CHAPTER 3

 

Lara knew her life was unusual. She traveled from city to city, never putting down roots. She hunted down criminals so deeply hidden that sometimes the mortal authorities didn’t even know they existed. She faced down former mobsters like Vinnie Delvecchio, who outweighed her by about 130 pounds and could probably kill her with his pinky finger, and she wasn’t afraid.

She also shot invisible arrows out of thin air and made people fall in love with her, which she had to admit was pretty odd. It made her a pretty darned good bounty hunter, though. She’d only ever met one other cupid in her life, and he’d worked for an escort service, which she found disappointingly predictable. Presumably, her father had been one too, but he hadn’t stuck around to tell her about it. He’d left a letter, and she supposed she was lucky she’d gotten that.

Still, after years of hunting down criminals, shooting them with love arrows, and listening to them scramble to express their undying love while she hauled them off to what she hoped was justice, she felt more than a little jaded. Annamarie would have been flipping out to be talking to the real Tanith Q on the phone, but the most Lara could drum up with a vague sense of amusement. She’d had to go through three different underlings before she could actually speak to Tanith, and her call had been expected and her business urgent. The pomp and circumstance was a little ridiculous, if you asked Lara. But she waited, because that was her job.

Finally, Tanith answered in her strange low voice that had captivated audiences ever since her first single “Love Addict” had hit the charts, with its strange languid beat and rapid fire lyrics.

“You are the bounty hunter?” Tanith asked without any preamble or introduction.

“Yes, I am. My name is Lara Tanaka, and—”

“I dislike the telephone,” Tanith said.

She spoke with the flat tones of someone who was used to being catered and kowtowed to. Like she fully expected Lara to hang up the phone and run across town just because she didn’t feel like holding up a receiver. Lara wasn’t about to put up with it, especially when she was going out of her way to take the job. Her job was dangerous, and she was good at it. Not only were cupids few and far between, but she trained hard to do her work, and she wasn’t about to let anyone order her about just to prove their power, no matter how famous they were.

“You’re welcome to hang up the phone and terminate the contract.” She kept her voice matter of fact, but tried to make it clear that she was more than serious. “I understand that your case is urgent, and I’ve come back from leave early in order to take it. But it can’t be that urgent if you’re not willing to talk to me about it on the phone.”

Tanith sighed, long and drawn out.

“Fine,” she said. “But I do not like to do business with people whose faces I cannot see. I would like to see you.”

Ah. Maybe this was a trust issue more than a power one. That made Lara thaw just a bit. Although she didn’t share the opinion—after all, she regularly put her life in Annamarie’s hands, and they’d never met face to face—she could understand the logic behind it. Some people read faces and body language better than voices. Perhaps Tanith was one of them.

“As I understand it, your assistant left hours ago,” Lara said briskly, “so you don’t have time to waste. I’m your only option currently in Vegas, unless you want to try one of the smaller local firms. I could give you references if you’d like to compare options, but every moment wasted is a moment during which your money and your recordings could get away. I leave it up to you.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I do not have to like it.”

“No, you do not. Would you like to discuss the job, or would you prefer to seek out another vendor?” asked Lara.

“I do not wish another vendor.”

Now Tanith sounded amused, her voice warming. Lara could feel it, deep in her bones, a strange and languid feeling. Was Tanith a supernatural creature of some sort, or did she just have one of those voices that reached right into the listener and grabbed hold? Lara didn’t know, and the files Annamarie had forwarded to her hadn’t confirmed it either way. She didn’t suppose it mattered.

“Very well. I’d like to ask you a few questions, then,” said Lara.

“I answered all of Annamarie’s questions. She should have sent my answers to you.”

“She did, but I wanted to touch base with a few follow up questions. You’re sure Ignazio had no friends or family who he might contact if he was on the run? That seems…strange.”

It seemed more than strange. Lara thought the claim showed deliberate self-centeredness on Tanith’s part, like her employees couldn’t possibly have any lives outside of her employ. It could be true. Maybe she’d taken so much time that Ignazio had lost all contact with the outside world, in which case she couldn’t exactly blame him for wanting to make a break for it. Perhaps if she could persuade him to return all of the stolen goods, she might even let him go in that case. But she wasn’t sure if she believed it anyway. It seemed like he must have someone out there in the world, even if they were estranged.

