This Strange Addiction, Julie Steimle [little readers txt] 📗

Matthew’s books… also upside-down, which made it look right side up to Matthew. The cover said 12 Rules for Life, a book Matthew had not yet finished reading. The scrap of paper he was using for a bookmark had been tossed aside to the blankets.

“Don’t lose my place,” Matthew said.

Peeking out from under the pages, Tom sighed then somersaulted upright, landing in the middle of the bed on his feet. He was in ordinary clothes—hoodie and jeans—which these days was rather extraordinary. Normally Tom wore three piece suits with a tie. Tom hopped off the bed and said, “Lobsters.”

Matthew raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“Reading about lobsters makes me hungry,” Tom said. He then tossed the book to the side. And yes, Matthew’s page was lost. “Where have you been? I have been waiting all day.”

“You could have called.” Matthew went to his dresser, getting out his pajamas. He was beat.

“I took my battery out of my cellphone and left both at my apartment.” Tom followed him with a hop. “I need to talk to you. You know my mom is getting out of prison soon.”

Matthew nodded. He knew that very well.

“I’m worried for her,” Tom said.

Turning his head to look at Tom, Matthew tried to sort through the jumble of anxious thoughts in his friend’s head. “Worried that the Unseelie Court will go after her?”

Tom shook his head. “No. The CIA.”

Matthew had to smother a doubting laugh. “Um, was she in less danger in prison?”

Earnestly nodding, Tom cringed. “Actually, yes. Mom was in a safe prison. It is one of the least corrupted. And nobody had a beef against her because she was non-violent.”

“Your mom was arrested for armed robbery, Tom.” Matthew stared at him.

“It was a prop,” Tom whined. He dropped on the bed again. “She never harmed a soul outside a bar fight.”

Matthew did everything he could to control his impulse to make fun of that statement. But of course Tom heard his temptations as Tom could see and hear everyone’s invisible imps which shouted naughty things constantly for people to do and say. However, Matthew’s effort to resist was counted for good, and Tom never held Matthew’s temptations against him.

“Matt, I’m serious. You’re a cop. You know the law. I need a plan to help protect her. Any ideas?” Tom waited with big orange eyes, looking a bit like a pale puppy. Tom Brown was often mistaken for an albino because of his platinum blonde hair and fair skin. His orange eyes made people feel sure of it. But the man was half imp, not entirely human—which explained why he could see and hear imps… and defy gravity, walk through walls, and often go invisible. Those skills made him incredibly useful to the CIA. The problem was, the CIA could hardly control him.

Until now.

Matthew was finally struck by what Tom meant. The CIA would hold his mother hostage in order to control Tom. “Oh.”

He sat next to Tom, thinking hard on this now.

“The FBI would not cover for me,” Tom murmured. “I checked. So no witness protection program for my mom. The CIA would see through it anyway and find her.”

Matthew nodded. “Yeah.” Then a thought came to him. “Have you talked to Rick about this?”

Exhaling wearily, Tom shook his head. “I don’t want to burden him. Besides, I am sure the CIA would watch his connections first. They know we’re tight.”

Nodding, Matthew thought hard on this. Rick would have been able to relocate anybody. But if the CIA were intent on finding a particular person they would easily add up where the Deacon family could hide someone. But then another thought occurred to Matthew. He said, “What about Michael Toms? He’s just as rich. He probably has the same amount of connections. And he’s one of the Seven. And I don’t think the CIA knows how well you know the Seven.”

Tom made a face. “That California guy who looks at me as if I about to loose hell on the world? Are you kidding me?”

Rising, Matthew nodded. “Yeah… No one would suspect it. You and he don’t hang out. You could make the connection through the Seven, and I bet the entire Seven would make sure your mom was safe.”

That caused Tom to think. He tilted his head, considering it for several minutes in silence. He murmured slowly, “The CIA know I am connected with the Holy Seven through Rick. They might even be aware I chat with Dan and Peter a lot. But… I don’t think they would assume I have any other connection with the rest of the Seven. This might work.”

Yes, Matthew thought, it might. He also corresponded with Daniel Smith who was currently in England with Peter McCabe helping him with what he described as ‘crucial research’. The long and the short of it was they were searching for what they called a ‘patron elf’ who apparently had been charged to help the generations of Holy Sevens that had come and gone. Matt didn’t know much else about it except that elves were dangerous. He had met a few.

“Do you think that guy, Michael, would set aside his disgust towards me to help my mom?” Tom broke through his thoughts.

Matthew nodded. “I’m sure he would.”

“He has connections with the SRA, you know,” Tom said.

Matthew nodded on that too. “He does. But I don’t think he ascribes to their way of thinking. If he did, he’d be going after his friend Rick on the full moons. Michael knows where to find him.”

At that, Tom brightened. “True. Thanks.”

In fact, that cheered Tom up considerably. The good thing about Tom Brown was that he did not dwell on the negative long. He was opportunistic in good and bad ways. But that came from being half imp.

