I took a step forward, feeling that strange pull to do whatever he told me. I steeled myself against the compulsion and ground the balls of my feet into my boots as if they could keep me planted to the floor. “I think I’ll stand.”
Fallon’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly erased the menace with a smile. “Don’t you like it here?”
“I’d rather hang out in a public toilet,” I said. “Whatever you have to say, say it fast so I can go home and sanitize. No telling what I might catch.”
He shrugged as if to say, Suit yourself. I already didn’t like his taste in entertainment; how I’d be able to cooperate with him was beyond me. Delilah’s information had better be gold, or I’d kill her just for making me go through all of this. A waitress, clad in nothing but a skimpy push-up bra and a thong, brushed by me. The heels of her stilettos were high enough to kill her if she tripped, but by the way her ass jiggled when she walked, I got the impression she didn’t care as long as she looked good while she fell. She placed a drink on a table beside the bed and traced her fingers down Fallon’s arm before scooping a twenty from his palm. Flashing an aren’t-you-jealous glance my way, she meandered away to other beds and other customers.
Fallon wiped the hand the waitress had touched on the bedsheets as if he’d just dipped it in a bucket of chicken fat. “Humans,” he spat. “How do you stand them?”
I didn’t justify his prejudice with a response. I’d been human once, after all, and as far as I could tell, some of them far outweighed Fallon on the respectability scale. “What do you have for me?” My patience had stretched very thin. “Either you can help me with Delilah or you can’t.”
“Oh, I can help you,” he said, patting the empty space next to him on the bed. “But nothing in this world is free.”
An unpleasant shudder passed from the top of my head down my spine. My foot slid across the floor, pulling my body closer to him. The other foot followed, and I pressed down on my heels to keep my feet planted right where they were. I found the man utterly repulsive; yet something beckoned me closer. “What’s your price?” I asked through gnashed teeth. My foot twitched impatiently. “I’ll need to know if it’s worth my while.”
“Sit,” Fallon said.
“Fuck. No.”
His eyes hardened; his full mouth became a tight line. “Sit. Down.”
The force of that last word snapped my resolve and, against my will, I stumbled toward the bed. As if I had no control over my actions, I lowered myself on the edge, my feet still on the floor, and Fallon smiled. “That’s better. Really, Darian, you should try to relax. Enjoy yourself.”
“This is as relaxed as I’m going to get,” I said more to myself than to him. My pulse picked up double time as I wondered what could have made me act against my will. No way in hell was I going to let my body rebel against my mind again.
He sighed in disappointment and downed his drink in a single swallow. “I can lift the entrapment spell Adare has placed on the Oracle. But it’s not an easy task to accomplish. I’d be putting myself on the line by doing this for you. So in return, I ask only that you do the same for me.”
“Put myself on the line? How?”
“Someone has stolen something from me, and I want it back.”
“Doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.” Boy, was that an understatement. “Besides, I’m not a thief. I’m an assassin. If you want someone offed, I’m your girl. But burglary is not my forte.”
“Well, then, it had better become your forte. Fast. What I’m asking is fair and equitable. If I’m caught removing the spell on the Oracle, I won’t simply be removed from duty or reassigned. I’ll be arrested-or worse. If you’re caught stealing”-his eyes wandered longingly to his companions waiting at the next bed-“you’ll suffer the same fate. Fair-and equitable.”
Fucker. “Can I have a few days to think about it?”
“Sorry,” Fallon said, sounding anything but. “I’m afraid my offer expires in”-he checked his watchless wrist-“fifteen seconds. Take it or leave it.”
I balled my fists at my sides to control my mounting rage. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
Fallon snapped his fingers, and his companions returned to the bed with a grace and speed only the inhuman possessed. As if starved without his nearness, the three of them scrambled onto the bed, kissing and petting him with a perverted intensity. He stared right at me and graced me with an indulgent smile before he relaxed back on the pillows and closed his eyes. “You’ll understand if I ask you to go first.” He peeked through one lid. “Call it insurance.”
“No fucking way. Where’s my insurance? How do I know you won’t drop me cold after I steal whatever it is you want?” My hand closed around the dagger’s hilt again. I wanted to stab him so bad, I could taste it.
“You can keep my prize until I fulfill my end of the bargain. Is that enough insurance for you?”
Okay, ransom could work to my advantage. If he didn’t help me unlock Delilah’s mind, I could pitch whatever it was I’d stolen-or give it back. “All right. Now, what exactly is it I’m stealing?” If I played my cards right, I could slip in and out as my incorporeal self, taking Fallon’s trinket before anyone even knew I’d been there.
“A piece to a puzzle.” His voice was muffled as the Fae to his right stripped him of his shirt. Her eyes bulged at the sight of exposed, muscled flesh. Brilliant red hair spilled over him like a cascade of flames as she rubbed her mouth against one of his nipples. He closed his eyes for an indulgent moment. “One half of an hourglass.”
Interesting. “And who will I be taking it from?”
Fallon’s eyes snapped open, and a corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Sidhe. If I thought you could manage it, I’d have you kill them as well. His name is Reaver, and he’s the Keeper of the Glass. His sister, Moira, is his…security.” He spat to the side. “I would shit on their corpses if I could.”
My knees nearly buckled. I’d met the brother-and-sister duo at the PNT Summit not six months ago. And I’d hoped never to see them again. But apparently Fate had other things in mind, since I’d seen Moira at The Pit the night those magic arrows had been slung at my head. Had it been a coincidence? Something told me I was about to dig my own grave.
“Not backing out, are you?” Fallon asked.
I swallowed against the fear tugging at the edge of my mind and an urge to scream, Yes! Yes! “No,” I said, ignoring my nagging better judgment. “Any idea where I can find them?” Besides slinking around my favorite hangouts?
“You have a genie, don’t you? Ask him.”
Blood turned to ice in my veins. If he knew about Tyler, what else did he know? “Leave him out of this. Or you won’t need me to steal a damned thing for you because I’ll take your head right off your shoulders.” Razor blades would not have been as sharp as my warning.
“Tsk, tsk.” Fallon unfastened the male Fae’s pants. His eyes turned liquid as he looked upon Fallon as if he’d already given him a million-dollar blow job. I pursed my lips, lest my jaw drop right down to my knees. If I didn’t get the hell out of here soon, I’d have a front-seat ticket to an orgy whether I wanted one or not.
“You have such a temper. The Jinn is tied to you, no? He can be an asset-or a liability. Which I’m sure you are to him as well. Such is the way of these bindings.” He traced his fingertip along the male’s cheek. “I’ll call you in one week’s time. Best have my merchandise by then. If you don’t, I doubt I can keep Adare from transporting your Oracle to Portland, and then you’ll never know her secrets, will you?”
I hated him-hated him right down to my toenails. Xander would be pleased to know someone had finally knocked him from the top spot on my shit list. But I had to do this for Raif-for his friendship and for the heartache he’d endured. “I’ll have it in three days,” I said, throwing down the bravado. “You’d best be ready for me.”