JAMISON
While they were in Italy, Mathias came by and set up a program to tap into my father’s security systems and track his credit cards. The man isn’t used to doing without life’s little luxuries. As soon as he pops up on my radar, I’ll hunt him down.
In the meantime, I’ve been reaching out to as many of our allies as possible, trying to convince them of the danger that’s facing the supernatural world. A few believe me. But it’s going to take all of us calling in favors to gather a large enough army to fight the vampires, humans, and the council.
Maybe a few mages too, if Bennett has convinced them to join him. So far, he’s only allied himself with humans. Is it because he doesn’t trust anyone, or because he doesn’t want to take a chance that someone will be more powerful than him? Based on what Caron said, Bennett values power above all else.
A small penthouse off the Gran Via in Madrid pings an alert. I type a few keys and open the camera in the unit. It’s offline. I switch to a view of the lobby and see a man sneaking into the building through the side door. Same height as my father. Dressed impeccably. There’s a hat pulled down on his head, obscuring his face, but I’d know that gait anywhere.
“Got you,” I murmur, grabbing my phone. I shoot off a text to Mathias’ burner phone. “Got him! Madrid. Let’s go!” My voice rings through the house, and the sound of running feet follows.
Phaedra reaches me first, clutching her running shoes and a stuffed backpack. “Where in Madrid? I know a fellow professor who has a flat nearby if we need to lie low for a day or two.” She drops the shoes and bag at her feet and sweeps her dark hair up into a ponytail.
Her long, graceful neck distracts me for a split second until her words register. “You’re not going,” I inform her. “It’s going to take all four of us to subdue and secure him. I don’t have time to worry about your safety.”
She rolls her eyes and bends down to slip her feet into her shoes as if I hadn’t said a word.
Exasperated, I look up and see Gatlin shaking his head. “She’s not staying here by herself.” To my irritation, he gets a smile from her. “You know she can fight. What’s your issue?” Gatlin drops his gear on the floor too.
“This is my father we’re talking about,” I say, gritting my teeth at his lack of worry. “The man has few scruples and won’t hesitate to hurt her to get us to back off.”
“She’s not staying here alone,” Gatlin insists, folding his arms across his chest in a stubborn stance I know only too well.
“I don’t like it either,” I say irritably. “But I don’t trust my father. While he may not be able to end her life, he isn’t above hurting her. What about Charlie? Or Maverick? Or that demon who’s been giving her fighting lessons. Agos?”
Gatlin practically growls when I say his name.
She props her hands on her hips and gives both of us a fierce glare. “If you leave me here, I’ll just follow you. I’m sure Hugo will tell me where to find him. It’s not as if your dear old dad flies under the radar. I’m sure all of Madrid knows the location of his place.”
“Who’s Hugo?” Hawthorne asks with a frown. He sets his bag down too.
“A friend,” she replies. “We met when I went to a conference. He’s a professor at the Technical University of Madrid. He sends me emails about new tech on a regular basis.”
Hawthorne and Gatlin turn to me with a scowl on their faces, and I raise my hands. “You’re not reaching out to Hugo. The fewer people who know, the better.” A satisfied smile settles on their faces. I lift my phone to look at the time and huff. “We need to get moving. Fine. For lack of a better option, you’ll come with us, but you’re staying put when we go grab him.”
She waves a hand in what I assume is an agreement, and I quickly open a portal. “This is going to be a rough jump because of the distance. I’m going first; Gatlin will bring up the rear.” I grab Phaedra’s hand tightly in mine, and a spark fires to life between us. Damn, she feels good. She moves in close as she reaches back for Hawthorne’s hand, who extends a hand to Gatlin, and the smell of her is nearly my undoing.
Concentrate, damn it.
Minutes later, I step out into an alley at the other end of Gran Via, a few miles from my father’s place. Bracing myself for the backlash of traversing the portal such a long distance, I drop her hand and wait, but the usual dizziness and nausea doesn’t happen. That’s…odd. Maybe I’ve been able to store a lot of magic since that night.
Shaking it off, I look over at Phaedra and see her running a soothing hand down Gatlin’s spine. For some reason, thesejumps always impact him pretty hard. Hawthorne grabs their bags and adds them to his, then looks at me.
My phone pings with a message. “Mathias is at the Real Madrid store. You good to move?” Gatlin straightens and gives me nod. “Let’s go.”
The store is packed with tourists when we arrive. A sea of white jerseys and several store employees greet us when we arrive, their eyes automatically going to our packs. Mathias strolls up to us, his eyes sweeping the group before landing on Phaedra.
“What’s the plan?” he asks, his eyes never leaving her.
“He’s around the corner, above one of the tourist souvenir shops. I need you to disable the alarms while I take down the wards. Gatlin will take point on the roof. Hawthorne will guard the front door to his penthouse until we’re ready to go in,” I murmur, motioning for all of them to leave the store.
“Then what?” Gatlin asks in a skeptical tone. “How are you going to get in? It’s not as if he’s going to open the door and roll out the welcome mat.”
I open my mouth to answer, but Phaedra pipes up. “Me. I’ll show him this.” She pulls out the knife she took off the mage at the airport. In her hand it’s dark, but when she points it at me, it glows blue.
Cleverly designed to identify those with magic and kill them, I eye the knife with distaste and a little concern. I’m sure my father would love to have one, if he doesn’t already. Who knows, though? Maybe Bennett gave him one.
“I don’t know,” I say hesitantly, turning into the next alley between two buildings. “Mathias.”
