by Tami Lund
“She’s…”
“Your daughter,” Delilah repeated slowly.
“Really?” Trennon asked, staring at Sofia.
She hesitated and then nodded. His gaze roved over her face.
“I-I see it. Your nose. You have my nose.” He turned to Delilah, a goofy smile on his face. “She has my nose.”
“Not something I’d be proud of, but to each his own,” Delilah muttered.
Trennon moved closer to Sofia, and Griffin did not release his grip around her shoulders.
“May I?” Trennon asked, lifting his hand to Sofia’s face. She hesitated but nodded, and he touched her hair. “Just like Cerci’s.” And then he frowned. “How come I never knew about you? Cerci would not have kept something like this from me.”
“Actually, she didn’t want you to know either,” Sofia said.
“Really? Why not?”
She shrugged and gave the room an all-encompassing wave. “She wasn’t interested in all this. She wanted to live a quiet, simple life, and she suspected she could not have that if her daughter was aware that she was a reeve’s heir.”
“Huh,” Trennon said.
“In fact, I might not have ever known about you if…” Griffin felt her tremble again.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say your son had something to do with this,” Delilah noted.
“Darius?”
“Yep,” Delilah said.
“I don’t understand.”
This was it. It was time for Sofia to tell them what she knew. But instead of admitting the truth, she turned to Griffin and said, “Now he has Penelope and is still threatening to kill my mother.”
Griffin scrubbed his hand over his face. He understood how frightened Sofia must be, but the only way they were going to be able to save Penelope—and her mother—was if she told them what she knew.
“He left a note,” she said.
“Who?” Delilah said. “Darius?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Sofia pointed at the kitchen counter.
“What?” Antoinette burst out. “He was in my house? That’s impossible.”
Sofia glanced around. When she spotted Ketu, she said, “That’s what I was reading when you came downstairs.”
“It’s in the trash,” he said, and Antoinette leaped up and hurried to the pantry. A few moments later, she returned to the living room holding a tattered, food-splattered piece of paper and read the words scribbled onto it.
“I need access to the reeve’s laptop. You will get it for me. Figure out the password, write it down on a piece of paper, tape it to the computer, and place it under the cushions in that box in the gazebo. Tonight, after everyone has retired. You know what will happen if you do not.
“This is about his coupe,” she concluded.
“Sounds like it,” Ketu agreed.
“At least he isn’t still manufacturing drugs,” Delilah pointed out.
“This isn’t any better,” Antoinette protested.
Oliver, who had remained quietly in the background, spoke up. “There is a great deal going on here, clearly; however, one thing takes precedence, in my opinion, and that is the safe return of the Daughter of Light.”
“Also known as my daughter,” Sofia snapped. “So yes, now that this is all out in the open—”
“Oh, there are still a ton of questions,” Delilah piped up.
“Anyway,” Sofia said, “Darius used to have a place in Hammond, north of Lake Pontchartrain.” She swallowed. “He took my mom and I there once.”
“All right,” Delilah said, clapping her hands. “Are we flying?”
“How come when it’s convenient, you suddenly realize you are half dragon?” Antoinette asked.
Delilah shrugged.
“And no, we are not flying,” Antoinette added. “It’s the middle of the day. Also, anyone who does not plan to help if things get rough should stay here.” She gave Delilah and Trennon both solid glares.
“I love a good fight,” Delilah said.
“He’s my son,” Trennon said. “I don’t particularly want to fight with him, but maybe I can be of help somehow. And, frankly, if he dies in this skirmish, I don’t want to sit at home and find out after the fact.”
Antoinette sighed. “That’s fair. Okay, I need someone to stay here and watch Henri. Where’s Maria?”
Everyone looked around, blank looks on their faces.
Antoinette glanced at the ceiling. “Is she seriously still sleeping?” She stormed across the room to the stairs. And returned a few moments later. “She isn’t in her room. Where the hell is she?”
“With her latest hookup?” Delilah suggested.
“She’s probably right,” Ketu said. “So why don’t you stay home with Henri and we’ll—”
“No. I’m reeve of this colony. He took that child out of my yard. He was in my house. I need to ensure that man does not harm another soul.”
“So what are we going to do? Take Henri with us?” Ketu asked hotly.
“We could drop him at your parents,” Antoinette suggested.
“That’s totally out of the way.”
Oliver raised his hand and cleared his throat. “I will stay with the boy.”
Griffin stared at him. “Seriously?”
Oliver smiled at the young dragon. “I like kids. We’ll be fine. Go, rescue the Daughter of Light. Future generations of witches depend on your success today.”
And with that, Oliver clapped his hand onto Henri’s shoulder and pulled him out of the cluster of people.
“Are you okay with this?” Ketu asked Antoinette.
Antoinette turned to Sofia. “Would you trust him with your daughter?”
Sofia studied the other gargoyle and slowly nodded. “Yes.”
“Then let’s go find this bastard and finish this, once and for all.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Five minutes,” Antoinette shouted, all business. “We leave in five.” The gathered group dispersed like fire ants from a disturbed nest.
