“That doesn’t look legal,” Jenks said from the safety of my shoulder, and the crowd oohed when an entire bookcase came tumbling out, hitting the ground to break into three pieces and scatter paperbacks everywhere.
It might be understandable if the building was on fire, but despite the fire truck at the curb, it wasn’t. This had all the earmarks of a mass eviction, one done without the usual painstaking legalities and paperwork, and my face burned. The I.S. wasn’t doing anything about it except crowd control.
“You want me to tell David we’re here?” Jenks said, and I scanned the crowd until I found the man standing beside one of the cruisers.
“That’s bull!” I heard him say faintly as he gestured to the building. “You can’t evict someone because you want the property. They’re paid up. The property is in repair.”
“Sir, if you don’t get behind the tape, I’ll detain you for obstruction,” the officer said, one hand on his cuffs, the other reaching to push David back.
My breath caught as David shifted, the motion so fast the I.S. officer hesitated in surprise.
“I wouldn’t.” David almost growled the words, and the displaced Weres within earshot hesitated, turning from their growing piles. They were looking to him for direction, and a chill dropped down my spine. “I really wouldn’t.”
This was bad, but it could clearly get a whole lot worse. “Tell him I don’t have bail money for this,” I whispered, and Jenks darted away, ignored as he broke the “do not cross” line.
I lost his sparkle of dust in the sun, but I knew the instant he reached David, as the Were suddenly backed off, his posture shifting from aggression to worry. He turned right to me, frowning when I gave him a little wave. If they took him down, I’d get involved, and apparently he didn’t want that.
“I won’t tell you again,” the officer said, bold now that David had retreated. “Behind the line!”
David raised a hand in acquiescence, but his anger hung with him as he went to help one of the former residents carry a chair to the moving van that had pulled up to the curb.
My shoulders slumped, stiffening back up when I spotted that same brown Volvo cruising the outskirts. My eyes met the driver’s, my lip twitching when he smiled mockingly at me and drove on.
Which made me wonder if this had been a ploy to lure David away and get me alone, or just general harassment. The people collecting their things were frustrated and angry, prevented from going upstairs to get their belongings by three I.S. officers standing at the door. They were protecting Constance’s vampires, and my fists clenched.
Eminent domain? I thought, eyes narrowing. This was unicorn crap. City master vampires sucked. But without them, everyone would be prey, not simply one small group of vampires who thought it was a privilege to be the undead’s next fix. In return, Constance was taking what she wanted. And the I.S. was going to help because as the city’s master vampire, she was basically their boss.
“She’s not going to be here for another two weeks,” I muttered to myself. “What kind of legal loophole did they find to justify this?”
“One they made up this morning,” a familiar voice said at my elbow, and I jerked, my anger shifting a little closer to home as I saw it was Captain Edden of the FIB looking both confident and apologetic in a light gray shirt, his black pants hoisted high above his slightly spreading middle. No tie.
Grimacing, I turned away, but not before I caught a hint of pleading in his eye. Too bad I was still mad at the balding, stubborn-as-nails, honest-to-a-fault, loyal, trustworthy, middle-aged former military man who only wanted to make the world a better place.
“The eviction date was moved up due to the courts going on vacation next week,” he added, shifting closer. The “do not cross” tape was between us, which I thought was fitting. “My backlog is already killing me. We don’t have the jail space for what this is going to cause.”
Ticked, I looked at him, words failing me. I had trusted him, and he had bitch-slapped me without even knowing it.
“Rachel,” he said with a pained, forced joviality. “I never expected to see you here. Come on in. I could use your help. None of the former residents are human, and the I.S. is ready to kick me out.”
He lifted the tape for me to pass under. Arms over my chest, I stared at him.
“If you’re with me, they won’t make me leave, and I’m trying to help someone,” he added. Forehead wrinkling, he dropped the tape. “Rachel?”
I didn’t move. My breath was shallow and my gut hurt. Behind him, a potted plant hit the ground and shattered.
“Okay, I’m an ass,” he said, and I exhaled, almost tearing up in the relief that he wasn’t going to pretend nothing was wrong. “You have every right to be mad at me. But this is an Inderland matter, and if you don’t vouch for me, I’m going to get kicked out. What’s going on isn’t fair. Someone needs to hold them accountable, and the I.S. won’t do it.”
“That you admit to being an ass isn’t admitting you were wrong,” I said, voice low so it wouldn’t shake. The hurt had been that deep.
Edden slumped. Pulling himself straight, he faced me directly, with more than tape hanging between us. “I was wrong to assume it was a demon causing the baku murders,” he said. “And even more wrong to not stop that kind of prejudicial thinking right at my desk. Thank you for pointing out that my attitude was that of a xenophobic pig. I’m trying to fix that. Please tell me if I’m ever dumb enough to do it again.”
Jenks hovered behind him, and I hesitated as he shrugged. The pixy would know if Edden was lying by way of his aura. I didn’t need to see Edden’s aura to know he was sincere. The older man was one of my favorite people, which was why it had hurt so much. But I could forgive him. We all made mistakes, and our upbringing was sometimes hell to overcome. “What can you tell me?” I said, almost breathing the words.
Edden exhaled, knowing what I was really saying was that I forgave him. Motions fast, he lifted the tape again. I slipped under it, feeling everything change as I accepted his apology. He had acknowledged my feelings were legitimate, taken ownership of his actions, apologized, and promised to be aware of it. If I was going to live in this world, I had to let go of the hurt and move on.
“They’re being forcibly evicted,” he said as we turned to look at the building, our shoulders almost touching. “They were given four weeks’ notice, but something shifted and everything was moved up.”
Jenks hovered between us, clearly glad things were getting back to normal, and the two men gave each other a head nod. “What do you mean, everything?” Jenks said, and Edden’s worry turned to a frown.
“Constance Corson is taking possession this week,” he said, and I started.