Cameron brought it up to him, he dragged the kitchen table over so that he could set up the laptop and work.
The next item on his list was to look over the personnel files of the staff Hughes chose to cook and houseclean. He rejected a few, sent the rest to Grym to screen, and by the afternoon they had settled on four staff that would, along with Dr. Weylan, occupy the two neighboring suites. Weylan volunteered to magically screen all the delivered food supplies for poison. The CPD task force dealt with the details of settling in the hotel staff and developing a secure food delivery system.
Tiago ran into a snag when the Dark Fae delegation, located on the penthouse floor, refused to “legitimize his interference” and send any of Niniane’s possessions down. Rogers was the one to knock on the suite door and inform him.
She said, “Incomprehensible bastards. Why would they refuse to send her some pajamas, for God’s sake?”
Tiago stared at the long-limbed lieutenant without really seeing her. “They’re maintaining a precedent for when the representative of the Elder tribunal arrives,” he said. “They’re going to claim I am holding her here illegally. If they cooperate, it will weaken their argument. They’re going to try to get rid of me.”
Stupid Fae. He would blow up the hotel before that happened. Preferably with the delegation still in it.
“Whatever they’re doing, the result is kind of cruel. It leaves her without anything but complimentary hotel crap,” said Rogers. The policewoman folded her arms as she stood hipshot. “I’ll go out and get her some stuff. Just give me her clothes size.”
He gave her a blank stare. “I have no idea,” he muttered. “Hold on.” He slipped through the silent bedroom to dig the ruined T-shirts out of the bathroom trash then moved back to the suite door. He told the lieutenant, “She’s an extra small.”
“Christ, she’s just a teeny-tiny thing,” the other woman swore. “Who could knife somebody like that?”
“Kinda like kicking a puppy,” he agreed. He dug a money clip out of his pocket and handed a wad of bills to her.
Her sandy eyebrows twitched as she did a quick count of the cash. “You do realize you just gave me five thousand dollars, right?”
“What?” he said with a scowl. “Is that not enough?”
“No, I’d say that’s quite sufficient.” She grinned and turned to go.
“Wait,” he said. When the policewoman paused and looked an inquiry at him, he rubbed the back of his neck and glared at the carpet as he tried to navigate in his head the foreign concepts involved in female frippery. “She likes pretty clothes. And lipstick, she likes lipstick and dangly earrings and things like that, with all the colors matching. And chocolate—could you buy her a box of chocolates? Maybe some of the stuff could be gift wrapped.”
Rogers’s gaze softened. Tiago’s face darkened as the policewoman gave him a kind smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. She asked, “Anything else?”
He scowled as he thought. What was all the stuff that Dragos’s mate got when she was convalescing? Well, aside from the diamond ring and shit. “Froufrou magazines,” he muttered. “You know, the girly stuff.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to go shopping for her yourself?”
His gaze jerked up to meet Rogers’s, and he shook his head. Unless it involved the word semiautomatic somewhere, he wouldn’t have the first clue. “I’m not leaving her,” he said. “You’ll have to do it. I’m sure what you pick out will be fine. I just want you to make sure it’s nice.”
“I will,” she promised. “The hotel’s surrounded by the best shops and department stores in Chicago. I’ll stay close and be back soon.”
“You do that,” he said.
W hen Niniane fell asleep the second time, she tumbled back into the deep, dreamless rest of profound exhaustion.
Then she turned her head. What was that noise? She looked around. She
The next item on his list was to look over the personnel files of the staff Hughes chose to cook and houseclean. He rejected a few, sent the rest to Grym to screen, and by the afternoon they had settled on four staff that would, along with Dr. Weylan, occupy the two neighboring suites. Weylan volunteered to magically screen all the delivered food supplies for poison. The CPD task force dealt with the details of settling in the hotel staff and developing a secure food delivery system.
Tiago ran into a snag when the Dark Fae delegation, located on the penthouse floor, refused to “legitimize his interference” and send any of Niniane’s possessions down. Rogers was the one to knock on the suite door and inform him.
She said, “Incomprehensible bastards. Why would they refuse to send her some pajamas, for God’s sake?”
Tiago stared at the long-limbed lieutenant without really seeing her. “They’re maintaining a precedent for when the representative of the Elder tribunal arrives,” he said. “They’re going to claim I am holding her here illegally. If they cooperate, it will weaken their argument. They’re going to try to get rid of me.”
Stupid Fae. He would blow up the hotel before that happened. Preferably with the delegation still in it.
“Whatever they’re doing, the result is kind of cruel. It leaves her without anything but complimentary hotel crap,” said Rogers. The policewoman folded her arms as she stood hipshot. “I’ll go out and get her some stuff. Just give me her clothes size.”
He gave her a blank stare. “I have no idea,” he muttered. “Hold on.” He slipped through the silent bedroom to dig the ruined T-shirts out of the bathroom trash then moved back to the suite door. He told the lieutenant, “She’s an extra small.”
“Christ, she’s just a teeny-tiny thing,” the other woman swore. “Who could knife somebody like that?”
“Kinda like kicking a puppy,” he agreed. He dug a money clip out of his pocket and handed a wad of bills to her.
Her sandy eyebrows twitched as she did a quick count of the cash. “You do realize you just gave me five thousand dollars, right?”
“What?” he said with a scowl. “Is that not enough?”
“No, I’d say that’s quite sufficient.” She grinned and turned to go.
“Wait,” he said. When the policewoman paused and looked an inquiry at him, he rubbed the back of his neck and glared at the carpet as he tried to navigate in his head the foreign concepts involved in female frippery. “She likes pretty clothes. And lipstick, she likes lipstick and dangly earrings and things like that, with all the colors matching. And chocolate—could you buy her a box of chocolates? Maybe some of the stuff could be gift wrapped.”
Rogers’s gaze softened. Tiago’s face darkened as the policewoman gave him a kind smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. She asked, “Anything else?”
He scowled as he thought. What was all the stuff that Dragos’s mate got when she was convalescing? Well, aside from the diamond ring and shit. “Froufrou magazines,” he muttered. “You know, the girly stuff.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to go shopping for her yourself?”
His gaze jerked up to meet Rogers’s, and he shook his head. Unless it involved the word semiautomatic somewhere, he wouldn’t have the first clue. “I’m not leaving her,” he said. “You’ll have to do it. I’m sure what you pick out will be fine. I just want you to make sure it’s nice.”
“I will,” she promised. “The hotel’s surrounded by the best shops and department stores in Chicago. I’ll stay close and be back soon.”
“You do that,” he said.
W hen Niniane fell asleep the second time, she tumbled back into the deep, dreamless rest of profound exhaustion.
Then she turned her head. What was that noise? She looked around. She
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