Sofia rushed upstairs to grab her sneakers, which seemed the best footwear option for this particular challenge. She could hear someone hot on her tail. At the top of the stairs, she turned around, and Griffin barreled into her.
“Sorry,” he said, grasping her arms to keep her from falling over.
“Why did you come back last night?” she asked.
“You want to talk about this now?”
“My dragon thinks you’re our mate,” she blurted.
His eyes flared as he became as still as a statue for long seconds. And then he touched her face, his fingers lightly brushing her skin. “I wish things were different, Sofia. I used to wish I’d never met you. Now I wish I had stayed that first night. Our lives would have been so different.”
“How so?”
“We could have been together.” He dropped his hand. “Now that I’m part of Oliver’s brethren, we can’t.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”
She’d finally confessed the truth about her father, they were going to confront Darius, and when this was all over, she would have her daughter back, except then she’d have to give her over to the gargoyles to train to be a killing machine. Oh, and she’d apparently found her mate, except he was forbidden from actually becoming her mate.
“It just isn’t fair,” she muttered, turning away from him to stride down the hall toward her bedroom. She had a lot to mull over, but her priority at the moment was to get Penelope back.
It was frustrating as hell that Darius had taken the extra step to steal Penelope away after leaving a note implying that he’d kill Sofia’s mother. Or maybe his threat in the note had been to Penelope and not to her mother after all. Except their contract had always been about hurting her mother. He’d always resented her for getting knocked up and giving him a sibling he didn’t want.
It didn’t sound like he’d treated his other half-siblings in the same way, but then again, they weren’t his fat
her’s children, so therefore not in line to become reeve.
“He still believes he’s going to become reeve someday,” she blurted as she reached for the knob on her bedroom door. Before she could grasp it, the door opened for her, and Maria stood on the other side.
“What are you doing in her bedroom?” Griffin demanded from behind her.
Maria pretended to buff her nails against her shirt. “Cleaning.”
Sofia glanced at Griffin, who narrowed his eyes. “I thought you didn’t do anything that might break a nail.”
Maria lifted one shoulder and let it drop again. Griffin suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. “How did you know Sofia was a waitress in a bar that caters mostly to dragons?”
Sofia stared at him. “Why are you asking her that?”
He gave Maria a small shake. “Because she made that exact comment to me yesterday. I didn’t think anything of it until now. But I’m willing to bet that you and Maria here had never met until yesterday.”
Sofia shook her head. “Nope, we haven’t.”
“Which means she should not have known anything about you. And yet she knew you worked at Mitch’s.”
Something clicked in her brain, like puzzle pieces finally fitting together after frustrating hours of trying to find the right connection. “He didn’t get in the house at all. You left that note on the counter.” She stabbed her finger at Maria, who lifted her chin defiantly.
“And last night, when Darius was out in the yard—”
“Darius was in the yard?” Griffin interrupted. “You saw him?”
Sofia nodded. “I went out to the gazebo, and he was there.”
“How did he know you were here?” Griffin asked. “And how did he get past Antoinette’s guards?”
Sofia shook her head. “There weren’t any guards, at least not for a few minutes. Antoinette and Ketu and the kids had all gone to bed, and no one else was around. And Trennon and Delilah had gone out—although someone drugged them while they were out, to ensure they stayed away too.” She looked at Griffin and snapped her fingers. “Trennon can sense Darius’s presence, so Darius had to make sure he wouldn’t be in the vicinity.” She whipped back around to face Maria. “And I bet you set the whole thing up for him.”
Sofia sensed someone else coming up behind them, and then Ketu’s voice said, “You’ve been spying for him? Are you serious, Maria?”
Maria flinched and seemed to shrink into herself, as if somehow, Ketu making the accusation actually had an effect on her. And then she straightened again and looked him in the eye. “He forced me to.”
“Bullshit.” Ketu practically spat the word. “He had no control over you once Antoinette took over. You chose to make contact with him.”
Tears flooded Maria’s eyes, and she trembled like a leaf as she wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t understand. He controlled everything I did for my entire adult life. You remember what a loser I was in high school.”
“You weren’t a loser,” Ketu said.
“I was,” Maria insisted. “And Darius changed all that. He made me beautiful, gave me confidence.”
“I’m not so sure about the confidence part,” Griffin noted.
“And what did you have to do in return?” Sofia asked. She could hardly believe it, but she actually felt sorry for this woman. Darius had controlled her life, too. She understood how hard it was to go against his expectations. Hell, he’d kidnapped Sofia’s daughter and she still had been afraid to admit the truth to the people who would be able to help get her back.
Maria shifted her gaze to stare at the wall. “Whatever he wanted,” she finally admitted.
“You’re in love with him,” Sofia guessed. “Or at least, you think you are.”
“I am,” Maria snapped. “And he loves me too.”
Sofia shook her head. “I’m pretty sure Darius isn’t capable of loving anyone, Maria. He doesn’t even love himself. All of his actions are a result of his childhood and his belief that his own mother didn’t want him, so therefore, he isn’t good enough for anyone. At least, not unless he manipulates the situation for his own purposes.”
“That’s not true,” Maria insisted.
