Mafia Beasts: The Complete Series, page 64
I caught up to Emma and Zane. “Did you know he was hiding a key to a mysterious vault?” I asked.
Zane shook his head, but Emma nodded. “Yes. He told me about it when he told me about murdering his family and his awful childhood. It’s his story to tell, so that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Fair enough.” I walked close to my mate as we headed along a corridor, then down a wide set of stairs that led beneath the manor house. Torches flickered to life with some kind of Fae magic. They illuminated a smoothly hollowed stone cavern, and an enormous iron gate ahead.
Beau produced a key to the gate, which squeaked open on rusty hinges. No one had been down here in a while. Beyond it was an honest to fuck circular, metal and stone vault door.
“Holy hell,” I murmured in awe.
Cade turned, facing the crowd that pressed in on him. “Everyone needs to leave. I don’t know what the fuck is in here, but I need some privacy.”
With disappointed mutterings, the majority of them wandered outside of the iron gate to mill about at the bottom of the stone steps. Vee sent her two lovers away as well, but Emma, Zane, and I stayed. As did Beau, though he lingered nearer the gate, giving Cade plenty of space.
Emma slipped away and rested a hand on Cade’s arm. “Do you want us to leave, too?”
“No. Stay.” He inserted the skeleton key and a series of locks clicked open, then the door swung outward with a hiss. Cade pulled it wide enough so we could all see inside. More Fae lights blazed to life, their glow glinting on the piles of gold, chests overflowing with jewels, and an assortment of strange artifacts and furniture. I let out a low whistle.
Vee gasped. “There it is.” She pointed to a mirrored object that sat on a shelf to one side.
Cade grabbed it, studied the cube inset with small mirrors, then casually held it toward the enchantress. “How’d you know this was in here?”
She smiled, taking the cube from him. “There are only two of these, that I’m aware of in this world, and it was a bitch to track down this one. But after piecing together legends, and bits of information, all signs pointed to this one having ended up in the hands of the Lochart family.” She glanced around at us. “Are you really surprised though? I told you that each of you is important in this war against 5th Circle. Now we have another piece of the puzzle.” Vee turned the object over in her hands, muttering under her breath, and wandered away.
“Are you just going to let her take that?” I asked Cade.
“If that’s what she needs to shield us from the other Prophecy Fae, then what choice do I have?” He turned his attention back to the vault. “Beau, is this what you were expecting to find in here?”
We all stepped over the threshold, taking in the glittering riches. There were portraits, antiques, I even spotted a jeweled crown. It was the most wealth I’d ever seen in one place.
Beau surveyed the space. “Yep. This looks about right. My parents’ house has a much smaller collection. Oh, actually, there’s the matching vase…”
“Cade, what exactly did your family do for a living?” Emma asked, her gaze wide.
He eyed her. “Besides owning some gemstone mines, the Lochart’s are extortionists. The kind you only find in high society.”
Hot damn. “So, you were born into a crime family,” I observed. How did I not fucking know this? Cade—secretive fuck.
He shrugged. “Sort of. Most of their focus was on blackmail, selling on the black market, and granting favors for huge returns on their investments. My family has been at it for generations, even though we stopped needing to accumulate wealth a long time ago.”
Beau raised his hands, holding the vase. “I’ve gone straight. Mostly. Though what you all do sounds much more exciting than managing my businesses.”
I shook my head at the guy. Only a rich brat would think it’d be fun to choose the life of a crime boss. Just a thrill a day—until you ended up dead. Beau wouldn’t make it two seconds in our world.
Emma sidled up to me. “I’m going to go find Vee.” She worried her lip. “I want to see if she can tell me anything about my birth father. I also want to be there once she sees how we’re going to kill Vexx, and deal with the SIB, because I don’t want to stay in hiding forever.”
“I can come with you,” I said, stroking her shoulder.
“Me, too,” Zane offered.
Emma nodded, taking one of our hands in each of hers. “Let’s leave Cade and his cousin to talk about their family stuff.”
