Garden of Dreams and Desires - Kristen Painter Page 0,104
sure it was because they thought their guests would freak out if they saw someone so blatantly fae on staff.”
Harlow snorted. “No wonder Pellimento stays there. They’re her kind of people.” She shook her head. “Nekai will take us through to the hotel then. What kind of weapons do we have? From what Grantham told us at the hospital, Pellimento’s got at least nine hired men, all with guns.”
Nekai put his hands on his hips, the silver runes covering his midnight skin catching the light in a very reassuring way. “I can help with that, too. I have a spell in my repertoire that renders firearms useless for twenty-four hours.”
“I’m hoping we don’t need more than a few minutes,” Harlow said. “That will do nicely. They have the advantage in numbers, but I’d take seven fae against nine human mercs and a senator any day.”
Sydra snorted. “With Cy and the goblin boys, I’m pretty sure the advantage is ours.”
“Better,” Rat said. “More kill.”
“Maybe less kill, more rescue.” Harlow shot him a smile. “All right then, let’s grab our gear and storm this joint. It’s time to bring Augustine home.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Harlow and the lieutenants Nekai had yet to take through to the Ritz-Carlton were still in the computer lab when Fenton stuck his head in. She tipped her head at him. “Hey.” She knew him well enough by now that if he needed to tell her something, he wouldn’t hesitate, so if he didn’t stop her, she’d assume he hadn’t had any issues taking care of Giselle or getting Lally home.
His brows rose as Nekai popped back in from transporting Cy and Guz. “Headed to the warehouse?”
“No, there was no one at the warehouse. We’re headed to the Ritz-Carlton,” Harlow answered. “Pellimento’s holding Augustine there.”
Nekai took Sydra and Rat through next.
Fenton’s brows lifted a little farther. “Ballsy move on the senator’s part. I’ll call in a request to get backup there.”
“Thanks. I’d totally forgotten about that,” Harlow said.
He shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for. I’m sure the NOPD wants those mercenaries in custody as much as we do.”
Dulcinea chimed in. “Give them my number, tell them to text me when they’ve arrived and I’ll text back when we’re ready for them to take custody of the suspects.”
“You got it,” Fenton said.
Nekai returned and looked at Harlow. “You and Dulcinea ready?”
“Yes.” She nodded at Fenton. “See you later.”
Pride shone in Fenton’s eyes as he looked at her. “May fate fight with you.” He lifted his chin a little, the set of his jaw giving him an air of great seriousness. “Bring our Guardian home safe, Lieutenant.”
“I will.”
Nekai stuck his hand out and she and Dulcinea grabbed hold of it. Harlow hadn’t expected Fenton’s words to put a lump in her throat, but as they joined the other lieutenants in the hotel, she swallowed, pushing the emotion down. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to bring Augustine back, a sentiment shared by the crew around her. She wasn’t alone in this.
Enormous barrel-shaped machines lined the walls, most of them humming away. The noise level was substantial but not deafening.
“Are we in the laundry?” she asked.
Nekai nodded. “I thought it was better than dumping everyone into the lobby.”
“Agreed.” She looked at the faces around her. “What’s our plan? We know he’s being held in the penthouse. How do we get up there?”
The door opened and they ducked behind the last row of machines. A uniformed housekeeper came in, gathered a few towels off a shelf and left again.
Cy grinned. “I know how we’re getting up there.” He looked at Nekai. “Do you need a special key to get to the penthouse in the elevator?”
Nekai nodded. “And I don’t have one.”
“I bet we don’t need one.” Cy’s attention shifted to Harlow. “Can you do your computer thing and override the mechs to get us up there?”
She smiled back. “Absolutely.”
He spoke to the rest of the group. “Harlow and I will run up there. I’ll get in the room and do what recon I can, count the guys in there, see if I can get eyes on Augustine, that kind of thing. Once that’s figured out, we’ll come back down, grab the rest of you and storm the place.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dulcinea said. Behind her, Sydra nodded.
Guz chimed in with a guttural “Plan.”
Nekai gave Cy an odd look. “How are you going to get in the room?”
Cy winked at Harlow and a second later she was looking at the housekeeper who’d interrupted them a few