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I razzed her, insisting that she'd promised to get the tools, but it was clear that she was so distracted she wasn't sure I was joking. I told her about my conversation with Troy and she agreed that he made sense.
So we conned our way into Salas's apartment building. After I picked his lock, she tested inside for inhabitants. When we were sure the place was clear, I sent her outside to guard the parking lot and warn me if Salas came home. Then I began my search.
His apartment looked more like the secondary residence for a guy who only visited L.A. a few days a month. A few clothes in the closet, minimal toiletries in the bathroom, a bottle of ketchup and a case of beer in the fridge. The only reason the guy even had to lock his door was a TV and a couple of game consoles. It quickly became apparent this was a waste of time.
I went into the bedroom for one last look through Salas's clothing. A floorboard creaked behind me.
"Didn't I tell you to wait--?" I turned as a man lunged at me. Big and brawny and dark-haired. Frankie Salas.
I tried to dart past him. He grabbed me and clamped his hand over my mouth.
"Cast a spell and I'll rip out your fucking voice box, witch."
I kicked his kneecap. My boot heel hit sharp and hard enough to make him relax his grasp. I wriggled out and danced back.
"We need to talk," I said. "Someone reported that this activist group made contact with you. I'm sure you didn't join them, but I need to ask if--"
His right fist swung at my gut. As I dodged it, he caught me with a surprise chop to my throat. I gasped and heaved, unable to breathe. He grabbed for me. Still choking, I managed to slam my fist into his stomach. I might as well have been slamming it into a brick wall.
I fought. I do know how to defend myself. Or I could, if I wasn't fighting a guy twice my size. I figured out fast that I wasn't taking Salas down, so I set my sights on the door. He figured that one out fast and didn't let me near it.
I'd like to say we fought for an hour. It was more like ten minutes. Five if I was being honest. He finally pinned me to the wall and jammed a sock--dirty--from his floor into my mouth.
"You think I don't know why you're here?" he said. "You're planting evidence to blame Bryce for the kid getting taken."
I shook my head and gestured that I could explain, but he still thought I was capable of casting spells and wasn't taking the sock out.
"You're a greedy little bitch," he said. "Just like your mother. You think you can get your hands on Nast money by pretending to be one of them. Well, you're not. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it."
I could point out that my mother had never named Kristof as my father. The smelly sock gag squashed that plan.
Salas didn't need my input anyway. He was quite happy doing a solo rant.
"You've sucked in Sean," he said. "I know he gave you a trust fund. He's a decent guy and you took advantage of that. But you can't pull that shit on Bryce. He's a lot smarter than people give him credit for. Someday he's going to be the CEO, and I'm going along with him, which is why I'm not about to let any witch skank spoil his chances."
I motioned that I wanted to talk. He ignored me.
"So now what am I going to do with you? I know what I'd like to do--dump your body in the Pacific. But if anyone found out, Bryce would get blamed. So I'm thinking--"
"Frankie?" It was Bryce's voice. "How long does it take you to grab clean clothes?"
Salas kicked the door shut. "Just getting changed."
"And you're afraid I'll peek? Just hurry up, okay?"
Salas leaned closer. "You wait here. I need to get rid of Bryce."
I nodded. Sadly, Salas didn't seem inclined to just let me sit on the bed. He grabbed handcuffs from his drawer. I'd seen them there earlier. I suspected they weren't for work.
He didn't seem to have a lot of practice using them, though, at least not on women who were struggling. As he fumbled, his grip on my gag relaxed enough for me to bite him. He yelped and I yanked free.
"Frankie?" Bryce said.
Salas came at me. I backed out of his way.
"Listen," I
whispered. "I don't want Bryce to find me here either, but you're not putting me in those cuffs. Leave now and I'll hide, and we can pretend this never happened."