As we exited the vault, a feeling of irritation gnawed at my chest. The emotion was my own, not a sensation coming through the mate bond. I finally pinned it down as annoyance over Emma’s birth father—whoever that fucker was. Wolf shifters were usually very protective of their mates and pups. Yet, that asshole had left Emma alone and disappeared.
Sure, he could have no idea about her existence. Wolves were known to be horny bastards, but Emma’s mom had gotten pregnant. She was a witch, and they had all kinds of spells to avoid getting knocked up, so… how the fuck had that happened. Not by accident.
I just hoped we found her biological father, and I hoped he was an alpha, so he would be a worthy opponent when I beat the shit out of him.
6
EMMA
Vee was up in the highest tower of Lochart Manor. She’d used either her witch or Fae magic, maybe both, to activate the cube and it projected energy upward and outward. Its golden light surrounding us. Lucas and Zane sat on either side of me as the three of us faced Vee.
“This will protect us?” I asked her. “You’re sure of it?”
She bobbed her head. “I’m absolutely positive.” Vee pointed to where the cube floated in the center of the small room. “Remember how I mentioned there are only two of these in the world?”
“Yes.”
Zane stiffened. “Vexx has the other one, doesn’t he?”
“Very good.” Vee smiled at him. “Yes, the other Prophecy Fae is in possession of its twin. Now we are playing on an even field.”
“Phineas. That’s his name,” I told her.
Vee hummed. “It seems you’ve been busy digging up information as well, Emma. Phineas Moongrove. I’ve seen his face in my visions, but could never put a name to him until now. Thank you, child.”
I nodded, storing away his full name for future reference. Got you, Prophecy Fae asshole.
Zane pointedly glanced at Lucas.
“I’ll see what we have on him,” my wolf mate said, pulling out his cell.
“So now they can’t see us, but we still can’t see them either?” I asked.
“Mm, yes, but also Phineas will no longer be able to cloud my visions. I will remain up here through the night and seek out our way forward. But,” she glanced at me, “there’s something on your mind, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, I…” I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth. “I was wondering, since you knew my mom, if you happened to know who my father was—my biological father.”
Lucas’s free hand tightened around mine as we waited for her answer, and Zane pressed in close to offer me his support. I both needed to know the answer, and dreaded the truth.
After a minute, Vee slowly shook her head. “You were born before I met your mother. At that time she was already with the man you knew as your father.”
I nodded, acknowledging that information. “You said you could look at the past sometimes. Could you try to see mine? Or my mom’s?”
Her eyes glazed over, staring directly at us but not seeing us at all. It was kind of eerie. She sat unmoving for a while, lost in whatever she was seeing. Then she blinked, her brow furrowing, as she came back to us.
“I’m sorry, but all I can see is a red-brown wolf.” Her frown deepened. “But you already know he is a wolf shifter, so that isn’t new insight. I can’t…” Vee shook her head as if to clear it. “I see no past, nor future of you with him. Sometimes that means that he is already dead. I’m sorry.”
My stomach knotted, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He was dead? Actually, that made perfect sense. He probably died before he knew my mother was pregnant. Maybe that was why mom had married quickly? I didn’t know if that was true or not, but it was a likely scenario. More likely than me having a biological father out there somewhere who’d simply abandoned me and my mom. Or at least I hoped that was the case.
Even so, I didn’t want to believe it. It felt like the possibility of knowing my real father had been ripped away. Just like every other one of my family members, he was gone.
Vee drew me out of my thoughts. “Would you be a dear and lend me your magic? I hope that now we’re shielded from Vexx, I can more clearly see our futures.” Vee held out her hands to me and I took them. “I’ll try harder to see your wolf father too, if he’s out there.”
My skin prickled with the sensation of her drawing on my magical reserves. I felt the tug deep in my chest. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated, and we remained silent to let her do her thing. Zane and Lucas edged closer, offering their unspoken support.
