Page 22 of Wonder
Tucker groaned. He elbowed Reno. “Remember those people we had to roust out of that house near the bayfront that one time?” He looked at me. “This was back when we were patrol officers. This crew of four people had moved into this empty house and packed it with boxes and shit. When we finally got the approval to remove them from the premises, Reno and I had to chase them through this maze of crap. It was fucking frustrating.”
I frowned. I didn’t know what Reno did for a living. I knew he was the acting District Monitor, but in Texas it was an unpaid position. I turned to him. “Are you still a police officer as well?”
He shook his head and sighed. His phone buzzed with another text message, and he turned it over. “No. Tucker and I had both made detective. We were partners. I fucking loved that job.”
Tucker reached over and put his hand on Reno’s back. “You’re still doin’ some good out there, Magnum, P.I.”
I cocked my head. “You’re a private investigator now?”
He nodded, frowning down at his phone, which vibrated again. “My cousin Daniel, Tia’s son? He was the District Monitor here. He passed away two years ago from a heart condition. And other than the DMs who already have Districts,”—He pointed at Shane—“there aren’t any magic carriers with District Monitor-type skills in Texas that we’re aware of. But somebody had to step up and help the Wonders.” He turned his phone over and tapped it, not looking up at us. “The demands aren’t compatible with shift work, so I couldn’t remain a cop.”
My heart hurt for him. I still couldn’t feel anything through our connection, but his entire posture seemed defeated and depressed. He shrugged. “I don’t love the PI work, but it’s flexible, and usually it’s interesting. But the Wonders need a real DM.” He glanced toward Nicky and lowered his voice again. “I keep thinking there’s a Wonder somewhere who’s scared because they’re facing down two vampires, but I won’t know because I can’t feel anything even if I’m connected to them.”
Shit. I wanted to help my mate. But how?
“Reno.” Shane reached out and put his hand on Reno’s wrist. “You can’t think like that. You can only do what you can to thebest of your abilities. The Wonders in this District are better off having you than they would be without you, and you know it.” I fought down the urge to bare my fangs at Shane for touching my mate.
Reno ran his other hand over his face. “I know. It’s just, I never wanted to be DM. I mean, I never thought it waspossiblefor me to be DM, so I never even considered it. But having to act like a DM and not having the innate ability to be good at it? It’s fucking with my head every single day.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ve been up for hours. I’m going to go take a nap and hope I have a vision about where the vampires are. Not that I can call a vision, but maybe if we all cross our fingers it’ll happen. I love being a shitty Seer, exactly like I’m a shitty DM.” He walked swiftly out of the room, heading for the stairs.
I half-stood, wanting to follow him, but Tucker shook his head. “Let him breathe a bit. He’s under a lot of stress, and he’ll feel better after a nap, whether or not he has a vision.”
Reno’s phone vibrated again. He’d left it behind. “Should we check that?”
“Nah.” Tucker grimaced at the phone. “The Wonders’ll call if it’s an emergency. He’s got them trained that much at least.” He shook his head. “ By the way, the vampire’s van was stolen in Missouri two years back. The plates are stolen too, but from up near Lubbock a few months ago.”
“So nothing to help us there.”
“No. Unless you find somethin’ on the laptops, we’re kind of at a dead end.”
Beside me, Jackson morphed into their human form. Today they’d altered their cheekbones, and their hair was a littlelonger. They still wore the jeans and black t-shirt they’d had on last night. “Since we are not required to be anywhere at the moment, could someone help me learn to use this human form?”
“Uh, I’ve got the day off today, but what exactly would that entail?” Tucker’s tone was more than a little apprehensive.
Jackson’s eyebrows scrunched up. “I’m not exactly sure. In my other forms, the rear legs bent in the opposite direction, and all four limbs were used for locomotion. Today is only my second day in this form. I have managed walking and sitting, but I feel unsure of my steps, and I don’t know how to grasp things with my hands while also walking.”
Tucker’s face lit up. “Hand-eye coordination and movin’ around. Let me run out to my car. I have just the thing to help.”
He went outside right as Shane got a phone call. “It’s Pia,” he told Jackson. “She’s pretty freaked out about us being in danger.” Shane’s adopted daughter, who he shared with his two partners, had witnessed a vampire attack a few months ago. One of her other fathers had been taken captive before Shane and I, with Jackson’s help, had rescued him.
Shane picked up his phone to answer it, but Jackson held up a hand. “You should go home. You’re more valuable as a DM and a father than as a fighter.”
I nodded. “I agree.” Shane could go into combat mode, which Reno couldn’t, but I didn’t get the impression that Shane had been in many fights. Reno, however, had experience from his time with the police.
Shane gave me and Jackson a thoughtful look as he answered the call, then he walked to the stairs, probably to go to the attic where he’d slept last night.
Tucker came back through the front door carrying a baseball glove, a softball, and a bat. “Come on, Jackson, let’s go out to the backyard and play some ball! This’ll get your muscles workin’ better.”
Jackson appeared skeptical, but they stood up and followed Tucker outside. I went over to Nicky. He’d mastered the remote, and he paused his program—some sort of British detective series.
“Would you like to go outside and watch Tucker and Jackson?”
“Sure.” He sat forward and whipped the throw blanket off his legs. I was glad to see his magic core was starting to whirl a little faster. He had a long recovery ahead of him, but he’d make it. Physically at least.
I leaned over to pick him up, and he shrank back, his eyes going wide. I straightened again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He put a hand up and closed his eyes briefly. “Not your fault. It was... a bad memory. Um, can you back up a bit?”
I took two steps back from the sofa. Nicky scooted to the edge of the cushion and put his feet on the floor. Then he looked at me and held his arms up. “Okay, try now.”
