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“Well…” Jin cocked his head. His tone turned a bit more serious. “There are places and people that give you what you’re craving in the moment, right? And that’s a pretty wonderful thing. The ones that give you something so essential it becomes a part of your soul… That type is a lot harder tofind.”
His gaze caught mine across the pond for a beat longer than felt completely casual. A warm tingling spread down my chest. He meant the estate, of course. The estate had worked its way into his soul. Notme.
Didn’t he? My hand dropped to the ribbon I’d tied around my wrist this morning. Deep purple, as rich as Jin’s unwavering passion. I’d picked it as if wearing it would help me tap into my own feelings, or at least figure out what the hell theywere.
Jin waved his stick in the air, breaking the moment. “Look at me, turning into a philosopher! When I get into a serious mood, you know it’s probably time to start ignoring me.” He winked, but he still couldn’t quite seem to lookaway.
I swallowed hard, trying to think of how to answer him, and other voices carried through the trees. I turned, not sure if I was glad for the interruption or regrettingit.
Seth and Kyler had come together. They came to a stop between me and Jin at the edge of the pond. And suddenly my heart was thumping for a completely differentreason.
I hadn’t seen Kyler since I’d kissed him. He clapped his hands now with his usual energy, but his gaze twitched away from mine a moment after ours met. Yep. This was plenty awkward. I didn’t have any idea how to smooth that weirdness overeither.
“Looks like we’re all here,” he said. “I told Damon, but who knows whether he’llshow.”
I grasped for a topic that was safer than hook-ups or illicit kisses. The reason we were here in the first place. “You said Mr. Cortland is out of town right now—how did you find that out?” Ky was the one who’d sent the text to the group announcing that fact and prompting this meet-up.
“One of the clients I do IT work for is the post office,” Ky said. “I saw a temporary mail hold come in for James Cortland. Nothing to be delivered for a ten-day stretch. Usually people only do that if they’re going onvacation.”
He gave me a hopeful smile before his gray-green eyes twitched away again. Somehow that made me look at his lips. Which reminded me that I kind of wanted to try another kiss with him.Argh.
Iwas the one who’d suggested we meet in person to talk the situation through, partly because I’d hoped seeing the guys would help me sort out my feelings. So far I was only feeling more muddled. So much for thatplan.
Seth ran his fingers over the short tawny waves of his hair. Ky’s twin was the one who’d suggested we meethere. He felt I’d already risked too much coming into town as often as Ihad.
“Since it doesn’t seem smart to make any decisions based on assumptions,” he said, “I’ve taken a couple drives past the house. There’s no car in the drive. The second time I went right up and knocked on the front door, and got no answer.” He spread his hands. “It does look like he’sgone.”
Watching him move those solid arms through the air was making me feel all kinds of weird too. Rose, get a grip. Two kisses and my hormones had gone haywire. Maybe all those romance novels had finally oversaturated mybrain.
“I could double-check,” I said. “I have a history project I’ve been working on—I could tell my dad I’m thinking of paying a call on Mr. Cortland to see if he has any records I could use. Dad’s probably been in touch with him enough to be able to warn me that he’s away. But thenwhat?”
Jin looked up from where he’d been tracing patterns in the pond with his stick. “I think the idea is we sneak in there somehow. Take a look around, see if there’s any evidence showing what your stepmother asked for his help with. Right?” He glanced at the twins with one eyebrowarched.
Seth grimaced. “I wouldn’t normally say breaking and entering is a good idea, but… If we could do it without actuallybreakinganything, and we wouldn’t be stealing anything, justlooking…”
“How easy do you think it’d be to get in there?” Ky asked, looking at me steadily for the first time. “Is there anything we need to worry about other than, er, regularlocks?”
Anything magical, he meant, without knowing exactly what he meant. I sucked in a breath,considering.
Master Cortland understood magic—studying it and teaching its theory and techniques was his trade. But like all witching men, he’d only been a witness to it, never the caster. His wife and consort had passed on a few years ago. Regularly warding the house to prevent entry wasn’t remotely practical for someone who couldn’t adjust those wards if they happened towantto let someone in from time totime.
Even we didn’t ward the estate like that, only rooms like Celestine’s office that she felt needed special protection. Too much hassle to constantly manage a barrier like that when there wasn’t any realneed.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “But it’s not like regular locks will just open because we want them toeither.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if that kiss with Derek had lit up my spark? I could have used a little magic right now. Of course, the thought of kissinghimagain to try—and possibly being reminded all over again of the affection that didn’t exist between us—made my stomach clench. This expedition wouldn’t just be an attempt to reveal my stepmother’s treachery, but his aswell.
“I’m sure I can look up—” Kystarted.
A twig snapped in the woods nearby. I flinched, spinning around. There was no reason for anyone to come out this way, but if one of the staff had randomly taken a stroll deep into the woods at just thistime…
I started to motion the guys back behind the boulder. Then I caught a glimpse of the approaching figure through the trees, and my hand dropped to my side. My pulse hiccupped, but not out ofpanic.
Damon halted at the edge of the clearing. “So here we are,” he said in a cool tone. His hands were dug tight in the pockets of his leather jacket and his eyes stayed narrowed when he glanced around our gathering. “I figured I might as well see the place again justonce.”
His posture was guarded from shoulders to feet, but I couldn’t help smiling. “I’m glad youcame.”
He shrugged, keeping his distance from us, and scuffed his sneaker against the mossy stones. Kyler eyed him for a moment as if waiting to see if Damon would say anything else. When the other guy didn’t, he launched back intoplanning.