“When I was six years old, he deliberately told me who my father was and then threatened me if I ever did anything about it or told anyone. If he hadn’t said anything, I never would have known. But he wanted me to know. That way, he could control me. Just like he’s been controlling you, Maria.”
Maria shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, I think I do,” Sofia said.
“I saw him hit you,” Ketu interrupted. “That’s not love. That’s abuse.”
“He’s been emotionally abusing you too,” Sofia said. “Just like he’s been doing to me. I’ve been afraid of him for my nearly entire life too. I was so afraid of what he’d do to my mother and child that I signed a contract that forced me to never have contact with my own father. I’ve lived in fear every day for as long as I can remember.”
Maria sniffled. “He…he made me beautiful.”
“What’s the point of being beautiful if you aren’t happy?” Sofia asked gently.
Maria swiped at a tear trailing its way down her cheek. “You know what I hate?”
Sofia shook her head.
“High heels. I fucking hate wearing them.”
Sofia glanced down at the strappy stilettos on Maria’s feet.
“And dresses,” Maria added, brushing away more tears. “If I could, I would live in yoga pants and flip-flops.”
“You can,” Ketu said. “It’s your life, your choice. No one should dictate how you dress.”
Maria reached down and grabbed one of her shoes, tugging at the straps like a possessed woman. Griffin lifted his hand and made a motion, and the shoe came off her foot of its own accord.
“Thank you,” Maria said. “Can you do the other too?”
Griffin complied and Maria stepped out of the heels and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I don’t think I’ve had an independent thought for a decade at least.”
“Okay, well, we can work on that later,” Sofia said. “But first, why don’t you tell us where Darius is keeping Penelope?”
“Oh, right.” Maria rubbed each calf in turn. “Well, once you got ahold of Antoinette’s laptop, I was supposed to take it to the antiques store where Delilah used to peddle her drugs.”
“Good. That’s much closer than Hammond,” Ketu said. “Let’s go.” He turned and sprinted down the hall to the stairs.
“Can I change first?” Maria asked.
Sofia snagged her sneakers and a pair of her own flip-flops. She thrust the thongs at Maria’s chest. “No. We’ve already wasted too much time. You can wear my shoes.” She started to turn away, thought better of showing her back to someone who had been double-crossing the colony for as long as Maria had, and waited impatiently for the woman to slip the shoes onto her feet.
“You first,” Sofia said, waving at the hall.
Maria sighed and headed toward the staircase.
***
The antiques shop was on Royal Street, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter. As it was mid-morning on a nice, fall day, the streets were crowded with pedestrians wandering about, shopping, dining, oblivious to the fact that a group of supernatural beings were about to throw down in one of the boarded up shops.
“Ah, I miss this place,” Delilah said when they crouched behind a dumpster three doors down from the antiques shop.
“You were dealing Darius’s drugs?” Sofia asked. “How did I miss this?”
Delilah shrugged. “Hey, it was good money. But I’m with the good guys now. Unlike some of us.” She gave Maria the side-eye and frowned. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize you were a spy.”
“Since Darius went into hiding nine months ago, you and Trennon have done nothing but terrorize all the bars in town, so it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Antoinette said.
“Yeah,
that’s fair,” Delilah responded good-naturedly. “Say, answer me this: how come he didn’t ask you to steal Antoinette’s laptop?” She gave Maria an imploring look.
Maria shook her head. “Antoinette doesn’t trust me. I’m forbidden from going anywhere near her bedroom or office. I actually suggested Darius get Sofia to steal it since it was so obvious Antoinette had taken to her.”
Delilah nodded. “Makes sense.”
Antoinette had an outraged look at her face and opened her mouth, probably to protest, but Ketu placed his hand on her arm and gave it a squeeze, then said, “How are we going to play this?”
“If we could trust her, we could send Maria up to the door by herself,” Delilah said.
“That’s not happening,” Antoinette replied.
“See what I mean?” Maria said.
“What about Maria and I?” Sofia suggested.
“No,” Griffin said immediately, while the rest of the team seemed to think it was a good idea.
“We’ll be right out here,” Antoinette said soothingly. “With the connection you two share, you’ll know if she’d in danger, and we can all rush in to save her.”
Griffin shook his head. “We don’t have a connection.”
Delilah snorted. Griffin glanced at Sofia, who dropped her gaze because she did not want to admit it either, even though she knew it was there. Her dragon believed he was her fated mate, and they’d had sex, which was part of the mating ritual. The only thing they had to do in order to seal the bond was fly together.
Which, since he couldn’t have a relationship with her, was obviously not going to happen. Still, there was definitely a connection between them, even if it wasn’t fully intact.
Sofia straightened. “Let’s go, Maria.” Griffin started to stand, and Sofia shook her head. “This is the only way. I’m going to try to get as close to Penelope as possible, as quickly as possible. You guys all have supernatural hearing, so listen for sounds of a scuffle. If you hear anything remotely bad, rush in.”
Delilah stabbed her finger at Griffin’s chest. “And you pay attention to that connection you keep denying you have with her.”
Trennon abruptly stood. “I’m going too.”
Sofia shook her head. “No, bad idea. This will—”