“Yup. And they’re giving it away for free, so to me that says they want the deadly affect.”

  “Agreed.” Joel held his breath. “Who would want that?”

  “Someone who is really ticked off about Tainted folk.”

  “Human?”

  “That’d be my guess. Someone who knows about us. Someone who has a beef with us.”

  “The drug is just here though, only in this city.”

  “So far.” Faye stared at him. “Who’s to say it won’t go elsewhere?”

  Joel’s heart thumped hard. Faye was right. They needed to figure out who was behind everything sooner than he’d thought. “Has Molly said anything about anyone?”

  “No, but I haven’t asked her.”

  “You…what have you two been talking about?”

  “Malek.”

  “So who’s been working on finding the dealer?”

  Faye blew air into her cheeks and shook her head. “No one?”

  “You’re joking. What has she been doing?”

  “Malek.”

  Joel ran his hands over his face. “What the hell, Faye?”

  “Don’t ask me. But I’m tired of watching people die, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I told her weeks ago. That’s what Amachon’s been telling her for weeks. What has she been working on?”

  “Some type of magical cure that Malek told her to work on and figuring out why Malek is here to begin with, not to mention avoiding her own issues.”

  “Where do we begin?”

  “First we have to find the dealers. Molly has Ben looking up some of the drugs supplies—well, had, until the other day. I have no idea how far he got into that, but I’ll look and see.”

  “I’ve spoken with my patients but since none of them actually got the drug or were with their friends and family when they got it and took it, they haven’t been very helpful in that arena.”

  Faye rolled her eyes. “That’s brilliant. Hand out the drug to kill everyone and no one can trace it back to you.”

  “Right? Where did you get it?”

  “The club. I told you that. But they’re all dead. I got the rest from the trolls. A whole big bag of it.”

  “Faye.”

  “What?” She grinned at him. “No, I’m not giving it to you.”

  “Do you really need it?”

  “Probably not, but I want it. I gave some to Molly so she could run experiments on it, but she’s so focused on this magical cure I think she stopped trying to find out where everything is coming from.”

  Joel sighed. “Okay. Dealer. Where do we start?”

  “Downtown.”

  “Isn’t that where everything starts?”

  “Yup.” Faye giggled. “We’re going out tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Joel.” Faye’s tone turned to chiding. “Since when have you seen dealers out in the middle of the day where they can get caught?”

  “You’re right. Tonight.”

  “And no Molly. She doesn’t need to know a thing.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. I don’t want Malek to find out, and she’s just one more person who might tell him.”

  “You don’t trust her that much?”

  “Where it concerns Malek? Not at all.” Faye gripped the tablet, hit a few buttons and slid it across the desk to Joel. “See you at ten.”

  “I’ll bring the coffee.”

  Laughing, Faye waved her hand at him as she walked out of his office. Joel closed his eyes, he really needed to dig deeper into what Molly had been doing and just exactly who might be making the drug. Pulling up Molly’s files on his computer, he got to work.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Under the cover of dark, Faye walked her motorcycle out of the garage and waited for Joel to show up. He slipped onto the back without a word as they were near the gate. She started the engine, and they were off. For the first time ever, Faye wondered if this was what her friendship with Joel could be if she allowed it. She’d always been so focused on Ben and Molly and avoiding Joel since his abilities still gave her the heebie-jeebies most of the time.

  He was wrapped around her back, holding on tight to her middle. Faye felt his fear, which was odd. He was the one who was supposed to know what she was feeling, not the other way around. They rode in silence until Faye reached downtown near Lamek. She parked her bike and pulled off her helmet, hanging it on the handlebar.

  “You scared or something?” she teased.

  “With you? Pretty much always.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Faye wrinkled her nose.

  “You’re a bit reckless.”

  “I may be immortal, but you’re not, and I know that. I drove slow.”

  Joel snorted. “Maybe for you that was slow, but not for the rest of us mere mortals.”

  Faye punched him lightly on the arm. “Did you happen to figure out where we’re starting?”

  Joel got off the bike and stretched his back. It was nightfall, and raining, which gave off this eerie glow of lights from the asphalt. Faye was used to hiding in the shadows, but since she’d met Molly, she’d slowly been going on more during the day. Still the two of them preferred the night. Joel was a day-walker.

  Faye stayed rooted on the bike. She had a list of places they could start, but they were all her contacts. He might have access to information she didn’t. Though she probably should have hacked into Molly’s system and done a little more research before they left. She’d been far too busy making up for Ben’s lack of work and covering her steps so it looked like he’d done it.

  She hoped Molly didn’t figure it out. Ben was in enough shit with her as was.

  “What are you thinking?” Joel grabbed Faye’s wrist.

  “Nothing.”

  He narrowed his gaze at her suspiciously.

  Faye lifted and dropped one shoulder in a half-shrug. “I’m thinking about Ben.”

  “He’s fine.”

  “Yeah, but Molly’s mad at him.”

  “Not mad.” Joel shook his head and let go of her wrist.

