I checked my watch, figured out the time difference, and called Dawna. After all, what are friends for?
Dawna sounded bright, perky, and cheerful enough to make my teeth ache. “Good morning! ’Bout time you called in. You would not believe the stack of messages I have for you!”
“Good morning to you.” I tried to force cheer in my voice to match hers and failed, miserably.
“Uh-oh. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“Gran’s in the hospital. She’s going to be all right, but we had a big blow-up.”
“Let me guess, was it about your mom?”
“Isn’t it always?”
Dawna gave a gusty sigh. “Pretty much. Sorry. Why’s she in the hospital?”
I told her the whole story. If the phones were being tapped, I wanted everyone listening to know that we’d stopped the a-hole and that nobody who targeted my family would survive.
“Wow! Sorry times two, girlfriend.”
“Me, too. I figured I’d call and see if you had any good news to cheer me up.”
“Actually, I do have some,” she assured me. “First, Ron’s moving out today. The movers are due here at nine o’clock and the cleaners are coming at one. I’m supposed to tell you that”—she imitated Ron at his most pompous—“he’s abiding by the agreement and expects you to do the same.”
I found myself letting out a knowing snicker. “Write the man a check and sign it. And don’t quibble.”
A chuckle was followed by the shuffling of papers. “Dom Rizzoli called. He said I’m supposed to tell you”—she paused, and I heard another rustle of papers as she dug for the right message—“He said to tell you: “‘Good news. You won’t have to testify against Raul.’”
That was a shock, but a good one. “Say what?” Paulo Ortega was the drug king pin whose tunnels I’d used to escape. Raul was his baby brother and right-hand man. Paulo was a violent psycho who ruled his own private army with an iron fist and practically unlimited funds. The stick, and the carrot, generally used in that order. I’d been scheduled to testify about the tunnels and the vampires in them. I wondered what had happened. Had the Mexican authorities decided—or been convinced—not to prosecute?
Dawna continued, “Rizzoli didn’t say, but I actually know why. I read about this online. The border patrol found scattered remains in the desert, the morning after the full moon. There was enough to do DNA matching, and it’s Paulo and Raul. It looks as if they got on the wrong side of a pack of werewolves.”
Wow. What an ugly way to go. Almost as brutal and violent as some of the things I’d heard they’d ordered. I couldn’t say I was sorry. I bet it was Maria’s family. Paulo had learned the hard way that payback is a bitch.
Literally.
“Celia? You still there?”
“I’m here. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, but I can’t say they didn’t deserve it.”
“That’s almost exactly what the guy who wrote the online article said.”
I believed it. Thinking about the Ortegas, though, reminded me of Mexico. Not good. Not the kind of memories that would improve my mood.
“Anything else?”
“Yup. When you get back, the INS and the DEA both want to meet with you and have you map out as much of the tunnels as you can remember. Oh, and the Levys are on their way to Serenity with the dresses and they are
gorgeous
. You are going to look so amazing! Bruno’s finished your joint present for Adriana and King Dahlmar. Since he was working on it in the same office with Jan, he had it checked to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with, and it’s fine. Emma swears it’s the best focus she’s ever seen, even better than the mirror you had made for Vicki.”
Oh! So that’s what he’d been making at the college. I’d assumed the mirror was a class assignment.
Wow. That was awesome. It would be the perfect gift for Adriana, who was a fairly powerful clairvoyant. And Dahlmar was enough in love that pleasing her was sure to please him. Score.
“He said to let you know he’ll bring it with him when he flies out to Rusland. He doesn’t want to risk letting it out of his sight until then.”
I didn’t blame him. Major magical artifacts are big business and valuable as hell. Even the express courier companies won’t insure them for full value. They’re just too likely to be stolen. “He’s sending you his itinerary by e-mail, so be sure to get online.”
Thinking about seeing Bruno made me smile, and while Dawna couldn’t see it, she knew me well enough to guess.
“I’m supposed to tell you he loves you and he’s really, really sorry. Just between the two of us, I’m thinking that you’re going to be able to hold that whole body bind thing over his head for quite a while.”
