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“You sound surprised.” I frowned. “Did you think I was just an empty-headed jock?”
She hadn’t said it outright, but I had a chip on my shoulder when it came to people assuming that because I was a big guy and an ex-football player, that I couldn’t think my way out of a paper bag. Yes, I went to the gym almost every day, but lifting weights was like my personal meditation time. It helped me piece together puzzles in my head.
“No. Not at all.” She set the witch on the table. “I just hadn’t thought about it before. You’re right, the murder could have happened years ago. Ashley could be an adult now.” She lifted her gaze. “I’ll go further back in my searching. Good idea.”
Now I felt like a shit for snapping at her.
I reached up to clasp my hand behind my neck. “I can help. I just need to run to the docks first. We could meet up tonight after the shop closes.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “I’ll keep scouring the internet too. Maybe I can dig something up.”
“Sounds good.” I stood. “I guess I’ll be back in a few hours.”
She followed me to the door. As I reached for the handle, she said, “Jackson?”
Damn. I’d waited alongtime to hear my name on this woman’s lips. I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Be careful. Someone isn’t who they seem.”
I turned to face her. “Do you have the sight?”
Witches were still a mystery to me for the most part, but I knew from Ruby that some of her coven members were clairvoyant, and able to see into the future.
“Not exactly, but my intuition has been pinging since you walked in. It took a long time for our paths to actually cross. That makes me think there’s a reason.”
Did that mean she knew I existed back in high school? If so, she never gave off any clues. I gripped the door handle. “I’m always careful. See you tonight.”
Outside, I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I walked to the car. Missed call from my new client. I wondered if his ears were burning. Pressing his number, I disengaged the locks on my car and got in.
“Ah, Jackson.” Jim Hinterland crooned as if he hadn’t called me first. “Have you located Jonas yet?”
“No.” I started the engine. “He’s not at his house, so I was just heading down to the docks.”
His voice lowered. “The man is of secondary interest. He has something that belongs to me.”
“You didn’t mention that when you hired me.” Winter’s warning whispered through my head. “I can’t do my job efficiently if I don’t have all the information up front. What am I really looking for here?”
“Jonas was contracted to find a lost talisman from the Whydah shipwreck. Black Sam Bellamy stole it from a Spanish fleet. I funded his dive to locate the wreckage, but he’s gone silent.”
As far as I knew, most of the treasure from the old pirate ship had been claimed. There was a damned museum dedicated to that ship.
So how did this guy know about a talisman? “Why wasn’t I informed about this when I was hired?”
“This relationship requires trust, Jackson. You don’t have mine yet, and if you’re half the investigator people say you are, you don’t trust me either.”
That was true. In fact, I suspected this man wasn’t a materials broker at all. I would almost bet I was speaking to one of the partners from the Hinterland and Bloodstone law firm.
I clenched my jaw, gathering my words carefully. “I’ll let you know what I find, but if anything seems off, I’m terminating our contract.”
“It’s in your best interest to keep me as an ally.” Jim let out a cold, humorless chuckle. “You’ll regret making us your enemy.”
I arched a brow. “Is that a threat?”
“No. It’s a promise.”
The line went dead. Fuck. I scrolled my contacts and pressed Zeke’s number. My Alpha answered on the first ring. “Hey Jackson. What’s up?”
“Just had an interesting call with Jim Hinterland.” I leaned my phone against my shoulder and turned up the fan on the heater, rubbing my hands in front of the vent. “He wants me to find some kind of relic from a shipwreck. He claims this Jonas guy stole it from him.”