  Faye disagreed with Joel’s assessment, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him that. Swinging her leg over the bike, Faye propped it so it would stand on its own. They only had so much time before Molly would expect them at work in the morning, and if Faye wasn’t careful, Molly might be looking for her in the middle of the night as had been her habit lately.

  “Where are we starting?” Faye repeated her question from earlier and tried to refocus their mission.

  “What dealers do you know?”

  “A few. What dealers do you know?” She eyed him.

  Joel rolled his eyes. “Now is not the time for a power play of information.”

  “I already talked to Lamek, and he doesn’t know anything.”

  “Really?” Joel cocked his head at her. “That’s kind of odd. He normally has a lot of information about what’s going on out here.”

  “You’re right. But I asked. So did Molly.” She said the last bit on a mutter.

  “Molly?”

  “Tortured him.”

  Joel drew in a sharp breath. “She’s out of control.”

  “Not quite my assessment, but I do think she overstepped her boundaries. Anyway, where are we starting? Because standing here is getting old real quick.”

  “I don’t have near the contacts you do in the drug industry.”

  “Most of my contacts are humans.”

  “Don’t you think they would have some awareness of what was going on?”

  “Maybe. Fine then.” Faye stalked off down the steep sidewalk and toward the waterfront.

  She’d taken him to the man in the red hat and hopefully be able to find someone who had some information on what was going on, but if the drug only affected Tainted, she doubted they would know anything. They walked in silence until they reached near the entrance to the club. The thrum of music, the beating base surprised her.

  She grabbed Joel by the arm to halt his forward movement. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “The music.”

  “What music?”

  Faye glared at him. “I can’t tell if you’re shitting me or if you can’t actually hear it.”

  “Look, vamp, not all of us have excellent, beyond perfect hearing.”

  Rolling her eyes, Faye pointed toward the entrance to the club in the sewers that had started the entire adventure. “There’s music coming from the club.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m not.” Faye pressed her lips together and popped them out. “We’re trying there.”

  “You sure?”

  “Trust me.” She grinned at him.

  Joel hesitated before he shifted his direction to follow Faye. They walked together until they got to the second interior door, where Faye had originally met the snake twins. She held her breath as she walked through and waited to see if they would show back up. Something about the feel of the club had changed but it was also the same. It confused her.

  She stopped him with a hand. “What do you feel?”

  “What?”

  “For once, just answer the question without asking another question,” Faye pleaded. “What do feel?”

  Blowing out a breath, Joel closed his eyes in concentration. Faye waited as patiently as she could, but she worried it wouldn’t be fast enough. Someone, or rather, something was coming up the stairs and they had heavy footsteps.

  “Joel?”

  “Nothing abnormal. I feel a lot of Tainted down there. Joy. Sex. Frustration. Anger.”

  “Can you tell if they’re high?”

  “What?”

  “Joel,” she snapped.

  He shook his head. “No, they feel normal.”

  “Good.”

  “Why?”

  Faye held a finger to her lips and spun around to face the giant who was as big as Amachon but far grouchier. He filled the passageway they needed to take to get down to the club itself. “Who are you?”

  He didn’t grunt like Amachon, and he definitely didn’t have the calming disposition Amachon did either. Faye lifted her chin up to stare him in the eye. “Patrons.”

  “Who sent you?”

  “He did.” She figured it worked the first time she’d ever gone down there, perhaps it would work the second.

  “He who?” The giant was absolutely demanding. She missed the previous bouncers already.

  Faye didn’t dare shift a glance to Joel and only hoped he was holding as firm as she did. “The troll.”

  “He’s not welcome here.”

  “Well, he’s not here. He sent me.”

  “What for?”

  “Look. We’re here to party. Heard the clubs back to business. Want to join in. Who the hell are you to tell us otherwise?”

  His yellow eyes widened before he bent down over her, trying to intimidate. Faye held her ground, but she felt Joel shift and take a step back. “I’m the new bouncer.”

  “Then bounce. We’re paying patrons.”

  He snorted and turned his body so he was squished against the wall. Faye and Joel had to walk single file past him, and they still ended up squeezing in between him and the railing. As soon as they got to the bottom of the stairs, Joel spun Faye so her back was against the stone wall.

  “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “Did what?” She grinned. “Argued back? Don’t you know much about giants?”

  Joel shook his head.

  “You need to read up and learn up.”

  “I’ve only met Amachon.”

  “Well, Amachon is the most pleasant giant I have ever run into.”

  “And when have you met others?”

  Faye scrunched her nose. “Remember that mission Molly sent Ben and I on a few years ago to Ireland?” At Joel’s nod, Faye continued. “That’s when I met the giants. Ben didn’t, but I did.”

  “They’re from Ireland?”

  “Um, not quite, but they like the climate there so they kind of took over it when they could. Come on.” Faye pushed open the last door and they walked into the club, her arm wrapped in his.

  Everything was exactly as the last time they had been there together. Faye remembered what it looked like in the in between, blood spattered everywhere, dead bodies lying around. Glancing around the room, she had a fleeting hope of seeing Aliya again, but the faerie was nowhere to be found.

