Raised in Fire (Fire and Ice Trilogy 2)

Anger boiled up my middle. This was going a step too far. I did not need my life messed with on this score. Food in my fridge, laundry, dinner delivered—I didn’t like it, but those things saved me money and aggravation. Sometimes it was even kind of nice. But this? No. This was a level of controlling that did not fly. Not at all.

“Anything else?” I asked with a rough voice.

“Yes.” The captain shifted in his seat. “You used to keep a pretty low profile. I was a little surprised you let me bring you on, to be honest, but you had the paperwork, so fine. But now, after seeing what I’ve seen, and knowing it won’t be long before everyone else sees it, too—you are possibly walking a dangerous line. Possibly, because I don’t know what you’re hiding.” He held up his hands. “And I don’t want to. But you have the attention of a ruthless elder vamp. His type, as a rule, don’t get involved with humans to this degree unless said human is extremely valuable. That means something if nothing else does. Given the contract from that big case you solved for the vampires, you don’t have to work. Not regularly, anyway. I can’t fire you, Reagan, but I’d strongly suggest you think about whether this job is really the right place for you.”

I stared at him for a moment, speechless. “But then Garret would win,” I blurted.

The captain laughed and shook his head. “I think you have bigger things on your plate than worrying about your feud with Garret.”

“Yeah, but none quite so infuriating.” Though Darius was starting to get close.

Purposefully, I lifted the piece of paper and ripped it in two before flicking the red card back at him.

“So you quit, then?” he asked.

“No. I got fired because I earned the final red card allowed me.” I stood and moved toward the door.

“What are you going to do now?” the captain asked.

“Right now, I will attempt to kick this bitch down.” I gleefully faced off with the door. “After, who’s to say?”

Anger sped up my heart and rushed through my body. I kicked his door. The metal bent. I kicked it again, and a third time, before grabbing the handle and ripping it toward me. It wouldn’t come away. “Damn it, captain. Good call on this door.”

“You almost got it.”

Panting, because it was hard work, I kept going. I looked like a complete idiot, but this was going to happen. I anticipated the sweet rush of kicking a door open.

“It would probably be easier from the other side, you know,” the captain said. Very helpful, the captain.

“I got it.” I kicked again, this time near the hinges. Metal squealed. After the next kick, it groaned. “Screw you, door!”

“It’s the vampire you should be taking your aggression out on, not the door, but you’ll get there. With age brings wisdom.”

A bit nosy, too, the captain.

I jump-kicked, putting all my power behind it. Finally, the thing bowed in. Like a ruler bent too far, it snapped.

“Ha! There was wood on the inside.”

“Normal people wouldn’t be able to kick down that door, you know. The salesperson was very clear on that. Hence the subject of this entire meeting.”

“Don’t talk logic now, captain. It’s too late.” I yanked on the handle. The metal knob came off in my hand. I grabbed the side where it bowed away from the frame and ripped. Finally, it pulled free, launching toward me.

I didn’t get out of the way in time. The corner hit my shoulder, sending shooting pain down my arm. Undeterred, or maybe unwilling to show that the door had fought back, I gave it a kick before stomping on it.

“There,” I said, wiping sweat from my face. “I hope that was expensive.”

“It was. Very. Shall I charge it to Mr. Durant?”

“No. Charge it to the board, and blame it on Darius. From me.” I waltzed out, knowing I would not look cool after that, but not caring. There was something about kicking in doors that was intensely gratifying. Like meditation.

“Well, I guess the reigning king will retain his throne unchallenged,” Garret said with a satisfied smirk, still leaning against his cube wall.

“Were you fired?” Clarissa asked with sorrowful eyes.

“Of course she was fired. That’s five red cards. Five.” Garret shook his head and pinned me with gloating eyes. “You should’ve been fired after three. Law enforcement isn’t the place for you. Leave this job to the heroes.”

“Man, you suck,” I said, passing him by. I didn’t have the strength to punch him. That door had taken a lot out of me.

I stepped into my cube and looked around. I’d barely used the now-dusty computer, much to the annoyance of the rest of the office. A few pens stood in the holder, and a blurry picture of a sasquatch was pinned to the gray wall of the cube. A joke, because Clarissa had said I needed some personal artifacts. I had nothing to take out of there.

“Well, it was boring while it lasted.” I shrugged and turned away. “Good luck, everyone. I guess you’ll see me if a mark you can’t handle comes through.”

“Yeah, right, like that will happen.” Garret snorted in disdain.

“Dude, that was my job before this, remember? It did happen. A lot.” I made a fast movement toward him. He flinched, fear crossing his face, before he realized I was just playing. He straightened up with a glower. Someone snickered.

It was definitely the small things.

“Check ya later.” I threw up a peace sign on my way out.

Now what?

Chapter Eight

Being that it was daylight, Darius was sleeping. I’d have to wait until nightfall to kick his ass, and I had plans that night, assuming J.M. hadn’t been frightened off. Given the way Darius had oozed menace last night, I wouldn’t blame the poor detective for running the other way. Another reason why I was going to teach that elder vamp a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.

With nothing else to do, I figured I might as well practice my special brand of magic. My mage friend Callie was convinced that I needed to use it as much as possible to get my power to blossom. Whether that was true or not—it could be a matter of growing into the power, like the fae did—I figured it couldn’t hurt to keep working at it.

I exchanged my tank top for a leather halter and put a leather cap over my head. Dizzy was working on a fireproof spell for my hair, but so far, it wasn’t coming along well. He now sported burns ninety percent of the time.

At least Callie was able to magically restore eyebrows and hair. Speaking of which, I needed to pay her a visit before my dinner tonight, assuming it was on, to get my eyebrows fixed.

I stepped onto my back porch and closed the door tightly behind me. I didn’t want any air conditioning leaking out.

I plucked one of Dizzy’s shielding spells out of my pouch, pinched the casing, and threw it at the back of my yard. I did another and threw it at the right side. After fishing around for one more like it, I realized that was it. I had two. That meant the people on the left side of my house would both be able to hear and see me.

I leaned over the side of my deck to see if Mikey was out on his back porch. Nope, all clear, which made sense in this heat. Looking down the row of houses, I didn’t see anyone out. Again, in midday and in this heat, that stood to reason.

I wiped sweat from my brow. It was annoying that I could withstand fire, but weather still affected me. Of all the injustices in the world…

Taking a deep breath, I let my power burn through my body as I slowly moved my hand through the air. Fire sprang up on the stone ground, spreading in the pattern I willed it to take, as quickly as I willed it to happen. This part of my power was second nature. Easy.

I feathered the flame higher, changing its heat and intensity, keeping it away from the wooden fences. The color shifted between yellow, orange, red, and blue. Next, I influenced different places in the yard to burn at different temperatures. This was a bit harder.

Sweat was dripping down my forehead from the strain as I created revolving fireballs. Orbs of blue, orange, and red moved around the yard like a school solar system. I blinked my eyes against a droplet of sweat. If only the yard was air-conditioned.

I clenched my fists. The orbs of fire blinked out and the flames dwindled. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the rocks in the middle of my yard. Ranging in size from small to half my height, they represented the newest power I’d tapped into. Telekinesis. Lifting things with my mind.