“Yes, okay?” he conceded. “I needed to get his cell phone and his unattached dick was lying on top of it. It brushed my hand and I’ve scrubbed them until they’re fucking raw. Look!” He showed us his pink palms. We all struggled not to laugh at his expense. “Dead dicks are not my thing. That’s a hard limit for me,” he informed us all.
He was looking at me so seriously while he confessed that I almost thought about what came out of my mouth next. Ah, fuck it. “Good to know. I’ll mark necrophilia as a no-go with you.” I winked at him after my smart ass remark and his golden orbs flared, not finding the slightest bit of humor in it. “Okay, have you guys found anything on his computer yet? I mean, I’m assuming that’s it.” I pointed, canting my head in the direction of the other new additions.
“Of course we brought it,” Novak mused at the same time Vaughn divulged, “No, we haven’t found anything on it.”
“Great, what other news?”
“Well, what I can tell from all the research on the injections is that it appears that a mage is powerin’ them, but it’s too much power for one mage alone. So, either there’s multiple mages willin ta commit suicide ta see this drug through or the mage who started it is stealin’ power from other sources. I haven’t had enough time ta find anything else though.” Palmer never looked up from the papers spread out all over the table as he spoke. He was deep in thought and trying to stay on task.
“Right.” I thought it through slowly, the pieces starting to be more visible to me. I was still missing too many to see the full picture, but if what was happening to York was any part of this- “We need to plan a trip to Kentucky,” I blurted as I looked at Stone, and he nodded his head. Everyone gave us their undivided attention while waiting for the explanation to my sudden outburst. “We found York, or well, York found me. He told me the rough location of where he’s being held.”
I streamed some images to their minds. Since I couldn’t read them like other people and supes, I simply left it at the edge of their mental barriers like postage being delivered to their doorstep. If they wanted it, then it was there, but if not, then-
The sharp intakes of breath and muttered curses let me know that they saw the images. They knew we needed to move fast. “He said we have three days until they kill him with the next drain. It’s at least a five-hour drive from here to the nearest campground, then miles and miles of park to hike through. Palmer and I can try some locator spells when we get closer, but he gave me the rough estimate of where he is, so maybe we can narrow it down from there. The permanent camp he’s in is near water but out of sight. That’s not the best information; however, it does cut the search area down. We need to leave in the morning, so you guys need to get some sleep.”
“And what are you planning on doing?” Vaughn questioned me with suppressed authority. He wasn’t trying to step on my toes but was clearly used to calling the shots.
“I’m going to work, of course. I have to be at the club on Friday and Saturday nights.” I arched my brow at him as I spoke. We just talked about this last night.
“About that, Madam,” Franklin cut in, dread lacing his normally chipper voice. “The usual Saturday night DJ called in while you were gone. It appears he has the human flu.”
“Oh.” I’m stunned. That's really short notice to find a new DJ. What the fuck was the human flu?
“Yes, I’ve called around, but-” Franklin began, but Novak’s beaming face drew my attention away from the matter at hand.
“Why are you smiling like that?” I reluctantly asked him. His mischievous look only grew wider.
“Well, you see, I wasn’t supposed to be back in town until later tonight, and I had planned to take the weekend off,” he started. This was not the time to have this conversation. I had real issues to deal with.
“Yes, and?” I questioned him impatiently, not really seeing where he was going with this.
“Yes, and, Novak Malin at your service, mademoiselle.” He bowed. As he straightened he blew a kiss at me and said, “Je suis Gourmandise.” What the fuck did that mean? I knew it was French, but what-
“Oh. Ohhhhhh… Wait! Noooo.” My voice rose and fell through so many different levels that I sounded like a teenager while I tried to comprehend what he said. I was stupefied.
“Is she having a stroke?” Briggs leaned over to ask Palmer.
“Nah, I don’t think so. She thinks he's havin' 'er on,” Palmer stated emphatically.
“We thought the same thing. You two made him prove it before you believed him,” Vaughn mentioned as he shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
“Yeah, I know how she feels,” Stone informed them before he directed his attention to me. “Sloane? You okay, Kitten?”
I was still staring wide-eyed at Novak. I was pretty sure I hadn’t even blinked. There’s no way he was the DJ that everyone’s been after. The guy never spoke English at any of his gigs. People were going crazy over him and promoters were paying- No. I had a shit ton of questions right now.
“I want to believe you, but also I don’t. I have questions.” I shook my head, lost but finally able to translate what he said. I’m Gluttony.
“Naturally,” he interrupted.
“You’re French? You speak French?”
“That’s where you want to start?”
I threw my hands up. “Uhm, yes. No. I don’t know!”
“Yes and yes.”
“And you, Novak,” I pointed at him, “are the French DJ, DJ Gluttony?” I was filled with disbelief. When did a DJ ever just fall into my lap? What else could these guys do?
“Also yes.”
“Are you going to explain any of this?” I propped my elbows on the tabletop and folded my hands under my chin.
“Are you going to ask me a question where the answer needs to be given in more than a one-word statement?” he smarted back at me as he matched my position. Okay, he had me there. I filtered through my questions and realized that most of them could wait.
“Right,” I addressed myself. Flipping to professional Sloane, I started up the negotiations. “Let’s get down to business then. How much is this going to cost me and what stipulations do you have?”
“Hmm.” He reclined his head towards the ceiling as he made a show of thinking about my questions. He subtly adjusted his body so he could face me better before dropping his eyes back to mine. “I'll just require your company… this time.” He smirked at me. “Why don’t you sit in my booth tonight instead of yours? I’ll answer all your questions while I set up, and in between pushing my fancy buttons you can answer mine. Deal?” He waggled his eyebrows and extended his hand across the corner of the table for me to shake. I debated my options for a moment, but honestly, spending time with Novak sounded like fun.
I hesitantly agreed to his terms. The playful look in his eyes was enough to give me pause over my decision. Whatever. I’d take the consequences as they came. There wasn’t much time left to plan anything out. It was 5pm already, and we needed to be at the club by 8pm for him to have time to set up. We needed to go to their apartment and get his equipment. We had to get ready. Well, I had to get ready, and he needed shoes.