Webb grinned again. ‘Unfortunately it’s a fairly standard device. You can get them off the internet very cheaply. I’ll ask around a few places that I know sell them, but I don’t think you’ll get much joy.’
‘It doesn’t matter any more. I already know who I’m looking for.’ Stubman had revealed his hand by attacking me and he was going to pay for what he’d done. In spades.
‘You should probably answer that,’ Webb told me.
‘Answer what?’ Then I realised my phone was buzzing in my pocket. Bugger it – maybe I did have mild concussion after all. I pulled it out, expecting to see Lukas’s number on the display, but it wasn’t Lukas who was calling. It was Liza.
The pain in my head vanished in an instant but my stomach dropped to my shoes and fear tensed every muscle in my body. I pressed the answer button with shaking fingers, praying this wasn’t going to be bad news. ‘Liza?’ I whispered.
‘Hi, Emma. I thought I should call – I thought you’d want to know.’
I swallowed hard. ‘What is it?’
‘Owen is awake. And he’s talking.’
ChapterTwenty-Six
Devereau Webb crammed himself into Tallulah’s driver seat and drove me to the hospital. I told her to behave and that having a werewolf at her wheel was only a temporary state of affairs. Fortunately, she obeyed; maybe she’d decided that Webb was acceptable because he’d removed the offending tracker from her underbelly. Or maybe I was only imagining that she possessed any sentience. Either way, we arrived within an hour.
‘You can come in,’ I said to the erstwhile crime lord, deciding to ignore what DSI Barnes would say about the company I was keeping. When the chips were down, you suddenly realised who was on your side and who wasn’t. Devereau Webb, for all his faults, was with me and mine.
‘Nah,’ he said with an easy smile. ‘I’ll grab a taxi and see what I can find out about this thing.’ He waved the tracking device. ‘I have some … friends who might be able to help.’
My hackles rose. ‘It’s probably better if you don’t involve any of your friends from the other side of the law, Mr Webb.’
His smile grew. ‘These friends are different.’
‘Different how?’
He tapped the side of his nose. ‘I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.’
I rolled my eyes, then paused and looked at him more closely. Wait a minute.
Webb pretended not to notice my sudden interest. ‘I’ll see you later. There’s only so much time I can spend in public in the company of a detective constable before my street cred is damaged permanently.’
Sometimes ignorance was bliss, so I left him to his secrets and raised an eyebrow instead. ‘You know I’m coming to your wedding, right?’ Webb only smirked.
I waved him off and trudged into the hospital. The back of my skull was no longer bleeding but my hair was matted with blood, and the pain was still bad enough to be a concern. I was walking wounded, but that was a far cry from the state that Fred and Grace were in.
Lukas and Buffy were still in the same waiting room, together with Liza. She looked pale and exhausted but considerably happier and more relaxed than the last time I’d seen her.
Lukas stiffened as I walked in and his nostrils flared as he sensed my blood. Buffy obviously noticed it as well and her eyes widened. I gave her a warning shake of my head. We were here for Fred and Grace; my head wound could wait.
I hugged Liza and she reciprocated, although her nose wrinkled and she told me that I smelled like a rubbish dump. I managed a smile, then we got down to what was important. ‘How is he?’ I asked.
Liza gave me a tired smile. ‘Better than expected,’ she said. ‘And there are no signs of any brain damage. It’ll be a long road to recovery, but he’ll pull through.’
‘My Fred hasn’t woken up yet,’ Buffy broke in, her voice louder than necessary.
I could see the pain and anxiety in her eyes. ‘Is there anything new from the doctors?’ I asked.
She twisted her fingers together. ‘They said he needs more time before they bring him out of his induced coma. He’s stable and that’s what’s important.’
I breathed out. Finally, there was some good news. It was about fucking time.
‘Owen’s sister and Fred’s parents have gone home to get some sleep,’ Liza told me. ‘But Owen’s awake now and he’s asking for you.’
Lukas folded his arms across his chest. ‘You need to see a doctor first, Emma.’
