secretary"s,
and his last client of the day, who had already been
accounted for.
“Why, thank you so much, Officer Ross.” Cal was overly
sweet, probably flirting with Ross too. Ross was good
looking, in a clean-cut way. Short hair, square shoulders.
Cal"s wings were moving like mad now and didn"t slow until
Ray pointedly thanked Ross again, and the man reluctantly
moved back out into the bullpen.
Ray knew Cal was studying him, likely irritated, but
with someone as driven as Ross around the wolf was
screaming for him to mark Cal as his, to bite his sweet skin
and drag him away, piss at his feet, do whatever it took for
the rest of world to understand and back off. He didn"t dare
respond. He already felt the ache under his skin, the itch,
like he ought to shift.
Too smart to look up this time, Ray just moved his
pencil holder to hold his papers down in the mini-Cal
windstorm and finished eating in the hopes it would make
him feel a little less starving. Then, when he felt a fraction
calmer, he opened a file too.
BY END of the day they had a short list of suspects. All with
above average build. All with anger issues and who were at
ease around Beings or magic. Not that the last requirement
meant that someone who didn"t know magic couldn"t have
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
56
learned it. After all, plenty of convicts learned the law in
prison too. Nor did it explain what spell they"d worked in
that room or why. Maybe just one to avoid detection. Though
that could have been worked anywhere and not only at the
scene.
Whatever it was, after a day working a case in Cal
Parker"s presence, Ray was too tired to think about it for
now. Penn had left too, about two hours after Benedict had
announced he had to go home since he had a lot of work to
do in the morning, and taken Cal with him. Not quite kicking
and screaming, but close.
Not for the first time, Ray wondered how the man did it.
It was like Benedict was immune to Fairy allure and to Cal"s
in particular. Or not, because Cal frequently embarrassed
him, but he kept coming back. In fact, their friendship
seemed to have remained solid and unshakeable for nearly
their whole lives in a way that Ray envied.
When Ray had just made detective, Calvin Parker had
once made it a point to invite him out with the other
detectives when they"d gone to a bar after work. It had been
an honor and a public statement of support for the new
Being detective, and until then, Ray hadn"t realized the guts
it must have taken the man to get involved with a fairy at all,
even if it hadn"t lasted. It had been, if not a scandal, then a
dent in the man"s sterling reputation.
Calvin Parker had never gotten a promotion after that,
but Ray had never seen even a hint of regret in him. Not
much else either, to be honest. Calvin Parker was a hard
man to know. But brilliant and respected, and Ray had been
pleased to have been singled out for his attention. And after
several glasses of black label, Detective Parker had taken out
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
57
his wallet and showed him a picture of his son and Benedict
as children, a Halloween picture of all things, with both of
them dressed as cowboys.
They"d had the same easy, friendly body language then
that they did to this day. Best friends and soul mates in a
different way than Ray was used to thinking of the term.
“They stand together,” was how Calvin Parker had put
it. “But not enough,” he"d added, his voice cracking for a
moment before the single malt had smoothed it out. “It takes
a lot to keep a fairy grounded.”
At the time Ray had been more than buzzed and very
confused. Now he just assumed it was the forethought of a
smart man, who knew his son better than his son would
admit. Ray hadn"t even met Cal yet, and he"d already been
warned away.
He sighed. If Calvin had really felt that way, he should
never have introduced them. But then, like Ray, he"d been
more vested
and his last client of the day, who had already been
accounted for.
“Why, thank you so much, Officer Ross.” Cal was overly
sweet, probably flirting with Ross too. Ross was good
looking, in a clean-cut way. Short hair, square shoulders.
Cal"s wings were moving like mad now and didn"t slow until
Ray pointedly thanked Ross again, and the man reluctantly
moved back out into the bullpen.
Ray knew Cal was studying him, likely irritated, but
with someone as driven as Ross around the wolf was
screaming for him to mark Cal as his, to bite his sweet skin
and drag him away, piss at his feet, do whatever it took for
the rest of world to understand and back off. He didn"t dare
respond. He already felt the ache under his skin, the itch,
like he ought to shift.
Too smart to look up this time, Ray just moved his
pencil holder to hold his papers down in the mini-Cal
windstorm and finished eating in the hopes it would make
him feel a little less starving. Then, when he felt a fraction
calmer, he opened a file too.
BY END of the day they had a short list of suspects. All with
above average build. All with anger issues and who were at
ease around Beings or magic. Not that the last requirement
meant that someone who didn"t know magic couldn"t have
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
56
learned it. After all, plenty of convicts learned the law in
prison too. Nor did it explain what spell they"d worked in
that room or why. Maybe just one to avoid detection. Though
that could have been worked anywhere and not only at the
scene.
Whatever it was, after a day working a case in Cal
Parker"s presence, Ray was too tired to think about it for
now. Penn had left too, about two hours after Benedict had
announced he had to go home since he had a lot of work to
do in the morning, and taken Cal with him. Not quite kicking
and screaming, but close.
Not for the first time, Ray wondered how the man did it.
It was like Benedict was immune to Fairy allure and to Cal"s
in particular. Or not, because Cal frequently embarrassed
him, but he kept coming back. In fact, their friendship
seemed to have remained solid and unshakeable for nearly
their whole lives in a way that Ray envied.
When Ray had just made detective, Calvin Parker had
once made it a point to invite him out with the other
detectives when they"d gone to a bar after work. It had been
an honor and a public statement of support for the new
Being detective, and until then, Ray hadn"t realized the guts
it must have taken the man to get involved with a fairy at all,
even if it hadn"t lasted. It had been, if not a scandal, then a
dent in the man"s sterling reputation.
Calvin Parker had never gotten a promotion after that,
but Ray had never seen even a hint of regret in him. Not
much else either, to be honest. Calvin Parker was a hard
man to know. But brilliant and respected, and Ray had been
pleased to have been singled out for his attention. And after
several glasses of black label, Detective Parker had taken out
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
57
his wallet and showed him a picture of his son and Benedict
as children, a Halloween picture of all things, with both of
them dressed as cowboys.
They"d had the same easy, friendly body language then
that they did to this day. Best friends and soul mates in a
different way than Ray was used to thinking of the term.
“They stand together,” was how Calvin Parker had put
it. “But not enough,” he"d added, his voice cracking for a
moment before the single malt had smoothed it out. “It takes
a lot to keep a fairy grounded.”
At the time Ray had been more than buzzed and very
confused. Now he just assumed it was the forethought of a
smart man, who knew his son better than his son would
admit. Ray hadn"t even met Cal yet, and he"d already been
warned away.
He sighed. If Calvin had really felt that way, he should
never have introduced them. But then, like Ray, he"d been
more vested
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