Embraced by Fire (5 page)

The curved cheeks next to his passenger window jiggled, catching his attention. The woman backed out, her arms filled with a large box. He recognised the blonde who’d been walking with Kait the day of his interview.

Getting out of his car, he called over the roof, “You need a hand with that?”

She turned, bumping the door closed with her hip. “Oh no, sweetie, I’m fine. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough gear of your own to carry.”

“If you’re sure?” He walked round and popped his trunk, pulling out his gear bag.

“Totally sure.” She rested the box against the side of his car and gave him a cheerful smile. “I saw your demo the other day. You were great.”

“Thanks.” He gave a practiced smile. Ryu-the-fire-eater making friends, while Ryu-the-agent took notes.

“I’m looking forward to having you…on the team.”

He smiled again, but it felt tight on his lips. Had he imagined her slight pause before “on the team”? He was used to reading subtle intonations in voice and body language, but he hadn’t expected to be hit on this early in the game.

“I’m Rachael, by the way. I’d shake your hand but…” She shook the box she held.

“I’m Mac.”

“I know.” Tossing her hair in a way designed to show off her graceful neck, she headed toward the corner of the house. “Follow me, I’ll show you where we’re setting up.”

As they approached she slowed and leaned closer, her shoulder brushing his arm. “I should warn you, watch out for Kait. She’s always totally neurotic before a gig.”

“She seemed nice when I met her.” He adjusted his voice to a setting Delilah called his tell-me-more tone.

“She is, she’s totally a nice girl, but… Well, you stick close to me and I’ll see you right.”

He looked down at Rachael. Why she was warning him off Kait? If it was genuine he supposed he appreciated it, although he’d never hidden behind a woman in his life. However, he suspected it was less about keeping him away from Kait and more about keeping him close to her.

His lips compressed. He had no intention of taking her up on her offer. He knew what Neil would say: women are a way to get closer to the goal. Pillow talk was currency in his work, and his body one more tool in his arsenal.

He hated it.

Hated the way he felt afterwards. If he hadn’t been so young when they recruited him, he would have been strong enough, wise enough, to tell them to shove the idea. Instead, damn it all, he’d been good at it and more missions came his way. The bitter taste of disgust and regret stung his tongue.

He remembered how triumphant he felt when he began refusing those missions, but it didn’t erase the past. His actions had changed something inside him. He was no stranger to lust, he still appreciated beautiful women, but he hadn’t had sex in two years. Intimacy was forever tarnished. He was forever tarnished.

His jaw tightened. For those reasons and more, he hated working with Neil. That slimy, misbegotten little worm was the one who pressured him into sleeping his way to information during his first mission.

The dragon twisted unhappily beneath his skin as he remembered. If he needed a reminder about why he liked working for Adrian, not having to do those missions was a damn good one. The panther never made unpleasant demands. He’d instinctively known Ryu loathed that sort of work and the way it cheapened something so precious.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he liked working for Adrian. When Adrian discovered Ryu wasn’t human, he pulled all the strings at his disposal to commandeer Ryu for his elite team, where all the members were a little bit extraordinary. Ryu still didn’t know how Adrian found out the truth about him but he was forever grateful.

Happy music, utterly at odds with his thoughts, suddenly blared then cut off abruptly, throwing him out of his contemplation. He blinked and focused. He needed to get his game face on, not only was he undercover, he was working a children’s party.

“Oh, good, you found the place.” Kait, dressed in a ringmasters costume with a clipboard in hand, hurried around the corner.

Rachael flushed and Ryu knew she was hoping her boss hadn’t overheard her derogatory comment.

“Hard to miss.” The smile he gave Kait was more genuine than his earlier ones.

Kait blinked a couple of times, then smiled. “Yeah, it’s huge isn’t it? Come on around. We’re setting up in the side garden. The marquee is up already and the caterers are putting out the food. You can find a good place to set up.”

As they walked, Kait continued, “Some of the performers wander though the crowd but you’ll need a base of operations. Somewhere the kids won’t mess with your stuff.”

“Kids and flammable liquids—best kept apart, got ya.”

Kait looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. “Smartass. Look, I know I don’t need to tell you your job but some things are worth repeating.”

