Garrett leaned over and kissed the top of the queen’s head. “I don’t have anything to report.”
Which wasn’t a no.
By the look on Emma’s face, she was fully cognizant of that fact. “Garrett—”
His phone buzzed, and he lifted it from his pocket to read the face. Then he quickly texted something back before reaching for Dessie’s hand. “Your aunt is searching for another hitman to take you out, and the last thing we need is to deal with humans. She thinks she just hired me, and I’ll meet with her tomorrow.”
Pain filtered through Dessie, and she tried to hide it. “That woman is determined, isn’t she?”
“Apparently. I’ll take care of it.” He helped her off the table. “We don’t have time to deal with her crap, to be honest.”
Emma’s dark eyebrows rose. “Hitman?”
“Trust fund, inheritance, shady aunt,” Garrett said by way of explanation, waving his hand as if swatting a fly. “Humans. More importantly, I’d like to have a chat with Aunt Cecile about Stoneton Hills Academy and how she afforded it, which, according to our background check, she couldn’t have. She might be the key to figuring out who messed with your head, Dessie.”
“It has to be the Cyst,” Emma said, putting the printout on the counter. “They’re known to manipulate people.”
Garrett nodded. “Best bet, definitely. But we do have other enemies out there, you know. I wouldn’t want to guess wrong.” He held Dessie’s hand and moved for the door. “How long until you have new results?”
“Give me an hour.” Emma glanced at her watch. “I take it you’re going to make an appointment to see Lily?”
“Lily?” Dessie felt more and more off-balance. Now she could almost feel the tumor spreading throughout her brain.
Garrett opened the door. “Lily is one of the Realm’s three prophets and is an expert at hypnotism. We’ll see if she can get into your head and find those triggers.”
Emma reached for a tablet. “Okay, I’ll need a while to set up the right environment to do the tests I spoke about. How about first thing tomorrow?”
“I’m going to Texas in the morning, but we could schedule the tests for the afternoon,” Garrett said.
“I’m going with you,” Dessie said as he ushered her into the hallway.
He shut the door. “No.”
She turned and planted her hands on her hips. Enough of this. “Yes.”
“I guess we’re about to have our first fight,” he drawled.
Her chin went up in direct proportion to her temper. “Take your best shot, Prince.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The sun rose over the horizon, spreading pink and golden hues across the blue Texas sky. Garrett checked the cheap motel room for any cameras or listening devices. The tweaking clerk with the pimples at the front desk had looked squirrelly to him.
“You’ve already looked for devices,” Dessie said, leaning against the doorframe to the connecting room. A tiny bit of smugness lifted her smile, but she was doing a fair job of hiding it; she’d won the argument, and he’d brought her to Texas. She sighed. “Stop giving me the stink eye. You know I’m needed here to sign the papers so I can get control of my trust fund. I have a list of potential charities in mind that could make good use of the money.”
He adjusted the knife at his thigh.
Logan appeared behind Dessie. “We’re good in here. No bugs.”
Garrett tapped his ear communicator. “Sam?”
“All is quiet out here,” Sam said. “I’m stationed up in the trees to the north, and there’s no sense of any immortals around. Not many humans, either. What’s up with you finding motels in the middle of absolutely nowhere?”
Logan snorted. “At least he didn’t buy this one.”
Sam’s chuckle came through the line. “Yet. It’d make a nice birthday present for you, brother.”
Garrett shook his head. “Dorks.” He’d planned to make this trip solo, but when Dessie had talked him into allowing her to come, he’d brought the best backup available. Both of them knew to protect her at any cost.
