Betrayals
Page 109
“She betrayed us, just like Ciro. Turned her back on her duty.”
“Duty? It was a voluntary partnership, not indentured servitude. And she was helping you, in her way. You know that. You just needed her death to set your plan in motion, so you convinced yourself she deserved it. Now here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to call the Huntsman to let us out, and you’re going to free Aunika, and you’re going to let me take Pepper back to Cainsville, where I will make sure she’s safe. And then you’re going to run. Get your ass out of Illinois and never come back, or I’ll set the Cn Annwn on your tail.”
“Is that what I’m going to do, Olivia?”
“It is, because if you really give a shit about Pepper, you’ll take the deal and—”
She twisted under me, my switchblade in her hand, and I realized she hadn’t been cowed by my threats at all. She’d been faking it to see how much I knew.
On the bright side, the guy who’d given me that blade knew that the biggest danger of carrying one was that your attacker would use it against you. That meant hours of training, and I thanked Ricky when my arm instinctively flew up to block Melanie’s. Then I grabbed her wrist, wrenched, and heard the satisfying clink of the blade hitting the floor. I dove for it. My fingers hit the handle … and the blade skidded through the open door into the other room. I scrambled up.
“Stop,” Melanie said. “And turn around.”
I did, and discovered that the knife wasn’t the only thing she’d taken from me. My gun was pointed at my chest.
“You don’t want to do that,” I said.
“You think being Matilda keeps you safe? Killing Olivia Taylor-Jones will keep me safe, because you obviously didn’t put all the pieces together until you woke up here, meaning Gwynn and Arawn have no idea what’s going on.”
“I promise—”
“You can promise nothing.”
I dodged. She fired. I felt the bullet hit my side. She fired again but wide, and I ran at her and threw her into the wall, and the gun skittered across the floor. As I got to it, she grabbed me from behind, her hands going around my neck. Before I could throw her off, something jabbed the back of my shoulder. Her fangs, digging in, and I tried to wrench away, but it was as if someone knocked my knees out. They gave way, and I toppled to the floor.
TROUBLE MAGNET
Olivia’s car was in the lot. And Olivia was not.
Gabriel had been in his client meeting when he’d gotten that feeling he’d come to know well. In the beginning, it had been a vague sense of unease coupled with thoughts of Olivia. At the time, “unease” had often accompanied thoughts of Olivia, and he’d paid little mind until he’d realized this particular sensation was always followed by the discovery that Olivia was in danger.
If there had been one positive outcome of the Gwynn reveal, it was that he’d been able to lay this particular issue to rest. Accepting that he was Gwynn’s current representative, it made sense that he would have a deeper connection to Olivia. Now that vague anxiety deepened to a cold fist that gripped his gut and could not be dismissed as the result of too much coffee.
When it came during his client meeting, it had taken every bit of willpower—and the fact that this was a very wealthy client, with myriad and easily solved legal issues—to keep from walking out. Instead, he excused himself and went out to speak to Lydia, whereupon he received the message from Olivia.
That still gave Gabriel no excuse to run out on a very valuable client. He did, however, bring the meeting to a rapid conclusion. Now he was laying a hand on the hood of Olivia’s car. Warm but not hot, meaning she’d arrived at the office not long after calling Lydia.
He phoned Olivia. No answer. He dialed Melanie’s cell. There was no answer. Then he tried another number.
“Hey, what’s up?” Ricky said in answer.
Gabriel told him, ending with, “Has she contacted you?”
“No.” Keys jangled and a door slammed, as Ricky was already on the move. “If she’s got her phone, I can find her. Let me look it up and I’ll call you right back.”
“Look up …?”
“Uh, right. You remember how I got you and Liv new phones? This is probably a good time to mention that I put tracking devices in them.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not like that.” Ricky sighed. “See, this is the problem. I had them installed, and obviously I meant to tell you and show you how to use them, but then, with everything else, I forgot, and by the time I remembered … it was a little awkward.”
“Telling us you were secretly tracking our phones?”
“Fuck, no. I haven’t even turned on the damn app. But the longer I didn’t mention it, the harder it was to say, ‘Hey, Liv, I installed a GPS tracker in your phone … last week.’”
“And in mine.”
“Mine, too. Look, I’m sorry. Dumbass move. But it’s good that it’s there now, right?”
Gabriel grumbled under his breath.
“Get in your car,” Ricky said. “Head out. I’ll call you back in five.” He paused. “No, wait, you need a weapon.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I know, you never carry one. Speaking of dumbass moves …”
“I do not require—”
“Liv is in trouble. Don’t pull that shit. You have a gun at your office, right?”