Her smile was going to drive him crazy if he wasn’t careful. He hefted his heavy gear bag on his shoulder, shifting the strap so it wasn’t digging into his skin. This was work time not playtime, he reminded himself.

They reached the well-manicured lawns and the circus-tent-style marquee sitting in a site of organised chaos. A man and woman were warming up on the trapeze; the DJ ran sound checks ready to blast out children’s party tunes; caterers carried huge platters of disturbingly brightly coloured food to large tables; more people strung party lights; and a man on stilts towered over everyone.

“What’s the point of the lights?” he asked the back of Kait’s head.

“Hmmm?” She stood, hands on her hips, clipboard poking out like an odd wing, surveying the action.

“The lights, what’s the point of having them during the day?”

“Mr Janos insisted on lights. He said a party’s not complete without them, and the customer is always right, even when he’s wrong.” She turned and looked at Ryu. “I’ll leave you to set up. Any questions ask Rachael, or me, if you can catch me.” With that she forged her way into the chaos.

“Come on.” Rachael tilted her head toward the action and led Ryu into the fray.

She stopped at a table where three women were setting up for face painting.

“I brought the dress-up hats and wigs.” She dumped the box on the ground near them, then turned to him and waved her hand at the women. “By the way, this is Marla, Marielle and Pam. Ladies this is Mac, our new fire guy.”

“Hello.” Ryu smiled at them as three pairs of eyes turned in his direction.

“Nice to meet you.” Marielle, a tiny young woman in a bright green wig, held out her hand which Ryu dutifully shook.

Pam took his hand in both of hers and gave it an enthusiastic shake. “I saw your demo the other day it was wonderful.”

“Thank you.” He extracted his hand with difficulty and turned to the last woman.

She ignored his hand and pointed to the seat in front of her. “Sit, you need makeup,” she said in a heavily accented voice.

Rachael laughed exasperatedly. “Marla, what kind of welcome is that?”

“He know he good, he don’t need me tell him this.” Then Marla smiled, transforming her slightly awkward looking face. “This way I paint his face, others only watch. I win.”

“Marla, Marla, Marla, you’re married old girl. There’s no winning for you,” Rachael said. Ryu glanced at her and caught her rolling her eyes.

“He like piece of art, I can still admire.” Marla sounded put out.

“I’m the lucky one, surrounded by such beauty.” Ryu captured them all with admiring eyes, trying to calm the tension simmering below the surface. “Thanks for your help, Rachael, I’ll see you later.” He gave her another smile as he sat, dropping his bag on the ground at his feet.

Rachael ran her hand down his arm. “Sure thing, sugar.” The smile she sent him was pure sex. She walked away with that distinctive swing to her hips he’d noticed the first day.

“That girl all trouble.” Marla picked up a bright orange stick of paint.

“Why’s that?” Ryu eyed the orange suspiciously as it menaced his face.

Marla snorted. “You grown man, you not know by now, nothing I say gonna help you.”

Pam leaned conspiratorially around Marla’s ample frame. “She’s a sex fiend. Marla, you need more red.”

Ryu’s eyebrows leapt up. “Sex fiend?”

“Not really, Pam’s exaggerating.” Marielle handed Marla a yellow paint stick. “Rachael does like men though. Don’t know what she saw in the last one, he was dodgy.”

“He more than dodgy, he criminal.” Marla stroked the yellow across his cheek.

Criminal? “What was his name?” He needed to find out about the ex and run a background check on him. If he was linked to their investigation it could mean Rachael was involved.

“Steve something.” Pam shook her head.

Ryu didn’t dare press the issue, he didn’t want them wondering why he was asking. He’d have Spock do a check. He changed his line of questioning. “Any chance of getting into the house?”

Pam shook her head again. “No, the house is out of bounds. Not even the children are supposed to go inside.”

“What if we need to use the bathroom?” Ryu didn’t need to, but quick research had shown Mr Janos worked for a big accounting firm. Without a doubt his computer would have access to all sorts of privileged information. If the perp was using this gig, he’d need to get in and out of the house without anyone becoming suspicious.

Marielle pointed. “On the far side of the pool house.”

“Really, we can’t go in at all?” Ryu pressed.

