28
I didn’t remember everything that happened after that. Just bits and pieces. Owen carrying me along the riverbank. Jo-Jo keeping a close eye on me, making sure that I was healed well enough to keep going. Bria, Finn, and Silvio asking me questions. Me babbling and babbling, trying to tell them what had happened. I didn’t know if they understood everything I said, but I thought they got the gist of what had gone down with Tucker, Rivera, and Porter.
“Rivera,” I said at one point. “We need to go back to the mansion. We need to get Rivera before he gets away . . .”
“Don’t worry about Rivera,” Bria said in a grim voice. “I’m working on a warrant to arrest that son of a bitch, and Xavier is watching the mansion. Rivera’s not going anywhere.”
“But we have to get him now . . .”
“No, darling,” Jo-Jo said in a firm voice. “We have to get you out of here. Rivera can wait.”
I’d never been able to argue with Jo-Jo, and I was still a little out of it, so I fell silent. But my mind churned, plotting the best way to go after Rivera as soon as possible.
Eventually, the high, jagged cliffs dwindled down to a small hill, and we were able to climb back up into the woods and leave the Rivera estate far, far behind. Owen tucked me into his car, and the next thing I knew, Bria was helping me get into the shower, and I was crawling into bed in one of the guest rooms at Jo-Jo’s house. I fell asleep almost immediately, and for once, no nightmares disturbed me.
Sometime late the next morning, sounds started intruding on my peaceful slumber. Namely, the bedroom door opening and someone tiptoeing inside, trying to be quiet, although he stepped on a creaky floorboard, totally ruining the surprise. I rolled over onto my side and opened my eyes to see Owen standing by the foot of the bed, holding a tray full of food.
“Hey,” I said, my voice still thick with sleep.
“Hey, yourself. It’s almost noon, but I thought you might want some breakfast.”
I thought of the meal that Bruce Porter had laid out on his kitchen table last night. “Just as long as it’s not lemon-pepper chicken.”
Owen frowned, not understanding what I was talking about. But I didn’t want to ruin the lighthearted mood, so I decided not to fill him in on that particular detail. Not yet anyway. I propped some pillows behind my back so that I could sit up.
Owen bowed low, then set the tray down on my lap and gave an elaborate flourish with his hand. “And breakfast is served, Madame.”
“You’ve been hanging around Finn too long.”
He grinned. “Maybe, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to do.”
“Just don’t go around talking about yourself in the third person. Or with an English accent.”
“I’ll try to refrain from that.” He paused and added a suave note to his voice, doing his best impression of Finn. “Although it will be hard, considering how absolutely, incredibly, adorably awesome I am.”
“You are adorably awesome, especially when you’re bringing me food,” I teased.
Owen winked and saluted me with his hand. “Happy to oblige, ma’am.”
He settled himself on the bed next to me, and the two of us dug into the breakfast that he’d prepared. Blueberry pancakes, applewood-smoked bacon, and a light, refreshing fruit salad made with strawberries, white grapes, kiwi slices, lime juice, and a drizzle of sourwood honey for extra sweetness.
Finally, we finished our meal, and Owen addressed the elephant in the room.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, his gaze flicking to my still-blond hair.
“Not really, but I guess I should.”
Owen removed the tray from the bed, sat back down next to me, and put his arm around my shoulders. I told him everything that had happened last night, much more coherently than I had done before, from waking up in Porter’s cottage, to using my Stone magic to escape, to throwing myself and the dwarf off the side of the cliffs.
“But what about your knives?” Owen asked. “How did you get them back? And why were they in that black satchel?”
“I’m not sure. That part is still a little fuzzy.”
I wasn’t lying. It was still a little fuzzy, although I thought that I knew exactly who the man in black was. But I had no way of confirming my suspicions at the moment, so I kept my theory to myself.
Owen looked at me, concern filling his face. “Are you sure that you’re okay, Gin? Last night, everything that Porter said and did, that had to be horrible, even for you.”
