Chapter 11
CONFESSIONS AND CONTINGENCIES
NELSON
Of all the people who could have stopped us, why did it have to be the hunter? Damn it. Morgan was going to be the death of me.
When Tammy had been in Willow Lake, I followed her around town for hours without her knowing who I was.
That’d given me an edge. Or so I’d thought.
Now I wasn’t so sure. But that didn’t matter now, anyway.
Whatever anonymity I’d enjoyed before was gone.
After Morgan’s performance, none of those hunters would forget my face ever again.
Luckily, I didn’t always wear my human face.
Fuck, I really hoped it wasn’t Morgan she’d recognized.
“Let’s go to my room,” I said. “I need to get my stuff.”
Morgan raised his eyebrows. The thick layer of makeup he wore cracked along the furrows on his forehead. He scratched at his arm as he asked, “Why?”
“Can we talk about this when we get to the room?”
If I were Morgan, I’d have fought me off and run away. I shouldn’t have grabbed his arm and dragged him behind me. I knew that. But fuck. He didn’t grasp the severity of the situation we were in, especially if even the fucking hunters were trying to separate him from me.
I needed to get him somewhere safe. Pronto.
Unfortunately, the only way I could think of to do that was to manhandle him.
I wasn’t a charmer like Isaac, or powerful like Gage, or a leader like Hayden.
I was just a shadow. Shadows weren’t charismatic, because we were meant to be unseen and unheard.
Shadows served as the backdrop to things people wanted to notice.
People were attracted to light, colors, and patterns, none of which were found in shadows. As a species, that suited us fine.
But none of that was possible on this mission.
I was so far out of my depth it wasn’t even funny. I needed to get control—of the situation, of Morgan, of my pounding heart, and everything else too—before I fucked everything up.
Thankfully, Morgan didn’t argue this time. He followed me into the elevator, didn’t try to redirect me to his room, and came with me to my room without hesitation. Not having to fight with him on this was a fucking relief.
But I could feel his curiosity like a tangible entity hanging between us.
Once we were cloistered in my room, he grabbed a hanger from the closet inside the door before turning to me.
“You’re acting weird,” he said.
Interestingly, he didn’t sound judgmental, just curious. But since he’d shoved the hanger down the back of his shirt and was using it as a scratcher, I wasn’t the only one acting weird.
I held up my finger to silence him as I checked the room for bugs. I rarely did this, but there was too much at stake. Between Venus, the hunters, and the fucking vampire too, anything was possible. When I didn’t find any listening devices, I sat before motioning Morgan to take a seat too.
“Rudy Tada is your alias?”
“Yep. Isn’t it brilliant? Sounds like a fabulous magician’s name, doesn’t it?” He repeated the name. This time, he added more flair to it. He shimmied and even raised his hands like a magician revealing something amazing.
“Yeah.” I rubbed my palms against my eyes. When I pulled them away, I heaved a sigh and looked at him. “Listen. There are things you need to know.”
“Is this one of those ‘we need to talk’ moments?” He squished up his nose.
As the day had worn on, his makeup had become shinier and less natural looking. The way he was contorting his face right now wasn’t helping. I wanted to encourage him to wash it off, but it wasn’t safe to do that yet. There had to be a reason he was disguised like this.
“I guess…”
“I’ve never hit this stage in a relationship before.” He dropped the hanger on the dresser and rubbed his chest as if it ached. “Nope. I don’t like it. It sounds ominous. So I’m going to say thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass.”
“It isn’t about us…” I paused and considered. “Well, not the way you’re thinking.”
We weren’t in a relationship, and we never would be if I had anything to say about it. Morgan was a man I needed to protect. Nothing more.
He crossed his arms and stared at me in silence. It lasted only the space of a heartbeat before he was scratching his elbow. “Ugh. Fine.”
“First, though… Why are you scratching? Are you having an allergic reaction to your makeup or something?”
“Really? I’m finally prepared for your talk, and you start with that?”
“Well, you weren’t doing it earlier.”
“I get itchy when I lie,” he mumbled.
Shit, what had he lied about? Then I remembered. Downstairs. With the hunters.
