Part 20 (1/2)
I followed him up the stairs. ”How do you know this? Facebook?”
”Nope. I read her calendar when I was interviewing her.”
”How do you know she's not just getting a quick trim?”
He gave me a long look over his shoulder. ”Anyone would think you were looking for an escape clause. All you have to do is say no, you know.”
I grinned. ”I'm just worried that Sam will get there before we do and that he'll somehow ensure we lose any clues we might otherwise have gained.”
”If he were investigating the wife, he would have done so by now.”
We reached the top of the landing but continued toward the shower rather than the bed. He was obviously intending to combine two necessities. ”Now, how about we quit the questions and just concentrate on the business at hand?”
I grinned as he tugged me closer. ”Concentrating as ordered, sir.”
And I did.
”So,” he said, stopping his truck several doors up from Mrs. Wilson's house. ”Who were you talking to when you first woke up?”
He had good ears, because I hadn't been talking that loud. ”Rory.”
”And who's Rory when he's home?” He s.h.i.+fted in his seat to look at me, but his expression was nothing more than curious.
”Every phoenix is one of a pair. He's mine.”
His eyebrows raised. ”He's your mate?”
”Not exactly.” I half shrugged. ”He's my lover, my friend, the other half of my soul, and the only man I can ever have children with. But we cannot, and do not, love each other. Not in the romantic sense.”
”Really? What the h.e.l.l did your people do to earn that sort of curse?”
”That is a million-dollar question, I'm afraid.”
He shook his head. ”Does that mean you're unable to fall in love at all?”
”No. We can and do, but it's part of the curse that our relations.h.i.+ps end badly. I don't think I've heard of one phoenix having a happy ending in all the centuries I've been alive. Certainly, I've never had one.”
”But just because you haven't heard about it-or experienced it-doesn't mean it can't happen.”
”Well, no. And I certainly keep hoping every time I'm reborn that this will be the one time it's different.” I shrugged. ”But I know for sure it's not this lifetime.”
He eyed me for a moment, then said, ”Because of Sam.”
”Another one loved and lost, I'm afraid.”
”That sucks. Big-time.”
”Living forever always has a drawback. This curse is ours.”
”Vampires don't seem to have many drawbacks.”
”They live on blood and they can't ever walk in suns.h.i.+ne.” My voice was dry. ”Those are pretty big drawbacks in my book.”
”Neither would worry me-especially if it meant more time chasing luscious ladies.” He paused, looking thoughtful. ”So have you and Rory had any kids?”
”We've only had five, because we aren't fertile every rebirth.” I shrugged. ”I haven't seen any of our children for a generation or so. Phoenix offspring don't tend to linger near the family nest once they find their mate.”
”And how does that happen? I take it there's a bit more involved than dating until you find the right one.”
I smiled. ”We don't date. At the age of sixteen, a ceremony is performed and our mates are revealed. From there on in, you're bonded for life.”
He frowned. ”What if you happen to hate your bonded partner?”
”That would totally suck, but it's never happened. Fate's not that cruel.”
”I wouldn't bet on that.” He glanced at his watch and his frown deepened. ”How long does it normally take to get your hair done?”
I blinked at the sudden change of topic. ”Around two hours if she's getting it dyed.” Not that I actually knew for sure, as I never got anything other than a cut. Phoenixes aged normally through each cycle, but I'd grown rather fond of the gray over the years. ”Why?”
”Because she should have been back by now.”
”Maybe she went shopping or something afterward.”
”Maybe.” His frown deepened. ”I've just got this itchy feeling something's not right.”
”I didn't think intuition was a Fae thing.” My gaze swept the street. There was a white car parked several doors up from Wilson's place and a woman cutting roses in a garden farther along the street, but neither p.r.i.c.ked any sensation of wrongness.
”Generally, it's not.” He frowned at the house for several moments longer, then dug his phone out of his pocket and made a phone call.
”Your secret source has to be a copper,” I noted in amus.e.m.e.nt once he'd finished. ”Very few other people would be able to get you the location of a car via its GPS that quickly.”
”Maybe.” His voice was noncommittal. ”But apparently, her vehicle is sitting in the driveway of her home.”
I glanced at the empty driveway. ”Someone's removed the GPS system.”
”Which suggests the itchy feeling may have been spot-on.” A devilish light entered his eyes. ”Shall we go investigate?”
”If you break and enter, Sam will throw you in jail.”
”Only if he catches us. Come on.”
I shook my head, but climbed out and waited while he fidgeted in the back of the truck for several minutes. The day was bright and warm, and I tugged off the light sweater I'd borrowed from Jackson, allowing the suns.h.i.+ne to caress my skin and continue the refuel of my inner fires-although soon I'd need more than just suns.h.i.+ne and the threads of energy I could steal from Jackson, and that meant getting back to Rory.
Jackson shoved several items into his pockets and then headed up the driveway. I followed, then watched from several steps away as he knocked on the door. It was loud, but had an oddly hollow sound, which, for some reason, had visions of death stirring.