Pebbles struck her bedroom window as Tempest was getting ready for bed later that night.
She crossed the room and drew back the curtains. Looking out the window, she spotted Sanjay walking away, toward the Secret Fort. Typical. He assumed she’d heard him, since he had good aim, and that she’d follow. She grumbled that he was, of course, correct. She put her shoes back on and slipped out of the house.
Typical Sanjay. He must have come back early, since the last time they’d talked she’d been clear she was going to move forward with the heist the following day without him. What wasn’t typical was for him to be passive-aggressive about it.
A battery-operated camping lantern illuminated the unfinished stone tower that Tempest would be converting into her own small home. For now the space only contained Abra’s spacious bunny hutch along with a wooden table they’d moved into the tower to look at drafting plans on site.
A bowler hat rested on the table next to the lantern—but the man next to it wasn’t Sanjay.
The man who stood before her, holding Abra in his arms, looked nothing like he had before, yet she knew it was him.
He’d done that on purpose, when she thought she knew him. She remembered his words so clearly, when he showed her he wasn’t who she thought he was: An easy idea to remember but a difficult man to recognize. What color are his eyes? How tall is he under his slouch? He’d been right. She didn’t know anything about him.
Except for what he was.
“Moriarty,” Tempest whispered. She hadn’t been prepared to find the man who’d evaded capture back in Hidden Creek and standing on her family’s land.
His lips ticked up into an amused smile. “Moriarty? Really?”
Tempest recovered her composure and shrugged. “The name I knew you by was fake. Ivy and I thought ‘Moriarty’ was appropriate.”
“You wound me, Tempest. I have no desire to harm you. You should know that. Although I do appreciate the vote of confidence in my intellect. But really, you should call me Gabriel, since I’m your guardian angel.”
Tempest snorted. “I don’t think so. Put Abra back in his cage.”
“He likes me.” Moriarty scratched behind Abra’s floppy ears. The rabbit cuddled back.
“Judas,” Tempest mumbled to the bunny before meeting Moriarty’s amused gaze. “What are you doing here?”
The smile fell from his lips. “I understand why you didn’t tell me your suspicions before we knew each other. But now that I know … I’m truly sorry, Tempest.” He had what looked like genuine sadness in his eyes.
“Stop talking in riddles. If you were as smart as you think you are, you would have noticed I’m busy with a family crisis.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Tempest’s stage instincts kept her from expressing the constriction she felt in her throat. She made sure her voice would be steady when she spoke. “The police are very interested in your whereabouts.”
“I see you making a move for your phone. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
She paused, but only for a moment. “You’re my self-declared guardian angel. You’re not going to hurt me. You have nothing to threaten me with.”
“I’m not threatening you. I’m telling you I’m here to help. Your grandmother isn’t up to what she says she is.”
Tempest felt the skin on her arms rise into goosebumps. “I don’t know what you hope to accomplish by bringing up my grandmother and lying—”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know what was really going on with your family curse. I should have suspected.” Again, there was sadness in his eyes.
He was manipulating her. He had to be. “Why are you really here?”
“If you hadn’t noticed, dearest Tempest—”
“Do not,” she growled, “call me that.”
“In time.… If you hadn’t noticed, I’m much more observant than the average person. That’s why I also know how special you are.”
“Pointing out your superiority isn’t the smartest way to win someone over.”
He smiled. “I’ve always thought of you as my equal. It’s quite rare. That threw me off balance. That’s why I didn’t approach you directly when I first saw you. I’ve never been in such a position before, but you’re a remarkable woman, Tempest. Shhh. Now you know my secret.”
“Your secret that you’re a stalker?”
“Sticks and stones … but must you be so cruel?” He said the words with a smile on his face. “I know how independent you are, so I won’t take it personally. That’s why I’ll still give you this information I found about your gran. She didn’t go to Scotland to go on an art retreat with her girlfriends.”
“Of course she went to Scotland—”
“Your attention to detail is failing you now. I didn’t say she’s not in Scotland. I said she didn’t go there for an art retreat. She’s looking into what really happened to her eldest daughter. She wants to lay the Raj family curse to rest.”
Tempest used to hate the clichéd expression that time slowed down. But there are some moments when it turns out to be absolutely true. There was no way Moriarty was telling her the truth, and yet … what if he was?
“How do you—”
“I fear you wouldn’t like the answer.” He picked up the bowler hat that didn’t look anything like Sanjay’s up close.
Tempest glared at him. She couldn’t let herself get distracted by the past until her grandfather was cleared. But after that? If Moriarty could help her find the truth … was it worth it to make a deal with the Devil?