“We can’t forget that Howard was being bullied.”
“No, you assume that Howard was being bullied. We still have no evidence of that.”
I didn’t care how much Josh kept emphasizing the word evidence. He was wrong. I knew Howard had been bullied, and I knew that was key to this case.
“Does the Justice Department have anything on him?” I asked. The question was out of my lips before I was aware of it. And it didn’t… seem to come from me. It came from something within me, if that made any sense.
“Get it straight in your head – this contract came from Hancock Industries. The Justice Department—” Josh stopped as his phone buzzed.
It was almost as if I was expecting the buzz. I looked down at him and waited as he plucked the phone out.
The vibration had been different. A specific ringtone that was distinct from the noises Josh’s phone usually made.
Josh’s eyebrows crumpled as he stared down at the message. Then slowly he ticked his gaze up to me. He had an expression that said he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. Then he narrowed his eyes and ticked his head to the side. “Perhaps you are coming into your powers sooner rather than later.”
“What does that mean?”
“That this here is a message from the Justice Department.”
My stomach clenched and a race of nerves ignited through my belly, climbed up my chest, and sank into my mouth as I opened it with a snap. “It’s like I almost knew they were going to call,” I said excitedly.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It was likely a coincidence.”
“Then why did you say I was coming into my powers early?”
He chose not to answer. He cleared his throat. “It sounds like the Justice Department are interested in this case – just as much as Helena is, if not more so.”
“Is that usual?”
“Sometimes. If they suspect Howard’s done something extremely nefarious, then they’re probably building a case against him. So they want to see him in custody sooner rather than later.”
“We still have no evidence to suggest that Howard’s done something nefarious – other than running.”
“I thought you said there was every possibility he was planning an attack?” Josh said, now whispering, ensuring his voice could not travel.
I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s dangerous,” I reiterated for what felt like the hundredth time. “He’s planning something here, sure – but not to hurt anyone.”
Josh looked at me, his expression serious, and I could tell he was gazing at me with the same acuity he would use to assess the guilt of one of his targets. I must have passed the test, because a few seconds later, he shrugged. “I just hope you’re right on that.”
“So you don’t know exactly why the Justice Department wants him?”
Josh shrugged, brought a hand up, and scratched his shoulder. “Like I said, they must want Howard for something.”
“What?” I said excitedly, knowing that we were on the cusp of something.
Josh shrugged. “He could be an informant. He could have witnessed a crime. He could be a suspect in a major case. He could be any number of things.”
I stopped. It felt as if someone had frozen me in place. I felt it again – that sensation deep inside me that told me I’d just found something. God, I felt exactly like I had back when I was a kid when I’d finally, triumphantly found every single last Easter egg. “That’s it,” I clicked my fingers at Josh. “He’s an informant,” I whispered.
Josh looked like he wanted to fight me on that one, but at the same time, he was staring at me through narrowed eyes, obviously trying to assess if – again – I was using my powers. He pressed his lips together, leaned back, pocketed his phone, and crumpled his lips in. “Say I believe you. How exactly does that change anything?”
“It’s helping me.” I brought my hands up and wafted them around my face as if I was gathering air like a chemist sniffing a preparation to figure out what it was. “I can… I guess I can feel my powers – or something.”
“Or something,” he emphasized, obviously concluding that that was what I was experiencing. “Beth –”
“Just go with me here. I know what you’re about to say.”
“Do you?”
“You’re about to say that we can’t forget that Carson is here, right?”
Josh arched an eyebrow. “You’re actually correct. There’s only one good reason for Carson to be here. That guy is renowned for helping witches skip town.”
“What if Howard is scared that the Justice Department can’t protect him anymore? What if that’s forced him to make plans to skip town?”
Josh shrugged. It was only a half move, though. His shoulders dropped an inch down, then stiffened up. “Though you could be right – I doubt that’s the full story.”
“Of course it’s not the full story. But it’s close.”
“The Justice Department can make any problem go away and they can keep their informants safe.”
“We don’t know what he’s informing on. And as you keep pointing out,” I looked at Josh directly, “this is a complicated town.”
Josh didn’t bite back at that. He brought up a hand, tapped his chin, and promptly let his hand fall into his lap. “Okay, say I believe you. Is it enough?” He looked at me directly, making it obvious what he was asking.
Was this enough for me to finally find Howard?
I paused to think.
Josh ticked his gaze back to the pregame.
Then he stiffened. “Well hullabaloo. Looks like I didn’t need you after all.”
I darted my gaze up quickly. “What?”
We both looked over at one of the megalithic screens on the opposite side of the stadium. The camera crew was alternating between the pregame show and random spectators.
And right now?
They were looking at a happy couple cheering. And behind that happy couple?
“Howard damn Rush. You were right – he was here. But it looks like I’m the one who found him. So all the kudos goes to me.” Josh jumped to his feet.
I pushed up to follow.
He appeared to think about it, then shook his head. “You stay here. We still don’t know if this guy’s planning something or not. You should be safe. This is a public area, and it’s packed with people. I will call you as soon as I’ve got him. It will be five minutes, no more.”
