After which, you locked him in a jail cell.
Yep.
You put Lazarus Blume in jail and youre still in the Cove? Still chief of...? Hey, wait a minute. Already standing on the Ram trucks running board, she turned to jab a finger into his chest. That is seriously not fair. I knew I just knew hed let a male get away with more than a female.
What?
You heard me. You arrest him and nothing. No repercussions, no threats, no embellishing the whole suddenly sordid affair to your grandmother.
Okay, he was lostand beginning to question her sanity. What suddenly sordid affair?
She poked him again. I snuck out of my grandmothers house once, just once, so my friend and I could spy on her older sisters date with the local hottie, and wouldnt you know it, Uncle Lazarus spotted me. He dragged me back to Nanas and informed me Id be mucking out his stable for the rest of the summer. Yet here you stand, still employed and without a speck of manure on your hands. She indicated herself, then him. Im a female, youre a male. Its not fair. Huffing out a breath, she sat, yanked the door closed and flopped back in her seat, arms folded. I should have put two curses on him.
McVey climbed in beside her. You put a What did you do to him?
She gave her fingers a casual flick. What any self-respecting Bellam in my position would have done. I put a spell on the midnight snack Nana told me he always ate before going to bed. He had severe stomach cramps for the next three days. Some of my relatives swear they heard him laughing hysterically while the doctor was examining him. Other than cleaning his stables, I didnt hear or see him again for the rest of the summer. Hed always been a loner, but Nana told me he became even more of a phantom after his...spell of indigestion. I dont know if thats true or not. I was fourteen when it happened, and except for a mutual relatives funeral, our paths havent crossed again.
McVeys lips quirked as he started the engine. Note to self. Grudges run in your family.
She sent him a smoldering look. Not a problem in your case, seeing as Uncle Lazaruss grudges dont appear to extend to men.
I was referring to you, Red. The quirk of his lips became a full-fledged grin. Im not overly fond of stomach cramps.
On the heels of that remark, wind swooped down to batter the side of his truck. McVey heard a loud crack among the trees crowding the house and glanced upward.
Stomach cramps will be the least of your problems if one of those evergreens destroys Nanas roof. As Amara spoke, the porch light went out then stuttered back on. Thats not good.
Tell me something that is.
Overhead, a fierce gust of wind brought two large branches crashing down into the box of his truck.
Dodgers probably lost by a landslide. He handed Amara his cell phone. Do me a favor and speed-dial Jake. Tell him Ill need more than fifteen minutes.
I can help you pull the branches from the
That was as far as she got before three shots rang out behind them.
She started to swing around, but McVey shoved her down and dragged the gun from his waistband. Keeping a hand on her neck, he risked a look, saw nothing and swore softly under his breath.
Amara pried his hand free. Who is it? she asked with barely a hint of a tremor.
No idea. One of my backups is in the glove box. Its loaded. Use the keys. He gave the door a kick to open it. Meanwhile, stay here and stay down. Unless you want to be pushing up daisies next to your Bellam and/or Blume ancestors.
McVey, wait. She grabbed his arm. I dont want you taking a bullet for me.
Dont sweat it, Red. He risked a second look into the woods. Chances are only fifty-fifty that those shots were fired by someone in Jimmy Sparkss family.
* * *
HE DISAPPEARED SO QUICKLY, Amara had no chance to ask what he meant. Or to wonder if shed heard him correctly.
For a moment she simply stared after him and thought that somewhere along the line she must have fallen down a rabbit hole into a parallel universe where police chiefs looked like hot rock stars and any vestige of reality had long since been stripped away by a raging northeaster. Who was this stranger with the wicked sexy body and dark hypnotic eyes?
More to the point, she said to her absent grandmother, why didnt you mention him when I called you last night?
Knowing she needed to think, Amara tucked the question away. Three bullets had just been fired at close range. A glance through the rear window revealed nothing except the moon, a scattering of stars and no flashlight beam. Actuallyhad McVey even taken a flashlight?
I need you to step on it, Chief. Jake Blumes unexpected shout sent Amaras heart into her throat and almost caused her to drop the phone shed speed-dialed without thinking. You there, McVey? the deputy yelled again. Come on, whats taking you?
