Page 13 of Infernal Hearts

“Morning.” I reach over to the coat rack and put on my white jacket. Another yawn escapes my mouth, and I wonder if he can see the dark circles under my eyes. “How are you?”

He gives me a thumbs-up and speaks way too rapidly for this early in the morning. “Good! There’s a fair amount of appointments today. Mostly vaccines.”

“Great.” I shoot him a forced smile. “Let me know when the first one gets here. I’ll be in my office.”

I go to leave, but he stops me. “Hey, by the way, there was this black sludge on the doorstep when I got here this morning. Some of it was on the carpet, too. Let me know if I missed any.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I freeze in place. Shit, I totally forgot about cleaning up. “Did you wear gloves?”

“Oh, totally.” He beams and nods. “It was weird. It smelled kind of sweet when I was scrubbing. Took forever.”

I sigh. He’s alive, so the blood must not have been as toxic as I thought. “Thanks, Andrew.”

“Any idea what it was? It was kind of hard to get out.”

My mind draws a blank. How the hell am I going to explain this one?

“Mildew.” My eyes shoot to my tech, Valerie, who appears out of nowhere. She stands in the doorway behind him with her arms crossed. “Find it all over during the rainy season.”

I pull my focus from her toward Andrew and smile. “Right. Mildew.”

Andrew smiles, shrugs, and goes back to mashing his keyboard.

“A word, Dr. Blackwell?” Valerie pushes away from the wall and heads to the back.

It’s easy to forget that she’s a fairy, which makes it that much easier to work with her. I get to ignore my promise to stay away from anything supernatural. She’s the only thing related to magic I still allow in my life, only because she agreed not to ever use it around me.

You wouldn’t look at Valerie and think she’s a creature, just a normal woman with dark, frizzy hair and wizened wrinkles on her forehead. But in truth, fairies are some of the most powerful and oldest creatures in the magical community. I asked her real age when I was little. She just laughed and said she once had dinner with Nefertiti.

Valerie stands tall with a wide stance as soon as we reach the privacy of an operating room. “You and I both know that wasn’t mildew. I’ve been alive far too long not to recognize magical blood when I see it.”

She would know better than anyone. She worked with my dad since before I was born, even before he met my mom. But when our Cold War started, she refused to leave my side as soon as I stopped speaking to him. If it weren’t for her, I’d be lost.

She’s the only tie I have left to the magical world. Valerie’s always been like an aunt to me—how could I tell her no when she wanted to follow me? She’s always respected my decisions, and she’s always been right about everything.

A lump forms in my throat as I look to the floor. “I was going to tell you when I saw you.”

“I’m sure.” She waits expectantly but, at my refusal to speak, moves on to the next subject. “There’s something more important we should be talking about, though. I’m not sure how to tell you.” She shifts uncomfortably with her arms crossed.

I furrow my brow. This is unlike her. “What are you not telling me?”

Her voice trembles, and her hands quiver. “It’s your dad… He’s gone missing.”

My stomach drops, and a cold rush jumps through my veins. “When?”

She purses her lips. “I didn’t want to worry you, but it was a couple of days ago. He never showed up to work. Michael’s called his clients. I’ve called his colleagues, and at this point we’re ready to put in a missing person’s report.”

Michael’s name would normally hit me like a gut punch, but that’s nothing compared to the context. Suddenly I’m wide awake to the point of being jittery—my hands are even trembling. A thousand reasons fly through my mind, but I quiet my thoughts and start with logic. “Has anyone tried to call him?”

There’s a grim turn of her mouth, and her gaze won’t stay in one place. “I tried, and Michael tried. Multiple times. He just vanished, and no one can find him. I know you don’t have a great relationship with him right now, but I thought you should know. We’re working on it.”

I take a deep breath and straighten my posture. Focusing on next steps is the best thing to do right now, and I refuse to show weakness in the middle of a dire moment where I need to act. “I’ll handle speaking with the police. Please keep me updated if you hear anything.”

She puts her hand on my arm. “Heard. I don’t want you to worry, though. Everything’s gonna be okay, Jason.”

I pause for a second before nodding, placating her. “I know. It always is.”

“Did something else happen last night that might connect to it?”

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