“Duty? It was a voluntary partnership, not indentured servitude. And she was helping you, in her way. You know that. You just needed her death to set your plan in motion, so you convinced yourself she deserved it. Now here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to call the Huntsman to let us out, and you’re going to free Aunika, and you’re going to let me take Pepper back to Cainsville, where I will make sure she’s safe. And then you’re going to run. Get your ass out of Illinois and never come back, or I’ll set the Cn Annwn on your tail.”
“Is that what I’m going to do, Olivia?”
“It is, because if you really give a shit about Pepper, you’ll take the deal and—”
She twisted under me, my switchblade in her hand, and I realized she hadn’t been cowed by my threats at all. She’d been faking it to see how much I knew.
On the bright side, the guy who’d given me that blade knew that the biggest danger of carrying one was that your attacker would use it against you. That meant hours of training, and I thanked Ricky when my arm instinctively flew up to block Melanie’s. Then I grabbed her wrist, wrenched, and heard the satisfying clink of the blade hitting the floor. I dove for it. My fingers hit the handle … and the blade skidded through the open door into the other room. I scrambled up.
“Stop,” Melanie said. “And turn around.”
I did, and discovered that the knife wasn’t the only thing she’d taken from me. My gun was pointed at my chest.
“You don’t want to do that,” I said.
“You think being Matilda keeps you safe? Killing Olivia Taylor-Jones will keep me safe, because you obviously didn’t put all the pieces together until you woke up here, meaning Gwynn and Arawn have no idea what’s going on.”
“I promise—”
“You can promise nothing.”
I dodged. She fired. I felt the bullet hit my side. She fired again but wide, and I ran at her and threw her into the wall, and the gun skittered across the floor. As I got to it, she grabbed me from behind, her hands going around my neck. Before I could throw her off, something jabbed the back of my shoulder. Her fangs, digging in, and I tried to wrench away, but it was as if someone knocked my knees out. They gave way, and I toppled to the floor.
TROUBLE MAGNET
Olivia’s car was in the lot. And Olivia was not.
Gabriel had been in his client meeting when he’d gotten that feeling he’d come to know well. In the beginning, it had been a vague sense of unease coupled with thoughts of Olivia. At the time, “unease” had often accompanied thoughts of Olivia, and he’d paid little mind until he’d realized this particular sensation was always followed by the discovery that Olivia was in danger.
If there had been one positive outcome of the Gwynn reveal, it was that he’d been able to lay this particular issue to rest. Accepting that he was Gwynn’s current representative, it made sense that he would have a deeper connection to Olivia. Now that vague anxiety deepened to a cold fist that gripped his gut and could not be dismissed as the result of too much coffee.
When it came during his client meeting, it had taken every bit of willpower—and the fact that this was a very wealthy client, with myriad and easily solved legal issues—to keep from walking out. Instead, he excused himself and went out to speak to Lydia, whereupon he received the message from Olivia.
That still gave Gabriel no excuse to run out on a very valuable client. He did, however, bring the meeting to a rapid conclusion. Now he was laying a hand on the hood of Olivia’s car. Warm but not hot, meaning she’d arrived at the office not long after calling Lydia.
He phoned Olivia. No answer. He dialed Melanie’s cell. There was no answer. Then he tried another number.
“Hey, what’s up?” Ricky said in answer.
Gabriel told him, ending with, “Has she contacted you?”
“No.” Keys jangled and a door slammed, as Ricky was already on the move. “If she’s got her phone, I can find her. Let me look it up and I’ll call you right back.”
“Look up …?”
“Uh, right. You remember how I got you and Liv new phones? This is probably a good time to mention that I put tracking devices in them.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not like that.” Ricky sighed. “See, this is the problem. I had them installed, and obviously I meant to tell you and show you how to use them, but then, with everything else, I forgot, and by the time I remembered … it was a little awkward.”
“Telling us you were secretly tracking our phones?”
“Fuck, no. I haven’t even turned on the damn app. But the longer I didn’t mention it, the harder it was to say, ‘Hey, Liv, I installed a GPS tracker in your phone … last week.’”
“And in mine.”
“Mine, too. Look, I’m sorry. Dumbass move. But it’s good that it’s there now, right?”
Gabriel grumbled under his breath.
“Get in your car,” Ricky said. “Head out. I’ll call you back in five.” He paused. “No, wait, you need a weapon.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I know, you never carry one. Speaking of dumbass moves …”
“I do not require—”
“Liv is in trouble. Don’t pull that shit. You have a gun at your office, right?”
