Page 25 of Veiled Justice
Chapter 14
I excused myself from the table and stepped outside to ring Sharon, the ME’s secretary. She grudgingly agreed that Kate would be free at 3pm. It was now 2.30pm so we needed to get our skates on. I popped my head into the dining room. ‘Krieg, we have to roll. The medical examiner will see us now.’
‘Krieg?’ my mum repeated faintly. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the man she now realised was the High King of the Ogres.
He stood up and took her hand, bowed low and gently kissed it. ‘Robbie,’ he corrected. Then he released her hand and followed me out, leaving Mum gawping after him.
Loki flew to my shoulder to hitch a ride. Lazy-ass bird. ‘What’s your deal?’ I asked Krieg as we slid into the car.
‘Deal!’ Loki squawked firmly. He flew from my shoulder to the rear-seat headrest which I was already beginning to think of as ‘his’ spot within the car.
‘With regards to …?’
‘My mum! You were being charming! Stop it.’
He grinned. ‘Better to tell the sun to stop rising.’
I snorted. ‘Charming is not anythinganyonesays about you. Deadly, clever, cunning, all of those. Charming doesn’t make the list.’
He slid me a pointed look. ‘Do you think the people who say that know me?’
I was momentarily stumped. ‘No,’ I said finally. ‘Probably not.’
‘Then why don’t you try and get to knowmerather than my reputation, which evidently you’re already familiar with.’ He seemed a little annoyed.
‘But why?’ I was genuinely confused. Why on earth did the High King of the Ogres want me to get to know him? Okay, so it seemed like we had a little chemistry, but everything I knew about ogre culture said he was supposed to find his true mate, and his true mate had to be an ogre. He could enjoy flirting with me until the phoenix roosted, but nothing would ever come of it.
Plus, my 658-day dry spell probably showed that I didn’t do casual sex. I’d dated Sam, an Other SOCO, for four months and taken him home to meet my family, but we still hadn’t had sex. With hindsight, that may have been the reason he dumped me.
I took going slow to a whole new glacial level, but with my powers as dangerous as they were I had to besure. Sex lowered my shields, and if I shagged the wrong person … well. Evidently, Sam hadn’t been willing to wait; much as that still stung, I guessed it showed he wasn’t the right person for me.
‘I’ll tell you a story one day about a witch and a potion,’ Krieg started.
‘Which witch? Which potion?’ I demanded.
‘One day,’ he repeated, amused at my impatience. ‘Why are you so perplexed that someone would want to get to know you?’
I frowned. ‘I’m just an Inspector of the Connection.’
‘That’s your job, it’s not who you are. Just like my job is being the High King of the Ogres but it doesn’t define me.’
‘It kind of does,’ I argued. ‘Your job isn’t one you can change. My understanding is that it’s a role for life – someone challenges you, or you rule until you die. Right?’
‘Right.’
‘So it’s not like someone being a chef and then deciding to be a bus driver. Careers like yours and mine … they’re not so easily discarded.’
‘Maybe not, but we are more than our careers. And I want to know more about you than how many pips you have on your epaulette.’
‘You want to know more about me?’ I said slowly.
‘Yes.’ His eyes were on the road, not on me. ‘I want to know more about you.’
Loki gave a chuffing laugh. ‘Pigdog stupid.’
Krieg let out a low growl and met Loki’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. ‘Pigdog smart, have some respect.’
I sighed. ‘Can you not call me Pigdog? I’d rather it didn’t catch on.’
