“I ... .” He looked so forlorn I made up my mind on the spot.
“Okay, you need to decide if you can trust me. I get that.” I rubbed my cheek, considering how I could get him off the island without anybody, including Griffin, seeing. As much as I understood he wanted to help, he might have no choice but to take Knight in. That wouldn’t engender loyalty in the young man. We had to go about this differently. “Do you like cupcakes?” I asked after a beat, an idea forming.
“Who doesn’t like cupcakes?”
“Good point.” I flashed a smile that I hoped was more friendly than demanding. “You’re going to have to trust me. I know that’s not easy for you, but I don’t see that you have many options.”
“I could kill you.”
It was an empty threat and we both knew it. “If you wanted me dead, I would already be dead. You only took me because you thought you could use me as a bargaining chip. Now that you can’t, you’re not the type to kill me simply because your first plan didn’t work out.”
“You don’t know. I could totally want to kill you.”
“I’ll take my chances,” I replied, smirking. “I want to know what happened to you. I don’t trust the people who have invaded my island, and there’s very little I can do about what’s happening. I have to get you off this island for you to share information, right?”
“What makes you think I’ll share information regardless?”
“Let’s just call it a feeling.” Luna’s face popped into my head. “I know someone who is worried about you. We’ll get you to Luna. Then we’ll go from there.”
Hope flashed across his features and was quickly shuttered. “How do you plan to get me off this island?”
“I have an idea. You probably won’t like it, but it’s the best I can do.”
“And it has something to do with cupcakes?”
“It does.”
He looked resigned. “Do what you have to do. I just want out of here.”
“I need to make a call. Hang tight. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”
Twelve
I knew the odds of Jerry Collins coming to help on his own were slim. I thought there was a chance he might bring Aidan with him as they were engaged and joined at the hip. The other alternative was too terrible to consider ... and yet that’s exactly what I got.
Aisling swaggered into the sawmill and sized Knight up. “This dude is a drug dealer?” She looked disappointed as she surveyed the injured young man. “Why isn’t he bigger?” She flexed her muscles by way of example.
“You’ll have to ask him that,” I replied, kneeling next to Knight to check his wound again. “He’s bleeding pretty badly but won’t let me take him to a hospital. I’m not sure what to do.”
Aisling crouched down so she was at eye level with the agitated street thug. “Were you stabbed?”
“No, I accidentally fell on sharp rock and it ripped open my stomach,” he drawled.
She remained calm, which was a relief. “We want to help you. If you don’t help us, you’re going to make that impossible.”
“I’ve already tried taking that route with him,” I offered. “He’s not impressed. I don’t think he’s going to open up to us until we get him out of here.”
“Maybe not even then,” Knight said.
Aisling stood and walked back to the open door, scanning the area surrounding the sawmill and then striding back. “There’s no one out there. We can move him.”
“He says the cult members have been scouring the woods for him since it happened,” I argued. “I haven’t seen any of them wandering around. That means they’re good at what they’re doing.”
“So are we.” Aisling was matter-of-fact. “Did I ever tell you I considered a career in espionage before joining the family business? I totally would’ve made a great spy.”
Jerry snorted. He seemed more interested in Knight than the conversation. “You did always have an Alias fetish when we were younger,” he agreed, pursing his lips as he regarded the ashen boy. “You need to go to a hospital. We know someone who can help you. She probably won’t even make you tell the truth on your intake forms.”
Aisling balked. “We can’t take him to Maya.”
“Why not?” Jerry’s expression was blank. “She’s a nurse. She knows things about gaping stomach wounds. I’m the premiere party planner in southeast Michigan and you’re a complainer. It’s out of our wheelhouse.”
Aisling shot him a “well, duh” look that would’ve made me laugh under different circumstances. “Obviously Maya is better equipped to take care of him medically,” she snapped. “But she’ll tell Griffin. Then I’ll be in trouble for helping a drug dealer flee the scene of a crime.”
“What crime?” Jerry was obviously confused. “He’s the one who was stabbed. He’s the victim, not the perpetrator.”
“His girlfriend was found dead in the parking lot this morning,” I offered. “He’s considered a suspect.”
“Oh.” Jerry nodded as he glanced back at Knight. “Maybe we shouldn’t get in a vehicle with him if he’s a killer. I don’t know about anybody else, but my momma didn’t raise no fool and one of the few things she always stressed to me was that you don’t get in a vehicle with a murderer.”
“That’s very wise advice, Jerry,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “But I don’t believe he killed his girlfriend.”
“Why not?”
“Because he said so.”
“Oh, well, if the drug dealer said so.” Jerry shook his head. “How is it that I’m suddenly the smartest one in the horror movie?”
“Jerry, you’re never the smartest one in the horror movie,” Aisling argued. “We’ve already decided, in case of a zombie apocalypse, you’ll be following me. I’m the one with the survival smarts.”
“Yes, but in case of a fashion apocalypse, I’m in charge,” Jerry pointed out. “That’s much more likely to happen.”
As much as I loved them I didn’t have time for what they considered witty banter. “We have to get him out of here.” I was deathly serious. “The longer we hang out here, the more likely Titus’s followers will find us.”
