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Her head tilted slightly. “Unfortunately for Dr. Preston, he was quite uncooperative.”
My chest tightened and the blood rushed from my head.Focus, Ellie. Focus. “Funny, I’ve found him to be quite the opposite. He’s proven himself entirely useful.”
“I know that you’re fond of him, Elinor.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You sent him to see the collection, didn’t you? You’re curious about what we possess. Dr. Preston was sent to evaluate it.” She tsked and shook her head. “It’s a pity what happened to his ex-girlfriend.” Her eyes lit up. “Have you noticed that the collection seems to be quite unlucky? When outsiders come to see it, foul play usually befalls them. You know this firsthand. On multiple counts.” She shook her head. “Your poor Dr. Preston was doomed from the moment he stepped into the warehouse.”
I forced myself to remain calm, at least on the outside. Time to pull more Collin Dailey tricks. I was playing the role of an aloof bitch who was about to kick an old woman’s ass. Or maybe I wasn’t pretending. “And where is Dr. Preston now?”
She grinned. “Somewhere safe.” Her mouth twisted in amusement. “Well, safe for my purposes. I shall not comment on his physical state. And no, he’s no longer in the warehouse.”
I forced a wry smile. “I’m going to need him back. I’m not done with him yet.”
“I’m counting on that.”
“If your time is so valuable, tell me what you want.”
“An exchange of a sort. Your Dr. Preston for your cooperation.”
“With what?”
“We want to locate the gate to hell.”
I blinked, certain that I’d heard her wrong. “What?”
“We want you to provide us with the location of the gate to hell. We’ll meet you there and then we’ll hand over Dr. Preston.”
“That’s it?”
She smiled. “We want the location confirmed. We’ll need Mr. Dailey to be present to ensure that.”
My heart sunk. There was no way Collin would go for that. “I want something in return.”
She laughed in surprise. “You’ll get your valuable Dr. Preston. Isn’t that reward enough?”
“No. I want more.”
“You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate.”
“I think I am. You need me and you need Collin. Collin can’t stand David, so he’ll never agree to cooperate. He’ll gladly see him gone. You’ll need to make it worth his while as well.”
She pondered my statement. “Obviously, you have something in mind.”
“There’s a seventeenth-century Croatan spear. I believe it’s in your possession, he’ll want that as well as the Sword of Galahad.”
She shook her head. “No.”
I sighed, reaching for the car door. “Then I guess we’re done here.”
She laughed. “You haven’t fooled me. I know you care more about Dr. Preston than you’re letting on. You’re not going to just walk away and leave his life in my hands.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re right. I do care about David, but I also know Collin. There’s no fucking way he’ll agree to this unless he’s getting something in return. Something big. So if you won’t offer anything up, I don’t see any point in wasting more of either of ourvaluabletime.”
“The spear. Not the sword.”
I shook my head.
