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I touched my forehead to hers. “Rose,” I said, “I spend at least half of my social life online, talking to people I’ve never evenseenin real life. The only long-term girlfriend I’ve ever had, I never got to touch, never heard her voice except through the computer speakers. I don’t really do ‘usual.’ I didn’t dream about having what I have with you right now because I never would have thought I’d get this lucky, not because it’s less than what I’d want.”
“Oh.” A brighter smile crossed her face. “Well, all right then. When everything with my dad is over, we’ll see how good a dream we can make it.”
I kissed her one more time, offering up every ounce of feeling in me before I got back to work. “Let’s get this part over with as quickly as possible, then.”
I grabbed the computer and dove back in. I had to live up to the love Rose was offering me. Had to prove myself worthy of it.
Maybe the estate manager would give us the key. If Rose’s dad had texted Mrs. Gainsley about the contract, he might have mentioned other aspects of the plan to her in the past.
I scraped through the computer’s history, the files and history her dad probably felt had vanished into the ether. But very few things are ever fully deleted once you’ve brought them onto your computer, not unless youreallyknow what you’re doing. And if Mr. Hallowell was lax enough to let his text messages sync to his laptop, I could tell right off the bat he wasn’t a tech security expert.
The name Gainsley came up in a discarded message from last week. I pulled up that thread and started to skim it.
“What’s that?” Rose asked.
“Your dad was discussing hiring Mrs. Gainsley with some other guy… That name looks familiar. Hold on.”
I snatched up my own computer and checked the notes I’d made in Seattle. Rose peered at the messages. She said what I was just confirming. “Frankford. I know him. He’s with the Assembly. The head of one of the divisions—Education, I think. Dad’s always been very careful to stay on his good side.” Her wry smile slanted. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d be checking with that guy about our estate manager, though.”
“It looks like Frankford was recommending Mrs. Gainsley to him. Look at this.You need someone with the proper discretion and the skill required, of course.”
I paused. Discretion and skill were reasonable things to want in an estate manager in general, I guessed. But something about the phrasing sent a chill through me. I dug farther back into the thread of communication between the two men. Then my hand stilled. My stomach dropped as I read an earlier exchange.
Integrating a binding into the ceremony?Frankford had written.I’ll be interested to hear of your success with that.
My wife is investigating the details,Mr. Hallowell replied.There has to be a subtler way than the current methods of control.
And then, most damning, Frankford’s response:We’ll all be grateful for your efforts if you succeed.
Rose had been reading alongside me. Her hand tightened around my arm. “He was talking to Frankford about it.Openly. And Frankford…”
“He approved of it,” I filled in. My heart had started to thud. No, this wasn’t how our investigations had been supposed to go.
“Not just him,” Rose said quietly. “’We all.’ How many witching folk know about this?” Her voice started to rise. “And what does he mean about ‘the current methods.’ How many other witches have they done something to, to control their magic? Spark help me… How many people in theAssemblyare part of it?”
“You could still take whatever evidence we can find to the Justice Division, right?” I said, but my voice sounded weak to my own ears.
“The Justice Division that has a secret department for killing off any witches who step out of line in a way they decide is intolerable?” She buried her face in her hands. “I should have known. The Spark only knows how many other secrets they’re keeping. If it’s my dad’s doing that Celestine is dead, he wouldn’t even have needed to make up a story. They were covering up their own tracks too.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“No,” Rose said. “But we know enough. I’m not getting any help from the Assembly. Not when it comes to my freedom.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rose
The last time we’d all gathered by the old stone towers it’d been an exhilarating celebration of love. Coming here now, with so much gloom hanging over me, felt almost wrong. But with Derek gone and Dad away, the estate seemed like the safest place for a group meeting. I’d made sure no one was nearby this time before I’d cast a wide rebuffing ring around our meeting spot.
I stepped into a pool of early morning sunlight that streaked between the branches overhead. The day was already warm, but even that glowing beam couldn’t quite shake the chill that had gripped me since the discovery Kyler and I had made last night. The lush scents of the vines and the foliage around us tasted too tart as I inhaled.
Everywhere I looked, everything I touched, I seemed to find sharp edges.
Jin sat down on a rock near the edge of the clearing. He held a stick braced against the ground as if he meant to sketch in the dirt with it, but his hand stayed in place, his gaze fixed on me. Damon stood near him, his arms folded over his chest and his expression even darker than usual. The twins had arrived together, but Seth had hung back as if to keep an eye on the whole group while Kyler had walked right up to me, taking my hand in his with a squeeze of support.
And Gabriel. Gabriel, who was one of my guys but not, leaned against one of the towers in a stance that looked relaxed, but his gaze never quite met mine. I could kind of understand that. Every time I looked his way I remembered the feeling of his body pressed against mine in the dark car yesterday morning.
After I’d sent out the group message last night, I’d texted him separately.You don’t have to come. If you’d rather sit this one out, it’s fine.
