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Motherfucker.
I’d give anything to be able to bring her back to me. To soothe that anger in her eyes and warm the coldness in her voice. To tear down the wall she’s built up between the two of us. To hold her and tell her I love her.
“Nicolette. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hit the ground, you hit the ground. Whoever they had at The Underground saw you, and now they’re demanding you come with me, so I can only imagine why.”
Finally, a flicker of fear passes over her face. I don’t want her to be afraid, but I want her to understand what we’re walking into.
I pull back onto the road and hit the gas, driving even faster than before.
“What do you know of the Baths of Caldane?”
“Uh… that would be nothing. Ugh.”
The Baths of Caldane are twenty minutes from La Maison.
It’s both the longest and shortest twenty minutes of my life.
“Nature’s spa,” I explain. “They’re surrounded by mountains. There’s heated sulfur water that churns in a whirlpool. People swear it cures arthritis and skin rashes.”
“And why do you think they’ve asked us to meet them there?”
I turn onto the road that takes us there. Thayer’s mapped it out and explained where we can park under the cover of trees, to give us a bit more freedom to approach more stealthily.
“I’d guess they have an advantage over us here. Not sure why. Someone knows a secret passageway or has an in with someone in charge of running it. For whatever reason, they’ll want to pick a place that puts them at an advantage.”
“So it’s remote?”
“Yes, and closed to the public.”
Frowning, she looks thoughtful. “It would be a good place to drown someone, then?”
“Absolutely.”
I pull in and park the car.
“Well that’s lovely.”
The Baths of Caldane are still shadowed in the remnants of night. Lights illuminate the water from beneath the surface of the calm springs. Made to look like swimming pools, the majestic, opulent baths feature statues and stones, and spotlights on the glimmering surface. I reach for Nicolette to tuck her by my side, but she pushes me away.
I grit my teeth and walk beside her.
I hate that we have this distance between us. I hate that she’s leaving when she’s done with our arrangement. I hate that her anger toward me might endanger her.
I have to save my brother and Nicolette.
I want that talisman.
“Do you see anyone?” I ask Nicolette in a low voice. Hidden beneath trees, Thayer sits, prepared to ambush. He has only two other men with him. Any more would’ve put us at a disadvantage.
“There’s someone sitting under that awning.” She jerks her head to show me.
I’d recognize that shock of hair a mile away. Lyam.
I’ve forced myself to do what I had to. I’ve focused on what I need to do to bring him home. But seeing my younger brother alone, silhouetted under the rock-hewn roof, my heart lurches.
I want to rush to him. I want to bring him home and present him to Maman, who’s probably near frantic by now. I want to take my anger and turn it toward whoever the fuck messed with my family.
But I don’t. I stay calm. I nod to Nicolette.
“You do—”
“Exactly what you say, yeah, yeah, I know.”
I press my lips together and focus. I’ll get her alone, and soon, and then we’ll sort this shit out.
“Stop right there.”
Nicolette and I stop.
Silence.
“You took my brother.” My voice booms in the quiet. “You bullied me into stealing something that could’ve killed me and my partner. And you don’t have the goddamn balls to show your face?”
Silence.
I hear something to my left. And my right. Nicolette looks at me with wide eyes and a look of determination.
“Take the talisman and lay it on the fountain.”
I look around until I see a stone-hewn fountain beside one of the bubbling baths. In the chill morning, steam rises from the water.
“Give me my brother first.”
Silence.
From where we stand, I can see Lyam get to his feet and walk toward us. I nod to Nicolette to put the talisman on the fountain. The second Lyam reaches me, I grab him in an embrace and whisper in his ear, “Who did this? Do you have any idea?”
“No,” he says quickly. “Did you feed the rats to my snakes while I was gone?”
What the hell is he talking about? He’s worried about his snakes right now? Nicolette looks at him as if he’s lost his mind.
I’m not in charge of his pets. He’s the one that takes care of them and keeps them out of my mother’s way, because she considers them evil somehow.
Feed my snakes rats…
Wait.
When we talk of politics, my family refers to politicians as rats. He isn’t asking about his snakes. He’s telling me the person behind this is a politician.
