Three blocks from the hotel and he was slammed into the door as something struck the cab. His ears rang as he shook his head and unstrapped the belt.
The cabdriver hit his head and the gas. The cab slammed into the car in front of them and Finnian suffered whiplash. He shoved the door open, stumbling into the street. A car honked as it tore the door from the car. He slammed back against the cab, before slipping around the back and onto the sidewalk as someone started yelling at him to come back, that he needed help.
Yeah, he needed his luck. What the fuck happened to his luck?
He made it to the hotel and slipped into the elevator, sliding the key into the slot, and pressed his button.
The doors closed and the car started moving, only to stop sometime before his floor. The doors never opened. He waited a minute, then pounded on the door before grabbing the phone off the receiver.
No one answered. It just rang and rang.
He pounded on the door some more.
Nothing. No one seemed to hear.
He slid down the wall of the elevator and closed his eyes. Something was wrong, really wrong.
His head spun. His vision dimmed. Then darkness crept in.
* * * *
Adam made lunch for all three of them. So far, Danika was doing well with short naps, not needing long ones. That, of course, could change at any time.
Hopefully not until Paavo and Mathis intervened.
Makayla tugged on his jeans and Adam crouched down. “What is it, Bluebird?”
She grinned. “I turn into bird?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, Makayla. Maybe when you get older, if you decide to become a werebird, maybe. But I’ve never heard of a bluebird wereanimal.”
She pouted. “Okay, I no fly. But I be puppy?”
He kissed her head. “We’ll talk about that when you’re a big girl like Mommy. Okay?”
“She a puppy?”
Shaking his head, he picked her up, dragged the highchair over, and put her in it. Then he went back to the grilled cheese before it burned. “She’s not. And she won’t be a werewolf, baby. But that’s okay. She’s going to be really lucky after tonight.”
“Lucky?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Mommy’s a leprechaun. Like Aunt Dominique. She just hasn’t accepted it yet, but tonight she is.” That was a safe way to explain it to a toddler. He hoped.
“Oh. Am I?”
His brow pinched. “One day you may be. You have to be bigger for that to happen. Much, much bigger. For now, you’re my bluebird.”
She smiled.
He took the sandwiches out of the frying pan and sliced one into triangles before putting them on her plate. “Juice or milk?” he asked.
“Milk and banana.”
He grabbed one of those, peeled it, and put it on the tray before filling her cup with milk.
Then he made his and Danika’s food.
* * * *
Robert sighed when he saw the call from Kevin. He knew Finnian was back in town already. He had to be.
“Where is he?”
“You expected this call?” Kevin asked, half amused.
“Unfortunately. And I’m assuming you have news about Finnian Walsh.”
“Yes, a leprechaun who’s pissed off the wrong people apparently.”
“Oh, I know all about that. Have Rory Golden and his band of goons caught up with him?”
“They’re trying to. Finnian is currently in the hospital for a concussion and broken ribs. He left the scene of an accident, and is now in the hospital after being trapped in an elevator for a couple hours.”
“Hours? Accident?” Okay, Robert might feel a little bad about locking down his luck, but if he suffered from all of that, what were the chances many people would have suffered the same fate or worse while he absorbed everyone’s luck?
“What’s going on?”
“I’m the policeman at the door to his room. Ensuring that he doesn’t leave because he’s wanted for questioning for a string of thefts in Seattle. But Rory’s men are all over the hospital, looking for a way to get their hands on him.”
“Have you seen him yet?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t show up at any time.”
“Right, keep an eye on the prick. He’s trying to get to his daughters. He wants to try to turn one against the other. All because he blames her for the disasters he causes just by being near people.”
“Sounds like his luck has broken.”
“More so now than it was. At least he’s not endangering everyone in his path. Call if you need me to take him out of there, but I’m not looking forward to the paperwork if we go that route.”
“If they decide he’s well enough to go I can take him to the Council. That’s always easy enough to manage.”
“We’ll see.” Robert hung up and sat back at his desk. Preston walked in and slid a file across his desk. “You realize Abigail is working against us?”