“Not that I’m looking for a fight, but why does that matter?” Aisling pressed. “I mean ... I’m pretty sure we can take a bunch of idiots walking in a circle.”
“Except they’re more than that.” I’d had time to give it a lot of thought while I was waiting for Jerry to show up with the van. “They might pretend they’re out there trying to talk to the dead and reunite with lost loved ones, but they attacked Caitlin and Knight. They killed her. Why would they do that if their motivations are innocent?”
Aisling opened her mouth to answer and then snapped it shut, her mind clearly busy. “Huh.”
“Yeah.” I bobbed my head, encouraging her to break the rest of it down. “Now, if they’re lying about the surface stuff, what sort of things do you think are buried deep? I’m betting it’s absolutely nothing good.”
“I didn’t think about that.” Aisling straightened her back and reached for Knight’s arm. “We have to get him out of here. Maya is out as a nurse. If we get him medical aid, it has to be someplace else. Griffin will be mad if he finds out about this.”
“So you’re just not going to tell him?” I was intrigued with the notion, but it felt somehow wrong. Braden would be equally angry when he found out I hadn’t called him for backup. Aisling was happily married. I was hopeful she knew things about relationships that others didn’t.
“I’ll play it by ear,” she clarified.
“I thought you and Griffin told each other everything.”
Her response was a derisive snort. “Oh, please. Griffin and I only tell each other the necessary stuff. If we confided all the little things, we would hate each other by the end of the day. For example, I don’t tell him when Jerry and I take the afternoon off to go to the spa and eat an entire cheesecake between the two of us. That’s none of his business — and it will make him judgy.
>
“On the flip side, he says he has to work overtime every Wednesday,” she continued. “I know that’s not true. He goes to the bar with his co-workers, but he doesn’t tell me because he feels guilty about not rushing home to be with Lily and me. Do I question him on it? No. He needs a break from my family. I’m a delight, but the rest of them are total jerks. I get that he needs his space. Total honesty isn’t a thing.”
She sounded reasonable and yet, “This strikes me as a different situation,” I said. “I mean, this is his investigation.”
“Which is why I said I would play it by ear.” She inclined her head to get me to move to Knight’s other side and help pull him to his feet. “If it looks like he needs to know the information, then I’ll tell him in such a manner that he can’t possibly be mad at me.”
“And how is that?”
“I’ll cry ... or hold the baby ... or explain how my nipples hurt from feeding the baby and his genes contributed to us having a piranha for a child. Men can’t take stuff like that. So, while I’m talking about the cracking and bleeding, I’ll slide in that I helped a drug dealer. It will be fine.”
I had my doubts, but now wasn’t the time to express them. “We might have to admit to this whether we like it or not,” I warned. “I get that we’re probably making the wrong decision here. I just don’t know what else to do. Knight is our priority.”
Aisling rolled her eyes so hard I was surprised she didn’t fall over. “You’re off the zombie apocalypse team. Just so you know. I thought you would be helpful because of that skull thing you can do with your face, but if you’re going to willingly sacrifice yourself on the altar of truth, you’re no good to me.”
For some reason, I was offended. “I would be awesome in the zombie apocalypse.”
“Not if you’re going to try to be the moral center of our group. You need to be sneaky like the rest of us. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.”
“You do that.” Aisling’s eyes momentarily flashed and then she recovered. “Now, what are we going to do with this guy?”
There was only one thing I could think of.
LUNA WAS IN KNIGHT’S OFFICE when we pulled up out front. The bodyguards looked wary until they realized we were hauling their boss out of a cupcake van.
“What happened?” Luna asked, appearing in the doorway. Her glamour was firmly in place, to the point Knight’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw her wearing his face.
“What the ... ?”
“You found him.” Luna dropped the glamour, not caring in the least that everybody on the street could see her magic at work, and hurried to his side. “Hey, Knight. I’ve been worried about you.”
“Luna?” He furrowed his brow, confused. “I don’t understand.”
“He’s been stabbed,” I explained. “We wanted to take him to a hospital, but he refused.”
“Yeah, he’s not keen on hospitals,” Luna agreed, directing us to carry him to a couch. Once we settled him there, she doused a rag with bottled water and pressed it to his forehead. “He’s hot.”
“I don’t think he’s that hot,” Jerry offered from behind us. I’d almost forgotten he was with us. “I expected him to look more like Johnny Depp in his Blow days. This guy looks like Johnny Depp’s middle school son. It’s a bit disappointing.”
Luna pinned Jerry with a look. “Who are you?”
“He’s my best friend,” Aisling replied. “He can’t help himself.”
“Uh-huh.” Luna switched her attention to the youngest Grimlock. “And who are you?”
Aisling straightened and eyed the girl. “Aisling Grimlock-Taylor,” she said finally. “Who are you?”
“Luna Thorn.” The girl planted her hands on her hips. I sensed trouble. Unlike when we questioned her before, the young woman obviously no longer felt in control. Aisling had a way of irritating people.
