Wish in One Hand (Once Upon a Djinn Book 1), page 17
What a waste of power. Before my energy hoarding tendencies overwhelmed my modesty, I slipped a wish over myself. Zeke’s frustrated groan told me I’d chosen my outfit well.
“You are a cruel, cruel woman, Babydoll.”
“Live with it. At least now I’m presentable.”
“You’re more than presentable.” His gaze was so intense I could feel it slide from my shoulders to my feet and back again. “Who knew the old idea of leaving something to the imagination could be so wicked?”
I glanced down. Soft, chocolate-brown velvet, gathered in gentle folds, fell to below my knees. Each ripple accentuated my curves without showing them. All in all, the dress looked tastefully demure. Frankly, I didn’t see why Zeke made so much fuss, but I stopped trying to figure out what scuttled through the Hebrew’s head ages ago. Analyzing him led only to madness.
Or, at the very least, irritation.
“I’m not going to forget myself and sleep with you, Zeke,” I said as he hooked my hand over his arm, “so you might as well cancel the room.”
He tipped his head toward me. “If you don’t mind, I’ll keep it. We’ll still need a safe place to teleport. Besides, after you hear my reason for choosing Sin City for your mini-vacation, you’ll agree to the overnight stay.” Giving a theatrical wink, he eased me out the door. “And maybe all of tomorrow, too.”
“Dream on.”
“I have a lot of dreams, Josie, and the best of them still involve you.”
His statement shut me up for the entire trip to the restaurant. I had to admit, just a little, he might not be the man I once knew, but falling back in love with him was out of the question. Too much time had passed and too much blood had gone under the bridge. I didn’t want to know his dreams. I sure as hell didn’t need to wonder whether they included me. Lord knows, I never had dreams about him.
Well, not more than once or twice. A night.
The restaurant Zeke chose was probably amazing. I didn’t notice. The food they served probably tasted exquisite. It floated over my tongue, but I don’t remember tasting any of it. As if I didn’t have enough occupying my mental real estate, this night sent my emotions into a tailspin. The bastard probably planned the whole evening, right down to my internal imbalance.
Zeke played the consummate dinner companion. He steered clear of every subject but the most banal. He talked about the weather in Denver. He expounded on the latest Hugh Jackman movie. He speculated about the upcoming football season. He also explained an off-Broadway play he’d seen the month before, in detail so exact it was like I’d seen the damn thing with him.
To any passerby, I must’ve looked like any other piece of arm-candy—all fluff and no substance. I answered him politely, nodded a lot, but added little to the conversation. I hadn’t seen a play in decades. I hadn’t followed football since before the Colts left Baltimore and Lombardi was a coach, not a trophy. Hell, the newest cinematic spectaculars passed me by. I spent too much time working. How Zeke managed to get any real work done with all his jet-setting shocked the shit out of me.
“And that, Josie, is how I got on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. When the season finale comes out, watch the gallery above the operating room. I’m sitting just left of center. No lines, of course, but then again, if Duarte watches television, it’ll be better if I didn’t open my mouth on camera.”
The instant our overly anal pal’s name slipped out, Zeke realized his error. In a nanosecond, our night of empty fun ended.
“He can’t really do anything, can he?”
“You know my thoughts on the subject,” he said, developing a sudden interest in the decadent dessert he’d insisted I order. I didn’t think anyone could squeeze so much chocolate into such a small helping, but one bite satisfied my cravings.
“He’ll attempt to whip the brethren into some kind of fireworks display,” Zeke continued, “but the thought of one loose Efreet will freak them out so much, he won’t muster so much as a sparkler worth out of them. And once you eradicate the Efreet yourself, they can’t say much of anything against you. In fact, I’d be willing to bet they’ll remain silent even if you don’t stop the Efreet.”
“Ever the optimist? This is new.” I pointed at him with my fork. “When did you change?”
“Around 1776.” He scooped a large bite of gooey goodness into his mouth. After swallowing, though, his features became melancholy.
