The instant my brain snapped out of it, my gun was in my hand and pointed at Volos’s chest. “Get the fuck away from him.”
His hands didn’t tremor as they rose. “Easy there.”
“I said get away from him.” My voice was permafrost on the air.
Footsteps squeaked down the linoleum hallway. “Officer Prospero?” the head nurse called.
“Call security,” I said quietly without taking my eyes off Volos.
“I thought you were security.” Volos smiled. “Put down the gun. You know I wouldn’t hurt either of you. In fact, I’ve come to offer my help.”
I stared hard at his innocent expression for a full fifteen seconds. I knew better than to trust that poker face, but I was also extremely curious to hear how and why he was offering help. Finally, I looked over my shoulder. “Leave us.”
The shuffling of reluctant feet followed. Volos and I stared at each other across my brother’s silent form until we were again alone.
“What do you want?”
“Won’t you lower the weapon?”
“No.”
“Fair enough.” The corners of his lips lifted. “But if you’re going to shoot—” He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. The top of what looked like a stretchy black undershirt peeked out between the widened collars. “You’re going to want to aim for my face.”
I frowned at him. “What the fuck is that?”
“Bulletproof fabric.”
It looked a lot like the same fabric that made up the patch Mez had given us to wear for the tunnel raid. “Why are you wearing it here?”
“Says the woman pointing a gun at me.” He tapped it with his knuckles. At my narrowed eyes, he sighed. “Let’s just say some of my former colleagues aren’t exactly my biggest fans.” He smiled tightly. “I’m sure you understand.”
“What do you want?”
“To help you.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why?”
He straightened himself as though my suspicion ruffled his feathers. “Recent events notwithstanding, we once were very close.” He cleared his throat. “More to the point”—he glanced at Danny with a look bordering on warmth—“I have always had an affinity for the kid.”
A heavy weight settled on my chest. It had been so long since I’d thought about the good times. Back before Mom died, when John and I were still in love. We used to take Danny to get ice cream from the cart on Canal Street. Once, when Danny dropped his cone in the gutter, John bought him two more to get him to stop crying.
I clenched my jaw against the memories. They were dangerous. He was dangerous. “Just say your piece and get out.”
The skin around his eyes tightened. Volos wasn’t used to being spoken to like that. From what I’d seen of this slick, new CEO persona, he commanded ultimate respect at all times.
He tilted his head. “Where’s this hostility coming from? You know damned well I had nothing to do with this mess.”
“Doesn’t mean you’re innocent or that I trust you.”
“Trust … right. You know a lot about that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He ignored my question. “Let’s put our past aside for the moment and focus on Danny. What Bane did was beyond a crime.” He paused, letting it hang there just long enough to pique my interest. “I may have access to a remedy for your brother’s ailment.”
“He doesn’t have an ailment.” My stomach clenched like a fist. “He’s brain-dead because of a fucking dirty potion.”
He made a noncommittal gesture as if I were splitting hairs. “Regardless, it’s clear conventional medicine and clean magic aren’t the proper tools.”
“Are you saying I should employ illegal dirty magic to cure my brother when it was illegal dirty magic that harmed him in the first place?” It was so ridiculous that I laughed bitterly. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that.”
“What I am saying is that sometimes you have to fight dirty with more dirty.” He raised his hands in a pleading gesture. “He’s not going to recover without it, Kate. You know that.”
“More to the point, what makes you so sure of that? Maybe you’re in bed with Bane.”
“That’s your stupid stubborn pride talking.” He smiled sadly. “You know I’m as much a target for Bane as you are.”
“So if you didn’t cook it, how could you possibly know where to get the antipotion?”
He watched me quietly for the span of three heartbeats. “I may be out of the dirty magic trade, but old training dies hard. Once I saw what Gray Wolf did to people, I decided to start gathering materials to see if I could work out an antipotion.”
Something clicked. “Wait. Is that why you received the shipment of oil of rose quartz?”
He nodded. “That’s also why I ordered the oil instead of distilling it myself. I knew it was only a matter of time until Bane made his big move.”
I stared at him as a million questions and thoughts tripped over themselves in my head. I must have stayed quiet too long because he shifted uncomfortably. “So you figured it out?”
He grimaced. “It’s not progressing as quickly as I’d hoped. I never had your talent for breaking down the recipes of existing potions.” He let it hang there, like a hook with a juicy worm.
“Surely you have access to wizards who can help you—”
“No one I trust. If word gets to Bane that I’m working on an antipotion, he’s bound to do something desperate.”
“So if you don’t have the antipotion to offer, what are you doing here?”
“I want you to help me cook it.”
My stomach pitched south. “Fuck you.”
“Kate,” he said, coming toward me, “you know that between the two of us we’ll figure out the cure for Danny.”
I shook my head rapidly, as if I could knock his words free of my ears. “I can’t.”
He frowned. “I get it. You’re a little rusty. It’ll come back.”
I held up my hands. “No, you don’t get it. I don’t cook anymore.” I looked him in the eye. “Ever.”
His mouth fell open. “You’re joking.”
I pointed at my brother, who looked like the poster boy for desperate cases. “Do you honestly think I would joke about something that could save his life?”