“Okay?” I shrugged. “I don’t know about that. But I’m as well as can be expected. I’m just glad that we were able to save Elissa.”
“She owes you her life,” Owen said.
I winked at him. “And I owe you mine.”
“Nah,” he said, winking back at me. “You saved yourself, just like you always do.”
I leaned over and put my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Maybe. But it’s still nice to know how much you care.”
Owen wrapped his arms around me, pulled me even closer, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll always be here for you,” he said in a hoarse, ragged voice. “When you were missing, when we couldn’t find you . . . my heart was just . . . gone.”
“I know,” I whispered back. “I know.”
And we stayed like that, holding each other close, for a long, long time.
• • •
It took some doing, but I finally managed to convince Owen that I was fine and that he should go into work. He reluctantly agreed but made me promise to call him if anything happened. But nothing was going to happen. At least, not until I figured out the best way to get close to Damian Rivera. No doubt he’d doubled or even tripled his security by now, but a few extra guards weren’t going to stop me from finally asking him all my many questions about the Circle.
Owen left, and I took a long, hot shower to ease some of the lingering aches and pains in my muscles. Then I put on fresh clothes and headed downstairs.
Since it was Friday, I expected the salon to be full of customers, but only four people were in the room: Jo-Jo and Sophia, along with Jade and Elissa.
Elissa perched on one of the cherry-red salon chairs. A hot-pink cape was draped over her body, and her long blond hair was lying wet, flat, and straight against her head. Jade sat in the chair next to her sister, while Jo-Jo stood at the counter, sorting through some scissors, looking for just the right pair. Sophia relaxed on the floor next to Rosco’s basket, stroking the basset hound’s long, floppy ears while he grunted with pleasure.
At first glance, everything seemed normal. But Elissa’s face was pale and strained, and Jade glanced over at her sister every few seconds, as if making sure that she was really here and that she hadn’t vanished again. Jo-Jo was right. Damian Rivera could wait. At least for another hour or two. Making sure that Elissa was okay was the most important thing right now.
“What’s going on in here?” I drawled, leaning against the doorframe.
All four of them looked at me, and Rosco let out a loud woof! of greeting. He was the only one who didn’t do a double take at my dyed hair.
Jade cleared her throat and gestured at her sister. “We crashed here last night. We just got up a little while ago and had some breakfast. Since we were already here, Elissa wanted to get her hair done before we go back home. Jo-Jo was nice enough to close the salon down for the rest of the day just for us.”
Jo-Jo smiled at the two of them. “It’s no problem at all, darling. I’m happy to help in any way that I can.” She finally picked out a pair of scissors, along with a wide-toothed comb, and went over to stand beside Elissa. “All you have to do is tell me what you want, and I’ll work my magic.”
Elissa nodded, and Jo-Jo turned her chair around so that Elissa could see herself in the mirror over the counter. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, so she didn’t look anything at all like she had when I found her in that secret chamber, but she still flinched, as though it hurt to look at her own reflection.
“It’s okay.” Jade got up, went over to her sister’s side, and squeezed her hand. “Just take your time.”
Elissa kept staring at herself in the mirror. For a moment, I thought that she wouldn’t be able to get the words out, but she drew in a breath and started talking.
“He . . . he liked brushing my hair,” Elissa said in a soft, hesitant voice. “He would brush it and brush it and tell me how pretty it was, how much he loved it . . .”
Her voice trailed off, and a horrified shudder rippled through her body. It took her several seconds before she could look at herself in the mirror again.
“I want you to cut it off,” she said in a slightly stronger voice. “A cute bob or something like that. I just—I just want it gone.”
Jo-Jo nodded. “I can do that, darling. No problem. Anything else?”
Elissa glanced over at Sophia, who was still petting Rosco. Her gaze focused on the Goth dwarf’s black hair. “Can I dye it too? Some other color? Just for a little while?” she asked, looking up at Jade.
Jade gripped her sister’s hand a little tighter. “You can dye it any color you want to, sweetheart.”
Elissa hesitated. “Can we do some streaks too? Maybe hot pink or something like that? If it’s not too much trouble?”
