Chapter Twenty
Heather ended her call with Ashley and groaned. David had given her an impossible task, but ridiculously, she still carried a smidge of hope in her heart that her sister would be willing to see her. Stupid and naive. Ugh.
Her phone buzzed. A text from David.
Her eyes widened as she hurried to text back.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Heather whispered to her phone.
David answered.
Heather frowned. She had called Ashley’s cell phone, so she could have been out, but… Heather rubbed her forehead. Didn’t Ashley mention being in bed? Heather couldn’t be sure now. Maybe she just assumed it.
It didn’t matter, not really. If Ashley wasn’t home, then David and his team could search for the figurehead, and this would all be over soon.
She set her phone on the end table and lay across the sofa. Less than an hour ago, she’d been lost in Drake’s arms, making love like the rest of the world didn’t exist. But now that the heat had faded, dread wandered in.
Her decision not to drink from the Grail, and the ramifications of that choice, soaked into her consciousness like summer rain on parched earth. She would grow old and die, and Drake would be unchanged and left behind. Her chest constricted as she stared at the ceiling and blinked away tears.
There would never be a happy ending for them. Not in the end. No crossing over together. No reuniting on the other side. Drake would be in Savannah. Forever.
He’d already carried the grief for his nephew for two centuries. How could she saddle him with more?
All her fantasies about their souls finding a new ending this time were just that, fantasies. She wiped the tear from her cheek. It wasn’t fair to either of them, and the more time they spent together, the more she wanted. Once she got things straightened out with her sister and David locked away the figurehead, she needed to get real.
After all that talk about how David broke her heart by walking away, was she seriously thinking about doing the same to Drake? This was different. She wouldn’t just vanish from Drake’s life without a word. She’d explain herself first. Their predicament was the opposite of David’s. David claimed to be protecting her from unknown threats. There was nothing unknown about this situation. She knew how this story would end. Death would come for her eventually; there was no way around it.
And if she truly loved Drake, how could she ask him to watch her wither and fade away while he was left behind? She could spare him this.
If she was strong enough.
The door opened, scattering her thoughts. Drake closed and locked it, releasing a groan of relief. “Thank the gods you’re all right.”
She straightened, frowning. “You found someone outside?”
“More than one, love.”
He crossed the room in a few wide strides and sat beside her. “One of Bale’s cleanup crews will be here soon. The Serpent Society was here for your sister. I got one of them, but the others are gone.”
“Why would they come to my house looking for my sister?”
His blue eyes locked on hers. “Because she was here. Right outside.”
“What? No.” Heather blinked, struggling to wrap her brain around this new information. “I called her and she wouldn’t come over.”
“And I heard her telling you that while I was looking for Greyson. She was here,” Drake said. “The men in black robes must’ve overheard the conversation, too, because they made a grab for her.”
“But she’s okay?”
“Aye.” He nodded slowly. “She got away.”
Heather shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why would she lie to me about being here?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
Heather swallowed a lump in her throat, her confidence that her sister would never hurt her wavering. “Do you think she saw us earlier?”
“I’m not sure, but whatever brought her over here, she didn’t want you to know about it.” He took her hand. “At least she can see the danger from the Serpent Society is real now.”
“Maybe now she’ll let me help her.”
Thomas materialized in her peripheral vision with his arms crossed, shaking his head. Heather sighed. Even the dead believed her sister was beyond redemption. But Ashley was her only family left.
She had to try.
…
“Damn it!” David wiped the sweat from his face. “It’s not here.”
The shed behind Ashley Storrey’s home had a few tools of the trade for magic workers—eagle feathers, sage, candles, a pentagram throw, and all sorts of crystals, but no sign of a wooden figurehead from a legendary ship. Hell, maybe it wasn’t even made of wood, for all he knew.
The garage door hinges squealed. “She’s back. Everyone out.”
Without a sound, the team cleared the space, and David replaced the lock. Carefully, he bent down and removed the shamanic talisman from the door. Department 13’s dark magic division would be thrilled to hear their trinket worked. The talisman was shaped like a bat, and its charmed wings kept Ashley’s magical wards intact, allowing his team to pass through undetected.
Or at least he thought it had. Ashley was already back, so maybe the new tool hadn’t succeeded as much as he thought. He needed to find out.
He turned to the team. “Get out of here. I’ll meet you back at headquarters.”