“So, is the CIA mad you interfered in Germany?” Matthew asked, going back to his dresser to get his pajamas.

Tom shrugged. “Uh…. I dunno.” He flopped back onto the bed. “I didn’t interfere with them. They are annoyed that I got there in time to rescue Rick’s friends, though. They would have loved a werewolf scandal, you know. And the autopsy on Jordan proved his throat was slit before wolves were sic’d on him, so it was proven as straight up murder.”

Matthew closed his eyes. He knew Jordan Hague, the roommate who had been killed in Germany on that backpacking trip. He was a nice guy—one of Rick’s better ‘normal ‘friends. Matthew had even visited Rhett Williams and Emory Lindberg undercover, listening to their thoughts as he asked them soft questions. Not once did they openly reveal that werewolves had attacked them, though their thoughts screamed over the event. The one thing he had learned for certain was that Rick had done everything within his power to save them.

This was why Matthew did not want to press Rick into a relationship anymore. His friend was heartbroken. Rick could not bear to see another loved one die. They had already watched him grieve over the death of Lewis, his family’s steward before Henry. And then later, after a hunter had been killed by the Alabama wolf pack, he was a total wreck. And it was happening all over again with Jordan dead and his friends badly attacked. To top it off, when he got back to the US, Rick had ordered a top-of-the-line security system for his mother’s home, intent on preventing any more deaths of people connected to him.

It was a shame, though. Rick and Audry would have made an interesting couple. It was always fun to watch them argue while also agreeing at the same time.

“But they felt what I did was right,” Tom’s voice brought Matthew back to reality. “In fact, they praised me for finally using my gun.”

Matthew looked to Tom, another thought coming to him. “You went to Paris after the whole deal, right?”

Tom gazed up from the bed, almost smirking. “Yeah.”

Matthew wondered. Then he said out loud, “Did you meet any of his brothers or sisters?”

Tom grinned. He sat up a little. “Yeah. I met both is brothers—Remy and Henri. And I got to meet one of his sisters, Louisa.”

Chuckling, Matthew shook his head. The Deacon family had their scandals, but they really were good at keeping secrets. He would not have known about the Paris Deacons if Rick had not bumped into Daisy again a half a year ago, putting Rick in a less controlled mental state. The secret of Daisy and the Alabama wolves had come out then. And on accident, Rick’s panic over his other werewolf relations spilled out before he could stop his thoughts. Since then, Matthew wondered what other wolf secrets Rick was keeping. Matthew hadn’t even known about the German man-eaters at the time.

“What are they like?” Matthew murmured, thinking on the French werewolves.

Tom shrugged. “I dunno. Remy was a lot like Mr. Deacon in a way. His shape at least. And he has a lot of Rick’s mannerisms. They’re about the same height. Decent guy. Harried, though. Oppressed by those Frogs.”

Matthew chuckled.

“And Henri looks a lot like Mr. Deacon if Mr. Deacon took up modeling.” Tom snorted. “He’s a bit vain and not as mentally together as Remy. As for Louisa, I have to say, she’s beautiful. She’s got weird hair. The top half of her hair is wolf gray, and the lower half is black. And she’s got freckles. As for her body—”

“Ah! Tom,” Matthew shook his head at him, “Don’t let Rick hear you say that.”

Tom laughed, nodding. “Yeah… he’d bite my throat out.”

Of course that was figurative. Rick would more likely just kick Tom in groin and watch him double over with a reminder not to look at his big sister in that way.

Matthew undressed for bed. Tom just stared at the ceiling, smirking to himself. Finally, once in pajamas, Matthew turned around and peered at Tom. “Are you planning on crashing here for the night?”

“Do you mind?” Tom lifted his head off the bed.

Hanging his shoulders, Matthew said, “Just as long as you get off my bed. I don’t care where else you sleep.”

Tom hopped off as if he weighed nothing. He seemed to float midair before gravity lowered him down like a soap bubble. Folding his arms, he said, “Fine. But will you help me arrange for my mom to get protection through the Seven tomorrow?”

Matthew cringed, but he nodded. “Ok. I’m on a homicide investigation with JJ right now. But if you don’t mind tagging along, we can do it tomorrow.”

Tom’s mouth crooked up and to the side with a defined manic smirk. “JJ? Oh… and I wouldn’t bug him?”

Laughing, Matthew shook his head, going to the bathroom to brush his teeth. “I’m sure you’d bug the crap out of him, but uh, he might be actually happy to see you. We’re a on a tough case which might involve some supernatural players. JJ’s been talking to some ghosts and uh, he thinks more than just human wickedness is going on here, in which case we might need your help.”

Tom laughed, following him. “And you don’t want to involve the Seven?”

Glancing to him, Matthew shook his head again. “Not yet. Bringing in the Seven is like bringing in a cannon. This is more like a small gunfight.”

Nodding, Tom grinned.

 

Hangers-on