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“I was going to find you soon enough, but it looks like you found me first.”
“Why would you want to find me?”
She smiled, but her eyes were cold and calculating now. “All in good time, Elinor.” She grimaced. “Forgive me, but I do hate nicknames. So uncouth.”
“It hardly seems fair that you know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
“Miriam Peabody,” she said with an air of superiority, and I wondered if she expected me to take her hand and kiss the big diamond ring on her right ring finger.
Not bloody likely, as my Brit would say. But I’d do it if it would save him. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, Ms. Peabody, but I’d be lying. You didn’t answer me before: I might want answers, but what do you want?”
“We’ll save that for later.”
“You basically want me to give you a blank check.”
A deceptively sweet smile spread across her face. “I think you really want the information I can give you. You’ll owe me something for every question you ask.”
It was tempting.
“I’ll give you one question for free.”
One question. What should I ask? “Why are you collecting weapons?”
Her smile widened. “Cut right to the heart of it, don’t you?” She laughed softly, then reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief. “There’s a war brewing, Elinor. It’s been predicted for over four centuries. It’s important to be prepared. And to pick the right side.”
“And which side is that?”
“The side that benefits us the most.” Her eyes twinkled as she dabbed her nose with the handkerchief before lowering it. “And that was question number two. We only agreed to one free one. You are now in the deficit.”
Oh, fuck it. “Why were you coming to find me?”
“You are a key player in the outcome of this battle.”
“You know about the curse?” I asked, incredulous.
Confusion flickered in her eyes. “What curse?”
What the hell was she talking about if she didn’t know about the curse?
She shifted slightly in her seat. “My turn.”
My heart sped up. Her answers had only given me more questions, and now I was supposedly in her debt. Well, I’d learned a thing or two from Collin. There was no honor among thieves, and this bitch was definitely a thief. I gave her a cocky grin. “Go for it.”
“Where is your friend, Collin Dailey?”
I lifted my eyebrows. “First of all, Collin fucking Dailey is not myfriend.”
She cringed at my vulgar language, and I fought to keep from smiling. Ms. Uptight Pants didn’t even like nicknames, so I hoped I was offending her prudish sensibility.
“And second, I don’t keep tabs on the bastard. We spent a week together and then we were done.”
She dabbed her nose again, then glanced out the window before returning her gaze to me, her eyes hard. “That’s not what my sources say. I know he protects you and that you two are capable of great things together.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “I think you do. In fact, I’m counting on it.”
The smugness in her voice sent a shiver down my spine. “What are you talking about?”
