Chapter 6 #3
She raised an eyebrow. “That sexy man who saved your life, perhaps?”
“I never said he was sexy.”
“You didn’t need to. The minute you mentioned him, your pupils dilated—”
“They did not.”
“And a flush touched your cheeks,” she finished, ignoring me. “You, my girl, have the hots for your stranger, and I for one say it’s about time.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did I mention he was a suspect?”
“Yes. That doesn’t discount the truth of my observations.”
No, it did not. “It is not a date. Get that out of your head.”
“Are you wearing a dress?”
“Depends on where we go.”
It was said almost defensively, and she chuckled. “Meaning it’s a semi date and you will wear a dress. It’s not like you have many occasions to get out of those damn black pants and crop tops you live in.”
“I don’t wear crop tops in winter,” I retorted. “It’s too freaking cold in Canberra to do that.”
“Did I hit a nerve?” she said, amusement growing. “Why, I think I did.”
I swore at her, grabbed my handbag, and walked out. Her laughter followed me, and I couldn’t help the smile that teased my lips, even if I would never let her see it. She was right, and we both knew it.
After hauling my mattress back onto the base, I sat on the bed and returned René’s call.
“I take it something unforeseen happened?” he said by way of hello.
“A break-in. Easily enough dealt with, luckily.”
“Case related?”
A smile teased my lips. “And why would you think I would answer that question?”
His soft laughter ran down the line, and heat stirred deep within.
I hadn’t had a reaction like that to anyone in such a long time that it came as a very big shock.
But with it came a sliver of hope. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t facing the desert-like scenario that had happened the one and only time I had risked sex after divorce.
Maybe all it would take was a deep enough attraction....
I shoved the thought away. I did not need to be thinking about sex right now.
“Oh, I didn’t, but the question nevertheless had to be asked.” He paused. “So, dinner. Where would you like to go?”
“This is an interview, not a date. I want to be clear on that.”
“Utterly clear.”
“I mean it.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me.” His soft chuckle was so damn sexy the hairs on my arms stood on end.
Oh, I definitely am. All I said was, “We pay separately.”
“That is perfectly acceptable for a first date.”
Dear God, please.... I softly cleared my throat and said firmly, “There will be no other dates. You’re a suspect.”
“I’m many things, but I am not a suspect. Once you are assured of that, we can continue getting to know each other better.”
“Not possible.”
“That phrase does not exist in my vocabulary.”
“Now you’re sounding like a stalker.”
“No, I am simply a man caught by an unexpected but extreme attraction who wishes to explore it further. But tell me to never contact you again after tonight, and I will abide by that.”
He paused again, as if waiting for a response, but my thoughts were running every which way, and it was better if I just kept silent. Who the fuck knew what might come out of my mouth if I didn’t.
After several beats, he added, “Now, dinner—what is your food preference?”
“Nothing Asian—I love it, but I also get enough of it when I visit Mom. Pretty much anything else is good to go.”
“Italian?”
“Pizza?”
“I was thinking a little bit fancier than that, but I am more than happy to accommodate—”
“If you took me to a pizza place, there definitely would not be any other meetings.”
“Conceding there might be others is a step in the right direction. Shall I research and send you the time and address? I take it you don’t want me to pick you up.”
“You take it right.”
“Then I shall see you soon.”
And with that, he hung up. I took a deep, somewhat quivering breath and released it slowly. Damn, I was in deep, deep trouble when it came to this man and the attraction I just couldn’t deny. I knew it and, worse still, he knew it.
“Date set?” Ginny called from the kitchen.
“It is not a date. And yes.”
“Good. In the meantime, what’s next?”
“You mean aside from a long hot shower?”
“Shouldn’t that be a long cold shower?”
“You, my good woman, can get fucked.”
Her laughter warmed the air, and I grinned. “I’ll ring the National Witch Library and see if I can speak to Luke’s boss while you contact Mark’s family in Canberra and see if they know why the hell he was up here in the first place.”
“We can ask him that when he wakes.”
I placed my phone on the bedside table then pushed off the bed and wandered through the mess on the floor to find undergarments.
Why on earth couldn’t those two idiots have just emptied the drawers and wardrobes rather than throwing them all over the place?
“Yes, but what he tells us might be different to what he told them.”
