Trouble with the Cursed, page 14
Behind us, I heard Trent’s car unlock and begin dinging. “Ma’am, it’s all here,” the security man said, and I broke my gaze from Cassie as he came forward with Trent’s satchel.
Cassie glanced inside. “Does it wand as real?”
“Yes, ma’am,” her security man said, and I swear, I saw the woman begin to sweat.
“I didn’t have time to get a money order,” Trent said dryly. “Pike, please.”
“Shit,” the woman whispered, and I tensed, that wrong feeling growing. Emotions sifted over her: anger, annoyance. Fear? “I told you Kalamack could pull together that much scratch,” she muttered, then turned to the boat, her anger swelling. “Castle?” she all but barked.
It was more directive than I would have expected from his head of security, and I squinted, watching the man come down the gangplank, his dress shoes clicking. The amulet said Pike was alive, but where? “Where is Pike?” I said again, not liking her flash of fear, and Castle huffed to a halt, his security in tow.
“Ms. Morgan.” Castle’s toothy smile was wide and, I thought, a little . . . oily. “Pleasure to meet you. Mr. Kalamack? Delighted.”
I ignored his extended hand. Siblings? I wondered, seeing the same angular face, same silver eyes, same accent. His complexion was rougher, though, showing the mileage of a vigorous nightlife. More telling, Cassie was acting as if she was a long-suffering sister, not an employee. Not just siblings. Twins, I decided.
Grim faced, Trent didn’t take Castle’s hand, either, and the man pulled back, his forehead creased in anger. Security had arrayed themselves around us. All their guns were out now, and I didn’t like Trent’s expression, hard and unforgiving, as Castle began to sweat, the odd, musky scent of werefox rising.
“Mr. Castle,” Trent said, his tone deceptively soft. “I have paid Pike’s mark. I want him.”
My eyes narrowed on the sweating man as he took a breath to speak. “That’s not Castle,” I interrupted, and he started. “She is,” I added, my chin flicking to Cassie.
“Now wait a moment . . .” Mr. Castle began, but his words cut off with a surprised grunt when Cassie lightly backhanded him in the gut.
“Perceptive,” she said, shocking not only Trent but the woman’s own security. They didn’t know, I mused, thinking it would be funny if I wasn’t so worried about Pike.
“Ahh . . .” The man everyone thought was Castle began to protest.
“This is Ken. My brother,” Cassie said sourly. “I found out fast that a woman running a casino has to break heads twice as often as a man, but the casino is mine. I trust both of you will keep this to yourself.” She looked at her security, one of whom was now a bright red in embarrassment. “All of you.”
“That depends.” I put a hand on my hip. “Where is Pike? We agreed that we pay off his debt, and we all go home. You have it. Right there.” I hesitated, grimacing at my bag and Trent’s satchel in her security’s possession. “Where is he?” Crap on toast. Did they give him to his brother?
“Yes. About that . . .” Ken murmured, and my entire side tingled as Trent tapped a line, gold and red energy hazing his fingers.
“I told you she’d get it,” Cassie muttered. “I don’t know why I listen to you.”
“Shut up, Cassie!” Ken shouted, clearly ticked as their security began to fidget. “I have this under control!” His dark face spotted with sweat, Ken smiled at us. “He slipped our security,” he said, but I didn’t need Jenks to tell me he was lying. It was only my amulet saying Pike was alive that kept me from blowing their second boat clean out of the water.
“He’s already sold him to his brother,” Trent said, his voice hard.
“No,” Cassie said, her bewilderment obvious. “When Ken told him we’d already made a deal with you, we were attacked. They cursed my security and . . . took Pike. . . .” She finished flatly, her expression shifting as understanding crashed over her and she turned to Ken. “You little cur! You sold him to his brother, then staged the assault so you could pocket the money and leave me hanging?”
Nervous smile wide, Ken backed away. Trent stiffened when the small man took the satchel from their security, and my gut tightened. Don’t do it, Castle. . . .
Trent extended his hand, his lips pressed to near white. “If you sold him, Pike’s mark has been paid. My money, please.”
