“Why am I not surprised? Goddess, they’re an incestuous bunch.”
“There’s more.” I bring her foot close to my lips and blow across her wet toes. “Assuming we’ve got the right blokes—all four mages are also long-time members of the Starlight Club.”
“Starlight Club? Wait, the sex club the banker guy owns?”
“Indeed.”
She bolts upright, making me lose my grip on her foot and smudge the polish on her baby toe. “So Kevin Klaiburn’s a mage, too? That crusty fucker!”
“He’s not a mage, but he’s obviously connected to Forsythe and his flock. They’re probably some of his best clients.”
“Klaiburn sold us out! He must’ve contacted them as soon as Draegan gave him my father’s name for the safe deposit box. It’s like they knew about it all along and were just waiting for me to make my move so they could track me. Do you think my father set me up, leaving me that stuff at the bank?”
“I don’t know, scarecrow. Anything’s possible, but that one seems a bit of a stretch. If it was a setup, I think your father would’ve made it a bit easier for you to recall he’d left something for you at the bank rather than relying on you to piece together random clues from an old photograph and scant memories from your childhood.”
She seems to relax a bit, and I pick up her foot to redo the smudged toe.
“It’s possible the mages had other informants either working at the branch or on the bank’s security team,” I say. “Or that Klaiburn just recognized the name Brian Avery and contacted Forsythe on that matter alone. But either way—yes. It’s clear the mages knew you and Draegan were at the bank and when you left. The crash was planned.”
“Which means they also knew where I was going. Right here.” A nervous shudder rolls through her body.
“They can’t reach us here, scarecrow. Rook’s got everything locked down—you know that. The best they could do is set up shop on the land across the road and hope that you leave the property, which is obviously not happening.”
She huffs out a sigh. “Guess this means there aren’t any more road trips in my future.”
“Tell you what, darling. Once we finish slaughtering all these mages and sending Zorakkov back to hell? I’ll drive you anywhere you want to go. We’ll take one of Draegan’s cars—really get on his good side.”
A faint laugh bubbles up, but it doesn’t last. “What about the other guy?” she asks. “The car that left the scene? Was Rook able to get a match on the license plate?”
“He’s awaiting confirmation on that one,” I say. “Should know soon enough.”
“He just got it.” A shadow crosses the room, and Draegan looms in the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. He shoots me a glare—probably worried about me getting Mango Madness all over his pristine white sheets—then says, “The other vehicle is registered to one Grant Reedsy.DetectiveGrant Reedsy.”
Chapter Ten
JUDE
“Are you fucking shitting me?” I ask.
Westlyn’s eyes widen. “The asshole who’s been investigating you guys?”
“The one and only.” Draegan crosses the room to join us by the bed. “Rook hacked into the cell tower relay system and determined Reedsy made a call about fifteen minutes before the crash, then another a few minutes after. He was most likely calling Eloise to report that you were en route, then again to confirm the crash had happened. Rook spotted the mage’s car in traffic surveillance footage from the Lincoln Tunnel entrance out of Manhattan just after you and I passed through—there was only a single driver. Eloise and the others were likely already upstate, waiting nearby for the signal to make their move.”
Westlyn leans back against the pillows, her turquoise eyes shining. “So much trouble. So much effort just to get to me. One witch. How could I be so important to their plans? Even if Iwantedto help Eloise usher in the freaking apocalypse… How could she think I possibly have that much power?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out,” I say gently. Satisfied her toes are perfect, I cap the polish and set it on the bedside table. “Augs and I learned a few things about Hunter from Belinda Eckhardt, but unfortunately she offed herself before we could get her to talk about your role in all of this.”
I tell West and Draegan about our adventures with Belinda and the Yankee Candle, filling them in on everything the good doctor spilled. The details, I mean, not the blood and tears. Figure they don’t need the play-by-play on the latter. Besides, Drae’s still riled up about the fact that we went after Nesterman against his orders, but if we hadn’t? Well. That’d be two more fucking dickheads on the list of people still capable of hurting our girl, and fuckthoseodds.
“I get the sense Hunter’s body might be failing,” I continue. “She didn’t say it outright—said her recent visits were out of concern for him after West ditched his arse at the altar. But we know that’s a load of utter shite.”
“Failing how?” she asks.
“I’m not sure exactly, but I have a feeling it’s related to the demon binding. Seems like they were counting on you to help sustain his physical body during the possession, or help keep the demon inside him… I’m not exactly sure how it all works. But since you fled the scene, so to speak, the doctor had to give him more treatments. That’s my best guess.”
“So now I’m demonic superglue?” She rolls her eyes again. “Awesome. Add it to my resume.”
I squeeze her ankle, careful not to mess up the toes. “The good news is, without his witch augmenterorin-house physician, Hunter is now free to rot, burn, and fuck off into the proverbial sunset.”
