"That's what family's for. Right?"
I could almost see him rolling his eyes at me. "My life was so simple before you came along," he said, but I could hear the affection in his voice. Before I'd come along, we'd both been alone. Only children without a father. Our father was still dead, but now we had each other.
"Oh, sure, it was," I said. "Probably spent all your time down at the pub. Nothing to do, nothing to see. No demons to fight or crazy-ass sidhe to throw in jail. Poor man, your life was so dull without me."
"Don't make me drop you off in the middle of the desert."
I laughed. "I'd like to see you try."
"Don't tempt me." I could see the slightest hint of a grin curving his lips.
"You and whose army? No wonder they haven't given you a new partner yet."
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and I could have kicked myself. His partner had been murdered by the Fairy Queen's psycho brother. Trevor had been understandably upset and had asked me to help him find the killer. I'd always wondered if the two had been more than just work partners. But I hadn't asked. I figured if they had been, and he'd wanted me to know about it, Trevor would have told me. Since he hadn't, it was none of my damn business.
"Sorry," I muttered. "I didn't mean…"
"What's the plan?" he interrupted. He stared straight ahead, tapping his thumb on the steering wheel. Okay, subject change.
"We walk in. I ask Jade if she knows where Alister is. We get our answer. We walk out. Easy is that."
"You think it's gonna be that easy, huh?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. She seemed to be a little more forthcoming last time we saw her. I think she's finally figuring out Alister and Darroch aren't exactly on her side. Those two have been using her for their own purposes for a long time. Maybe she's finally ready to stand up for herself. Take control of her life." Jade might be a killer, but it was the three amigos who'd turned her into one. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them.
"And you think she's gonna do that by helping us?"
"We can only hope."
The car slid to a stop in front of the first checkpoint. It was a simple aluminum-sided building painted a boring cream and surrounded by a whole lot of chain-link fencing and razor wire. Trevor rolled down the window. The heat was oppressive. It hit me like a blast furnace as a face appeared at the window. I recognized the guard from my last visit. He peered into the car, face impassive as he scanned each of us carefully. "Mr. Daly. Ms. Bailey. I was told to expect you. Please proceed to the next gate." He stood back and waved us forward. It didn't make me feel very confident that he still had his gun ready.
With a small salute, Trevor continued down the gravel road. Dust kicked up behind us in a billowing cloud. All around us, as far as the eye could see, was baked earth and dusty sagebrush. This was not a place I would choose to vacation.
The second checkpoint was almost as quick and soon we were making our way down the hill to the large parking lot that surrounded Area 51. As Trevor and I climbed out of the car, it felt as if the heat and dry air were sucking the moisture from my lungs. I could almost feel my skin cracking as we approached the concrete building that housed the underground prison for the compound's more interesting inmates. I breathed a sigh of relief as we passed into the cool darkness of the entryway. I didn't even mind the pat-down from the big, burly woman who looked like she could break me in half with two fingers. I bet she could bench press a car if she had a mind to. I gave her a big smile when she was done, which she totally ignored. Instead she waved me over to join Trevor before stomping off down the hall.
We didn't have long to wait for our escort to join us. I remembered him from our first visit. The over-eager young Roberts with the wide eyes and freckled nose. He greeted us enthusiastically as he ushered us toward the bank of shiny elevators.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'm quite sure this time there won't be a jailbreak."
He was no doubt right since Brent Darroch no longer resided inside Area 51. According to Trevor, he'd been sent somewhere a whole lot worse and a whole lot more secure. Since Area 51 was about as secure as they came, I was guessing Antarctica. Served him right.
We stepped into the elevator, and Roberts pushed one of the numerous unlabeled buttons. The doors slid shut with a small ding, and the elevator began to descend much faster than I would've liked. It came to a stop with a small bounce, leaving my stomach somewhere in the vicinity of my throat. I swallowed hard, willing the bile back into place.
"Here we are," Roberts said cheerfully, ushering us from the elevator car. "We've got a room reserved for you. Don't worry, she'll be chained so she can't get to you. She's been pretty calm lately, though. Reading a lot of poetry, and meditating and stuff." He shook his head as if to say he'd seen everything.