“Luna has been helping keep the neighborhood in check,” I offered, flashing a smile that I didn’t really feel. “She’s a real firecracker.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “I do what I have to do to survive. You don’t have to make up lies about me.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Whatever.” Luna went back to fretting over Knight. “What happened to him?”
“We don’t know,” I replied, watching as she carefully rolled away the makeshift bandages we’d placed over his abdomen. She looked horrified by the wound. “He doesn’t trust us enough to say.”
“You found him,” Luna pressed. “How?”
I cast Knight a sidelong look. He appeared exhausted, as if returning to his regular stomping grounds meant he felt safe enough to finally let down his guard. “He found me.”
“And hit her over the head,” Aisling added, shooting Knight a glare. During the ride from Belle Isle to the city I’d filled her in about what had happened. She wasn’t happy after hearing the story. “With a big stick. He hit her over the head with a stick.”
Luna shot Aisling a quelling look. “Okay. Don’t freak out or anything. Your friend obviously looks fine.” She focused on me for a quick moment. “If he hit you, he had good reason. That’s not who he is.”
She was loyal. I had to give her that. “He thought I was with the cult. I don’t blame him, but he could’ve asked before thumping me.”
Luna’s eyebrows drew together. “Cult?”
“They’re nuts,” Knight offered, his eyes closed. Now that Luna was close he obviously felt safe putting himself in her capable hands. “They kept saying they had to eradicate the negative energy. They had to drum out the disbelievers.”
I frowned. That was common cult talk. “What were you doing there?”
“I told you. I like the quiet. Caitlin and I go out there to relax sometimes. Er, well, I guess ‘went’ is the proper word. Now she’s gone.” He choked on the words, a small sob escaping.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I meant it. “I’ll figure out a way to give Caitlin a proper burial. I wasn’t blowing smoke when I said that. I still need to know what happened to you on the island.”
“I don’t ... it all happened so fast. We were sitting by the water, having a good time and laughing. I heard voices. That’s not unusual out there. I know a few people who live on the island. They say a woman lives in the boathouse, so I’m always careful to stay away from there.
“At first I thought the voices were coming from the water, which was weird, but then I realized that was nuts because it’s too early in the season to swim,” he continued. “Then I figured it was the woman who lives in the boathouse, but the voices were coming from the wrong direction.”
“I live in the boathouse,” I supplied. “But I wasn’t there last night. The voices you heard, could you recognize them if you heard them again?”
“I guess, but I’m not going back there.” Knight was firm, his eyes showing signs of life. “The only time you’ll see me again is when I decide to take my revenge for Caitlin.”
I exchanged a quick look with Luna.
“He’s just tired,” she reassured me. “I’ll get him some medical help and then I’ll make sure he doesn’t go back out there.”
“You’re not the boss of me,” Knight challenged. “What happened to Caitlin wasn’t right. I’m not going to just ignore it.”
“Yeah. You need to take a break.” She patted his shoulder and then motioned for us to follow her outside. On the sidewalk, she focused on the beefy bodyguards. “Call Dotty and get her over here to fix him up,” she ordered. “He’s going to need meds and rest. I want you in there to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
I expected the guards to argue, but they simply nodded.
“He’s going to be talking about revenge,” Luna added. “I know you guys are keen to help him dole it out, but on this one you need to keep him in check. Things could go very badly if we’re not careful.”
The closest man hesitated and then nodded. “We’ll take care
of it.”
“Thanks.” Luna’s face was impassive as she watched the men walk inside. Once she was certain it was just the four us, she changed her tone. “I want to thank you for saving him. You didn’t have to. I know you could’ve ... hurt ... him rather than help him. I appreciate what you’ve done.”
“Don’t mention it. Also, don’t be surprised if the cops come to talk to him. We haven’t said anything so far, but I don’t know that we can promise to keep it to ourselves. Aisling’s husband is the detective in charge of the case.”
“Well, that sucks.” Luna made a face and focused on Aisling. “Why would you want to marry a cop? You’re a reaper, right? Why not marry another reaper?”
Instead of being offended on Griffin’s behalf, Aisling looked intrigued. “How did you know that? Me being a reaper, I mean.”
“I’m gifted,” Luna replied, stopping just short of adding a resounding “duh” at the end.
“But how?”
“The same way I know this one is strong enough to wipe out that entire island she lives on.” Luna jerked her thumb in my direction. “I know things. That’s what I do.”
“And what do you know now?” I asked, legitimately curious. “Do you see where all this is heading?”
“I didn’t say I see things — although I might. You’ll never know if I do. I said I know things. I can’t really explain it. You’ll have to take my word for it. Right now, you need to believe me when I say there are things happening. Things I can’t really explain. I’m hearing whispers.”
“Like creatures sharing a secret language on the wind?” Jerry asked ominously.
Luna snickered. “I like this one. He smells like cupcakes and he says funny stuff. No, I don’t hear creatures on the wind. I hear people on the street talking, and they’re afraid of whatever is happening on that island. They don’t like the people who have invaded.”
“You mean the cult,” I surmised.
“You keep using that word. I don’t know if it’s the correct word, but it feels right. You helped my friend, so I’m going to help you. Be careful. They’re up to something.”
Only the Devout Page 12