  Faye moved through the room like she owned it, Joel sticking close to her. She grabbed a drink at the bar and faced the rest of the crowd as they danced on the moss covered floor, moss that Faye now knew was there for quite the purpose. Faye eyed customer after customer, watching for anyone dealing out her newest drug of choice.

  Joel leaned in to her ear, his lips far too close if they weren’t in such a loud environment. “See anyone you know?”

  “Nope. I gave Molly the rest of the drugs before we left.” She took a casual sip. “You were right. So was Ben, for that matter.”

  “I…what?”

  She smirked at him. “I need to stop running.”

  “When did I say that?”

  “Frequently.” Laughing, Faye grabbed him, and they moved out onto the dance floor. She pressed her butt into his hips and rocked her body to the beat. Joel moved with her, a little stiffly, but she kept up the ruse they were there for fun and not for work.

  She saw the deal go down in the corner of the room. Spinning around, Faye gripped Joel by the shoulders and lowered her body on his thigh. Coming back up, she confirmed who the dealer was. A small little man who looked more tweaked than she did. She was surprised they would come back to the club so soon.

  “You ready?” she whispered into Joel’s ear.

  “See something?”

  “Yup.”

  “Any time you are.” He pulled out his phone, sent Molly a text, and glanced up at her. “I’ll follow you. This is your crazy plan.”

  “It always is.” Giggling, Faye moved away from him and toward the dealer.

  As she got closer, she recognized the man for what he was, nothing more than a watered-down witch. His scent was nowhere near intoxicating, but it held that same quality Malek’s and Molly’s did. Faye sidled up next to him.

  “You going to share some of those goods? I’ll pay whatever you’re asking.”

  “You don’t even know what it is.”

  “I’ve heard rumors of how good it is. Trust me. I want to try some. I’m always looking for the newest thing out there.”

  The man glanced up into her eyes before holding out a small baggie with only two pills in it. “Sure. Next time it’ll cost you.”

  “So sweet.” She almost popped one between her lips, but instead, Faye pocketed the drugs and grabbed the man hard on his upper arm. She pulled him back toward the storage room she had become so acquainted with.

  Joel was only a few steps behind her when the entire club went dark. Faye’s eyes adjusted rapidly. The man she held quivered in fear. She shushed him as others screamed. Her ears perked up as she tried to listen to what was happening. There were no orders shouted, but the screams started.

  Faye reached for Joel, but he was gone. Looking where he’d just been standing, Faye balked. He was nowhere. “Joel!”

  The man she held snickered and gripped her neck, digging his fingers into her throat. Rolling her eyes, Faye gripped his wrist and snapped it in two. He fell back against the wall as she searched once more.

  “Joel!” The screaming in the other room picked up in volume but it was no longer screams of fear but screams of rage. It was happening again, only this time she was completely sober. Or…she wasn’t. The flicker of the drug she’d wanted bit in her belly. “What the hell?”

  She spun around to the man huddled against the wall.

  “Did you put it in the drinks?”

  He sneered at her. “I didn’t.”

  “Fuck this.” Faye snapped his neck and barreled through the room with her eyes wide. “Joel! Where are you? Joel!”

  When she got no answer, Faye panicked. Molly would kill her. Joel had texted her, so there was no time to try and find him before Molly would show up.

  “Joel!”

  The second bloodbath of the club’s history that year began. Faye ducked in and around people, swinging her fist when she needed to get through. The wounds she sustained healed, but she still couldn’t find him. Faye spun in circles, lost as she searched and searched.

  “Joel!”

  “Faye!”

  She spun in his direction, catching a glimpse of his curly head as he was dragged through a door. “Shit.”

  ###

  Molly had Malek next to her in the Tesla as she drove. He’d convinced her to go out there, but she still wasn’t sure she wanted to. As she drove through the streets and parked under the bridge, she sighed and turned to him.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

  “No.” Molly pressed her lips tightly together. “But you have convinced me.”

  “Have I? I sense I haven’t.”

  Molly smiled and turned toward the troll. She stared him down as he remained stoically frozen in place. “You know me too well. Why don’t you release him? Then I won’t have to be the one to do it.”

  “Why are you so opposed to it? Molly—” Malek turned to face her fully “—you have to see how unfair this has been to him.”

  “You weren’t there.”

  “I know I wasn’t, but killing one person does not deserve a lifetime of punishment.”

  Molly bolstered herself. She had been making the argument since the last time Faye had brought it up. She knew the conversation would come to haunt her, but she hadn’t expected it to be Malek who brought her there. “He may not for that, but he had other crimes.”

  “What did he do?”

  “It doesn’t matter. If you want to release him, I won’t stop you.”

  Malek turned to look at the troll. The car remained silent for minutes as Molly waited for him to say it. She knew why he wasn’t lifting the spell, but she still didn’t know the cause, and this was one of her last hopes for finding out why or at least giving in the opportunity to tell her without her using magical means to get the result.

  “I can’t,” he whispered.

  “Because your magic has been bound.”