Part 15 (2/2)
”Ever. No emotional or physical intimacy of any kind is allowed.”
Jackson sagged against one of the support beams and tried to wrap his brain around that. ”Why?”
”It depends on who you ask.” Mich.e.l.le leaned her elbows on the railing and picked absently at a piece of flaking paint. ”The emotional part is easy. They don't want me to have divided loyalties.”
The more Jackson heard about the lives of Seers, the worse he felt for Mich.e.l.le. ”How about the rest of it?” he asked gently, staring at her profile.
”Superst.i.tion, mostly.” She continued to worry at the chip of paint, her expression distant. ”People claim that a Seer who loses her virginity loses her powers. Personally, I think they don't want me pa.s.sing on my dirty magical genes by mistake.”
”Your genes are the same as Nick's,” he noted blandly, ”and the entirety of shapes.h.i.+fter society is waiting with bated breath for her to make a good match, settle down and have a bunch of babies. What kind of sense does that make?”
Mich.e.l.le shrugged. ”That's the way it is. I'm an a.s.set to the Conclave if I'm under control. If I thought for a second I'd lose my powers if I had s.e.x, I'd have done it years ago. But it would only serve to put my lover in danger. So...I ignore it.”
He sighed. ”Sometimes I wonder if Mackenzie wouldn't have been better off without any of this s.h.i.+t. I mean, the social stuff. Not only do you have to worry about the same c.r.a.p as everyone else, but you have to be careful not to reveal yourself or step on the wrong toes, do something wrong... It's a huge mess sometimes.”
”She's got Nick to ease her into it.” Mich.e.l.le smiled at him. ”You must have realized by now that the free-spirited party-girl image she's cultivated so meticulously isn't all there is to her. Nick knows our society. And Mackenzie will have you, too. She'll be fine.”
”Yeah. She'll have both of us. There's something be said for-” His words cut off as his phone began to ring. ”Sorry. Hang on.”
Mich.e.l.le straightened. ”I'll wait for you in the kitchen.”
It was Kat again. ”Did you hear from Mariko?” he answered, eschewing pleasantries as the door swung shut behind Mich.e.l.le.
”Yep.” Kat's voice was easy. ”Her guy in Boston had actually heard of Talbot. Said the guy's a legend. There was an informal compet.i.tion a few years back to see if anyone could get a meeting with him. They wanted his advice on some sort of magical thing-” There was a rustle of paper. ”Trip-wire wards, she called them? Anyway, Mari said that no one could even get within a quarter mile of the property, much less score any face time with him. Some of them think he's not even alive anymore, though I'm guessing you know that's not true.”
”Unfortunately. Any of Talbot's humdrum security measures would have to be homegrown. Self-placed cameras with no external monitoring.”
”Mari got the impression from her friend that there wouldn't even be anything like that. He said if no one can even get to your house, cameras are pretty pointless. Of course, she also warned me that he might just be bitter because he was bragging he'd be able to get in and he couldn't.”
”Duly noted.” Jackson tugged his notebook from his pocket. ”Are you at the office now?”
”No.” Her voice was sullen. ”I'm at Derek's desk. He showed up about two minutes after I hung up with you last time.”
”Good. Now, if anything should happen, you take that key we gave you. It opens a safe deposit box at the First Bank and Trust on Poydras. Number fourteen-twelve. It'll have instructions, and everything else you might need to settle the business, okay?”
”f.u.c.k, Jackson. What the h.e.l.l is going on?”
He'd never lied to Kat-didn't make a habit of lying to anyone, actually-but he hesitated before answering. ”This guy, the one who s.n.a.t.c.hed Mackenzie? He's got power, Kat. It's going to take all of us to deal with him and get her back, and that's a.s.suming we all make it out alive.”
”Do you need more people? Derek could help, and I'm not useless...” Kat's sounded worried now. ”s.h.i.+t, I can't just sit here and wait.”
”No.” The last thing he needed was for Kat and her cousin to get hurt when he should have taken care of Talbot in the first place. Nick would kill him for certain. ”We've got it under control, as much as possible. You just need to know what to do if things go badly.”
”O-okay.” She dragged in a shaky breath. ”Okay. But if you don't call and keep me updated, I'll track you down and get all up in your business, Jackson Holt.”
”Yeah, I know,” he said with a slight grin. ”Hey, tell your cousin Nick said hi, huh?”