“I meant what I said,” Tanith claimed with grandeur.

“He had to come from somewhere. He grew up somewhere. You’re telling me he has no Facebook friends and never got a birthday card and never went out after work for drinks?”

“I like you,” said Tanith. “You have spunk and verve.”

“Thank you, but answer the question.”

“Our schedule was such that Ignazio did not have time for many of these things. But you are right. Perhaps he had friends he kept in touch with, but he did not tell me about them.” Now Tanith paused, as if this fact was really sinking in for the first time. “Yes, he likely had connections that he kept from me.”

“Why?” asked Lara.

She didn’t expect an answer, and she didn’t get one. Tanith blew her off with a vague “How should I know?” The remainder of her questions led nowhere either. Tanith knew nothing about his hobbies except that he liked women, but had no steady relationship. Not even after they’d stopped touring and settled in Vegas. Tanith liked to tour, and this month-long show was the first time she’d stayed anywhere for more than a couple of weeks all year.

In short, Tanith Q was useless when it came to finding her missing assistant, knowing much about him, or anything about his motivations for stealing from her. Lara tried not to leap to conclusions, but she was starting to empathize with Ignazio Balma more and more. She might have lasted about a day as Tanith’s employee before she couldn’t take it anymore. Of course, she wouldn’t have stolen a bunch of stuff on the way out, but she could at least understand the urge to be as far from this self-centered egomaniac as possible.

She was lucky that her years of training kept any hint of her true feelings from her voice. Finally, she excused herself and hung up the phone. As far as useful information went, that call had been a waste. But it did give her some empathy for Ignazio. Perhaps she would talk to him after she found him, and see what she could do for him.

Shaking her head in exasperation, she opened up her computer and began her search for the missing man. He didn’t own a car, so he had to hire some kind of transportation if he planned to leave Vegas. She would start there.

 

A little more than an hour later, Lara pulled her rental car into a spot in the airport parking garage. Ignazio hadn’t even bothered to try and hide his steps; he’d booked a first class ticket to Maui. It was the move of an egotist or an amateur, and Lara was hoping he was the latter. It would make him easy to locate and less annoying to tolerate after she’d shot him. Raging egotists in love were not pleasant to be around.

A quick call to Annamarie had secured her a ticket on the same flight under a false name. Her plan was simple. Locate him before boarding the plane if possible. Shoot him with an arrow and talk him into leaving the airport together. Suggest a shotgun wedding if necessary. Play up the love at first sight angle, and then take him to a rendezvous with Tanith, arranged by Annamarie. If she didn’t manage to get to him before boarding, she’d strike up a conversation on the plane. Get to him there. That option was much less preferable, because it meant spending some time with him before they could get back to Vegas. She’d have to play adoring girlfriend who wants to save herself for the wedding night, and while it was doable, she didn’t like going there if she didn’t want to.

Of course, if she could get him to turn over all the stolen goods, she could just leave him in Maui and come back. Claim that he’d gotten away. Tanith wouldn’t like it, but she’d have her precious things back, Lara wouldn’t have to play house with a stranger, and Ignazio would be free of that egotistical bitch. The more Lara thought about that plan, the more she liked it. She found her steps quickening as she heaved her overnight bag—packed for veracity—onto the moving walkway towards the main concourse.

She passed through security with aplomb despite the fact that she was carrying fake identification. Her IDs had been made by the best forgers, and she carefully rotated through them with Annamarie’s help to insure that the travel patterns made sense. If she and Ignazio ended up skipping this flight, her current ID for Mimi Kaleb would be retired for a while. Failing to get on a flight after checking in was unusual enough that it might create some unwanted attention for that identity.

