“Okay. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”
Shelby nodded in agreement.
“Thanks.”
After we finished our food, Lillian suggested we take a walk around the block to digest and show me a little more of the city, even if it was just one block.
The midday sun warmed the back of my neck as we strolled down the street. Darlington hummed with life and activity: shopkeepers arranging displays, office workers hurrying to lunch, the occasional honk of a car navigating the narrow road.The air smelled of fresh bread from a bakery down the street and the faint, earthy scent that told me there was a large body of water not too far away.
Then I felt it again, that little prickle at the back of my head. I slowed, glancing over my shoulder. No one stood on the sidewalk behind us. But still, the feeling lingered.
“Do you guys feel that?” I asked.
Lillian turned, her gaze sweeping the street. “Feel what?”
“Like we’re being watched.”
She frowned, studying the faces around us. “I don’t sense anything unusual. But—” She hesitated. “Maybe you’re just on edge after all that’s happened.”
“Maybe.”
“But let’s get back sooner rather than later, just in case,” Shelby said, quickening her steps.
“Good idea.” Lillian nodded, and we hurried back to the Redrock building.
Chapter 13
Graham
IwalkedawayasLillian, Shelby, and Meera stepped into the elevator leading back up to the penthouse. The polished brass doors slid shut with a soft ding, sealing them inside. I lingered in the lobby, trying to decide if I should return upstairs.
I tried to tell myself I’d only tailed them the entire lunch trip to keep them safe. That was mostly the truth, but not all of it.
I hated the way I’d jumped every time Meera laughed at something Shelby or Lillian said. And the way I’d caught myself staring at the curve of her neck when she tilted her head back to sip her drink. Was it normal to be jealous of a glass for touching her lips?
Why couldn’t I stop thinking of her?
It was just one stupid kiss out in the woods. A single moment of weakness in the middle of a crisis.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, jarring me from my thoughts. I yanked it out, grateful for the distraction.
“Graham speaking.”
“Our guys tried to pay Karim’s office a visit,” Mateo’s voice said through the speaker. I could hear the hum of an engine in the background. “But they arrived too late. The place is burnt to ashes.”
I rubbed my temple. “How bad?”
“Everything on the entire floor is completely destroyed.”
A cold weight settled in my gut. “Do you think he did it to get rid of evidence?”
“Karim?” Mateo’s voice was grim. “Don’t know. It could be. But I think it’s someone else after the egg. The wizards, maybe. The fire left all the other floors untouched. That’s a magic fire if I’d ever seen one.”
“Shit.” I hated dealing with wizards. I thought of the portal that had opened up on the road.
“Either way, I’m already on my way back to Darlington. Desmon sent someone else to track the scent on scene, but…” He trailed off, and I could practically hear him shaking his head. “Whoever torched that office knew what they were doing. They didn’t leave much behind.”
I clenched my jaw. “What about the SUV?”
