“Cappuccino with an extra shot,” Vicky said.
Figures she’d ask me to buy her something.
The line was short and I was back in just a few minutes. I bought several scones and croissants for the group and set themin the middle of our table. Vicky took a sip and nodded in my direction.
“Thank you. I needed this.”
Asking her why she didn’t get one before sitting down was pointless. She’d waited for me to buy it for her. I wasn’t sure how much Grant told them, so I caught them up to speed on the Frederick trip.
“That jerk,” Vicky said. “I’ve been searching for him for months and he calls you out of the blue.”
I knew she’d be upset given the task Michael gave her. Picking up my phone, I sent her Uriel’s number. “He probably won’t answer you, and it’s almost surely untraceable, but maybe it will help.”
“Your connection to Nick make’s sense,” Brenda said. “He seems so much more hopeful with you than anyone else.”
“Probably because we aren’t trying to keep them apart,” Grant said.
It was hard to read his tone. Was he pissed off Nick and I wereHKarlin?Maybe, but not because he wanted to be boyfriends. “I don’t know, but it’s been helpful. Right now, Nick’s willing to give me some leeway on keeping secrets.”
“That’s just so like Uriel,” Vicky said. “Don’t tell him, but figure out how to deal with the fallout when he learns the truth. Why doesn’t he try being helpful instead.”
Vicky’s opinion of Uriel was shaped by her father. Uriel nearly killed Michael right before he disappeared. Dad told me it was the only time he’d seen fear on Michael’s face. If Dad and Raphael hadn’t stepped in, Uriel might have finished the job. “I think you’re letting what happened cloud your judgement.”
I waited for the push back, but Vicky was not the hot head her father could be. Her silence was permission to keep going. “You’re missing the bigger picture. Uriel is watching us, or at least Nick. He knew within hours we were in Frederick. How? Imean, even if he had someone watching Nick, they’d need to be close enough to hear our conversation. Only the four of us, Nick, my Dad and Michael knew about the trip. How did he know so fast?”
“That’s a good question,” Grant said. “Is he tapping our phones or did he bug our apartment?”
Both were possibilities. I turned to Vicky. “Can you get someone to check out both before Nick goes home?”
“I’m on it.” She had her phone out before she answered.
“There’s one more thing,” I said, drawing all attention back to me. “It felt like Uriel had more than a passing interest in Nick. He sounded scared for his safety.”
“Yeah,” Brenda said. “He’s the fourth freakin’ heir. Of course, he’s interested.”
Her answer was too easy, and not accurate. I looked at Grant, but he averted his eyes. His grandfather knew more, but I wasn’t going to put Trevor on the spot. Yet. “It was more than he wanted to protect the heir. He practically pleaded with me to trust him so Nick would be safe.”
“Uriel?” Vicky scoffed. “He doesn’t care about anyone now that Ariel is gone. You must’ve misunderstood him.”
I hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to convince her.
“Can we get back to Nick and his emerging powers?” Grant said. “Where did he get the power to break the glassandto heal so fast?”
Every interaction with Grant—Trevor—improved his standing in my eyes. It shouldn’t have surprised me the person Uriel chose would be so competent. “It felt like he instinctively pulled power from the electrical system. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Victoria raised her eyebrows. “That’s unprecedented. If he can draw power from external sources without direct contact, he’s going to be incredibly powerful. Like my Dad powerful.”
“He’s also going to be unbelievably dangerous if he’s not trained properly,” Brenda said.
“I know, but I can’t do anything about it until Uriel says it’s okay,” I said.
“That’s insane,” Trevor said running a hand through his hair. “How are we supposed to train him if we can’t tell him the truth?”
I couldn’t answer him. None of us could.
“Why?” Brenda asked. “Why is Uriel so adamant about keeping Nick in the dark? He has to see how dangerous this situation is becoming.”
“Did you send Dad a report on this new development?” Vicky asked.
