Helix led me into a small room that mirrored the sitting room above except on a smaller scale. Cream décor, but only one couch and a small table between it and the doorway. Once inside, he turned to go and all my careful discussions in my head faded away under the prospect of being locked in this tiny room.
“Please, don’t lock the door. I won’t leave or do anything crazy. I just need to know that I can get out.”
He studied me then gave me a clipped nod and closed the door between us.
I sucked in a huge breath and prayed Fin couldn’t feel the fear rolling off me at the moment. I needed to get myself together before the contact came in and I ruined everything.
When I’d gone into Fin’s basement, I didn’t have this kind of reaction. My skin felt charged, like a fine buzz vibrated from inside me, and not in a fun sexy kind of way. A fear of cramped unknown basements wasn’t a good thing to have as a bounty hunter. People like to hide in cramped dark spaces. It was a well-documented fact.
I counted the recessed lighting circles overhead, then the buttons on the upholstery of the couch, anything to keep my mind occupied until the contact came in.
A loud buzz cut through the room and I clamped my hands over my ears until a voice cancelled the static.
“Zoey? Is that your name?” It was a female voice, soft and deep for a woman.
I nodded, but then rolled my eyes at myself, lowered my hands, and cleared my throat. “Yes, my name is Zoey, and you are...?”
“Nice try, but I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to talk about what you need. Tell me about this weapon.”
Okay. I can do this. I resituated myself on the couch. “As far as I know, it’s a fairy made blade and when used on someone it creates an unhealable wound. It was recently wielded by my enemy and I need to get it off the field before I can make another move against him.”
“Does this enemy have a name?”
Shit. The moment I mention the Black Mage, this woman is going to run straight for the hills. Not even her pretty bodyguard would be able to convince her to stay.
“Um, can I keep that to myself for now? I promise he’s a bad guy.”
Even her soft laugh sounded sultry. “I don’t work for just anyone, nor do I provide weapons against those who I consider friends.”
I scoffed. “Lady, if you’re friends with this man then we wouldn’t be speaking, and you wouldn’t have waltzed me through this dog and pony show of a protection racket you’ve got going on here. So, let’s not play games.”
The intercom went quiet, not even the soft static crackling through the room. Maybe I scared her away with my honesty? Helix seemed to find it refreshing. I didn’t do subterfuge well and it always helped when people understood that about me.
I rubbed my clammy hands on my pants and took another sip from my glass. The condensation trickled over my fingers as I drained the drink and put it back down again. There wasn’t a bar in here to get a refill so all I could do was sit and wait.
And not let my reaction to this room drive me insane. The urge to rush to the door just to check and see if it was still unlocked beat at me. But I didn’t want to antagonize anyone, not until they agreed to help me.
Then they could learn antagonization was one of my love languages.
I sat forward and then stood, wandering behind the couch and then back in front of it, pacing a circle. Not that I could manage more than a few steps in the small space.
I made it around the couch quite a few times when the door opened from the outside. In the doorway stood a small woman, dressed head to toe in black, wearing sunglasses. Her hair had been tucked under a cap but from what I could tell by the eyebrows between the hat and the glasses, it was black.
“Is that necessary?” I asked, looking her over for any identifiable details. I got nothing except the tiny scars dotting her fingers, white against her pale skin.
“It is,” she said in that same bar-room voice. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Zoey.”
Chapter Ten
I STARED AT HER A LITTLE too long before shaking myself to speak. “Sorry, uh, nice to meet you too...?”
She didn’t respond to my not-so-subtle request
for her name, instead stepping further into the room and closing the door in Helix’s face on the other side. I could appreciate a woman who could put a man in his place.
With a graceful wave at the couch, she closed the distance between us. “Please, sit.”
I only followed the directive because her hands shook, and fear wafted off her in waves which fought with her sea breeze scent.