“Gah!” Vee’s eyes opened, startling me. “My visions are murky, I need time to clear my head. I can see that you’re connected to Vexx, that you are the one to destroy him, but I can’t yet see how that will come to pass. I need time. And nothing about your father. I’m sorry.”
I slipped my hands from hers, disappointed. “Okay. Let me know when you need my magic again.” I’d been hoping she’d see something, but I guess visions didn’t appear on command. With a sigh, I stood up along with Zane and Lucas, and we descended down the staircase.
“We have time,” Zane said, rubbing small circles on my back. “We will figure it out.”
I nodded. “I just hope we’re not too late.”
“Vexx is a dead man,” Lucas snarled. “It will happen. We’ll make sure of it, baby.”
I let their reassurances sink into me, giving me strength and hope for the future. They were right. One way or another, we would find 5th Circle. It was my life’s goal, and I would die trying, if that was how it panned out. Though I really wanted to live to see a peaceful future with my mates, and my friends.
Lucas’s cell vibrated and he swiped to unlock it. “My guy did a quick search and so far turned up nothing on a Phineas Moongrove. We’ll have to dig deeper.”
I sighed. More disappointing news.
When we reached the second floor, an excited shriek echoed in the corridor. I turned toward the sound, my fingers crackling with magic, to find Analyssa charging at us with Nalanie and Aya on her heels.
“We found it!” Analyssa plowed into me, crushing me in a hug with her vampire strength. Aya’s lips twitched as she folded her muscular arms, and Nalanie grinned wide.
“What did you find?” I asked as the teenager peeled herself off of me.
She flashed a smile at Lucas and Zane, then answered my question. “The movie room. Which is actually a full on theater. Nalanie has it all cued up, and we’ve been looking for you everywhere. Come on.” She laced her fingers with mine.
I shot my mates a helpless glance as Analyssa towed me along the hallway. Honestly, I didn’t have anything else that needed doing in that moment, so why not settle in for a movie night with the girls? My mates waved me off, Zane with an amused expression, and Lucas looking like he couldn’t make a getaway quickly enough, then continued down the stairs.
Nalanie fell into step beside me with Aya at her other side. I glanced at the fox shifter and movie aficionado, remembering that strange moment when Vee had told her she couldn’t escape the wolves.
Curious, I asked, “What did Vee mean about the wolves? She seemed to have a vision about you, did you understand it?”
Nalanie blushed a deep crimson. Aya laughed and said, “You may as well tell her your dirty little secret.”
“Ooo, what secret?” Analyssa leaned in close, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She seemed to have made a full recovery since Forrest had kidnapped and tortured her. Or at least she was putting up a good front. I knew wounds like that never fully healed.
Nalanie sighed. “All right. Fine.” She licked her lips. “It was around Yule last year, right before you arrived, Emma. I’d decided to steal this gemstone from a couple of human bachelors in Seattle. Long story short, they caught me. And… they turned out to not be humans, but wolf shifters. Possessive assholes, really. Anyway, the bosses made a deal with them that they could have me, once the curse was broken.”
“What?” I asked, stopping in the hallway. “Why would the bosses give you to a couple of wolves?” A protective growl rumbled in my throat.
“Sorry, that came out wrong.” Nalanie shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. You see, I spent some time with those bachelors and they think I’m their fated mate, but I had to come back to Penumbra mansion because of the curse holding me there. But the deal was once I was free, I’d come to my supposed fated mates, but not before then. Well, the curse is broken, but I decided to see this through with 5th Circle. I’m not just going to abandon my friends.” She huffed, “Especially not for a couple of overbearing wolves. So, I guess Vee was warning me that they know I’m free, and they are on the hunt.”
“Wow.” Analyssa blinked at Nalanie with admiration. “That’s so romantic!”
Aya rolled her eyes. “Sure, kid. But I’m not giving her over to a couple of wolf assholes until she’s well and ready to be theirs. In the meantime, they’ll have to get through me first.”