McVeys busy. As she spoke she pulled the key out of the ignition. My names Amara. Were still at Shirley Bellams place.
You fooling around with my superior officer out on the edge of the north woods aint exactly my idea of help, sweetheart. Now, I dont give a rats ass why youre in possession of McVeys phone. I just need you to put him on it. He waited a beat before adding a reluctant, Please.
Amara tried one of the smaller keys in the glove box lock. What you call fooling around, I call dodging bullets while your superior officer goes all Rambo and takes on an unidentified shooter in the woods. Trust me, his plate has more on it than yours does at the moment.
Wanna bet? The deputys tight-lipped response gave way to a resounding punch. You said Amara, right? Another punch. You wouldnt be that little witch bitch who used to come here in the summer, would you? Because if you are, you scared the bejesus out of my kid brother by telling him you could talk to ravens.
Does it matter if Im her?
Makes us cousins is all.
Since he practically spit the words out, Amara assumed the idea didnt sit well with him.
Behind her, three more shots rang out. She shoved another key into the lockand breathed out in relief when the compartment popped open to reveal a 9 mm automatic. Thank God.
Depends on your point of view, Jake muttered. As I recall, your last names Bellam.
Irritated, she regarded the phone. Did I mention someones firing a rifle out here? Ive counted six shots so far.
Rifle shot, huh? Could be Owen thinking the skys fixing to fall on his cabin. Old Owen aint been right for years.
Parallel world, Amara reminded herself. Will Old Owen know the difference between McVey and a piece of falling sky?
I said it could be Owen, Jake countered. It could just as easily be one of your backwoods cousins looking to shoot himself something feathered for the upcoming street barbecue.
Now she frowned at the phone. You people are deranged.
She heard a grunt and a punch. This from a raven whisperer?
I cant talk to She spun in place as three more shots sounded. The whole worlds deranged. Later, Deputy.
Tossing the phone aside, she firmed up her grip on McVeys gun and slid cautiously from the truck.
The wind blew in wild circles and made pinpointing the shooters location next to impossible.
Amara searched the dark woods. Would Jimmy Sparks abandon all discretion this way? She didnt think so, but then, what did she know about the mans psyche? Maybe hed sent a hothead after her.
Heart pounding, she worked her way along the side of the truck. She hissed in a breath when the tips of a broken branch snagged her hair like claws. She had to stop and untangle herself before she could continue.
Continue where, though, and do what when she got there? Her grandmother had taught her how to shoot clay pigeons, but she doubted the owner of the rifle would move in a high, wide arc for her.
What the hell are you doing?
The question came from close behind her. Snapping the gun up, Amara spun on one knee and almostalmostsqueezed the trigger.
When she saw who it was, her vision hazed and she lowered her arms. Jesus, McVey.
Have you gone mad?
Dont you dare glare at me. I counted nine shots, none of which came from a handgun. For all I know, you couldve been dead or bleeding to death in the woods.
I also couldve shot you in the back. You want to protect yourself, you use the best cover youve got. Case in point, my truck.
Ill remember that next time someone decides to fire a rifle in the middle of nowhere, during a windstorm, while a cop with a much bigger weapon than the one he left behind disregards his own advice and takes off in pursuit. Pushing aside the hand he held out to her, she stood and dusted off her jeans. I talked to your deputy while you were gone. He seems to think the rifleman might be someone called Owen, worried that the skys falling.
McVey ran his gaze around the clearing. It wasnt Owen.
Figured not. A Bellam bird hunter was his second suggestion. Looking for barbecue nights winged entrée.
Red, the most common birds in these woods at night are owls, and not even a grill can make a screech owl taste good.
Moving her lips into a smile, Amara dropped the gun into his free hand. I keep telling myself that at some point this night will end. Whether any part of it makes sense when it does remains to be seen. Moving on, if not Owen or someone who likes to hunt owls, are we back to a member of the Sparks family as the prospective shooter?
He kept scanning. Not necessarily.
Didnt think so.
