Page 6 of Deadly Deception
The dead don’t tell tales. At least, that’s how the saying goes. When Erasmus Boone held the strings to the soul, all bets were off.
“Must have been good news,” Officer Ebony Becks said as she passed my desk. When I raised an eyebrow in question, she chuckled and said, “You’ve been strung tighter than a tick the past few hours.” Waving a hand in my general direction, she added, “And now here you are, all leaned back in your chair, shoulders resting at ease, and a far-off look in your eyes.”
I ran my fingers over my chin, wincing at the rough feel. I’d shaved this morning, but ten hours later one could hardly tell. “It’s reassuring news,” I answered finally.
“Always the best kind,” Becks said before slipping into her chair and hiding behind her computer screen. Compared to me, Becks was a damn savant when it came to anything electronic.
I contemplated Becks’s words and couldn’t disagree. Boone could take care of himself, especially with his father’s charms near at hand. That didn’t ease my concern. Necromancers weren’t thought of fondly, and Boone had a tendency to piss off his clients. I’d nearly lost him four months ago. There’d been a cold pit of fear lodged deep in my chest ever since. Considering how often Boone’s father, Warlock Nikodemus Holland, checked in on his son, I wasn’t the only one left with residual insecurities.
Necromancer lineage be damned, Boone was one of the good ones. He had a moral code he lived by. It wasn’t anything complicated or written in stone. It was better than that. It was the innate ability to see the dividing line between right and wrong. In so many ways, Erasmus Boone was one of a kind. As far as I was concerned, those who couldn’t see the amazing soul behind the necromancer skin were worse than fools. Their stupidity was my gain. Icouldsee Boone. I saw him in all his technicolor beauty, and I’d fallen head over heels. I’d given up trying to slow my descent. Falling wasn’t nearly as scary when you knew what—or, in this case, who—was waiting for you at the bottom.
Content that Boone was on his way back to me, I hunkered down and got to the irritating business of the computerized version of paperwork. Staring at a screen didn’t make it a hell of a lot less irritating. It was necessary evil we all put up with.
The minutes ticked by and none too soon, Boone sauntered up to my little corner of the bullpen.
“Brendon Devonshire is an even bigger jackass than we imagined, and let me tell you, I’d already imagined a lot,” Boone lamented as he dragged a nearby chair toward my desk. The chair legs screeched across the linoleum floor, causing everyone to flinch. “Sorry!” Boone shouted while casting his apologetic gaze around the room. “Won’t happen again,” he promised. “Why the hell aren’t all the chairs around here on wheels?” The way Boone threw his body into the chair, if it had been on wheels, he would have rolled halfway across the room.
“I’ll pass along your furniture complaint to Captain Cicely.”
Boone held up his hands, palms out. “No need to bring the witch into this.”
Boone wasn’t insulting my captain. Lorretta Cicely was an actual witch. She belonged to a local coven. It was unusual for human law enforcement to have a witch on board, let alone at the level of captain. Frankly, I thought every human precinct could benefit from a witch, warlock, fairy, or brownie or two. I’d be open to other species throwing their hat into the ring as well. Unfortunately, most saw humans as personae non gratae. In the pyramidal chain of respect, humans were at the very bottom. Only necromancers were viewed with more derision.
I smirked as Boone threw a concerned look toward Captain Cicely’s office. The two of them got along just fine, and my captain was smart enough to realize what an asset Boone was to the department. She didn’t view him as shit on her shoe, which made me respect Captain Cicely all the more.
“It’ll stay between the two of us,” I answered finally, tossing Boone a wink that made his cheeks flush adorably.
I wanted to close the distance between us and taste Boone’s lips, but that would be horribly unprofessional. Boone’s haphazardly tousled brown hair—always a little too long and in need of a cut—casually draping across his left brow, allowing barely-there glimpses of shimmering green eyes and dark lashesset against creamy pale skin. He was almost too tempting to ignore. Boone’s well-worn hoodie covered his lean but well-muscled body, and his thin jeans hugged his long legs, ending in tennis shoes that appeared comfortable but long past their prime. If Warlock Holland could see his son now, he’d roll his eyes in exasperation.
“Probably best,” Boone answered before shifting in his chair.
Deciding to take pity on my man, I asked, “So, you weren’t impressed with Mr. Devonshire?”
Boone scoffed. “Not in the slightest.”
Intrigued, I asked, “Did you learn anything? Do I need to go to Captain Cicely and ask her to reopen a case?”
Boone’s lips twisted into a grimace before he gave a single headshake. “No. Brendon might be a dick, but he’s not a murderer. At least, that’s not what I got from Cody.” With a heavy sigh, Boone related what had gone down in the cemetery tonight. I listened and grunted with disgust more than once. When Boone got to the part about Mr. Stevens’s will, I nearly choked on a burst of laughter. The part about his girlfriend walking away was also pretty gratifying. I wasn’t sure if she’d be back or not, but regardless, Cody Stevens had gotten the last word and that word had put a nail in Devonshire’s coffin, not his.
“I kinda wish I’d been there,” I mused.
“Aurelia found it interesting enough to hang around.”
My ears perked up like a dog that heard an alarming sound. Like so many, I had a ton of mixed emotions when it came to the powerful-as-fuck djinn that seemed attached to Boone. Aurelia was a loose cannon, and I never knew which direction she was pointed in. She’d helped save Boone’s life—because it was something shewantedto do. Aurelia was all about choice, and woe to the one that took that from her or tried to order her around. From what I understood, all djinn eventually found a way to kill their masters, and since they were immortal, djinnhad all the time in the world to find a workaround ending in murder. So far, Aurelia’s current master, Peaches, had avoided that fate. Considering Peaches was bound to a vampire and was thus nearly immortal himself, Aurelia’s circumstances had changed significantly. As with all things, time would tell.
When I remained silent, Boone quietly said, “Aurelia wasn’t impressed with Brendon either. She said he was like a lot of her old masters.” Boone winced as he said that last word. All of us hated using that word, but that was the term Aurelia used. It seemed fitting considering the control they exerted over her.
“Did Devonshire even know she was there?”
“No,” Boone answered. “She kept herself hidden. Honestly, I was afraid Aurelia was going to act on her, uh…dislike.”
“Shit.” That word seemed insignificant, and yet summed the situation up as well as any.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my sentiment too.” Physically shaking himself, Boone said “Anyway, Brendon’s still alive. Although if what Cody said is true, he may wish he weren’t soon enough.”
“You think Brendon Devonshire’s really penniless?”
“Probably not in the sense you and I think about it but compared to how well off he was before his stepfamily died… But yeah, I’d say he’s going to feel the hurt soon enough. He’ll also be regretting spending his money on my services, especially seeing as how his discretionary account is a hell of a lot more anemic than he figured. Sounds like Brendon’s mom, Cody’s stepmother, is going to be taken care of to an extent, but she won’t have a lot of extra to throw her son’s way. I got a feeling from Cody that Brendon’s mom isn’t the sharing type.”