Pam shook her finger at him. “Don’t even think about it. You could cost us all our job if anyone spots you.”

“I’m just so curious to see inside.” Ryu kept his face innocent.

“Curiosity killed the cat, my boy.” Pam shook her finger again for emphasis.

Ryu looked at Marielle and Marla as if seeking co-conspirators but they both shook their heads.

“Oh well, I’ll just have to admire it from the outside.” He gave a dramatic sigh and saw the women relax. He might not be able to go in, but he could watch for anyone else who tried.

“There, you all done.” Marla stepped back to admire her handy work.

Marielle handed him a mirror. “It matches your trousers.”

Ryu glanced at the embroidered flames dancing up the sides of his black pants then at the flames covering his cheek. “Thank you very much ladies.” He picked up Marla’s paint stained hand and kissed the back of her fingers. “Marla.”

“Ooo, he’s a charmer.” Pam smiled at him and waggled her fingers in farewell as Ryu grabbed his bag and headed off to find a place to set up.

He needed to select his performance spot with care. He wanted to see not just the house, but all Fantasia Alive employees. If someone went missing, he was going to be very interested.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of screaming, running, excited children. Their antics, combined with the strain of keeping an alert eye on the adults, was exhausting.

Ryu wiped sweat from his forehead with his arm, wishing playing with fire wasn’t such hot work. The children were fascinated and he’d hardly had a break since he arrived. He pushed the last of his torches into his bag, glad it was finally over.

“You going to this thing at the boss’s house?” Deron, his stilts resting across his shoulder, paused by Ryu.

When the stilt-walker stopped some kids messing with Ryu’s stuff earlier he’d taken the chance to introduce himself.

“Yeah, I think it’s mainly so everyone can meet me.” Ryu looked up at the taller man. “Makes it hard to say no.”

“True, true. I’ll see you there, man.” He balanced his stilts more comfortably and walked toward the cars.

Ryu zipped up his bag. They would be meeting him, but he would be assessing them. Someone working at Fantasia Alive was a thief. They hadn’t made a move he‘d observed today. So tonight he would continue observing, questioning, and trying to eliminate people.

Ryu swung his bag over his shoulder. He sighed, wishing he wasn’t deceiving Kait. If he knew for sure she wasn’t involved he could talk to her. She would be a fount of information, if only he could ask for it. But too many questions would make her suspicious.

Chapter
6

The sounds of the party buzzed, alongside Kait’s headache, at the base of her skull. Shading her eyes from the setting sun, she scanned the crowd again. The team from the circus-themed kiddie party, as well as regulars who hadn’t been involved today, were arriving in dribs and drabs.

People filled Victor’s deck, kitchen and lounge. A few even made themselves at home in the pool. Johnny turned up the music pounding out of speakers both inside and outside the house. Soon the party would be in full swing.

“You’re making me feel redundant, Kait. You looking for someone in particular?” Leaning casually against the deck railing, Victor didn’t look as miffed as his words suggested, if anything he looked amused.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Oh, there he is.” Kait spotted Ryu. “Ryu, over here!”

Seeing Ryu nod then tilt his head at the drinks table, she turned back to Victor. “I wanted to introduce you to your newest hire before everyone has too much to drink.”

“I never have too much to drink.” He took a sip of his beer.

“I, uh…I didn’t mean to imply you did.” Crud, the last thing she wanted to do was offend him.

“Relax, Kait, I was teasing. You seem stressed, didn’t I warn you about that.” The last was accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

Flustered, Kait laughed. She didn’t want him to link her current agitation to Ryu’s arrival. “Maybe I should be the one drinking?”

“The function went off without a hitch. Enjoy yourself, Kait, boss’s orders.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” she said, glad when Ryu’s arrival distracted his attention. “Victor, this is Ryu MacKay our new fire-worker. Ryu, Victor Strange, owner of Fantasia Alive.”

As she quickly carried out introductions the two men shook hands. The way they sized each other up reminded her of two dominant male animals circling each other in the wild. Amused at her own whimsy, she tried to decide which animals. Lions…wolves… She wrinkled her nose. Nothing seemed quite right, but the odd flare to Ryu’s eyes made her glad she wasn’t in Victor’s position.