Yeah, you did, but think deeper. Sparks wouldnt want you taken out in such an obvious fashion. Its true, Jimmy has moments of blind rage during which he loses all control, but thats the reason he gets people with cooler heads to do his dirty work.
Theres good news. Look, McVey, if you think the shooters close enough to be watching us, why are we standing here having his discussion?
Shooters gone. He made a final sweep before bringing his eyes back to hers. If he wasnt, wed be dead.
Spreading her fingers, she gave a humorless laugh. I am so out of my element right now. Is there any chance youre going to tell me what you think just happened here?
Someone fired a rifle nine times, then took off.
And you know hes gone because...?
I heard his truck.
Are you?
She saw him move, but not in time to avoid the fingers that curled around the nape of her neck.
He stared down at her. The only thing Im sure of, Amara, is that we need to get something out of the way before it gets both of us killed.
What? No. With the truck at her back, she had nowhere to go, no escape. Dont you dare do this, McVey. Im messed up enough already without adding sex to the mix.
A dangerous grin appeared. I wasnt thinking sex quite yet, Red, but I could probably be persuaded.
She planted her palms firmly on his chest. Youre messing with my mind. And tangling everything inside her into a hot ball of... She wasnt sure what, but something that wanted very badly to take things a whole lot deeper a whole lot faster than she should.
Lady, youve been messing with my mind for fifteen years.
Dont go there.
Not planning to. Eyes gleaming, he lowered his head until his mouth hovered a tantalizing inch above hers. If you really want to stop me, Red, this is your last chance.
Seriously, McVey. We shouldnt... Im not... She exhaled heavily. I hate you. Casting caution to the still-howling wind, Amara took his face in her hands and yanked his very sexy mouth down onto hers.
* * *
LIEUTENANT ARTHUR MICHAELS mopped the back of his neck as he climbed the stairs to his Algiers apartment. Hed taken a roundabout route from Jackson, Mississippi, to New Orleansby way of Arkansas and an old friend, whod given him both a bed for the night and a name: Willy Sparks.
Rumor had it Willy could outthink a fox, outmaneuver a weasel and poison an enemy so neatly that the best forensic teams in the country were left scratching their collective heads as to why the corpse they were examining didnt simply get up and walk out of the room.
And speaking of rooms... He saw right away that the door to his apartment was still marked with the tiny paper hed placed between it and the frame before leaving town. Absurdly relieved, he went inside, shed his jacket and cranked the high windows open.
One of his neighbors was having a party. Boisterous jazz, led by trumpet and saxophone, drifted through the openings. The smell of gumbo made his mouth water and his system long for a cold beer. Being a cautious man, however, he settled for water from the jug in his fridge.
He didnt hear the sound behind him as much as sense it in the light brush of air on his neck.
It only took him a split second to unholster his gun, spin and aim at Nothing, he realized. Funny, he could have sworn...
Several rapid eyeblinks later, he lowered his arm.
He continued to blink as the edges of the apartment fuzzed. His fingers lost sensation. The gun clattered to the floor.
Son of a...
Ah, ah, ah. One of the long shadows came alive in the form of a wagging finger. Dont be rude, Lieutenant, or Ill go against orders and add unspeakable pain to your death. Its a well-known fact that Willy Sparkss mother is not what you were just about to call her.
He couldnt move, Michaels realized; not anything except his eyes.
He slumped to the floor. Hands groped his pockets, then rolled him onto this back like a discarded doll. He heard a series of beeps beneath his neighbors music. When they stopped, a low chuckle floated downward.
You have a most obliging BlackBerry. Ravens Hollow, Maine. Thats very far north, isnt it? But you know, Lieutenant, Ive heard the waters much safer to drink up in Maine than it is here in the Big Easy.
The BlackBerry hit the floor. Water gurgled down the drain. The music played on. His apartment door clicked shut. And Lieutenant Arthur Michaels thought of ravens....
Chapter Five
Lock it away, Amara cautioned herself. Bring it out laterbecause how could she not? But shed kissed men before and would again, so...not a problem.
Unless she acknowledged the fact that ten minutes after shed dragged her mouth from his, her senses continued to zap like an electric wire gone wild.