and gold hair. She wore the same kind of clothes vampires wear when going into some kind of battle, but I doubted she was a vamp. She had a Fae look about her. She held a small dog in her arms and a larger one sat at her feet. Dog? More like a wolf, and I got the feeling the wolf was female. There was something delicate about the wolf’s features. She was lovely with what looked like soft brown fur. The smaller canine’s fur had streaks of red running through the brown and the biggest eyes.
“Am I in Dallas?” It was where Taggart was based, but he could have taken us somewhere else. I had to guess we were on the Vampire plane since I was in a high-tech office.
“Yes. You’re in our offices. My name is Charlotte and my husband is the man who captured you.” Her hand stroked the small dog. “Though you should know I’m the one who’s been tracking you.”
I glanced at Marcus and sensed he was still with me, a hum in the back of my head. It was a soothing sound, like something had been missing before and now was in place. I stood and stretched. “Well, congratulations. It looks like I have a place of honor.”
My picture was pinned to a wall behind her. It seemed the cell was in the middle of an office setting. There were desk units scattered about the elegant space. I had no doubt each would be equipped with the finest tech the plane could offer. Like the cell I found myself in. The walls were transparent, allowing me to speak to Charlotte as though nothing stood between us, but I was absolutely certain there was a sonic wall between us. Marcus was laid out on a large bench. It was nothing more than a holding cell. They would have to move us if they were going to keep us long. That might be to our advantage.
Charlotte glanced to the wall behind her where someone had created a mural of pictures of what they called Most Wanted. I was in the center. There was a picture of me that had obviously been caught by security camera. Many of the technologically advanced planes used them. “Ah, yes. I’m afraid you’ve got the highest bounty, though these two aren’t far behind you. Liam and Avery O’Donnell. They’re a Fae couple Ian’s been chasing for years. Li was a small-time bootlegger before he met his wife. Now they steal shit across a whole lot of planes. I think it’s kind of romantic. Loving his wife turned him into a supervillain.”
The wolf thumped her tail as if agreeing with her mistress.
“I’m glad you agree, Sweetie.” She used her free hand to give the wolf a pet. “This is Sweetie and her pup, Precious. I found them a few days ago and I’m going to force my husband to let me keep them. They’re so cute.”
The puppy wriggled and basically did all the things the tiny creatures of the world did to make everyone they met fall madly in love. It was one of their survival techniques.
But wriggling and giving Mrs. Taggart big doe eyes likely wouldn’t help me at all. “Am I being taken to Arete? If so, I need your promise you won’t let them take Marcus. He wouldn’t do well on that plane.”
Charlotte stopped pacing. “He’s new. You haven’t had a lover that I know of. I’m sort of an expert on you. I don’t think the boy is your lover. He’s an odd one. There’s a lot of money behind him, you know.”
Taggart would already have a full file on Dean. The good news was knowing who Dean’s parents were might help keep Dean out of my problems. “It doesn’t matter. The boy is none of your concern and if I find out you’re going after him, I’ll show you who I really am.”
“I know who you are Summer of the Gentle Winds. That’s what they called you as a child, right? You won’t remember it, but we’ve met. Before I found my vampire husband, I lived in Tír na nÓg. My father was something of a scoundrel. We moved about a lot and we spent time in your village. You were a child, but you had such light about you. Even I could see your glow. It’s gone now. Did you bind your magic?”
I didn’t want to talk about the past. “That’s none of your concern either.