I didn’t have the time to complain. Josh was out of sight, blending in with the crowd in an instant.
I sat back down in my seat.
Immediately, nerves started to pluck up my back. Sharp and hard, they felt a heck of a lot like tiny little knives.
I tried to get comfortable, but I just couldn’t. Something didn’t feel right.
I kept alternating my gaze to the aisle beside me in the hopes Josh would hurry back, then over to the TV screen in case the camera crew had caught another glimpse of that couple again.
Josh didn’t return. Three minutes became four minutes. Four minutes became five minutes. And then five minutes became 20 minutes.
I kept looking at my phone. Josh had my number. Heck, one of the first things he’d done was grab my phone and use it to call himself.
So why wasn’t he calling?
An ominous feeling kept pushing through me, unraveling my sense of calm until I was a nervous wreck. I had my thumb in my mouth, and I was chewing on my nail industriously. Josh still didn’t come back. Another few minutes ticked by.
“This isn’t right,” I muttered to myself.
Josh had told me to stay put. And I understood the importance of that. I was on a protection order. But at the same time, Josh was the one who was meant to go through with that protection order. If something happened to him—
“Screw this,” I muttered to myself as I pushed up. The game was about to start, but that didn’t matter. After all, I wasn’t here for the spectacle. I was here to solve this case. Now, it looked like I was here to find my partner, too.
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Chapter 13
I pushed through the crowds, always searching for him, not just with my eyes, but with my skills.
It didn’t matter.
I had no idea where he was.
And somewhere out there was Carson Black. Goddammit. I shouldn’t have come here, should I?
I backed away from the crowd, heading further up through the stands.
People were coming and going, some of them were heading to the toilets, some of them going to grab more food.
So there were a bunch of people behind me.
I walked faster, trying to put some distance between them and me.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered under my breath, pushing up onto my tiptoes to see if I could sight him. I couldn’t.
I reached the main foyer area, and it was a mess of people.
I kept pushing up and down on my tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of Josh, but there was nothing.
That’s when I heard someone take a breath behind me. “Looking for someone?”
Nerves shot through me as I turned.
Carson Black.
He looked at me through his designer glasses, a certain kind of smile spreading his lips. He shoved his tongue through them and pressed it against one of his canines. “You’re quite a find, if you don’t mind the pun.”
“Um, what—”
“Carson Black,” he said as he shoved a hand in front of me.
When I didn’t accept his hand, he grabbed mine and did all the shaking. He had a cold and clammy grip. Though I usually didn’t judge people based on their grips, this guy gave me the willies.
“You’ve made quite a stir around Madison City. Now we have two finders.”
“Yes,” I defaulted to saying. “I guess that’s true. If you’ll excuse me, though—”
“Are you looking for somebody? But you can’t find him? That’s unusual. I mean, that’s your power, right?”
It was a threat. There was no way it wasn’t.
Fear started to tumble through me. Before it could get a full hold of my limbs and freeze me in place, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. It was the warlock rugby player from before.
Carson didn’t let up. “I’ve got something for you, Bethany Samson. So why don’t you come with me?” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand.
With my heart beating hard in my chest, I came to a quick and relatively easy decision. Go with Carson, and he would either kidnap me or do something much worse.
Then I saw an opportunity.
“Excuse me, Mr. Stevenson? Mr. Stevenson?”
You know that rugby player from before? Yeah, he was just a couple of meters away, his tall form looming easily above the crowd.
I was lucky that I remembered not just his face, but his name.
The guy looked around.
I darted toward him. “Sir, I’m not sure if this guy’s the one who stole your ticket – but I certainly saw him hanging around your seat. And he’s got a VIP ticket on him.”
“What are you—” Carson began.
Stevenson walked over, his hands in the pockets of his massive bomber jacket. “Show me that VIP ticket,” he growled.
“What the hell is going on here?” Carson demanded.
“I said show me the ticket—” Stevenson snapped.
“I have a VIP ticket on me – it’s because I’m a VIP,” Carson began.
I sidled to the left and quickly got lost in the crowd.
When I looked over my shoulder, it was to the sight of Stevenson grabbing Carson by his lapels and lifting him up.
I wasn’t a fan of bullies, but I’m sure Carson could look after himself.
Once I’d slipped sufficiently far into the crowd and out of sight, I realized I was in more trouble than I ever had been in my life. So there was only one thing to do. Go find help. Of the justice kind.
I remembered seeing the uniformed police officers Josh had spoken about when we’d walked through the foyer.
I headed toward them now.
I stopped.
Something suddenly told me they weren’t in the foyer anymore. They were outside dealing with a dispute.
I didn’t need to second-guess that assumption. Because it wasn’t an assumption. I knew it. I wouldn’t find the officers in here.
So I turned around.
That’s when I caught sight of Carson pushing through the crowd toward me.
Goddammit.
Not knowing what to do, I spun on my foot and headed forward. Before too long, I found myself walking toward the VIP lounge.
