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“I’m sorry,” I repeated feebly. “Things got complicated.”
“They always do with you.”
Ouch.
I pushed aside his comment, shifting uncomfortably in the front seat of Santiago’s car with his big Trader Joe’s grocery bag on my lap. “We’re on our way.”
We were already on Chef Menteur, zooming along at a good clip. Typically the drive would be about forty-five minutes, but in the final, waning hours of night with the traffic thin and a madman behind the wheel, we were making excellent time.
“Ten more minutes,” he grumbled.
“Give me twenty.” I could tell he was going to protest, so I quickly added, “Please, Cash, this is important.”
“I’m starting to think shit is only important when it impacts you, and you forget the rest of us have our own stuff to deal with.” In the background I heard a female voice mumble something, but couldn’t quite make it out with the rushing sounds of the highway passing us.
At least I knew Tansy was there. Hopefully the real version of her.
We’d need her to get Gamigan to us.
In that moment I realized Cash was right. I was willing to use others as much as I needed to, if it meant accomplishing a goal I thought was important. Of course, in this case I was trying to help get a demon back into the shitty Pandora’s box Tansy had opened, so Cash could take his high-and-mighty attitude and shove it up his ass.
“Twenty minutes, Cash. I’ll be there, and if all goes well, you never have to fucking talk to me after tonight. But just wait. And don’t let her out of your sight.” It might not be her who comes back.
“Whatever.” He hung up.
Nineteen minutes and fourteen seconds later we pulled into the abandoned parking lot at Fort Pike. The fort was only open Fridays during the day to tourist visits, leaving it otherwise abandoned for the rest of the week. The limited access to the public and minimal security made it an ideal location for city werewolves who needed a place to get away. The fort backed onto a marshland, which was great for hunting rabbits and stretching four legs when the full moon came around.
I stressed to the local pack they should make an effort to go out to rural areas for the full moon—like Callum’s property—but in a pinch they needed to find places outside the city limits to change. We might be out as far as public knowledge went, but no one wanted to bump into a shifter in their wolf form out for a walk on Decatur.
I’d tried Fort Macomb once, since it was closer to home for me and similarly situated to Pike—both were on the water and had dozens of crumbling tunnels inside. But Macomb turned out to be a bit too close to the city proper for my tastes, and I didn’t have the same options for running freely. Pike ended up being my go-to place.
I’d never invited Cash along when I went for my furry walkabouts. I figured him watching me take down a deer might kill the romance. But I’d told him exactly how I managed to get into the historic site, so I knew he wouldn’t have any trouble getting access when I told him to come here.
Wilder, Santiago, and I got parked in the dark visitor lot.
We’d left Laura and Heidi back at Santiago’s, making them promise they wouldn’t go anywhere until we returned. They could call anyone they wanted to, but they needed to stay put. Santiago could keep them protected, but only if they remained within the boundaries of his wards. Anything beyond that and we couldn’t guarantee Gamigan wouldn’t show up to finish what it started.
This last part was enough to assure me they wouldn’t go anywhere.
I think they were just grateful to not be stuck inside a wall anymore. I’d only tried it out for five minutes, and I’d felt like I was suffocating. They’d been trapped for a week. I bet San
tiago’s living room was like a whole world of freedom after something that harrowing.
Cash and Tansy weren’t immediately visible when we got out of the BMW, but his car was still here, so I knew they hadn’t left. I skirted the lot to a small footbridge which led to the fort proper. The tourist entrance was located at the end of the bridge, but we weren’t going to use the door. I climbed onto the handrail and easily got hold of the stone lip that extended over the door arch, pulling myself up onto a grassy area overhead. Wilder was able to do the same, and to my surprise Santiago didn’t need any help to climb up after us. The grass ledge extended the whole way around the fort, with a stone walkway that formed the interior wall. I walked almost three-quarters of the way around the upper embankment until I came to a staircase that led down to the interior.
The inner part of the fort was a series of tunnels dug back into the hill and a large square tower building in the middle that had mostly crumbled away, leaving only brick walls and no roof.
I caught the scent of Cash from inside the decrepit building and led Wilder and Santiago in that direction, hiking the big bag of magical artifacts a little higher up on my shoulder.
I approached the center building slowly, not quite sure what to expect. There was no blood on the air, so I had to assume Tansy and Cash were still in one piece. I also couldn’t sense anything to indicate Gamigan had arrived, but since demons had no smell, I wasn’t expecting to get a fair heads-up.
This close to the water there were too many other aromas anyway. The wind carried a dozen new odors with each gust, and the only reason I could pick up on Cash was because he was nearby and his scent was familiar.
“Cash?” Forget being stealthy, he knew we were coming. It was time we got this over and done with.
He came to the doorway of the ruined complex, giving me the kind of stare one might reserve for a hated enemy, not a former lover. He had every reason to be annoyed over my lateness, but this extent seemed a little extreme.
“You want to explain why you had me come all the way out here just to sit around in the cold for an hour while you gallivanted all over town with…” he gave Wilder and Santiago a quick, dismissive once-over each, “…your harem.”