“Not good?”
“This? It’s amazing.” He shook his head. “No. I never noticed something before. Back then, you never really bothered to discover anything about me. Now? For all you know, I could’ve changed entirely since you walked away from us. You would know, if you hadn’t cut me out of your life.”
“I didn’t—”
“And stopped returning my calls.”
“I’ve been—”
“And blocked me from teleporting anywhere near the building.” He tapped the edge of the plate with his fork. “And created a wish so every time I walked toward the building it turned me in the other direction.”
“It’s for security rea—”
“For every djinn or special for me?”
Well, he had me there. Other djinn could get onto the property without permission. Most could come as far as the lobby without needing an escort. “Fine. I admit it. I didn’t want to know anything about you or your current life.” Or to find out you were thriving without me. “Is that what you want to hear?”
“It’s a start.”
I gathered my clutch and wrap. “It’s all you’ll get right now. We don’t have time to sit chatting anymore. Other things are—”
“Far more pressing. I know.” He lifted a hand toward our waiter. “Check please.”
“Back to Colorado?” I asked. As much as I didn’t want a romantic evening with Zeke, I really didn’t want to end the night either. I told myself my urge to stay had to do with avoiding the mess back home. My heart knew part of me wanted more time with my old lover.
I could’ve kicked that part.
“In a while.” He glanced at the Rolex I hadn’t noticed. “You need to chat with someone before we leave Vegas.”
“Then pay the bill and let’s go. I don’t want to hang around this town any longer than we have to.” I don’t have that much willpower. Too much more time in his company, and I might forget why I left him in the first place. In fact, the longer the night went on, the less I could remember why leaving him had been so damn important.
Oh yeah, because I didn’t want to fritter away my eternity with the rest of djinn-kind enslaved.
Zeke sipped at his wine. “We can’t leave yet.” He indicated the understated wealth on his wrist. “She’s probably in bed by now, and you know how much humans need their rest.”
“Please tell me you didn’t drag me back to talk to Mary again.” I could’ve slapped him. “She still won’t tell me anything.” Plus, as much as I hated to admit it, Mary’s fake inebriation hurt my feelings.
The waiter arrived and Zeke laid a platinum card on the little silver tray. “Mary has the information you need. You need to ask the right questions.”
“And wave the right amount of cash in her face?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know the pirate’s price, and I’m always willing to pay it.” He downed the last of his Cabernet and signed the receipt. “The question is, how much are you willing to pay?”
I narrowed my eyes at my dinner companion. “Mary asked the same thing.” Somehow I didn’t think either of them meant finances. They sure weren’t talking about our friendly barter system. Still, whatever the cost, I’d still pay less than those dead genies.
“This night wasn’t supposed to be about angst, Babydoll.” His too-chipper voice broke through my gathering gloom.
“Huh?”
“You look like you swallowed a black hole, and it sucked the light right out of you.” Standing, he interlaced his fingers with my own. “And I know exactly how to revive it.”
I tried to pull my fingers free, but the bastard wouldn’t let go. “I am not sleeping with you,” Maybe my tone held enough oomph to get him to back off.
“You have a dirty mind.” His stunned look wasn’t fooling anyone. The man never had a shocked moment in his life. “I don’t know whether to be happy or amazed your mind reached the gutter level since we parted. I’m definitely put out I didn’t go there first.” He flashed a cheesy grin. “I merely thought we should scatter some major fundage along The Strip while we wait for the old gal to wake up.”
“And whose ‘fundage’ did you plan on scattering?” I learned a long time ago spreading djinn-created wealth around was never a good idea. Flooding the human monetary system with money leads to chaos. Magical money is worse, especially when the serial numbers lead humanity to think we’re counterfeiters.
“My own,” he said. “I make a tidy sum every year. And I don’t mean I create it out of thin air. I earn it.”
