“Sofia Ambrose.”
“Good. Okay, so who is Grayson?”
The series of questions steadied her, helped her claw free of the paralyzing shock. “He’s my boyfriend.” She stumbled a little over the description as her mind made up for lost time and spun, seeking traction.
“All right. Where are Sofia and Grayson, Cassandra?”
“In the guest room, down the hall.” When Tracy turned toward the rest of her crew, Cass knew she was going to have one of the others head down the hall, so she touched the firefighter’s knee. “Wait.” Tracy looked at her, questioning. “They’re not injured, but Grayson is a Key, and my sister was recently cursed.” Scenarios flicked through her mind like fireflies, and she thought fast. “My family wanted to keep the situation private, so my parents asked Grayson to step in.”
An expression of alarm bloomed under Tracy’s professional demeanor. “Cursed?” She looked at Elias, her concern for her crew obvious. “Your father. Is he?—”
“No.” Cass knew she had to finesse the spin before it spiraled into a mess. “I think this, all of this”—she motioned to the room at large without taking her attention from Tracy—“has something to do with my parents’ company.”
“Are you saying this—your father, the curse—is some kind of business dispute?” There was hefty skepticism in Tracy’s voice.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Then Cass did what she’d never thought she would do—she played her mother’s game, twisting and turning things to keep the authorities out of the loop. “Pythia Strategies works exclusively with the Arcane Families, and sometimes things can become volatile. Occasionally, our family will get caught between upset clients. And as you know, our particular clientele prefer to handle such situations themselves and don’t appreciate outside interference.”
A flash of something came and went in Tracy’s face, but Cass couldn’t pin it down. “Is that your polite way of asking us not to call in ACRT?”
“Please.”
Involving the Arcane Criminal Response Team would only make things worse. The red tape alone would strangle any chance of finding her mom. Not to mention ACRT would pull Grayson off of Sofia, and Cass was not about to lose any of her family.
Before Tracy could respond, a rattle of wheels over tile announced the arrival of a gurney. Cass got to her feet and moved toward where they were loading up her father, Tracy right behind her. “Will he be okay?”
“We’ve got him stabilized,” one of the EMTs told her, adjusting an IV before giving a nod to his partner. They began to wheel Elias out.
Cass stood frozen, watching as they disappeared through the open door. Behind her, she could hear Tracy talking to the older firefighter with the radio. Their voices were too low to make out what was being said. The two remaining firefighters continued to pack up their equipment.
“Where are they taking him?” Cass asked.
“Santos Medical,” Tracy said as she came up to Cass’s side. “You can meet them there.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t dare explain that there was no way she could sit in a waiting room with her mom missing and who knew what happening with Sofia.
Tracy touched her arm. “Cassandra, do you happen to have your father’s insurance information?”
She blinked, turned to Tracy, and shook her head. “I don’t. Sorry. I live out of state.”
Tracy gave a nod as the firefighters started to clear out. “Okay, why don’t you call your mother, have her meet you at the hospital. She can fill out the necessary paperwork there.”
“I will. Thank you.” Cass looked around for her phone and spotted it on the bottom stair, where someone must have put it out of the way. She went over, picked it up, and pulled up Eric Swanson’s number. Someone needed to be there when her dad woke up.
It took a few more minutes to get everyone out. Just before Tracy left, she handed Cass a business card with the report number handwritten on the back. When Cass went to take it, Tracy held on to it for a moment, her gaze concerned. “Are you sure this is the best way to handle this?”
No. “I am,” Cass lied.
“All right.” She didn’t sound convinced but let the card go. “Good luck, Cassandra.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Cass hit Eric’s number, skirting the discarded towels and blood as she rushed toward the guest room. Where the hell is Grayson?
The phone rang twice, then Eric said, “Hello.”
“It’s Cassandra. I need you to get to Santos Medical. My dad’s injured. Mom’s missing.” She got to the guest room and stopped just inside the door, her grip tightening on her phone. The room was awash in red-gold fire.
“Wait, what?” Eric asked sharply. “Why?”
“My dad was attacked. He’s hurt.” She didn’t have time for this shit. “Mom is missing. Grayson’s working on Sofia. The EMTs took Dad to the hospital. They’re going to need his insurance information and permission to do whatever they have to to save him. You’re the family lawyer, and I’m assuming your power of attorney means you can handle all of that, yes?”