My cheeks heated.
If we had sex, would that take away the lie?
Would I need to bend him over, like he said?
Or could I just wrap my hand around his hard length…
? Because I’d want to see his face. Makeup free.
Flushed. Sweaty. Eager. My body reacted as if I really did have my hands on the little unicorn, and I wanted to groan.
What the fuck was I doing?
That was not an option. My brain should never have gone there. At all. Not even for a tiny little nanosecond.
I needed to stay focused and hope his itchiness ended soon. Without my help. Right, so, moving on. “I’m here because someone from the SC asked me to attend.”
“The Supernatural Council?” He leaned forward, his scratching momentarily paused. His eyes sparkled. Literally. “You’re like a real live spy.”
“Something like that,” I agreed. “Do you know why you’d be on the SC’s radar?”
“Me?” His voice squeaked over that single syllable.
“Yeah. Why are they interested in you?”
Morgan shook his head. “My uncle never told anyone about me. The SC shouldn’t know anything at all about me. Well, they didn’t until I was abducted.” He sighed. “Who knows now?”
“Well, an agent at the SC sent me here to protect Rudy Tada. Which seems fortuitous since at least three people have had their sights on you so far. Four if we count the vampire.”
“Me?” He scratched his eyebrow.
“And the wolf and mage were trying to get something to you—”
“Wait, someone wanted to give me something?” he interrupted, with a delighted smile on his face. “Like a present?”
“Unlikely…” I hedged. “I doubt it was meant to be a present.”
The glee dropped from Morgan’s face. My stomach twisted. I hated causing him even a moment of disappointment. In his confusion, he crinkled his forehead and scrunched his nose. Understandably, he had questions.
I had them too. But first, I had to get Morgan to leave here, which meant I had to lay my cards on the table. I dug the pillbox out of my pocket. Morgan watched in quiet fascination as I opened the tiny clasp and fished out the crystal. It glinted under the lights as it rolled onto my palm.
“Is this the artifact you came here to find?”
The stone was gorgeous with layers of blue, yellow and purple embedded within a clear quartz, but it wasn’t anything that would occur in nature.
Magical energy wafted through the air around it.
The lapis lazuli, citrine, and amethyst all enhanced the recall of memories.
And the quartz amplified their properties even more, making this a powerful artifact.
Morgan’s mouth fell open in surprise. He reached for it. “May I?”
I curled my fingers over the stone and moved it away from his questing fingers. “Not yet. I need to explain how I have it. But first, can you confirm this is what you are looking for?”
“Yes. I think so. I didn’t get a good look at it last time, but the energy feels familiar.” He nodded. “But how did you know? Why do you have it?”
“A young wolf and a mage approached a vendor downstairs and negotiated with them about getting it into your hands. Someone wanted to make sure Rudy Tada walked away with it this weekend.”
Morgan slumped back in his chair and casually rubbed his forearm against the armrest. “Huh. That’s super strange.”
What an understatement.
“It raises a lot of questions,” I agreed as I tucked the crystal into my pillbox again and snapped the lid closed.
“Particularly when someone from the SC told me Rudy Tada would be in danger this weekend and asked me to help them. But they wanted it off the books. I’m here as a favor, not in an official capacity. ”
Morgan was quiet for a moment. Eventually he said, “So you think all these people know Morgan the unicorn was once connected to the crystal, and that if Rudy wanted the same crystal, then they’ve figured out we are the same person.”
“It’s possible.”
“What’s the SC’s role in this? Why was your contact insistent on secrecy? Did someone else in the SC turn me over to the kidnappers the first time around?” Morgan’s fingers gripped the armrests of his chair until his knuckles turned white.
Should I spill the rest of my worries? I didn’t think secrets would help, so I cleared my throat and leaned forward.
“The other thing I’ve been wondering about is if someone tampered with the crystal, I wouldn’t know. My magic isn’t sensitive to spells. I sense magic in the artifact, but not anything more. I know some people who could, though.”
“Tamper? What do you mean?”
“Those supes wanted this to land in your hands. But to what end? What would they gain? So I’ve been wondering… what if someone changed it? Or layered another spell over it? It could trap you or track you or fuck only knows what.”