“Don’t they see why you’re staying with us?” I asked as we started walking again. “Won’t they understand that this is important to you?”
Nalanie’s laugh was slightly hysterical. “Oh, yeah, sure, like that would ever happen. That would be like you going after 5th Circle all by yourself and ditching the bosses to do it. How do you think they’d react?”
“Hm, I see what you mean. What are you going to do?” I asked.
“Outrun them. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be with them, but on my own terms and when I’m ready. If they catch me now, they’re the types to carry me away and lock me in their house to keep me safe. It’s so annoying.” Nalanie pulled open a door and led us into a darkened room with an enormous, bright screen and several rows of seats. “Isn’t this wonderful? Henry set us up with popcorn, cold soda, and a ton of candy.”
I gazed around in awe. The room really was an actual movie theater, it even smelled like butter flavoring and salt. Analyssa dragged me to sit next to her in the very front row. As we were settling in, the door opened and Claire strode down the aisle.
“I’m not late to this girl’s party, am I?” she asked, plopping down at my other side. “Holy crap, these seats recline. Nice. What are we watching.”
“It’ll be a chick flick,” I warned her. “That’s all Nalanie ever chooses.”
Claire scrunched up her face. “Ew. Well, whatever. It’s sure as shit cooler in here than any other room in the house.”
That was true. I loved the chilliness of the theater room.
For a couple of hours I let my worries go and watched a romcom with my girlfriends. Claire mumbled insults at the main characters and threw popcorn at the screen every time they stumbled into each other by accident. Aya and Nalanie laughed wildly. Analyssa shoved so much popcorn in her mouth I was afraid she might pop.
It was perfect.
The next few days were filled with group dinners, time spent in the gym, practicing magic, and a few more movies. Vee was holed up in her tower with Damian and Andre. They wouldn’t let anyone in, saying she needed complete isolation in a peaceful environment. As much as I was trying not to, I was growing impatient.
We couldn’t stay here forever. We needed to figure out our next move, ideally something that would bring us closer to tracking down Vexx. He was out there, somewhere, plotting his next terrible deed. The very thought of it made my skin crawl.
This morning we were having breakfast in our room, just the four of us enjoying the slight breeze that swept in through the open balcony doors while we ate at the round bistro table. But my mind whirled with all the potentially horrible things that 5th Circle was up to while we lingered here, hiding from the SIB. If only I could think of a way to hunt down Vexx while eluding the authorities.
The guys eyed me, obviously picking up on my distress, so I decided to voice my thoughts. “Have any of you been in touch with your contacts around the country? Has there been any sign of 5th Circle’s whereabouts?”
They all exchanged curious glances before Zane answered. “There’s been no sign of them. This time, it seems as though they’ve truly vanished.”
I frowned, and Lucas said, “But we’ll keep searching. We have eyes and ears everywhere, it’s only a matter of time before one of Vexx’s people slips up. I promise you, we’ll find them and make them pay.”
I offered him a weak smile. I appreciated his comforting words and optimism, I just wished that I shared his attitude. “Is there anything else we can be doing right now?”
“No, little witch.” Cade refilled my coffee cup with the hot brew. “Until we get a lead, we’re stuck here. Just know that we will follow up on the smallest, most insignificant tip of 5th Circle’s location. In the meantime…” He stood from his chair, rounded the table, and knelt down in front of me.
“What are you doing?” My confusion deepened when a jolt of nervous expectation shot through the mate bond from all three of them at the same time.
Cade gazed into my eyes. “I know this isn’t romantic, but it seems like there will never be a perfect time for this, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity. So here goes.” He cleared his throat. “Emma Graves, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” From his pocket he produced a black satin jewelry box and flipped open the lid. Inside was an enormous red diamond ring set in gold.
I gasped. “It’s gorgeous. But, Cade, I’m already your wife. We’re mated just the same as I am to Lucas and Zane.”
