Trace of Magic by Diana Pharaoh Francis Read Free Book Online Page B

reaction to the blast and partly fury that he could be so brutally cold-blooded.
    “Relax,” he said. “I shaped the charge to blow out the window wall and make a mess of the place. I’d be surprised if the men chasing us got more than a few scratches. Nobody else was in the line of fire.”
    The relief I felt had less to do with the safety of the apartment dwellers and more to do with the fact that he wasn’t the monster I’d momentarily imagined him to be. I closed my eyes and bent over, catching myself on my knees. Don’t go there , I warned myself. Don’t let yourself think he’s anything but dangerous . Maybe he didn’t kill anyone this time, but he had before and he would again.
    “Are you okay?” He put a hand on my back.
    I shook it off and straightened. “I’m fine. Perfect even. It’s almost like nobody tried to shoot at me or blow me up.” I resisted the urge to shove him away. “We should go.”
    Price gave me a frowning look, then turned and led the way to the Luna Hotel. It was a small, ritzy place standing only about twenty stories tall. It was one of the first buildings in Diamond City and had been completely renovated a few years back. A night’s stay in a regular room cost five grand. The suites were quadruple that. But it had tight security, luxuries to give even a well-heeled mogul a hard-on, and it was discreet. If you stayed there, no one got into your business. It was owned by Barry Ostrander, a pretty high member of the Thaler coalition—allied with Price’s boss Touray—and working his way to the top, if rumor was correct.
    Price led me up past the valet stand. I felt the two nulls I’d activated for Price and me snuff out as the hotel binding ring killed them. It didn’t permit any unauthorized active magic to cross it. My other nulls were fine. Unless they were activated, Ostrander’s suckers couldn’t touch them. Beefy guards in navy blue trimmed in gold stood at careful attention around the doors. There were more than a dozen of them, and they were all armed, and not just with guns. Three of them moved to intercept us as we turned up the sidewalk.
    I kept my head down and hunched my shoulders. It wasn’t that hard to look inconspicuous in the snow. It was coming down so heavy now that they probably couldn’t make out much detail anyway. I doubt any of them could have picked me out of a lineup if they tried. Not that they’d need to, but it pays to be careful. You never know when someone is going to decide you’re interesting enough to check out. As a rule, I do my best to fade into the wallpaper in every situation.
    “Can I help you?” one of them asked Price in a tone that said “you don’t belong here, get the fuck out.”
    One of them got a look at Price’s face. “I got this, Wings,” he told the other man and waited for his two companions to retreat.
    The burly guard motioned for us to follow him up under the awning. He fished a set of keys out of his pocket and passed them to a valet, who ran off to fetch the car. He gave me a searching look and then turned his attention to Price. “You need anything else?”
    “Might be some characters looking around for me. They shouldn’t head this way, but if they do, I wasn’t here.”
    “You got it. That it?”
    “For now. Thanks, Ed.”
    “Anytime.” I could feel him looking at me again and then he turned and returned to his post. A couple of minutes later, Price’s black Camaro emerged from the parking garage beneath the hotel.
    The valet held the door open for Price and then came around and opened mine. I stamped my feet and shook off whatever snow I could before sliding into the buttery soft leather seat. I ignored my seat belt and so did Price. Cop habit, that one. You never knew if you might have to jump out and chase someone. Plus, it made it hard to draw a gun. I just liked having a quick escape ready.
    Price tossed a bill at the valet and pulled out to the street. “Where are we