I laughed. “Maybe.” Probably not. Then again, he
really
shouldn’t have done it. And I did not want him to get into the habit of pulling that kind of crap.
“Ready for the less good news?”
I groaned. “I suppose.”
“Dottie came in and got Minnie the Mouser.”
“What?” That was a shock. Fred and Dottie lived in government housing. No pets allowed. She’d gotten me to take in her adored cat Minnie after a friend—a cop—who’d been looking after her died in the line of duty. Since I’m gone so much, we’d made her the office cat. We all loved the silly furball. She was spoiled rotten.
“Dottie said it was only for a couple of days, that she didn’t want her getting underfoot with the movers coming in.”
Well, that kind of made sense. Although, come to think on it, we could’ve just locked her in my office for a couple of hours. I wondered if my clairvoyant friend was up to something. I wouldn’t put it past her.
Dawna continued. “But she was acting all weird and sad. She wandered around the whole place, even up to the third floor.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course she had. I’d told Dottie a million times not to take the stairs with that walker of hers. But did she listen? Oh hell no.
“She told me to ship all of your boxes—the ones in the storeroom—to your house. She was so insistent that I went ahead and did it. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Nah, it’s okay. She’s a seer. Who knows, maybe she saw that we’ll need the space.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of how I looked at it.” Dawna paused; in the background I heard the door open and people moving around. “Gotta go. The movers are here. Call me later.”
“Right.”
We hung up without saying good-bye, but that was okay. Things back at the office were in good hands. The Levys would be here soon with the dresses and Bruno had come up with the perfect wedding gift. All in all, not too shabby. Oh, there were still plenty of things to worry about: Dottie acting strange, Okalani being in danger. But I wasn’t going to think about them now. I was just too damned tired. We were almost back to the compound. I wanted food and sleep, in that order. Everything else would just have to wait.
* * *
I woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door to my suite. A glance at the clock told me it was only 10:30. I’d had less than three hours of sleep, which was worse than none at all.
“Go away,”
I growled, and pulled my pillow over my head.
Baker’s voice drifted through the door and the soft, feather down pillow. “Celia, Isaac and Gilda Levy are here with the dresses for the fitting. Princess Adriana has asked that you join everyone downstairs at your earliest convenience.”
Oh,
hell
. Early wasn’t convenient. Not at all. Damn it, anyway. I needed some rest. I was tired and depressed. The last thing I wanted was to be around people. And Gilda and Isaac were so damned perceptive, they’d know something was up the minute I walked into the room.
Still, there was nothing for it. They were here. There wasn’t much time for them to do any alterations as it was. It would be rude of me to make that time any shorter.
“Tell them I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“I’ll tell them ten minutes.”
“And get me some coffee,” I added. “Please. Lots and lots of coffee.”
I could almost hear Helen smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
I took one of the shortest showers on record, brushed my teeth and hair, and pulled on jeans and a little yellow T-shirt with horizontal stripes. I strapped on every weapon I’d be wearing at the weddings, from my knives on down to the Glock and ankle holster. Isaac was going to want to make sure the dress and jacket fit properly over my armament. He’d probably also renew the accuracy spells on my gear, which was never a bad thing. I practice at the range regularly and am a good shot even without the spells. But when it really matters, I want every possible edge.
When I opened the door to my suite, a scant seven minutes after my summons, Baker was waiting outside. She offered me a huge mug of coffee that smelled like everything good in the world. Taking the mug, I inhaled deeply, then took a sip, careful not to burn the roof of my mouth. It tasted fabulous. I wondered what blend it was and if I’d be able to find it back home.
Raised voices greeted my ears from downstairs. Oh, I so didn’t need to get in the middle of an argument this early. Instead, I blew on the steaming liquid in the mug and decided to take my time going down. Baker didn’t seem any more excited to get involved than me. Adriana’s voice, crisp and commanding, cut through the quarreling voices downstairs, saying in crisp, cold, English. “That is
enough
!”
I turned to Baker. “She really wants me down there, huh? You sure?”
She nodded vigorously.
“Peachy.”
