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Gideon smirked. “He’ll live. I should’ve locked up the creep bag, but I let him go. Matt’s contacts led me to a guard that worked for Bobby Caro. He told me about the Ranch. He also mentioned a blonde harpy that had just been sold. From there, I had to do a bit of digging to rustle up an invitation to visit the infamous Ranch. Invites are hard to come by, you know?”
I imagined Wesley Blake didn’t just let anyone into his place of business. A limited clientele was easier to control and less likely to get him arrested.
“How did you get an invitation?”
He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Had a friend of mine set me up with a fake identity. I’m an uber rich magical arms dealer with a history of violence. I figured that was the kind of client the Ranch liked to serve.”
I shook my head. Sounded about right. The thought that I might’ve ended up with one of those clients in here tonight, instead of Gideon, gave me shivers.
“Come on, we’ve wasted enough time.” He squeezed my hand tight. “We have to get out of here. Now. Before the mage comes back.”
He took my hand and headed toward the door. Every fiber of my being wanted to run away with him, but my feet wouldn’t budge. My mother and the girls were all stuck here. If I escaped without taking them with me, there was no telling if they’d ever get out alive. Wesley would probably relocate his ranch and seal it up tighter than a bank vault. No one in, no one out. I’d be sentencing them to a lifetime in this place.
“I can’t.” My voice came out in a whimper. “Not without the others. Not without my mother.”
Gideon stopped, but didn’t drop my hand. “Aya, I don’t have any backup, it’s just me. I had to do this all off the books so Agent Carson wouldn’t suspect anything. Plus, they searched me for any weapons and magical weapons at the door. I’m unarmed. There’s no way we can take them all with us.”
I let go of his hand and wrapped my arms around my waist. “Every night, Wesley Blake relocates the Ranch somewhere outside Arcana. It’s a trick he learned from Bobby Caro. If I leave, we’ll never find them again.”
Tala would never forgive me if I abandoned her. Plus, the HQ had given me a mission. Rescue my mother. I wasn’t done here.
“Are you serious?” He took my face in his hands, his hazel eyes reflecting the dying light of our single candle. “You can’t stay here. He’s a monster.”
I stared at the green flecks in his eyes and nodded. “Not yet. We need the HQ. If we can get them here, we can save all the girls. And my mother.”
He hissed through a clenched jaw. “And if I refuse? What if I drag you out of here?”
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the warmth of his hands. “You won’t. I’m here for a purpose. You put yourself in harm’s way every day with the SI to stop the bad guys. This is the same thing. I’m going to save those girls.”
He huffed but didn’t say anything. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the tension dripping off him. He’d come here to save me, not to leave me in this lion’s den of rapists and murderers. Leaving me in this room would be the hardest thing he’d ever have to do.
“As soon as you leave here, try to get in touch with Ruth at the HQ in Chicago. She’s the one who sent me on this mission. Tell her I’ve made contact with my mother.”
My talons bit into the palms of my hands. Turning Gideon away might have been the biggest mistake of my life. I hoped I wouldn’t regret it.
“I won’t leave you,” Gideon grumbled. He worked his
jaw and bit his bottom lip. “I can’t.”
I tilted my head and pressed my lips together. Maybe he didn’t have to leave just yet.
“You’re a paying customer,” I told him. “You still have some time to spare.”
His eyes lit up with realization. “You’re right. No need to rush out. We’ve got this whole room to ourselves.”
I didn’t want to think about the Ranch or the fact that Gideon and I were no longer a couple. All I wanted was to feel his hands on my body, his hard stomach beneath my fingertips, and the taste of his mouth on my lips.
Dropping the silky robe from my shoulders, I stood in front of Gideon in the lacy lingerie outfit that left little to the imagination. The room was still dark, but bright enough for me to see his eyes grow wide at the sight of me. I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my stomach, gliding it up to the swells of my breasts.
“Be with me tonight.” My voice was husky underneath the weight of my request. “Stay with me.”
Hunger burned in his eyes. He slid his other hand down my back to the tops of my buttocks and pulled me in tight. Our lips met and soon, his fingers became entangled in my hair. I moaned as his tongue darted in my mouth, causing shivers to run down my spine.
“The bed,” I managed to croak.
Without hesitation, he dropped the overlarge coat off his shoulders and swept me up into his arms, making a beeline for the bed. Desperation and fear fed our passion, each more powerful than any sense of wrong or right. When it was time for him to leave, I wept into the silky sheets of the four poster bed, my great black wings drooping on my shoulders.
The overwhelming and scary thought that I had made a huge mistake loomed over my head like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade.
