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Walker raises a hand. “I knew this morning.”
“If the council wants her alive, they’re going to have ordered the bounty hunters to capture, not kill.”
Rainey’s reply is instant. “Yes.”
“Bronywyn won’t let anyone get that close to her. You’ve seen how powerful she is.”
“But if she’s already looking for them, what’s to stop her from letting them catch her? We have to warn her that they want her magic.” Delaney’s tone wavers with emotion, her fear for Bronywyn shining through.
“Do you think Odette knew that her council counterpart wanted Bronywyn alive?” Walker leans back against the wall and shoves both hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“I think Odette is a woman who doesn’t miss anything,” Rainey replies. “She’s sharp, and I think—in her own way—she was warning us.” Her brows draw together. “Though I don’t know why, and to be honest, I’m wary of people who appear to be trying to do the right thing. Their motives are rarely pure.”
“That or hoping we’d lure Bronywyn in so she could get her hands on the power.”
“Why ask us to kill her, then?” Rainey turns to Drexel, who shrugs.
“I don’t know, it was just a thought.”
“Little tip, don’t speak until you have a rational reason for your belief,” Rainey says. “The less you say, the more likely people are to take you seriously when you do actually speak.” While her words are harsh, her tone is understanding. She turns back to the group. “If she’s trying to use us to track Bronywyn, then she’s doing a shit job. I tailed her a bit today and other than grabbing lunch—alone—she hasn’t left her apartment.”
“You tailed her?”
“It’s what we do,” Walker interjects.
“I wanted to see if she was meeting with anyone. Now after meeting dickhead earlier, I’m starting to think he’s the one we need to be watching.”
“I can handle that,” Cole offers. “Follow him around and let you know if he does anything we should be concerned with.”
“I’ll go with you,” Delaney adds. “We can tail him while you stay on top of the shit happening in Billings. If Bronywyn hits another spot, we need to know about it. Preferably before Paloma does.”
“Not a problem.” Rainey turns to me. “Anything else she say allude to where she could be looking next?”
“No. But if we’re trying to keep her off the council’s radar while she’s trying to be firmly planted on it, we have our work cut out for us.”
Rainey rolls her eyes. “When the hell is it not?”
* * *
My apartment has always beenmy sanctuary. My quiet in all the noise of the world below. It’s the reason I bought the entire damned building when I re-located here. Yet, even as I yearn for the quiet, I also crave life.
Which is the very reason I keep the pub running; it’s my glimpse into the world, and the days Bronywyn would walk through, smile on her face, green eyes alight with joy, all was right. I take a seat on my leather couch and stare at the blank television across from me.
While we went times without speaking, there were other short blips when we’d see each other every day. Most recently, about two years ago, I’d convinced her to binge the first three Star Wars movies with me.
I’d fallen deeper in love with her on this couch, all while Luke Skywalker and the other Rebels fought for freedom.
“Everything is such a fucking mess,” I groan to my apartment. A tangled fucking mess of which I have no clue where to even start unraveling.
Talking to her hasn’t worked.
Trapping her was a shit show.
Hell, even warning her has been a dead end.
So what am I to do now? Just sit by and hope she doesn’t end up dead? I reach into my pocket and withdraw a small cord of leather. A tiny silver medallion hangs from it, an open flower carved into its once shiny surface.
I finger the metal, feeling the familiar weight of it in my palm as my mind pulls me into a memory.
