Cole sighed. "I don't know what's going on here, but I trust you. We sent a unit to her apartment. They never called in so we sent another. They found the first unit dead, in an alley beside the house. Shot through the head, execution style. There's no sign of any unconscious guy in her apartment either." He sat back in his chair. "One of the neighbors saw some sort of fight outside the building and gave a description of a vehicle. We're trying to trace it. So now, we wait. And perhaps you'll tell me what's going on."
Mal remained silent, and Cole sighed again. "I'll give you a few minutes to think it over. I'm getting a beer. Want one?"
Mal shook his head-a clear mind would be good right now. He needed the police off his back, but he also required their cooperation. He made a call and put things in motion.
"Well?" Cole asked when he got back to the table. "Are you going to talk? Or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"
"Probably not necessary." He nodded to his cell phone. "I called my boss," he lied. "I need clearance before I can talk to you. He'll get back to me in the morning. Come on, you can trust me until then."
Cole studied him, a line forming between his brows, but then nodded in resignation. "I suppose. Where the hell are they? We should have heard by now. You know this whole thing is weird. I've researched this woman. She's a fucking accountant-squeaky clean."
His phone rang. "Cole here." He listened for a minute. "I'll be right there."
He glanced down at the table then back up at Mal and grinned. "We've picked the car up heading north out of town. We're on."
***
Darkness surrounded her.
Nausea churned in her stomach, and she hurt all over. She tried to sit up but cracked her head on something hard. She sensed the motion beneath her, the vibration of an engine shaking through her body. They'd locked her in the goddamn trunk, the bastards.
What had happened? Then she remembered. Stark … the police … that last fight with the man. The prick at her neck.
The car picked up speed, hurling her forward and smashing her against the back of the trunk space. She tried to brace, scrunching herself into a ball to shield her head. If she died here in the darkness, not knowing what this was about, she'd be seriously pissed off.
Hysterical laughter welled up inside her, and she pushed it back. The acrid scent of smoke prickled her nostrils and some inner sense warned her to calm down.
Think of something else, anything else. Think of something good.
The image of a tall dark haired man with glowing golden eyes flickered across her brain.
That wasn't good, just likely to piss her off more. All the same, the smoky, masculine scent of him filled her nostrils and a vision flashed across her mind. Suddenly, she was there with him, staring out of a car window, moving fast.
A series of loud bangs came from in front of her.
The image vanished.
Gunshots. Then she was upside down and they were rolling. For a long while, her brain shut down. Her muscles tightened as she braced herself for the searing pain of a bullet.
Then everything stopped.
***
Up ahead the black SUV swerved as the driver lost control. It veered off the road, disappearing over the edge of the embankment. Mal stomped on the brakes, his car skidding to a halt. In the rear-view mirror, he could see Cole pulling up.
He leaped out of the car, then ducked down behind the open door as bullets whizzed past his head. Cole ran up from behind, bent double, and took cover beside him, swearing under his breath.
Mal peered over the door. Below them, the SUV had come to rest at the bottom of the embankment, the headlights glaring up into his eyes so he could make out nothing else.
Other cars pulled up close by, the police lights flashing blue in the darkness. Then the bullets stopped.
"Come on."
He ran forward, sliding down the steep grassy slope, but he knew what he would find.
"Where the fuck are they?" Cole yelled.
The car was empty. The driver and his companion had vanished. "Gone."
"What the fuck do you mean ‘gone'? Gone where?"
Mal considered mentioning the word "magic" but decided the time wasn't quite right and the police detective wasn't quite ready.
Cole ran a hand through his dark hair and smashed his fist into the side of the car. "There was no time for anyone to go anywhere. We had the bastards." Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he barked in an order then thumped the side of the car again. "They'll set up a perimeter, but we don't even know who we're looking for. This is some crazy weird shit." He turned to Mal, his eyes narrowed. "And you're right in the middle of it. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
A faint groan sounded from inside the car. Mal took a step toward the rear and stopped to listen. The groan came again. "The trunk."
"What about it?"
"The girl's in there."
"And you know that how?"
"If you'd shut up for a moment, you'd hear her." He yanked at the door. It didn't budge.
Cole moved to the front of the car and reached inside. "Here." He tossed the keys. Mal caught them and unlocked the trunk.
Her long, slender body was curled into a fetal position, her head tucked in between her shoulders, arms wrapped around herself. She moved, slowly unfolding. Her hands lowered and her head lifted. She blinked a few times.
Mal took a step back-it was probably best if his wasn't the first face she saw.
"Jesus," she said. "What the hell just happened?"
Cole moved closer. "Ms. Palmer. I'm Detective Inspector Cole of the Metropolitan Police."
She cast him a wary glance. "You are?"
"We've been looking for you since you called in. You're safe now."
She rubbed a hand across her forehead and winced.
"Are you all right?" Cole asked. "There's an ambulance on its way."
"I'm fine-I think. Just bruises." She shifted to sit on the edge of the trunk and peered out past the ring of lights into the darkness beyond. "The men who took me-where are they?"
"They escaped, but they can't get far. Did you know them?"
She shook her head and winced again. "No. One of them said his name was Stark but I'd never seen him before."
"Well, don't worry. We'll get you to look at some pictures when we get to the Yard."
"She's not going to Scotland Yard," Mal said. "She's coming with me."
"The hell she is," Cole snapped. "I've got two dead cops and she's my only lead. No way is she leaving my sight."
As Mal stepped into the light, her eyes stretched wide and her mouth fell open. "You," she said, her gaze fixed on his face. Then she turned to Cole. "I'm not going anywhere with him. He broke into my apartment tonight. I phoned it in. I'm sure you can check."
Cole swung around to confront him. "Well, do you have an identical twin?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Shit, Mal. Did you know you're bleeding?"
He glanced down. Crimson stained his arm beneath the sleeve of his Black T-shirt. "I took a bullet back there. It's nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing. Jack," Cole called behind him and a man detached himself from the group of police officers. "Keep an eye on Ms. Palmer, will you? You"-he poked a finger into Mal's chest-"come with me."
Mal hesitated, but taking the girl in front of so many police wasn't really an option. Once, he would have killed them with no regrets, but no longer. Vortigen would say he'd gone soft. But Cole was a friend. Besides, by morning, he would have the authority do whatever was necessary. He would wait but stay close.
He led the way up the slope and back to his car. From here, he could still see Lily seated on the edge of the car trunk, her face pale in the flashing lights, her gaze fixed on him.
"Let's see it then," Cole said.
He tugged his T-shirt over his head and twisted so he could see the wound. The bullet was lodged in the muscle of his upper arm. The torn flesh had stopped bleeding and already begun the healing process. He needed the bullet out.
"Nice tattoo," Cole said.
Mal glanced down at the red dragon twined around his left bicep, its head curling over his shoulder, green eyes blazing, flames licking over his heart. "And nice bracelet," Cole added, nodding at the red-gold torc wrapped around his upper right arm.
"A present from my mother," Mal replied. "Now, are you going to drool over me all day, or are you going to get that bullet out?"
"Get it out? Fuck that. I want to see how bad it is, and then you're off to the ER."
"You do it, or I do it," Mal said.
He popped open the trunk of his car, rifled through the bag of weapons, and pulled out a long knife-a beautiful weapon, its gold hilt inlaid with rubies.
Cole took it gingerly, his gaze narrowing on the already healing wound. "Christ. Never mind who are you? What are you?"