“Hot pink? Now you’re speaking my language.” Jo-Jo winked at her in the mirror. “And darling, nothing is too much trouble for you today.”
Jo-Jo started cutting off Elissa’s hair, chatting with her about her college classes, her favorite movies, and other safe, normal topics. Elissa’s responses were short and clipped at first, but Jo-Jo could make anyone feel at home, and she slowly got the girl to relax and open up a little bit more.
“I’m going to get some water,” Jade said. “If that’s okay?”
Sophia pointed to the doorway. “Sure. Bottles in the fridge.”
Jade nodded and jerked her head at me, and I followed her into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, but she didn’t actually open it.
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the counter. “How is she?”
“Physically, she’s fine,” Jade said. “Emotionally is a whole other story. I made an appointment for her to speak with a therapist later on today. But she wanted to get her hair done first. I’m going to let her do whatever she needs to in order to try and recover from this.”
I nodded. “That’s probably the best thing you can do for her.”
In the salon, Jo-Jo kept up a steady stream of conversation, still talking to Elissa about her classes. Every once in a while, Sophia would chime in with her raspy voice. Rosco barked another loud woof! and Elissa let out a small, hesitant laugh, gently chiding the basset hound for lying down at her feet in hopes of getting a tummy rub.
“Did she tell you what happened the night that Porter grabbed her?” I asked.
Jade let out a tense breath. “It happened just like you thought it did. She saw Porter carrying that other girl and went around to the back of the nightclub to make sure the girl was okay. She realized that something was wrong and started to call the police, but by then, Porter had seen her, and it was too late. Elissa said that the last thing she remembers is him punching her in the face. She woke up in his cottage. She said that Porter brushed her hair and made up her face over and over again, like she was his own personal doll. You can imagine how terrifying that was.”
My hand crept up to my own hair, and I fiddled with one of the blond locks for a few seconds before I realized what I was doing. I dropped my hand back down to my side. “Yeah.”
Jade finally cracked open her water and took a long sip before setting it down on the counter. She fiddled with the bottle for several seconds, sliding it back and forth, before pushing it aside for good. She raised her head and looked at me again.
“Bria told me what happened. How you wouldn’t give up searching for Elissa. How you stayed behind so that Owen and the others could get her to safety. What Porter did to you later.” Her voice dropped to a ragged whisper, and tears streamed down her face. “But you did it. You brought my sister back to me. That means everything to me. More than any favors we could ever trade, more than any deals we could ever make. I’m in your debt now. Whatever you need, Gin. Whatever I can do for you, you just name it, and it’s yours. Today, tomorrow, always.”
I could have told her that she didn’t owe me anything, not one damn thing, but Jade had her pride, and I knew how important this was to her.
“All right, then. I’ll hold you to that. After all, a favor is a favor, right?”
I smiled at her, and Jade wiped the tears off her face. She darted around the table, yanked me into her arms, and gave me a tight, fierce hug. A small, choked sob escaped her throat, and her entire body trembled. She started to pull back, but I could tell that she was on the verge of breaking down completely, something that she didn’t want her sister to see. So I tightened my arms around her, telling her that it was okay to let go, that I had her, that I was here for her. Another sob rocked her body, and I felt more of her tears soak into my shirt.
I stood there and held Jade while she silently cried.
• • •
An hour later, Elissa’s long blond locks had been transformed into a sleek black bob with hot-pink streaks, much to her satisfaction. Since we were all gathered in the salon again, I asked Jo-Jo to dye my hair back to its natural dark brown. I didn’t want to be reminded of Bruce Porter any more than Elissa did.
Jo-Jo finished with me, went over to the sink, and washed her hands, while I sat in a chair and toweled off my wet hair. Elissa was in the backyard playing with Rosco, while Jade stood by the double doors, watching her sister.
“Are you sure that you want to go back home today?” I asked. “Especially given the, ah, mess in your backyard?” I arched my eyebrows, and she realized that I was talking about the four dead dwarves.
