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Don’t mention it. Please.
I won’t. Thank you.
Purely coincidence. Tell me what you’ll tell the Vegas Police.
Lauren didn’t buy that it was coincidence, but she understood the old gods didn’t want people to know the extent of their powers. This meant Mordecai had known the future, or at least had known the possibility or likelihood of this happening. She put those thoughts to the side and told him what he wanted to hear.I needed a few moments away from the party, and I was looking at the view. The next thing I know, I’m flung off the roof. I have no idea who did it.
Who were you talking to?
I wasn’t talking to anyone. I was off to the side, looking at the view.
Stick to that. Nothing more. An attorney will arrive and end the conversation after a few moments.
Panda walked with her in his arms, and the crowd parted to let him. It still took several long minutes for them to make it into the large entry of the casino and hotel. He took her to one of the seating areas and sat with her in his arms, cradled like a baby. Someone wrapped a towel the size of a blanket around her, and she pressed some of the loose fabric to her eyes, careful to not further smear makeup around. She wiped under her eyes, and felt of her hair. The updo was trashed.
She put her head back on Panda’s chest and told him, “Thanks for the rescue. I assume Nathan’s on his way?”
He spoke quietly, his voice vibrating through his chest. “Nathan, Gavin, Nick, and your mother are in the elevator on the way down. They told me to choose this location because it’s covered by cameras from multiple directions. Nathan wants a record of your police interview.”
Lauren was shivering and couldn’t stop. If she’d been in the middle of nowhere, without an audience, she’d have levitated back to the roof and kicked the motherfucker’s ass, but with so many people out and about in Vegas, she couldn’t doanything.
She aimed her thoughts back to Mordecai.Was I subtle enough when I changed direction?
I’ve watched the video from five camera angles, and while it looks a bit off from one direction, it’s easily explainable as a result of the fish-eye lens. You did a great job of slowing up top and then releasing towards the bottom. It kept you from hitting the water so hard, but the speed looks natural. Excellent job.
Casino security stood in a ring around the seating area, keeping bystanders away. Lauren’s hawk keyed in on Gavin and Nick the second the elevator door opened, and Lauren had to force herself to be still.
The attorney says you should remain in Panda’s lap, so the police can interview the two of you together,Gavin told her.
I’m not a fan of this strategy,Nick said,but we’ll go with it.
Where’s Jason?
A holding cell,Gavin said.Nick and I will get our licks in, but it seems important to let you have a go at him first. Or, that’s what we’re telling your mother, at any rate.
Thank you. I don’t know if I’ll want to or not, but I’d like to have the option. I’m pissed right now and would love to throw him into the Grand Canyon and watch him go splat, but that might kill him, and he doesn’t get to die so easily. We have to make a scary example of him.
Exactly right, and we will do exactly that.Gavin still sounded eerily calm, and it helped Lauren find her center despite the fact she knew he did his worst when he seemed the most serene.
The foursome stepped through the ring of security, and Gavin sat beside Panda and put his hands on Lauren’s feet.
As much as I’d like to talk you through the shaking, it’s probably best you seem out of sorts when the police arrive in about forty seconds.He switched from telepathy to speaking, and said, “This is Pavel, one of my attorneys who happened to be at the party. Tell him what you will tell the police.”
Lauren spoke through her shivering, her voice more unsteady than she’d have preferred. “I was stealing a moment away from the party guests, taking in the view, and then the next thing I knew, I was flying off the roof. I have no idea who did it. I didn’t see them. I can’t even tell you if it was one person or two. I vaguely remember hands on me, but it happened so fast, and I didn’t see anything except the sky and the lights and the ground coming at me. If I hadn’t fallen in the water feature, I’d be dead.”
“Excellent.” Pavel looked up and to his left, and said, “Officers. This is Lauren O’Shea, who was pulled from the fountain by casino security.”
“She’s being held by one of my men,” Nathan said, stepping forward. “I’m Nathan Pierce, one of the owners of Drake Security. We were hired to provide extra security for the party, and my people are wearing insignia identifying them as casino security, to avoid confusion. You’ll find Panda’s full name and contact information on the back of this card, and my name and contact information on the front. Please call him Panda when you question him.”
The officer looked at both sides of the card, gave Nathan a long, scrutinizing look, and turned to Panda and Lauren.
“An ambulance is on the way, ma’am. Do you need medical attention?”
Lauren shook her head. “I do not, officer. I need a hot shower in a room without sound. Just the sound of the water. Nothing else.” Okay, that was more information than he needed. Nathan had coached her in the past about answering law enforcement’s questions as concisely as possible, without providing more information than necessary. She needed to do better. She hated that she was still shaking, but she understood her men didn’t want her to pull herself together in front of the cops, so she didn’t try to.
“She only expelled a small amount of water when I pulled her from the pool,” Panda told the officer. “We waited here because I was told you were close, but I’d really like to get her behind closed doors as soon as we can. Please ask your questions.”
“Did you fall from the roof, or were you pushed, Miss O’Shea?”