He snorted. “You didn’t?”
“Not to this extent. Though she’s just proven herself a fool to the inner circle. She still doesn’t seem to get that they want only Mages in a place of power. If she’s not careful, the fact she’s half Fae is going to come out and then she’ll be stripped of any rank. They still don’t want anyone who isn’t pure something on the DSF, not that they could prove who is what. And some of the things in the DSF only happen through certain combinations of powers. But none of them want to see it that way.”
“Of course not. Erik is far too useful to the Council. Mike is quickly proving himself to them as well. But I’m worried what happens when Gwen becomes pregnant.”
Preston drew a slow breath. “They would know what that child would be.”
“Of course. And that will happen eventually. I know it in my bones.”
“We’ll help them when the time comes.”
Preston dropped into a seat. “What do we do about Abigail? She’s trying to stir up trouble.”
“We don’t. She’s going to dig herself into a hole she can’t get out of. Let her.”
“And Finnian?”
“He’s in the hospital. Broken ribs, concussion. Apparently, he was in an accident and left. I’m trying to decide if we bother going to him, or let him dig himself out of his own trouble. Rory Golden has men around the hospital.”
“You’re going to let them destroy the hospital to get to him?”
“Kevin is standing guard. They have to know better. Don’t they?”
“I don’t know, Robert. Seems like we’re gambling on how intelligent his hired thugs are. That’s anything but wise.”
Robert pushed back from the desk. “Want me to go get him? What, lock him in a cell? I’ve already put him in more danger than he knows what to do with. Before, he could just absorb everyone’s luck, screwing them over in the process. Now at least he’ll get what’s coming to him. If he does manage to escape, there is a very good possibility he’s going to get himself killed. And as long as it isn’t in some magical way, we don’t have to do anything.”
“You need a vacation, Robert.”
“Trust me, I know. Now I know why Draecyn has no desire to come back to the Council. I have a stream of never-ending calls. And because I’m willing to listen, I find myself jumping into things that shouldn’t be my problem.”
“Well, take a week off. Take Liz, Tremaine, and Wilhelm, and go somewhere fun and exciting, with less Others. Turn off the phone and just enjoy.”
He snorted. “You going to carry the load for an entire week?”
“You did carry my load while I was on my honeymoon. Something none of you took when you guys tied the knot.”
“True.” He sighed. “But, if you’re truly all right with that, I think we may. I need to talk to them first. Not sure they want to leave the bookstore that long, but I can hope.”
“If they can pull you away from your duties, you bet your ass they’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Hope so. I need the break.”
“Yeah, I get it. Look, you can talk to me, you know that?”
Robert snorted. “I do. The problem is that I don’t consciously think of this stuff. Not until someone drags it out of me. I’ve spent ages throwing myself into work because of everything with Liz while she pretended to be dead.”
Preston shook his head. “I’ll never understand why she did that. I still don’t understand how you let her walk away.”
The question he often asked himself. Robert dropped his gaze. “Simple, she said that’s what she needed. She told me she didn’t love me. I did what I thought she needed. It damn near killed me, but that’s what it comes down to. And maybe we always needed Tremaine. I sure as hell don’t regret where we wound up.”
“Yeah, that’s clear. Why don’t you take a week or two and do something with your family, away from all this chaos?”
“I will.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to call Kevin to make sure he doesn’t need backup.” Preston stood. “On second thought, I’ll head down there.”
“If you need me, call. But I’m sure he’s capable. If he weren’t at a human hospital I may worry.”
Preston cocked a brow. “Not sure about that, Robert. I heard an interesting story about his trip from Charleston to here. Abigail noticed him sneaking out. He was bit by a dog. A kid puked all over him. He got held up on a layover, wound up sneaking out of the airport only to wind up in a crash, then got stuck in an elevator. Now he’s unconscious in the hospital.”
“With a bunch of Others looking for him.” Robert let out a breath. “Call me if you need me. I’ll come straight there.”
“Will do.” Preston left the room.
Robert translocated to the bookstore office where he found Liz staring at the laptop.