“You son of a bitch!” Cassie shouted, lurching forward to shove her brother to a scuffing halt. Their security seemed at a loss, but I thought it interesting that they were watching Cassie and Ken, not us. The woman’s brow furrowed as she glared at Castle in a growing fury. “Where’s the money, Ken?”
“You gave us six hours!” I exclaimed. “Pike lost a bet, and I’m here to cover it.”
“It’s been covered.” Trent’s voice held an icy hardness I seldom heard. “His brother paid for it. That satchel is mine, Ms. Castle. Give it to me, and we will walk away.”
“You lied to me again!” Cassie said, oblivious to the glowing magic dripping from Trent’s clenched hand to hiss against the pavement. “Damn it all to hell, those were my people those assassins downed. You made a deal with that bloodsucking vampire, didn’t you!” she shouted, her small form shaking. “My people get hit, you take the money, and I lap up your lies that you knew nothing about it!”
Assassins took him? I glanced at Trent, wishing he had been wrong. I took a step forward, jerking to a halt when Cassie lunged at her brother, howling in anger. Ken retreated with a comical yelp as Cassie was yanked away by her own security.
“Knock it off, Cassie!” Ken bellowed, Trent’s satchel hidden behind his back. “How was I to know they would be able to dig up that much money?”
“Get your hands off. Get off of me!” Cassie shouted as she tugged free, furious as she stood before Ken. “How much did those assassins give you to open the door and let them in? All of it?” she said, then softer, knowingly, “All of it. A million two. You are a total ass, Ken. This is my casino, not yours.”
“I was going to tell you,” Ken said, but he was almost whining.
“The hell you were. Those are my people in the hospital!” she exclaimed, telling me she was more concerned about her people than the money. “It’s not a witch spell, Ken. It’s a demon curse. They don’t know how to break it.”
My interest took a sudden right turn. Demon curse? Where had Pike’s brother gotten a demon curse?
Trent made a soft, knowing noise. “I didn’t realize Al was so angry at you.”
“It wasn’t Al,” I said, remembering the net of safety he’d put about my bedroom. “Dali, maybe?” But why? Demons didn’t do anything unless there was profit in it.
“And you still think I’m playing you?” Ken said. “You said it yourself. It was a curse, Cassie. Morgan downed your people,” he added, and my lips parted in outrage. “She was the one who stole Pike, which is why she’s here saying he’s dead so she doesn’t have to pay off his mark. Wise up. This money probably isn’t even real.”
“It’s real,” Trent said.
“Ah . . . Pike isn’t dead,” I said.
Cassie, though, didn’t hear, the woman having shrugged off her security again. “No,” she said, and the man who had restrained her swore under his breath at the fury in the tense word. “I’m done believing you. You are a liar, Ken, and I won’t look past it anymore because you’re family. Dad left the business to me, and you’ve lied your way out of even a piece of it. Have a good life. Don’t call me.” She hesitated as Ken stared at her. “That means get out!”
“Ah, my money?” Trent said, clearly torn as Ken walked away, but there were still three men holding guns, and we didn’t follow Ken with anything other than our eyes.
Damn it, Dali, I thought in frustration, wondering what the demon was getting out of this other than making my life hell. Pike was the one who made this subrosa thing work, and without him, I’d have a devil of a time convincing Finnis that Constance was still in charge. Maybe I should return his spell books.
“You got nothing but a boat and some dice, Cassie!” Castle shouted over his shoulder, his stilted, quick pace never shifting. Behind him, their security personnel looked at each other, a decision clearly being weighed. “You won’t make it without me. One week, and you’ll be begging me to come back! You stupid dog-whore!”
Pissed, Cassie gave him a one-fingered salute. Their security wobbled for a moment, then half of them jogged after him.
“I’d appreciate my money, please,” Trent said, voice so cold it was scary. “Clearly Pike’s mark has been paid by his brothers, Ken lying to you aside.”
Money. Yes. That was the deal. But I wanted Pike, not a million two. “Go get your money,” I said, gesturing to Ken’s retreating figure. “If she doesn’t give me a name or number to find Pike, she’s going to be out another boat.”
