Page 17 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
Which was ridiculous.And unprofessional.And unethical, given that he’d arrested her less than twenty-four hours ago.
The door to his office flew open without a warning knock.As if summoned by his thoughts, Andromeda Swan stood at the threshold.Her blonde hair was loose over her shoulders, and she was wearing the same cream sweater she’d worn to court.But she’d swapped the tailored trousers for light-wash ripped jeans.Her lips were set in a thin line, her eyes narrowed, and her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded him from the doorway.
She was even more beautiful when she was pissed off.A fact that Donatello acknowledged with another mental groan before pushing it aside.
“Ah, Miss Swan.”He leaned back in his chair, offering her a deliberately provocative smile.“How refreshing to see you fully clothed today and ready to report for duty.”
He shouldn’t have referenced the flimsy state of her clothes during her arrest.Or used that tone.But something about her brought out the worst in him—or at least, the most reckless.
“Try not to faint from excitement,” she retorted, stepping into his office not waiting for an invitation.“I’m here to do my time, not stroke your ego.”
“I assure you, my ego is robust without your help,” he replied, his smile widening at the fire in her eyes.“Let’s get right to it, then.”Donatello stood up, reaching for his jacket.“You must be eager to work off your debt to society.”
“More like working off your manipulative courtroom performance,” she shot back.
“I only presented the facts of the case,” he said innocently.
“Objective much, huh, detective?Totally unrelated to your department being desperate for free tech work.”
“We could’ve paid you for your trouble, Miss Swan.”Donatello shrugged.“I offered the carrot this morning, but if you prefer the stick.Here it is.We have a complex problem that requires a unique skill set.Yours.The judge saw the logic in matching your punishment to your actions.”
“I don’t care for your small stick.”
“Another poor dick joke, Miss Swan?Repeat offender?”
“If pranks are crimes now,” Andromeda said, following him as he headed for the door.“Your department’s inability to solve a murder isn’t my problem.”
“It is now,” Donatello replied, his hand on the doorknob.“Payback’s a witch.”
She flashed him a smile so devilishly sweet, Donatello shivered.“Oh, I know.”
They walked in charged silence through the bullpen, where several officers eyed Andromeda keenly.Donatello noticed more than one appreciative glance directed her way, and something possessive flared in his chest.He tamped it down.She wasn’t his to act territorial about, and the last thing he needed was to fuel the rumor mill.
“Where are we going?”Andromeda asked as they approached a door marked “Special Investigations—Authorized Personnel Only.”
“To see what’s left of Magnus Thorn,” Donatello replied, swiping his ID card.“Or as you knew him, Arcanet.”
The door swung open to reveal a dark gray room devoid of windows.In the center, a plain table supported a large computer screen.As they entered, the monitor flickered to life, displaying a three-dimensional face made of shimmering green alphanumeric characters cascading down in a continuous waterfall pattern.
“What the hell?”Andromeda whispered, stepping closer to the table.
“This,” Donatello announced, “is what remains of Arcanet’s consciousness after it was sucked out of his body and into his computer system.”
Andromeda circled the table, her gaze never leaving the screen.Her earlier hostility had evaporated, replaced by an intensity of focus that Donatello found oddly compelling.Her fingers hovered near the computer without touching it, as if sensing the energy emanating from the digital cascade.
“Can you talk?”she asked the face.
The flowing green characters reorganized, the random letters and numbers transforming into a uniform stream of ones, repeating endlessly down the screen.
Donatello stiffened.“That’s new.It’s never done that.”
Andromeda side-eyed him.“Has anyone asked it a question before?”
“Well, no,” Donatello admitted.“We’ve been treating it as evidence, not as… whatever it is now.”
She turned back to Arcanet.“Are you talking in binary?One for yes, zero for no?”
Again, the screen filled with a digital rain of ones.
