AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We make it to the FUAoffice unscathed. It’s quiet. Darla’s typing away at her desk, and a beautiful redheaded woman is manning the reception desk. She’s on the phone and looks ready to strangle whoever is on the other line. “Uh-huh.” She rolls her eyes. “I understand that, Mrs. Montgomery, but I already told you, they’re imps, not rodents. We can’t exterminate them. No, Mrs. Montgomery…”
Ren’s soft chuckle pulls my attention from the woman behind the desk. “Who’s that?” I ask.
“Shayne Davies. Rookie agent. Looks like she pulled the short straw in my absence.”
Shayne groans at the ceiling. “Look, lady, I already told you, I’m not sending someone out there. Those imps have a permit to live in the walls of that building.”
Ren grips my wrist and tugs me toward the back hallway. “Quick, let’s go see what the director wants, before I have to take over that phone call. Mrs. Montgomery calls at least once a week about the imps in her apartment building. I keep telling her to move if she doesn’t like them. Or at least get a cat.”
As we pass the desk, Shayne looks up and her eyes flash. “Ren! Thank the baseball gods. Can youpleasetell this crazy woman—”
“Sorry, busy, can’t right now,” Ren sings, his steps never faltering as he pulls me across the room. “Back in a bit! You’re the best, Davies! Thanks!”
“Ren, come on! Ren.Ren!”
Ren snickers as he knocks on Director West’s office. I shake my head and chuckle.
“Come in,” the director calls out sharply.
Ren swings the door open and drags me into the office. Rook follows us and closes the door. Director West smiles at me and waves a hand toward the empty chairs in front of her desk. “Jacobs, thank you for coming in.”
Jacobs. She started calling me that after the human hunter fiasco a few weeks ago. I guess using last names is a cop thing. I don’t like it. It seems less personal, and more like she’s my boss. Though, I guess she is. I agreed to work with the FUA office on a case-by-case situation. This is the first time she’s called me in on an official capacity.
Ren pulls out one of the chairs in front of her desk, so I sit in it, and he takes the other one as if he’s ready to receive his next assignment as well. Director West cocks a brow at him, and he shrugs sheepishly. He points a thumb over his shoulder. “Mrs. Montgomery. Shayne’s got it handled.”
Director West rolls her eyes. “Get out of here, Ren. Send Davies home before I have to pay her overtime.”
Ren pouts, but he gets up. He plops a kiss to the top of my head, then saunters out of the office. Rook takes his seat in the chair next to mine. Director West gives him a long look, but she doesn’t ask him to leave. Not that he would. “Sorry. He’s not going to leave my side while there are contracts out on my clan.”
“I understand.” Director West nods and closes a file folder that was sitting open in front of her. “I’m sorry about this contract mess. We’re working on it as best we can, but with Oliver out, there’s not much we can do. He’s our expert in the technology area.” The edge in her expression softens at the mention of Oliver’s name. “How is he? Ren said he woke up?”
“He did.” Some of my hostility toward the woman melts away at the hope in her voice. Director West is especially fond of Oliver. “Not for long, but he woke up. He looks like hell, but Enzo says he’ll be good as new in a day or two.”
“Good.” She smiles. “Keep me updated on his progress.”
“I will. Was there another reason you called me in?” I hate to be so abrasive, but I have too much going on right now to be wasting time. Not to mention, I’m still mad at her. She was the one ultimately responsible for letting the rogues that killed my mother run free for so long. It’s hard to look past that to the good she does for the city.
Director West purses her lips and narrows her eyes slightly, but she doesn’t call me out on my attitude. “Actually, the FBI has requested you. They have a very important case that needs immediate attention, and they hoped you could help.”
I frown. “The FBI? How do they even know about me?”
Director West opens a desk drawer and pulls out two badges. I recognize them from the last time I worked on a case. They’re my badges—one claiming I’m an agent for the FUA and the other stating I work for the FBI. “We had to tell them all about you when we registered you with the Agency. They know about your unique gifts, and I believe that’s why they’re coming to you.”
I grind my teeth. She and Nick registered me with the Agency without asking me, which means she outed me to the human government without my permission. “Fine,” I say, my tone clipped. I take the badges and look at them. “What’s the case?”
Director West watches me cautiously for a moment, unspoken words on the tip of her tongue. But she swallows whatever thought she had and nods. “We have a missing unicorn.”
Had she said this to me before yesterday, I’d be shocked. But now it’s not wholly unsurprising.
“Unicorns are the rarest underworlders on Earth.” She waves a hand toward me. “Well, besides sirens, now. There’s only one herd in the entire world. A small herd—just five unicorns. They live in the Redwood forest just south of Crescent City, California. Four nights ago, their only child, a twelve-year-old girl, went missing without a trace.”
My stomach drops at the thought of a missing child. “How awful.”
Director West nods. “I agree. Missing children cases are always the worst. The child was taken during the night. There were signs of a struggle in the girl’s bedroom, and the window was broken, but no one heard any noise. The SF FUA believes magic was used.”
I think back on my vision of Christov, and nod. “I’m sure it was.”
“They’ve used every resource they have and have come up with nothing. They’re hoping you might be able to use your psychic gifts to find some kind of clues. Anything at all.”