”Only you could go from talking about your d.a.m.n will to matchmaking, Jackson.” Some of the fear had evaporated from her voice. ”Unless you want to give me the dirty details about what you and Mackenzie are going to get up to once you've done your hero s.h.i.+t, keep your nose out of my business. And Nick's too, for that matter.”
”Whatever you say, Kat.” Jackson headed for the back door, feeling better. ”I've got to go. Do me a favor and text me with Mariko's number, all right? I may need to talk to this friend of hers.”
”Will do. Don't get killed. I sort of like you.”
”Yeah, I bet you say that to all your bosses. Later, kid.”
Chapter Seventeen.
Mackenzie half-expected to find someone waiting for her when she emerged from the bedroom, freshly scrubbed and dressed in more clothing from the closet. The pants were, again, tight across the hips, and the s.h.i.+rt hadn't been designed for a woman with b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but she looked presentable enough. Someone had even stocked the bathroom with things she might need, everything from shampoo and body wash to the clip she'd used to fasten the bulk of her hair at the back of her head.
It was hard to remember she was a kidnapped prisoner as she followed the directions Marcus had given her. Charles was terrifying, but he hadn't done anything overtly threatening, and Marcus- Marcus had seemed insane when she'd first met him. Absolutely crazy, with his talk of magic and shapes.h.i.+fters and destiny. It had been a lot easier to dislike him when he'd been nothing more than an obsessed, deranged lunatic.
She reached the stairs and turned left, following the faint sounds she heard from the door she a.s.sumed led to the study. ”Marcus?”
He sat in one of the wing-backed chairs, reading. He looked up and smiled when she walked in. ”Ready for dinner?”
”Yeah.” She managed a faint smile in return. ”I'm pretty hungry.”
”Okay.” He offered her his arm, and patted hers as he led her out the door. ”I had a table set up in the conservatory. We don't really grow many things in there, but the view of the stars through the windows and ceiling is breathtaking.”
It wasn't her shapes.h.i.+fter instincts that suddenly screeched a warning. The part of her that recognized where the evening was going was purely human-and entirely disturbed. The fact that Marcus didn't seem like a raving lunatic anymore didn't mean she was ready to cuddle with him under the stars.
He recognized the look on her face. ”Oh, no. It's not like that. Well, okay, maybe a little. But I've toned it down, I swear. Dad wanted to hire a violinist.”
”Yeah.” Mackenzie glanced at him. ”I don't necessarily think you're trying to hurt me anymore, Marcus, but I'm pretty sure I can't downs.h.i.+ft from kidnapping to moonlight serenades in less than twenty-four hours.”
”Which is why we're just having dinner.” The look he wore was bland but pleasant. ”No talk of destiny or duty or any of that c.r.a.p. You tell me about your life, and I'll tell you about mine. Nothing more to it.”
As if it could be that simple. But arguing wouldn't change anything. ”I'll try.”
Marcus fixed his eyes on the stairs as they descended. ”Look, Mackenzie, believe it or not, this really isn't my idea of the perfect way to meet and woo a woman. Not that you're not terrific,” he added quickly, ”but it's all a little rushed and fake for my tastes.”
”I spent the last month and a half in a state of blind panic.” Anger crept into her tone, in spite of her determination not to antagonize Marcus. ”I barely slept. I lost everything I had. You people destroyed my life, and a violinist isn't going to make me forget that.”
He looked contrite. ”I didn't know that you didn't know. When I came to see you, I mean. I wouldn't have been so blunt, if I had. As for everything after that... Well, we didn't have a choice. You're our last chance, Mackenzie.”
She stopped and pulled her hand away as he descended the final step, leaving her eyes on level with his when he turned to look at her. ”I'm your last chance,” she agreed in a quiet voice. ”You were willing to go to some crazy lengths to get a hold of me. So I'm wondering what happens if I don't agree to this. How far are you and your father willing to go?”
Marcus stared at her, his eyes dark. ”Considering what you've been through,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion, ”I'm going to try very hard not to be offended by your implication. But you can rest a.s.sured, Mackenzie, I've never touched a woman who didn't want me to do so, and I'm not going to start now.”
Guilt stabbed at her, but she pushed it aside with ruthless resolve. ”The men you sent after me killed people, Marcus. Innocent bystanders. I didn't think you'd be terribly worried about willingness.”
The shock that widened his eyes before disappearing behind anger was fleeting but unmistakable. ”What are you talking about?”
He doesn't know. Exhilaration rose as quickly as the guilt had, and she shoved it down. If Marcus was truly oblivious to the things Charles had done over the years...
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