“Well, fudgsicles and fruitcakes.” Morgan twisted his mouth in displeasure.
“So, this is what I’m thinking…” I didn’t know how he’d react to my plan, but I needed to make him see this as the best way forward.
“I keep the crystal… Hold on. Let me finish. I keep the crystal for now. We leave together, preferably tonight, and meet with my friends who can assess the stone. Once we know what we’re dealing with and that it’s safe, I’ll give it to you, and we’ll see what happens.
” I ignored the fact that as soon as Teague got his hands on the crystal, he’d argue against anyone using it.
But the death mage was the best person to look at the artifact.
Morgan tapped his fingers on his thigh like he was playing an angry piece of music on an invisible piano. “Where? Where would you take me?”
“Willow Lake.” With a bunch of people after him, including hunters, it was the only choice. When Morgan said nothing, I continued. “It’s where Ogden is. He, along with a lot of other powerful supes, will make sure you’re safe.”
“Why? Why would they care about me?”
I shrugged. “A lot of reasons. Because of Ogden. And Simon…”
“I don’t know a Simon.”
“He’s Ogden’s mate. The cat shifter who saw you get pushed through the portal. He feels guilty about failing to help you that day.”
“Huh.” He scratched his chin. “The one who threw the tracker at me?”
I nodded.
“Oops. I destroyed it. I didn’t know the guy was with Ogden.”
Well, that explained one thing.
“But more than that,” I continued, “my friends and I have been protecting supes like you for a long time. It’s what we do.”
“Out of the goodness of your hearts? I feel like there’s something more you haven’t said yet.”
I grimaced. Okay. To be honest, I hadn’t expected Morgan to be so astute—about why all these people might be interested in him or in speculating what my motivation might be.
“Willow Lake also has an oracle. He had a vision about you. Or, well, two, I guess. One was of you in the cage beside Ogden, and another showed you with me.” I didn’t mention he was injured in the last one. It might make him think we should go our separate ways.
Shit, maybe we should… Except everything inside me revolted at that idea.
Nope. I couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not until I got him somewhere safe.
“You have a lot of unusual friends,” Morgan said.
“You have no idea.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “And what about the woman downstairs?”
“What woman?”
“Her friends called her Tammy. You got all grumpy when she entered the restaurant. And when she stopped us from leaving, I thought you were going to pick up a butter knife and stab her.”
I’d thought he wasn’t paying attention to me when he was talking to her. It looked like I was wrong.
“I’ve seen her before…” I hedged.
“Where?”
I didn’t want to make him worry, but I couldn’t think of anything to say except the truth.
“She’s a hunter who came to Willow Lake a month back.
We misdirected her and freed the supes she’d captured, but she and some of her asshole friends escaped before we could detain them.
Honestly, we expected her to show up this weekend.
” I rubbed my forehead, which was starting to throb. “Looks like we were right.”
“A hunter? As in a human who kills supes? What on earth is she doing here?”
“Many hunters are happy to use magic in their fight against supes.” I shrugged. “Hunters are hypocrites.”
“But who would sell them anything?”
“A lot of the supes here would sell anything to anyone for a dollar or two. And violence is prohibited against any market attendees, so they get a free pass to be here.”
Morgan put his hand on his stomach as if the thought made him queasy. I didn’t blame him. Topics like this were distressing. And I suspected he knew very well how many people would see him—a rare type of supe—as a valuable commodity too.
“We have to stop them,” Morgan said.
“No.” I shook my head. “We need to get you to safety.”
“Aren’t you with the SC?”
“I’m retired. I was called in for this job by a former colleague.”
Morgan snorted. “Retired? You’re like in your thirties.”
“Hardly.”
Morgan bounced in his seat. And at least he was back to smiling again. “Oh. Are you one of those long-lived supes? I’ve always wanted to meet one of you. What have you seen? What have you done? I want to know everything!”
“You’re one of us too,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but…”
“We’re getting off topic. We need to get you out of here.”
“Ugh. You’re pretty bossy for a sidekick,” he grumbled as he flopped back into his seat and scratched his shoulder.