenger seat.

The sound of swishing bed sheets carried over the phone line. “What’re you going on about?” Ripley mumbled.

“I’ve got a cadaver on ice over here,” I explained. “Wondered if your girl was ready for breakfast.”

More scuffling and grumbling preceded a long breath that sounded like it blew straight into my ear.

“Where are you?” Ripley asked.

I cut a glance at Donovan, who reposed in the car, watching with bewilderment. I gave him a thumbs-up.

For the second timein as many hours, my phone was blowing up. This time the calls, texts, and even a voicemail came from Holland Lyle. Skimming the messages showed them ranging from concerned and confused to aggravated and accusatory, and her voicemail demanded a call back ASAP while pointing out that my unannounced disappearance was “not a good look.”

I sat on the hood of Donovan’s car, bouncing my heels against the front bumper and ignoring my professional problems while personal ones weighed heavily on my mind. Donovan had decided to ignore his problem, as well. That problem being me. We’d remained separate and silent since I’d given Ripley directions to the storage facility. Seeing as I’d hung up the phone forty-five minutes ago, I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long.

Finally, a black Lincoln Town Carrolled down the alley and parked. Donovan exited the Bronco as I slid off the hood, and we walked in stride to greet the Goth king and queen.

Ripley’s shaggy head popped out first. He shook the hair out of his line of sight to meet my smile with his usual testy glare. Rather than approaching, he rounded the Town Car to open the passenger door. Maggie emerged like a cotton candy cloud, her pastel pink hair and pale skin almost iridescent in full light. Ripley shut the door behind her as she bounded ahead to Donovan. The speed of her approach swayed him back until she grabbed his face to steady him, then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Someone’s a morning person.” My chuckle summoned her, and she spun toward me next. She threw her fishnet-covered arms around me in another rib-crushing embrace. I grunted, peeling her off about the time Ripley closed in on us.

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