White Witch, Black Curse

Two down. I turned to Al and the demon beamed. "Al, why don't you be a good boy and take the seat of the first people Pierce gets out of here."

"I want to be closer," he said, then looked over his glasses at the couple the next table over. Their chairs scraped as they beat a hasty path to the exit, and Al sat, taking meticulous care in arranging his coat.

Okay. Time to earn your rent, I thought as I exhaled heavily. I took a moment to loosen another button on my coat and feel for the comforting weight of my splat gun in my bag as I approached Ford, Mia, and Remus. Ivy would probably tell Edden to be circumspect, but it wouldn't surprise me that if in their zeal, six FIB cars pulled up with lights on and sirens going.

If Mia didn't behave herself, this was going to be over really quickly. She had tried to kill me twice, and I knew I should've been concerned when I said hi to Ford and sat down in the chair he had pulled up for me, but the only thing I was feeling was tired. That Edden had a warrant and I could shoot them now was a comfort. Eyes were heavy on me as I took the lid off my drink and sipped it. My shoulders relaxed as the hot, rich coffee slipped down. With a little effort, I could see the door and counter both.

Either Mia was going to sacrifice Remus and promise to be good, or this was a plot to see me dead, but I didn't think Ford would read the situation wrong. The door jingled when a couple left with frightened backward glances, and Jenks gave me a distant thumbs-up. Damn, this was good stuff, and I made a mental note of what it was in case I survived. Raspberry Italian latte?

My eyes rose over the rim of the paper cup. Remus's expression was both angry and frightened—a bad combination as his attention flicked from me to Al and back. Mia had an unsettling confidence about her as she held the sleeping Holly in her little pink snowsuit. One would never guess they were wanted for assault and possible murder. She was going to bail on him. I knew it. What did she know of love?

"Mia," I said, seeing that no one else was talking. "Did you set the fire?"

"No." Her voice was soft to keep Holly from waking, and the toddler's hands moved in her sleep. Mia's eyes were fixed on mine, trying to impress me with what I already believed was the truth. "The Walker did. She's trying to pit my own city against me. I told you she had the skill of a falling log." Her high voice held a shocking amount of hatred. "She wants Holly."

Mia held her daughter closer, and the child shifted into a more comfortable position, lips pouting in her sleep. Remus's hands clenched, and when he saw me notice their white-knuckled strength, he moved them out of my sight.

I put my hands under the table, keeping my elbows still while I pulled my splat gun out and set it atop my knees. "I didn't think it was you," I said to try to get them to relax. "I'm trying to stop Ms. Walker, Mia, but you were seen at the fire. The FIB isn't going out of their way to help anymore. You need to come in. Someone's going to get hurt." Like me.

Remus stood, and my heart jumped. "We need to go, Mia. People are leaving."

A faint, musty scent drifted from the angry man at his movement, tickling my memory. Fear pinged through me, and I froze. It smelled like cement. Cold and rough. Mia felt my fear, the woman going almost slack as my emotions puddled out from me. Ford did too, but his expression was of confusion, not satisfaction. He knew my fear didn't stem from Mia, but something else, and I shoved the emotion away. Kisten. It's from Kisten. I don't have time for this.

Mia moved Holly to a more comfortable position, ignoring Remus. The baby's eyes opened. Silently, she stared, and as I watched, Holly's pale blue eyes became the pupil black of hunger. "Did you tell the FIB to drop their investigation?" Mia asked me.

I jerked my attention from Holly, surprised. "Ah, yes, but someone needs to go to jail for the Tilsons. You were living in their house. You beat up an FIB officer." Tried to kill me twice. Jeez, what am I doing here?

Beside me, Ford swallowed hard, feeling everyone's emotions and having a hard time separating himself. He was better than a truth amulet, but something was shifting, and I gripped my gun, setting my free hand casually around my cup. "Mia, let me tell them you are ready to cooperate," I tried again. I didn't want to shoot her unless I had to. "The captain of the FIB knows you're sorry." Liar, liar. "He knows the lengths to which Ms. Walker will go to gain custody of Holly." Pants on fire. "He's angry about what happened to his son, but if you come in, as a sign of trust, he will look past it. We can keep you and Holly together."

Remus bent over his wife, hissing in her ear, "They lie to get what they want, then tell you you're a liar when you ask for it. I won't have my daughter pushed from foster home to foster home, sleeping on stained mattresses and beat up for not having a real mom or dad."