“Actually, Sophia took care of that earlier today,” Jade said.
I glanced over at the Goth dwarf, who’d moved from the salon floor over to one of the sofas and was now reading a Karma Girl comic book.
Sophia lowered the comic and gave a modest shrug. “I do good work.” Then she grinned and went right back to her reading.
I turned back to Jade. “But what about all the damage in your office?”
“Silvio’s been over there all day working on that, along with Finn and Ryan,” Jade said. “I told Silvio that I could get a cleaning crew to come in, some of my own people, but he insisted on doing it all himself.”
That sounded just like my assistant. “Of course he did.”
Jade waved her phone at me. “Silvio texted me a few minutes ago, saying that all the files had been boxed up and that Ryan was taking everything back to the police station where it belongs. Besides, I think it would be good for Elissa to sleep in her own bed tonight. Give her a sense of normalcy.”
I nodded. “If you need anything, anything at all, you or Elissa, just call me.”
She nodded back at me. “I will, Gin. Thanks.”
Jade knocked on one of the doors, and Elissa came back inside with Rosco. The two of them packed up their things, said their good-byes, and headed home.
They hadn’t been gone five minutes when a car rumbled to a stop in front of Jo-Jo’s house. The front door banged opened, and Bria stormed into the salon, a grim look on her face.
I sighed and lowered my towel. “Now what’s wrong?”
“Damian Rivera is dead.”
Shock jolted through me. “What do you mean, he’s dead? He was fine last night. Drunk and delighted that Porter was going to torture and kill me.”
Bria flopped down in the chair next to mine and ran her hand through her hair in frustration. “Xavier and I got the call right before our warrant came through. Rivera was beaten to death inside his office. A maid found him when she went in to clean this morning.”
“But how—” The answer came to me in a flash. “Tucker,” I muttered. “He must have realized that I’d survived. He knew that I’d go after Rivera, so he went back and killed Rivera so that I couldn’t get anything out of him about the Circle. Dammit. I knew that I should have gone after Rivera as soon as Jo-Jo healed me last night. Dammit!”
Anger surged through me, and I threw my towel across the room. Somewhat comically, it hit the patio doors and harmlessly bounced off, falling to the floor. Jo-Jo gave me a look, but Sophia kept right on reading her comic book, ignoring my temper tantrum. Rosco put his head down and let out a whimper from his basket in the corner.
I slumped back down in my salon chair. Every time I thought that I was getting closer to learning more about the Circle, Tucker was right there to cut me off again. And he said that I was a thorn in his side. Bastard.
“Don’t blame yourself, Gin,” Bria said. “There’s nothing you could have done. Rivera died sometime during the night, not this morning.”
“During the night? What time?”
She shrugged. “Ryan won’t know for sure until he does the autopsy, but he estimated sometime around midnight.”
“And what time did you guys find me on the riverbank?”
“Before then. About eleven o’clock,” Jo-Jo chimed in. “Why do you ask?”
I shook my head. “No real reason.”
But my mind churned, thinking about everything. Given the estimated time of death, Tucker had killed Rivera after I’d battled Porter. The vampire must have been lurking somewhere in the woods and realized that I was still alive and that Porter was dead. I hadn’t been in any shape to go after Rivera then, but Tucker would have known that I’d hunt Rivera down the first chance I got. Tucker could have easily told the other man to leave Ashland, but instead, he’d gone ahead and killed Rivera himself.
Why? Why would he do that?
The more I learned about Hugh Tucker, the less sense I could make of him.
“I know you’re upset, Gin,” Bria said. “But it’s not your fault that Rivera’s dead and we can’t question him about the Circle.”
I waved my hand, cutting her off. “No. I’m not upset. Not really. Sorry I lost my temper. I know you’re right. So let’s look on the bright side of things.”
Bria arched her eyebrows, surprised by my sudden change in attitude. “And what is that?”
I grinned. “Tucker saved me the trouble of going over there and killing Rivera myself. Why, you might even say that he gave me the day off.”