Frustrated, Trent shifted from foot to foot, his expression becoming murderously ugly as he shook his head and turned to Cassie. “It can wait,” he almost growled, but his gaze was fixed on Ken as he got into the back of a big-ass SUV and yelled for his security to hurry up.
My bag sat forgotten on the pavement, and giving her three remaining men a glare, I stomped over and picked it up. “Who and where?” I said. I wasn’t making sense, but everything was confused.
“I don’t know,” Cassie said, twitchy and distracted. “I only saw the security footage.” She grimaced. “There were three. Witches, I think. They walked in, said some Latin, twisted a ring, and everyone in the room except them went down. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they wanted us to see them.” Her silver eyes narrowed. “They walked right out the door with him,” she said bitterly. “My people still aren’t conscious.”
A ring knocked them out? I thought. All at once? It sounded like an elven charm, and my thoughts went to Landon. But Landon was in isolation at the monastery. Ring magic wasn’t unheard-of, but a ley line amulet with a pin was the usual method.
“Excuse me a moment,” Trent said suddenly, and with a fierce yell, he overhanded a wad of unfocused energy at the car. Wincing, I held my breath as it arced over the empty parking lot. Ken’s security saw it coming and scattered, but Ken was too slow, and it hit the car just as he got his door open to flee.
With a thunderous woof of air, the SUV rose up a good five feet, the outgoing wave of force shoving the fleeing men down and rolling them across the pavement like fallen leaves. Groaning, the vehicle hit the ground with a crack of broken plastic and twisted metal. Steam poured from the radiator and the car’s alarm began hooting. Ken had been thrown clear, and he looked up from the pavement, clearly stunned.
“I, ah, am sorry about this,” Cassie said as one of the men beside her pointed a fob and the alarm cut off. “Get Mr. Kalamack his money,” she whispered, and the man smirked before jogging away. “I should have known Ken was playing us off on each other. He is such an ass. I don’t know why I believed him. I’m truly sorry.”
“That doesn’t fix this.” I felt better now that Trent wasn’t out a million two, but Pike was still missing. His brothers had been trying to kill him since he was eight, and now they had him.
“Give me the amulet,” Trent said, and my head went down over my bag, the charm flaring as my fingers found it. “I’m going to triangulate,” he added, and after an irate glance at Cassie’s man walking to the downed SUV, he jogged to the far end of the lot, jacket flapping.
Cassie followed Trent with her eyes, clearly worried. “Odds are he’s still breathing,” she said. “I heard them say on the security tape that he’s worth twice as much alive.”
Behind her, Cassie’s man pulled Trent’s bag from the car. Ignoring the groans of his downed peers, he made a comment to Ken before returning, his pace slow and confident. At the far end of the lot, Trent hesitated for a moment, then jogged to another corner. Frustrated, I rubbed my forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me when it happened?”
“I, ah, Ken convinced me you wouldn’t have that much liquidated cash,” she said, lips pressing in a thought she didn’t share. “I mean, who does that? If you couldn’t find it, I wouldn’t have to admit that my own security had been taken down. My people would have been able to keep him safe if Ken hadn’t sold them out. Ms. Morgan, I’m willing to accept some of the blame for this, seeing as my brother is a total ass, but I don’t know how to help.”
His head down, Trent jogged to a third corner. Cassie’s security scuffed to a halt, smiling as he handed her the bag, and with a little sigh, Cassie handed it to me in turn. “How long has it been?” I asked, relieved.
“Twenty minutes?” Cassie said, and my shoulders slumped. They could be anywhere in twenty minutes. “Ms. Morgan. This is not how I do business,” she said as I spun on a heel and walked to Trent’s car. “I’m not a brave person,” Cassie added as she followed. “Which is probably why I looked the other way so long about Ken. I know dice and cards and percentages, and the chances were ninety to one against that you would be able to get that much liquid cash in six hours. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I thought the problem would go away, no one the wiser.”