Security waved her through without any questions, and she reflected on this as she sat to put her shoes back on. She imagined she was somewhat unusual as a bounty hunter in that all of her weapons were immaterial. When she drew her hands up in the right position, the bow and arrow appeared, but only she could see them. They looked like white fire, the kind that made spots dance behind her eyelids if she looked at it too long. Once they struck their target, they disappeared, and the target was left hopelessly in love with whomever she wished. It didn’t even have to be the first person they saw—that was as much of a myth about cupids as the flying babies with wings. As far as supernatural abilities went, she felt like she’d lucked out. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to get behind vampiric blood drinking because of the taste, but then again, if she’d been a vampire, she probably would have felt differently about that.

She was musing on this as she walked down concourse B and had to remind herself to slow down and start looking for Ignazio. She stopped to look at the menu of one of the restaurants, using the time to glance around for the curly haired man from the photos Annamarie had sent her. He was a good looking guy, at least. Hopefully he would be polite and not too handsy. She could handle either of those things—or anything, really—but that didn’t mean she wanted to.

No luck there. He wasn’t in the restaurant or sitting at the bar. She decided to move down to the newsstand a few gates down and try there. She’d be able to see at least part of the waiting area and decide on a course of action from there.

When she walked down to the newsstand and picked up a copy of People Magazine to leaf through, she nearly ran into a tall guy with long blond hair. She realized with bemusement that he looked a lot like the Hollywood bounty hunter stereotype—long hair, chiseled features, all black clothing topped off with a trench coat despite the 80 degree heat. He moved with a languid grace that suggested martial arts training, and his eyes scanned the terminal with an intensity that she realized she should be matching. He was definitely not Ignazio, but he was arresting for sure. If she hadn’t been working, she might have tried to strike up a conversation with him and see where it went. But not shoot him. She made it a policy never to use arrows in her own personal relationships. It inevitably led to a realization that the only reason they were with her was because she’d magicked them into it, and that didn’t feel good at all.

Oh well. As much as she’d like to strike up a conversation with the Hollywood Bounty Hunter, she had Real Bounty Hunter work to be doing. She turned and began to look over the edges of the People Magazine, completely disregarding the latest news about Channing Tatum. She didn’t see Ignazio waiting in the gate area, or standing at the service kiosk. Perhaps he’d gone to the bathroom. There! He would walk past her at any moment. All she had to do was pretend to stretch just…like…so…

She pulled her hands apart, feeling the tingle of the bow and arrow between her fingers. It must look like an awkward stretch to anyone who was watching, but no one would imagine what she was really doing. And even if they had, no one would believe them. Invisible bows and arrows was crazy talk. Even she thought so.

Just as she released the arrow, the Hollywood Bounty Hunter barged right into her. A shock ran through her, like putting her hand to a live wire. It felt like her hair was standing on end. Her shot went wide, pinging harmlessly off the wall on the other side of the concourse. It felt like time slowed, and there was nothing but her and the Hollywood Bounty Hunter. Her head swam and her knees went weak. The world receded…

When her head finally cleared, she found herself staring into the Bounty Hunter’s eyes dreamily. The strangest thing about the situation was that he was doing the exact same thing right back. Down to the expression of shock on his face that she knew matched her own.

Belatedly, she looked around, trying to relocate Ignazio and salvage this situation. But something must have spooked him. She could just see his retreating back as he hurried for the exit.

The Hollywood Bounty Hunter followed her gaze and took a single step in Ignazio’s direction before she snagged him by the sleeve.

“No,” she said. “Not unless you want the attention of airport security.”

She nodded toward the corner, where a pair of uniformed officers watched them with curiosity. Lara didn’t doubt that she could best what amounted to rent-a-cops, but she also knew that the minute she did, her face would be plastered all over the airport security desk. And if the Hollywood Bounty Hunter did anything, the same thing might happen, just because she’d interacted with him.

Speaking of which, maybe her half joking instincts had been right. Was this guy really a bounty hunter? If so, he wasn’t subtle about it at all. And he’d run under Annamarie’s radar. She’d said no one else from the big hunter organizations was in Vegas. That meant he was either very new or very, very good.

“Who are you?” he demanded, not pulling away from the grip she had on his arm.

“Let me make a phone call,” she said, “and then I think we need to talk.”

She dialed without letting him answer.

“Annamarie,” she said, “I need you to watch some traffic feeds for me. He’s on the run.”