David took a handkerchief from his suit-coat pocket and dabbed his face again as he made his way around the house. His team had freshly oiled the side gate when they came in, so he didn’t have to worry about squeaking hinges alerting her to his presence.
Once he was out of the yard, he peered into the garage window. The car sat alone. Good. He straightened his coat and went to the front door. He rang the bell and waited. Nothing. He knocked. Still no response. Damn it. He banged on the door again.
“This is Agent Bale. I need to speak with you, Ms. Storrey. It’s urgent.”
Seconds ticked by. He tried the knob. Locked. She could be sneaking out the back door right now. He dug his hand into the pocket of his pants and withdrew his lock-picking kit.
“I was called here for a welfare check. I’m coming in.” All lies, but it covered his ass either way. Being part of a top secret division of the government didn’t make him immune from the rule of law.
He opened the door and stepped inside. “Ashley?”
“Get the fuck out of my house or I’m calling the police.”
“I am the police.” Not exactly, but he did have a badge. He followed the sound of her voice and found her in the spacious white living room, sprawled on her couch. Blood soaked through her pant leg on the side of her knee. “You’re injured.”
“Great detecting, officer. I fell down earlier. Happy?” She glared up at him, and again the resemblance to Heather was striking. “I know you were the one snooping in my yard, and you work with my sister. I could pick up the phone right now and have you arrested.”
“You could try.” He glanced at her cell phone over on the coffee table. “But I’m pretty sure I could get to that phone before you.”
She lifted her hand, and he bolted forward, catching her wrist before she could finish reciting the spell. “No blur spells. We need to talk.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have anything I want.”
He tightened his grip until she flinched. “That figurehead is going to get you killed.”
Her eyes widened, and he forced himself to release her. This was the woman who headed up the Digi Robins. She was the reason his great-great nephew was dead. But revenge wasn’t going to bring him back.
David needed to play this by the book. He couldn’t allow his emotions to get the better of him. Vengeance might feel good for a moment, but he had a job to do, a higher calling.
She rubbed her wrist. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m tough to kill.”
David sighed. She was tap dancing all over his last nerve. “Look, I already have the proof I need to arrest you for grand larceny. You can either work with us, or we put you away for being the ringleader of the Digi Robins. The choice is yours.”
“No thanks.” She pushed herself up on the couch. “I’m not much of a team player anyway, and if you really are a government agent, then you need a warrant to arrest me in my own house.” Her gaze slid all the way down his body and back up again. “Honestly, you’re pretty to look at, but I have no clue what my sister saw in you.”
David blinked. Heather had never mentioned her twin sister to him. It never occurred to him that she would’ve discussed their relationship with her sister. His surprise must’ve shown on his face before he could bury it because she cocked a brow.
“You didn’t know she told me.” She shook her head. “You’re lucky she’s so forgiving. You abandoned her, and yet she still helps you when you call.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’d kill you.”
He shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first to try.” The posturing was getting him nowhere. “I can protect you from the Serpent Society.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“Judging by the bloody scene back at your sister’s place, I’d say you do. If Drake hadn’t killed one of them, you’d be at their mercy right now.”
“Bullshit.” Her eyes sparked with defiance. “My magic is all the protection I need.”
“They have religious relics that your magic can’t touch.” He jerked his tie loose and popped the top couple buttons on his shirt.
She raised a brow. “Is it hot in here?”
He ignored her and pulled his shirt open to expose the scar over his heart. “They put this S on my chest and nearly took my heart. Magic kept me from dying, but it couldn’t protect me from them. And it won’t protect you, either.”
He buttoned his shirt again. “Give me the figurehead, and I can keep you safe.”
She smirked. “Did you honestly believe it would be so simple? It wasn’t in my shed, was it? Maybe it doesn’t even exist.” Her attempt at an innocent smile made him clench his fists to keep from jerking her right off the sofa.
“I don’t have time for games. The next time I see you, I’ll have a warrant handy.”
He slammed the door behind him as he left, then pulled out his cell phone as he walked to his car. “Kingsley? I’m going to need a warrant for Ashley Storrey. We’re not working with her. Her ass is going to jail if the Serpents don’t get her first.”
“Sounds like she knackered you.”
“If that’s British for pissed me off, then yes. I’m finished dancing around with her. We need the figurehead, and she can rot in a cell. I’m not cutting a deal on this one.”
He ended the call and got in his car, taking out some of his frustration by pounding his hand on the steering wheel. There had to be a piece of the puzzle he was missing.
Heather would be a good place to start.