I had reached Trent’s car, and I hesitated as I opened the door. Trent was already inside, and the car started up in a satisfying rumble of ancient-Detroit muscle. I extended his satchel, tossing it into the back seat when Trent didn’t take it.
“I think he’s at the airport,” Trent said over the roar of the car’s air-conditioning, and I felt my pocket for my phone. Edden. He could shut down the terminals for a few hours.
“Morgan?” Cassie prompted, and I hesitated before getting in. “I really did try to stop them,” she said, her silvery gray eyes shocking against her dark skin. “If I could, I would have. I didn’t know . . . well . . . I guess I didn’t want to know that my brother was trying to cheat both of us.”
It would have been nice to have Jenks tell me if she was lying or not, but I nodded, my lips pressed together. “If Pike is not alive when I find him, I’ll be back,” I said, then I got in and slammed the door shut.
Trent’s grip was white-knuckled on the wheel, and his jaw tense. Exhaling, I tried to relax if only to get Trent to calm down. Pissing off a witch-born demon was one thing. Trying to swindle money from an elf was a veritable death sentence.
“We need to shut down the airport,” Trent said as he hit the gas and I started, a hand going to the dash as the acceleration pushed me into the seat. “Edden?” he suggested, and nodding, I dropped my bag on my lap and opened it to find my phone.
If anyone could do it, it would be Edden.
CHAPTER
9
The biting scent of exhaust and the echo of idling engines were an uncomfortable assault as Trent and I hustled into Hollows International, or the Big HI, as most everyone called it. His grip was on my elbow, surreptitiously guiding me since I was head-down focused on the finding amulet. Pike hadn’t moved for a long time—but he was here. Tense, I looked up when the sliding glass doors shut behind us and the tinny announcements over the airport’s sound system became obvious.
“Wow. What a mess,” I said as Trent led me to the side and we stopped. Long queues ran from the counters. Luggage and despondent people sat against the big windows. Another line stretched from the coffee kiosk to the stairway leading to baggage claim and car rentals.
“Watch it!” Trent exclaimed, jerking me out of the way of an angry man followed by a frustrated woman and their three bored kids, oblivious with their phones and dragging luggage. I rose up on my toes, seeing a bigger mess past the nearly empty spell-check lanes.
“You owe Edden big,” Trent said, a worried slant to his brow as he studied the board.
Delayed. Delayed. Delayed, I mused, wincing when a flight clicked over to canceled. “I hope they have this cleared before Ivy’s flight tonight.”
“If she’s traveling with someone with light restrictions, she’ll get through.” Trent stood beside me, reminding me of Jenks in a suit as he studied the board. “The smaller carriers are still running.”
Worried, I glanced at the tracking amulet. “TSA usually lets you through if you’re waiting for an incoming passenger, but probably not with this hot mess.”
Trent’s smile became confident, pleased almost, as he glanced at the long lines at the counters. “I hear Alaska is nice this time of year.”
“Alaska?”
His hand touched the small of my back, turning me. “Smallest line,” he whispered, his breath against my ear making me shiver. “The ticket will get us past TSA.”
“Oh! Sure.” I smirked up at him, but it slowly faded. Vanity and medicinal charms were allowed past the gate, but my splat gun would be a problem. The wand, even more so. Wands never did anything nice. We could put them in a locker, but I might need them. That was kind of the point.
“Relax,” Trent said, having felt me tense. “You’re on camera.”
My gaze flicked to the security cameras. God, I miss Jenks. “Sorry about this,” I said as we settled in behind the two people talking over their outgoing flight with the counter attendant.
“About what?” Head down, Trent shot a message off to Quen.
Everyone else had luggage. All we had was my shoulder bag. It wouldn’t be my lack of a smile that pinged security. “This isn’t your fight.”
Thumbs moving fast, Trent focused on his clicking phone. “How do you figure that?”
“Pike is important to me, not you.”
Trent’s green eyes held a breathtaking intensity as he put his phone down. “It’s not a matter of importance. It’s a matter of what’s right and wrong. This is what you are doing. I’m not going to walk away.”
I slipped an arm around him, giving a little tug. “So it’s not about Ken trying to con you?”