Two burly-looking warlocks stopped me at the door. “This is the VIP—” they began.
Josh hadn’t given me my own ticket. So I made a calculated guess. After all, Helena had promised she’d meet us in the VIP lounge. “I’m sorry, I don’t have my VIP ticket on me. I was invited by Helena Hancock. Do you have a list? Is there someone you can check with?”
The guys obviously got this excuse all the time. They didn’t even let me finish. One of them jammed a thumb back in the direction I’d come. “Beat it.”
“That’s no way to treat an honored guest,” someone said from behind me. I instantly recognized their smooth voice.
I turned to see Helena walk past in a stunning blue embroidered dress.
She brought up a hand, patted the shoulder of the closest bouncer, and smiled at him. It was a specific smile. One that showed her teeth. “Perhaps you should check the list next time?”
The guy solidly didn’t make eye contact as he stared at his hands. “Will do, ma’am.”
“Good. Peter promised that you were one of his best bouncers.” With that, Helena gestured forward.
I had no option but to follow her in.
I didn’t know what to do, but I knew enough about this twisted, complicated world to appreciate telling Helena my troubles wasn’t going to help me. I needed to find a policeman, and I needed to find one now.
Helena clutched her purse in her hand as she turned to glance my way. Sorry, I mean stare my way. She looked as if she’d come from far and wide to visit an exhibit at a zoo. “Are you enjoying the game? Where’s Josh, anyway?”
I swallowed. Was this where I should admit that I had no idea where Josh was? Or should I keep it to myself? Yeah, so Josh thought that Helena was ultimately a good person, but Josh was also obviously bamboozled by her good looks. For all I knew, the second I revealed that Josh wasn’t close at hand, she’d snatch me up just as tightly as she was holding her purse.
I swallowed. “He has just gone to track something down. He’ll be back. He told me… to meet him here.” Once the lies were out, I couldn’t pull them back.
“Oh,” she managed.
Helena didn’t grow bored of me as we walked into the VIP lounge – which was, true to its name, exactly like the place you would keep your very important people. It was huge, practically took up one wall of the stadium, and was dressed to impress. There were large tables along one side, and they were packed with a scrumptious looking buffet. There were also white and black-clad waiters shifting through the guests with crystal cut glasses of champagne.
I recognized a heck of a lot of people from the news and magazines. The rest looked like, to put it frankly, money. Or at least like what money would look like if it became embodied, grew two legs, and started walking around. I don’t think I’d ever seen so many diamonds and gold watches in one place. It was also very clear that no one was here to watch the game.
Helena stayed steadfastly by my side. She walked me forward with the presence of somebody parading a new pet.
And heads turned. While maybe roughly 40 percent of the guests looked on at me in confusion, the rest seemed to know exactly who I was.
God, had news of me spread that quickly and that thoroughly?
Helena had the kind of expression that told me she was loving this. The next thing I knew she locked a hand on my shoulder. “What would you like to drink?” Without actually waiting for my reply, she grabbed
up a tall glass of champagne and pressed it into my hand. “Now I’ve been dying to ask – have you done it? Have you found Howard?” Her voice stiffened.
If I hadn’t been paying so much attention to her, I wouldn’t have noticed it. But it definitely tightened with stress.
I looked up at her as I accepted the champagne. “We might be close.”
“Might be? I thought you were a finder?”
Her voice didn’t exactly carry, but the people standing closest to us all stiffened.
God, I felt like a lamb who’d been brought around to a lion pride to enjoy afternoon tea but had figured out too late that she would be the tea.
“It’s still early days. I haven’t quite figured out how to use my powers effectively yet. But hopefully we’ll get lucky,” I said defensively. I had no intention whatsoever of telling Helena that we didn’t need to get lucky and that we’d already seen Howard. It didn’t matter that she was the person who’d contracted us. All that mattered is I didn’t think I’d ever been as freaked out as this in my life. There was every chance that Josh had been kidnapped, and even though I was sure I was safe here with the bouncers outside and Helena pressed over my shoulder, I didn’t know where Carson was.
“You seem a little tense,” Helena pointed out. Is Mr. McIntosh giving you a hard time? Tricky personality, that one. I find it best to smile until he gives up.”
I couldn’t help it, and I actually snorted at that.
“So he is giving you a hard time, ha?” She emphasized the word is. “I’m sure if you petition, you could find work elsewhere. And I would be more than happy to help you find another contract.” She couldn’t contain her enthusiasm.
I understood perfectly. She’d be totally freaking delighted to find me a new contract – especially one with her.
“He’s gruff, but I’m getting used to him,” I managed. “Do you know where the bathrooms are?” I asked as I shrugged out of her grip.
“They’re just over there.”
“Thank you.” I ducked my head down, trying not to blanch at all the attention I was getting.
As I shifted across to the toilets, I shoved a hand into my pocket and clutched hold of my phone. It was time to call the police. I didn’t know if that was protocol when tracking down a bounty, but at the end of the day, I was pretty certain they were the only people who could help me now.
Forgotten Destiny Book One Page 12