Page 17 of Concluded
This conversation was exhausting him almost as much as magicking the pearls had, and now his head began to ache.“I need to rest.”
“Just do one more thing for me.Then you can have a nice long nap.I want that lion you promised me.”
He hadn’t promised her anything—he was fairly sure of that—and he doubted he had it in him right now.Just keeping his eyes open felt like a Herculean task.“Later.”
Ashley’s expression hardened.“Listen up, bub.I don’t think you understand the situation.I call the shots, not you.And you’re still very much in your trial period.Don’t blow it.”
Fuck.It would be easiest just to give in.Dee held out his hand for a pearl.“Give it over.”
Looking smug, she reached into her pocket.But she stopped when a loud pounding came from somewhere outside the room.“Seriously?”she snapped.“I didn’t come all the way out to the middle of nowhere for constant interruptions.”
Dee yawned.
Ashley stood and jabbed a finger in his direction.“You want to sleep?Fine.Have forty winks while I do all the work.”
She stomped away, and Dee fell asleep before she’d left the room.
CHAPTER7
Achilles did not take kindly to being fucked with.
He hadn’t wanted to rejoin the goddamn Bureau, and he hadn’t wanted to drag his carcass up to Portland and then out into the middle of a desert, and he abso-fucking-lutely hadn’t wanted someone screwing with his brain.Because that was what had happened—he was sure of it by the time he’d driven halfway back to El Centro.
And look, he didn’t give a shit if some crazy zillionaire decided to build an ugly mansion somewhere it didn’t belong.The Bureau most likely didn’t give a shit either.Idiotic architecture wasn’t within the scope of their jurisdiction.
But apparently the Bureaudidgive a shit about Martell, who, according to the fancy-tech info, was inside that ugly mansion.The Bureau also gave a shit about anyone fucking around with other peoples’ minds.That sort of thing was very much under their jurisdiction.And Achilles, when it happened to his head, cared especially much.It was bad enough when monsters wanted to gut, exsanguinate, or poison him, but mind control was a giant step too far.
As these thoughts stampeded through him, he realized that he needed to turn the damn vehicle around.Which he did, abruptly, squealing tires and all.
Achilles wasn’t a complete dimwit.While he sped back to the mansion, he instructed his phone to dial HQ.Henry picked up on the first ring.
“Have you found the subject?”Henry asked.He sounded tired.
“Maybe.But things got complicated.”Achilles gave a quick rundown of what had happened.Talking about it didn’t make him feel any better.
“The woman forced you to go away?”
“Not… exactly.She suggested it, and it seemed like a perfectly good idea.For a while.”
“How did she do that?”At least Henry wasn’t criticizing Achilles for being so weak.
“No idea.Look, I’m on my way back there.Can you maybe have Afolabi dig into this in the meantime?”It was unlikely she’d find information so quickly, but it was worth a shot.“And I don’t suppose you can send me some backup?”
“Gods, Achilles, there’s nobody.You don’t even want to know what a mess things are.The chief and Tenrael are in DC, meeting with the East Coast chief, and….Well, none of that’s your problem.But you shouldn’t go back into that situation alone.”
That was excellent advice.But Achilles was pissed off, impatient, and itching for a fight.He also felt somehow responsible for Martell, though for all he knew the guy was a perpetrator rather than victim.
“I guess I’m being stupid today, Henry.Look, Con Becker knows where I’m going and can track me.If I don’t check in with you in a couple hours, let him know, okay?”
After a moment, Henry responded, sounding doubtful.“I guess.Be careful, okay?”
Despite everything, Achilles smiled.It felt nice that someone was a little worried about his welfare.“Thanks.Talk to you later.”
He half expected to drive down that road and find the mansion gone, but it was still there—both improbable and, now that he took a closer look, vaguely foreboding.He’d been to genuine haunted houses that felt more welcoming.But he parked the SUV, quickly checked his weapons, then marched to the door and knocked, hard.
It took a few moments, but the door swung open and the woman glared at him.“I told you to leave.”
Achilles put on an expression he thought of as Neutral Thug.“Ma’am, I need to ask you a few questions.”He took a step forward, nearly into the doorway.
