Page 33 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

“I just can. Look, thank you for speaking with me tonight. You were very helpful, but I need to go now.”

“I’m coming with you,” Illren says.

I can tell there will be no stopping him. I don’t have time to argue, and I guess I don’t want to. He was very helpful tonight, and I could use all the extra brainpower I can get. “Meet us there.”

The Milliken State Parkis a thirty-one acre park along the shore of the Detroit River right downtown. The Riverwalk, one of Detroit’s main tourist attractions, spans the length of the park right on the edge of the river. It’s a nice park…in the daylight. At night, it creeps me out. It’s empty and quiet, and Nick once warned me to be careful because the fey in the city used it as their playground. I suppose I shouldn’t be too worried now that Iamfey, and therefore it’s sort ofmyplayground, but still. I shiver when we pull into the dark parking lot.

When I exit the car, I pull my coat tighter around me and nestle my face deep in my scarf. There’s a freezing breeze tonight blowing in from the lake that has my eyes watering and my lungs stinging with each breath I take. If I’d known I was going to be traipsing through the park after midnight, I’d have dressed warmer. As it is, I’m lucky I wore my ankle boots instead of my ballet flats.

Nick is waiting for me at the entrance to the Cullen Plaza at the edge of the parking lot. Several men stand near him—the cleanup crew, I assume. All of their eyes follow me as I approach. They watch with curiosity and a sense of awe that I don’t feel I deserve.

Behind me, a car pulls into the parking lot and shuts off. Illren quickly catches up to Rook, Parker, and me. Nick lifts a brow at the new addition to my usual crew, but I shrug in response, not in the mood to explain it. “What have we got?” I ask.

A grim look spreads over Nick’s handsome face. “It’s ugly, Nora. You sure you want to do this?”

I gulp. If Nick Gorgeous is saying it’s bad, then it must be awful. Still, I nod. “Someone has to figure this out and stop the guy.”

Nick nods, giving me a small smile, not at all surprised by my answer. “Let’s hurry, then. It’s getting late, and we’ve got to get this nightmare cleaned up before sunrise.”

Illren grabs my wrist, gently stopping me. “What are you going to do?”

Rook, growling softly, pulls me free of Illren’s grip and places himself between the fey and me. Illren stiffens. His hand moves to his side as if he’s reaching for a weapon. I place my hand on Rook’s arm and tug him back. “It’s okay,” I murmur. “He’s only here to help.”

Rook tears his eyes away from Illren to frown at me. “I don’t think that’s the only reason he’s here. You’ve captured his interest.”

Illren smirks. “Worried she might be interested in one of her own kind over an animal like you?”

Rook lunges at Illren. I barely manage to hold him back. “Rook! Stop! Now is not the time for this.” I glare at Illren. “If you’re going to cause problems, then you can leave right now.”

Illren sends one more smirk Rook’s way, then nods to me. “I’ll behave…for now. But he’s right that you’ve captured my interest, and I fully intend to get to know you better.”

I roll my eyes at him. There are way too many men in my life. I feel like I’m always choking on testosterone.

Nick rescues me by throwing his arm over my shoulders and guiding me toward the water. “Come on, little spitfire, there’s work to be done.”

I lean into him and sigh. “Thanks. So how bad is it?”

Parker falls into step on my other side. “How many dead?” he asks.

Nick grimaces and leads us past the Riverwalk Café and the Wheelhouse shop, where people can rent bikes and sign up for tours. “The body count is fourteen.”

I gasp. “So many!”

“A few of the winter fey were reveling in the light of the full moon. Giselle heard the screaming and gunfire from the lighthouse down the river.”

“Giselle…the Detroit River mermaid?” I’ve heard the name only once before. I believe she’s friends with Nick.

He nods. Another grim look. “By the time she arrived, the killers were gone. She saw nothing, and there were no survivors—no witnesses.”

I stumble to a stop when we enter the plaza. The sight is horrific. From the carousel to the empty fountains that have been shut off for the winter, bodies are strewn everywhere, bathed in blood. Red blankets the snow, making everything seem so much worse. Terrance was right: This was a massacre.

I slap my hand over my mouth to cover my gasp as much as to try to keep myself from vomiting. My eyes prick with tears, and when Parker pulls me against to him, I bury my face into his chest, allowing him to comfort me. “You don’t have to do this,” he murmurs, running a hand over my head and down my hair.

He’s wrong. I may not want to, but I need to. Taking a deep breath, I suck it up, steel my nerves for the upcoming horrible imprints I know I’m going to see, and step out of Parker’s arms. “No.” The steadiness of my voice surprises me. “Who else will do it if not me? The FUA can’t investigate, and the fey already came to me because they have no one else.”

I roll my shoulders and take in the scene again with determination. The closest body to me is a gorgeous, petite female with long straw-colored hair and pointed ears. I’m not a religious person, but as I kneel beside her, I find myself wishing her luck with whatever lies ahead of her. Her glassy, lifeless eyes stare up at me, searing my brain with a memory that’s sure to haunt my sleep tonight. I remove my gloves and gently close her eyes. The moment I touch her, I fall into a vision.

The night is freezing. A chilling wind blows off the water, and the moon is shining brightly in the cloudless sky. The beautiful female fey walks into the snow-covered plaza with two equally gorgeous women. They appear to be the same kind of fey, though I’m not sure what kind. Nymphs, maybe.

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