I cocked my head. Part of me understood I had work to do back in Colorado. We could always teleport back in the morning to interrogate the pirate. Still, the thought of dealing with the mess back home made my stomach squirm. I couldn’t escape the fact it would all have to be handled sooner or later. I wanted to opt for later.
“You’re thinking too much. Let go a little bit,” he said, like he read my thoughts. “The kiddies will be fine for one night.” I arched an eyebrow. “There’s nothing to do about the Efreet until he shows himself again or we track him down ourselves. If he makes an appearance tonight, we’ll be the first teleport to wherever he is. Otherwise, we need do some digging. And who better to dig into than Mary Killigrew? Trust me.”
“What about Duarte?” I couldn’t stop digging in my heels.
“Only the gods know what Duarte’s about. All the more reason to push him out of your mind for the night, too. For the love of all things holy, Josie, when did you last take a night off?”
“I took a whole week off last month.”
“You mean the week between alerts when Baz did inventory? From what I heard, when you weren’t ensconced in your library, you holed up in the cave, petting the damned dog and scouring the internet for other djinn. Some vacation.” He steered me toward the casino floor before my feet could head for the elevators. “How’s your mural working out for you, by the way?”
I glared at him. “It’s lewd.”
“And hence the reason it works so well. Thieves drooling over porn are too busy to actually wonder whether anything’s behind it. Brilliant idea, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t.” I dug my heels into the casino’s weirdly patterned carpet. “Where do you think you’re taking me now?”
“To have a little fun, if only for one night.” He pulled me firmly against his side and curled my arm around his. Whispering in my ear, he said, “Let go, Josie-girl. You know you want to.”
“What I want and what I get—”
“Never end up being the same thing.” He really needed to stop finishing my sentences. Especially since he was so damn right all the time. “Do something you want for once.” He snorted into my ear. “You used to let loose all the time. What happened to that carefree gal? All work and no play makes my Babydoll too damn dull for immortality. Let go. A little. It won’t hurt. I promise.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. Maybe if I’d taken some time off before this shit storm hit, I’d be weathering it better now. As dragged out as I felt, I was damn near ready to throw in the towel and let the Efreet do whatever he pleased.
“Fine. One night.” He flashed his imperfect smile at me. “But no sex, Ezekiel.”
A mock groan slipped from him. “Who knew you had such a one track mind, Josephine? I only planned a little harmless fun, like drinking and gambling.”
I don’t know whether he meant it for my ears, but I could’ve sworn I heard him add, “The real fun’s for later.”
I would’ve been more relaxed for our night out if I’d known how much later Zeke meant. We strolled from one casino to the next, up the strip and back down again until my magically enhanced body sported sore feet and drooping eyelids. When I wanted nothing more than to drop into the suite’s luxurious bed, he cajoled me into visiting a little place in Henderson for breakfast. After all those years, Zeke still knew how to wake me up—a good cup of joe and a plate of Belgian waffles.
As I used the last bite of feather-light pastry to wipe the sticky, sweet, strawberry sauce from the plate, he tapped my mug. I glanced over at him, more than a little embarrassment coloring my cheeks. If this had been a real date, my eating habits would’ve scared any other man into the hills.
“Mary should be up by now. Have you finished or should I have the kitchen staff roll out another cartload?”
“Not nice,” I said as I refilled my java. “You’ve seen me eat. This shouldn’t be a shock.” As a human, I ate like any other girl. Well, any girl who watched her figure. Once I became djinn, I let all thoughts of tiny waists go to hell. Since calories don’t mean squat to djinn metabolisms, I enjoyed every plate of food I could stuff into my face. Besides, with all the power I burn, I’m constantly hungry.
At least that’s what I tell myself, especially when waffles are involved.
Zeke let out a soft laugh. “I’d forgotten about you and breakfast. Remember when you got us thrown out of the restaurant in Macon?”
“The Waffle Cottage.” As much as I started out avoiding reminiscences with the old boyfriend, we actually spent the night remembering fun times. By tacit agreement, we stuck to the happy and the silly instead of wallowing in the dour and mirthless. Needless to say, we had a lot of material. “They shouldn’t refer to themselves as an abode of breakfast goodness,” I said, adopting the haughtiest tone I could, “if they don’t expect patrons to consume a great deal of their wares.”