“True. I’ll do some research and get a number.”
“I’m headed for a shower.”
“Don’t use all the hot water.”
“It reheats fast, and it’s not like you won’t have a second cup after that one.”
“Also true,” she replied, with a laugh.
I headed into the shower and spent the next ten minutes just standing there, letting the hot water run all over me in an effort to stop the deepening of any muscle aches.
When it finally showed signs of cooling, I hastily grabbed a scrub and the soap, cleaning every inch of me to be sure I erased the foul scent, then stepped out and dried off.
Once I’d donned undergarments and found a dressing gown to wear until I was ready to get dressed for my “meeting,” I once again grabbed my phone, sat down on the bed, and called the National Library.
Several redirections later, I was eventually put through to the man who was Luke’s boss.
After yet again explaining who I was and what I wanted, I added, “What can you tell me about him? What has his behavior been like in recent weeks?”
“Can’t tell you much at all,” he replied, voice seeming to come from the vicinity of his boots. “He left us some six months ago.”
I blinked. “Really? He’s been telling his girlfriend he still worked there.”
“The lad is a liar. He’s also a thief—it’s the reason he was sacked so unceremoniously.”
“What did he steal?”
“He wasn’t stealing, as such. He was copying The Small Book of Runestones, and that is a sackable offense.”
In the human world, runestones were basically used as problem solvers; you ask a question or think about an issue, ensuring your conscious and unconscious minds are centered and focused, then cast the runes in front of you to find your answer.
In the witch world, they were mostly used by dark or blood mages as a container for their magic if death approached their doorstep.
The theory was, when they rose again into this world, they would find their rune, reconsume their magic, and all the knowledge bound within it, thereby becoming as powerful and as knowledgeable as they once were.
I had no idea how many actually achieved that, but given the title of the book, you’d have to presume a fair few did.
“So is the book a simple list of runestones, or is it more detailed than that?”
“It’s far more detailed.” His voice was dry. “It not only lists the most significant runes to be found throughout the ages, but what their power is and what royal family now holds it. Or, at least, held it at the time of publication, which was about a hundred years ago.”
I frowned. “No one but the mage who created the runestone can unleash the power it holds within, so what good is the book to someone like Luke? He hasn’t the power to break the protections that no doubt ring such runestones.”
“No, but dark mages are an unpredictable lot, and there are some more interested in chaos than rebirth.”
“Suggesting some of the runestones hold no protections?”
“Indeed.”
Well, fuck. “Were you able to retrieve the pages he photocopied?”
“Aye, and he swore black and blue this was his first and only attempt at photocopying any book held within the library’s vaults.”
“Did you believe him?”
“He did offer to take a polygraph.”
Polygraph tests were not foolproof. Aside from the host of medications that could influence readings by affecting blood pressure and heart rate, there were the myriad of illegal substances that could change results.
And then there were the rogue telepaths who, for a large fee, could make you temporarily believe whatever you needed to pass the test.
“Did he?”
“There was little point. We stopped him and sacked him.”
And I was betting it was likely Luke had, by that stage, already found what he’d been looking for. Runestones that didn’t need to be unlocked could be worth a fortune on the black market.
“Would you be able to search through the book and give me a list of any and all runestones held by Tane Ashworth’s family?”
“I could, but not without official approval or a warrant. The book is not available to the public; only certain persons are allowed to view it by law.”
“I’ll get a warrant then. Thank you for your help.”
“Welcome,” he said, and hung up.
I glanced at my watch and realized it was the middle of the afternoon and I hadn’t eaten anything. I did a quick search for the best rib joints that did loaded fries and thickshakes. I didn’t find the latter, but ordered the rest and asked for it to be delivered. Twenty minutes, they said.
I bounced off the bed, winced at the many complaints from bruised muscles, and dug into my handbag for the prescribed painkillers.
Which meant I wouldn’t be able to imbibe alcohol this evening, but that was probably a good thing, given I very much suspected I needed to keep a cool, calm, and very collected demeanor around René.
I went back into the kitchen, flicked on the kettle again, then raided the cupboard for the stash of Snakes I kept there.
“But sure, you’re not addicted,” Ginny commented with a roll of her eyes. “How’d you go with the National Archives? Any luck?”