I stepped past her and made my way down to the living room, where Adriana, Olga, and Natasha were gathered together with Gilda and Isaac Levy.
“Oh, Celia. I’m so glad you’re here.” Gilda beamed up at me. “Come with me. We need you to try on your dress and jacket so we can make any last-minute adjustments.” Zipping across the room, she retrieved a garment bag from where it was draped over the bar.
I doubted there’d be any alterations. After all, they’d just seen me a few days ago. Granted, it had been a rough few days, but I doubted I’d lost enough weight to change my measurements.
Isaac gave a short wave in greeting from where he was kneeling on the floor, pinning the hem of Natasha’s gown. She was standing on a raised stool, her expression one of martyred patience.
“Natasha, glad to see you’re feeling better.” I tried to make it sound like she’d had the flu, rather than being an instrument of near-assassination.
She turned to look at me, over Isaac’s muttered protest, and her expression lightened. “Princess, I’ve been wanting to thank you. I am told you were the one who saved my life.”
I admitted it with a shrug but added, “Not the only one. King Dahlmar’s friend…” I had gone blank on his name.
“Igor,” Adriana supplied.
“That’s him. Igor. He did CPR, too. Are you feeling better? What do the doctors say?”
“They say I will be fine. The only lasting effect is the lost memories.” Her face clouded with worry. “I do not like not remembering.”
I could understand that. I’d had a spell worked on me that affected my memory. It nearly drove me nuts before I was finally able to get it lifted.
She shook her head and smiled. “But Princess Adriana has been most kind. She has forgiven me, in spite of what I have done, and is still willing to have me beside her in her wedding.”
I glanced over at Adriana, who was smiling. That she wasn’t holding a grudge was pretty damned generous of her, all things considered—and not at all like the Adriana I’d first met. Being with Dahlmar had mellowed her. She was definitely less prickly than she’d once been. Love will do that to you.
Gilda shooed me toward the hallway that led to the nearest bathroom. “You have to try on the dress with the shoes and jewelry. I’m especially worried about the shoes. This brand seems to run narrow.”
She followed me into the good-sized bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind us before giving me a quick update on what I’d missed.
“The bridesmaids are arguing. The younger one…”
“Olga,” I said, and Gilda nodded.
“Olga is very angry and frightened. So many things have gone wrong. Nothing is going according to plan. She was counting on Natasha’s fear of her father to keep her in line, keep her agreeing to whatever Olga suggested. But that’s changed now that Natasha is no longer under the influence of the spell. The two of them have been arguing and sniping at each other. Olga insists that Princess Adriana is using her siren abilities to control King Dahlmar. Natasha disagrees.”
“Natasha’s right,” I said firmly as I slipped out of my shoes and unzipped the jeans.
“You’re sure?” She hooked the hanger with my dress over the hook on the back of the door, flipped the lid down on the toilet, and took a seat.
“Positive,” I assured her. “First off, Adriana is way older than she looks and way, way older than Dahlmar. Sirens live a
long
time, and she’s told me directly that she considers Dahlmar a younger man. She couldn’t have manipulated him using siren abilities because she doesn’t really have any, at least not to the level where she could control somebody as strong-willed as the king. Besides which, I made sure he had an anti-siren charm that would prevent her from doing any hanky-panky.”
“Oh, I’m sure it didn’t stop
that
.” Gilda gave me a saucy wink. “Adriana is a beautiful woman who is accustomed to getting her own way. There are many ways to manipulate someone; you don’t need to have psychic powers. And from what I’ve seen, most women’s normal abilities are usually enough to influence most men. Now we’ll just have to find a way to find a way to work that into the conversation. Because I am not letting those two little bitches ruin that girl’s big day.”
“I thought you said she’s a manipulator.”
She turned wide, innocent eyes to me. “Well, of course. But the manipulation she’s doing is only the time-honored sort that all women do. I respect that.”
I nearly laughed out loud, but managed to smother the burst of noise with both hands so that it came out in a muffled snort. Gilda was right, of course. We needed to intervene. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how we were going to manage that. Still, I was game. The new Adriana was growing on me. Besides, to my mind, every bride deserves a terrific wedding day.