Free Banshee Charmer (Files from the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, #1) by Tiffany Allee Page B

grimaced and tried to push out of my head the fear the poor child had probably felt. I had to stay focused. “So will the connection—”
    “She’ll always have part of him in her head. Always feel him. His anger, his lust, his hatred of her.” She wiped at the tears that had started to trail down her cheeks, and then took a deep breath. “But it’ll get better. She’s already improved. A couple more years…maybe she’ll be ready to think about building a life for herself. A real life.”
    An image of Marisol taking care of her pretty young sister, a shut-in with God knew what kind of emotional problems, flashed in my mind.
    And I had thought her shallow.
    “Marisol, I—” I choked on the words.
    She shook her head and reached across the table to take my hand. “Hush, Mac. What’s done is done. What you need to worry about now is finding Amanda’s killer.”
    I took a few deep breaths, and when I was sure I could speak without the threat of tears, I said, “Vasquez has taken me off the case. Says I’m too close.”
    “I’m sure he’s right.” She grinned, face still damp from her tears. “I’m also sure that won’t stop you. How can I help?”
    “Do you think this is a succubus or an incubus?”
    She nodded. “Could be either. I know incubi are commonly thought of as extinct, but after reading the files and looking at the body, I think that’s what the killer has to be. Sure, it could be a succubus, but that’s a reach.”
    “And an extinct species isn’t?” I swallowed another mouthful of tea, wishing it were coffee.
    She laughed. “Well, there have been rumors that incubi aren’t extinct, just very rare.”
    “And you’ve heard these rumors where?”
    “They’re our cousins, almost the same species, really. I’ve heard it around from other succubi.”
    “Jesus Christ,” I said. “Don’t tell Vasquez that. It’ll confirm his fucking conspiracy theories.”
    I finished my tea and then Marisol showed me out. As she shut her door firmly behind me, my cell phone rang. The number flashing on the screen made me sigh, but I flipped it open.
    “Yes?”
    “Is that the kind of tone you use for someone who just helped you get sealed information?” Aidan asked.
    I rubbed my temple with my free hand. “That’s the kind of tone I use for someone who thinks he needs to check up on me all the damn time.”
    He laughed. “Did you find anything on the succubus?”
    “Nothing relevant.”
    “So what are you going to do now?”
    That was a damn good question.
    …
    After leaving Marisol’s house I returned home to plan. I knew what I needed, but I wasn’t sure who to call. Marisol would do what she could for me. Claude probably would, too. But they both reported to Vasquez, and helping me would put their careers at risk. That wasn’t something I was willing to do. Luckily, I knew one person who might be able to come to my aid. And he wasn’t under Vasquez’s jurisdiction.
    Gathering favors seemed to be the only political skill I’d acquired in my time as a cop. Any ability to kiss ass or even not rub people the wrong way proved beyond me. As such, I was fairly certain I’d never rise above my current position as a detective and that was A-OK with me. The idea of being stuck in an office all day every day was my own personal version of hell.
    “Agrusa,” said a deep voice on the other end of the phone line.
    “Aggie. It’s Mac.”
    “Mac, to what do I owe this pleasure?” he said, carefully.
    “I need a favor.” I tapped a pen on my kitchen table then realized he might hear it and stopped. I didn’t want him to think I was nervous. One moment of weakness and he’d know he could get out of this.
    “This doesn’t have anything to do with a certain investigation you’re no longer part of, does it?”
    Crap. Word was already out. Ignoring his question, I said, “I need you to get me a copy of a file.”
    “What file?” he asked. I figured the question was rhetorical, or at the