“You cleaned them out, Josie,” he said when he stopped laughing. “They’re supposed to be open around the clock. They had to close because they ran out of food.”
I lifted one shoulder. “I still maintain they should’ve known better.” A lilting sound filled the diner and several heads turned my way.
“You should laugh more often,” he said. “It suits you.”
All at once, memories of two dead children fell on me like a sack of leftover oatmeal. “If I had more to laugh about, I would.”
He reached toward me, but the moment had poofed away. I wasted an entire night enjoying myself but, with the sunrise, came the guilt. Those djinn would never enjoy themselves again. How could I and still live with myself?
“Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed my clutch and slid out of the vinyl booth. As I stood, I noticed the regular customers staring. No big surprise since both Zeke and I were dressed to the nines, but every glance felt like an accusation. I’d spent the night acting like a party-girl when I really should’ve jumped back into the fray. Besides, Mary would die laughing if we showed up like this.
“We should change before we visit the pirate,” Zeke said.
“Stop that.”
“Stop what?” He grabbed my hand and led me toward the back of the parking lot.
“E.S.P. or whatever you’re doing.”
“Djinn aren’t telepathic. I merely read your face. You always were very expressive.”
As he guided me past a pair of early birds in search of a breakfast special, I whispered, “I used to think djinn couldn’t be murdered either, so telepathy isn’t a stretch.”
“Apples and oranges. I’m telling you, I haven’t been reading your mind. You simply hate admitting I know you well enough to anticipate your thoughts.” He tugged me alongside the building, behind a rancid dumpster. “So live with it.”
Before I could stop myself, I stuck my tongue out. When we wished ourselves away, his deep-throated chuckle hung in the space we left behind.
NINETEEN
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
My case of the giggles subsided when we dropped in front of an old tract house. The paint around the windows peeled in the hot Nevada sun. Despite the early hour, the city was on the verge of parboiling. Desiccated plants littered the unintentionally xeriscaped yard. All in all, too dry a place for a pirate and too ugly for an English lady.
“This can’t be where Mary lives.” She raked in plenty of money from both the pawnshop and her informant work. Why she would live in such a shitty locale, I couldn’t begin to fathom.
“This is where her presence is strongest, so I’m going with ‘she lives here’.” He lifted one eyebrow. “Or this could be her love nest. You never know with Mary.”
Thirty years earlier, I would’ve believed my old friend had a love nest somewhere. Once every nook and cranny of her life probably had a lover stowed in it. Hell, if you found a dictionary from Mary’s heyday, her picture would be the illustration for ‘bawdy’. Now, though, I couldn’t imagine her as a cougar, with some young hottie in any kind of love nest, even a trashed-out version like this.
“Are ye going to stand on the sidewalk all day, chattering like a couple of wrens, or are ye coming in?” Mary’s voice rang through the clear, desert air so loud I half-expected her neighbors to shout at us. No one poked their heads out. In fact, the whole area seemed strangely still. “Most of these folks work for a living, usually third shift, so they’re either still workin’ or they’re still abed. Don’t ye worry. No one saw ye arrive.”
“How did you know we were here?” I blurted.
“A special barter from a friend of mine. Owns a top-notch security company, if I heard right. He called it Genie-B-Gone, or some such nonsense. A little somethin’ so no magical blokes’ll sneak up on me in my own place. Ain’t I right, love?” She nodded toward my companion.
“Quite right, Mrs. Killigrew,” he said, returning her nod.
“Such a polite boy ye can be when ye want something. Why don’t ye come inside and tell me what? Excepting a little of the hair of the dog, which ye both appear to need.” Her gaze traveled over our attire, which I realized we’d been too distracted to change. “A night on the town afore ye bothered to visit ol’ Mary Killigrew, eh?”
