35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The summer air calmed Ben’s dragon. The wispy clouds called to him, and he wondered how it was possible that he had a dragon, or…was a dragon. He wasn’t sure exactly what the correct term was. He still barely believed it himself, even after he had unfurled his wings and soared through the air with Lily. It had been an inaugural flight for them both, really.
He wanted to launch into the air now and feel the undercurrents massage his wings. To let go of his worries. Would he ever remember? And if he could, could he be the person his family and clan remembered or, more importantly, needed him to be?
“I’ve seen that look before,” Sienna said as she walked toward him.
“What look?”
“Wanderlust. You tried to hide it from me in the past, but I knew you better than you thought I did.”
It felt strangely comforting to know she recognized something that reminded her of his past. “And what did I do when I had this look?”
She came to a stop next to him. “Nothing. You would push it down and do your duty as CEO and clan leader.”
Ben turned to her at the frustrated tone in her voice. “Was that a bad thing?”
Sienna frowned. “No. You’re a good man. A great leader and a loving brother.”
He looked at her for a moment before responding. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
She nodded. “ But. You never did anything for yourself. Never took a break from all the responsibilities.”
“Well, I’ve been on a break for over a year now.” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice but didn’t think he was successful.
She rested her hand on his arm. “I have a feeling it hasn’t exactly been a vacation these past months. And all of this being thrown at you must make you want to run away screaming.”
“Fly away screaming,” he quipped.
She smiled. “I get that. You’re waiting to see if you get your memories back. To see if we can find out more about Lily or to hear back from Mia now that we’ve emailed her.”
They had decided to have Megan email Mia and simply say that she was worried about her, as were others from the university, and asked her to respond that she was okay.
“What about you?” Ben said. “You’ve taken a lot on your shoulders as well.”
“Running the clan is an honor. You were a role model on how to be a good leader. But I also learned that I can’t do it all myself. Eric and Marcus have been a great help, as have Megan and Tessa. They both helped us figure out that the curse was real and dived right in as members of this clan.” Sienna’s eyes sparkled. “I see you have taken a liking to her as well.”
Ben kept a straight face. “Why wouldn’t I? Megan is a good partner for Eric and a wonderful mother.”
“Yes, she is. But you know who I was talking about.”
He sighed. “Tessa is one of a kind.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
Good on her for throwing his own words back at him. “But, now isn’t the best time to…” His words petered out.
“To what? Kiss her like you’re performing a tonsillectomy?”
He blinked at her.
Sienna laughed. “You’ve been caught by more than one person kissing each other senseless.”
Before he could respond, she held up her hand. “There is something special between the two of you. You balance each other.”
But was that enough? “Except I’m living in limbo right now. Is it fair to start something serious with her?”
“I think that Tessa is more than capable of telling you if she feels that something is unfair. And I also think you’ve already started something serious with her and you’re in denial.”
Ben asked a question he had been afraid to up until this point. “Do you think I’m the same person I was before I lost my memories?”
Sienna stared at him for a moment as if trying to decide what to say. “Yes and no.”
“So what happens if I get my memories back and I’m different. And I feel different about her?”
Sienna sighed. “You’re worried what will happen with her if you don’t get your memories back, and in the same breath worried about what will happen if you do. Change is constant. The bigger question is, do you want to pass up a great relationship waiting for what-if scenarios that might or might not pan out? Or do you want to grab on to what makes you happy?”
He stared in wonder at his sister. “I know one thing. I was an idiot for not relying on you in the past. I think you’re smarter than Eric and me combined. But don’t tell him I said that.”
Sienna laughed. “Oh. I can’t promise you that. I can use it as blackmail in the future.”
Ben laughed with her. “So much for sisterly love. I thought we were having a moment?”
Sienna patted his arm. “We are. Doesn’t mean I won’t use your words against you. That is what sisterly love is all about. Why don’t you go for a flight? I can go see if Marcus or Eric would like to tag along.”
“You don’t want to go?”
“No. I’m good.” Had he imagined it, or did her eyes tighten for a moment when he asked her? But she had a smile on her face, so he was probably mistaken. He pulled her to him for a hug, and she settled against his chest.
He was lucky to have his family and clan, whether he remembered his past or not. He hoped that one day he would be able to truly support them like they were him.
Tessa was having a day. She’d met with Katrina to finalize the logistics for an upcoming photo shoot, and her boss decided to go in another direction, which meant starting over. Which made her late for everything else on her schedule for the day. And she couldn’t contact half the people to reschedule since she’d left her phone at the clan house. Her phone was attached to her twenty-four-seven. She remembered exactly where she left it too. She had been talking to Marilyn before she rushed out the door, and Marilyn had handed her a piece of peanut butter fudge and a travel mug of coffee. Anyone in her designer shoes would have set down her phone to hold that glorious dessert. And then she left the house sans phone.
Now she was going to be late for dinner at the clan house. And Marilyn was making one of her favorite meals—shrimp gumbo with key lime pie for dessert. If Marcus ate the last piece of pie, she would hurt him in some spectacular fashion.
Tessa dumped her bag in the car and took a cleansing breath before she was interrupted by a phone ringing. What the heck?
She dug into her bag and pulled out Ben’s burner phone. That could have been helpful earlier today. Connor’s phone number that she had saved in contacts appeared on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Sydney? This is Nadia. I’m calling for Connor. He wanted to know if you’d be able to stop at the gallery and talk to him. He thinks he has a lead on Mia White.”
That was fast. “Tonight?”
“Yes. He’s going to be traveling to an art show for the rest of the week and wanted to get you the information sooner than later.”
On the one hand she was excited. Maybe this was a breakthrough. On the other hand…key lime pie. “It’s not something he can tell me over the phone?”
“He would like to have some assurances that he will be considered for further business dealings regarding your client.”
Of course he did. “I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
Tessa hung up the phone and called Megan since that was the only number she could remember without her cell.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Megs. I’m surprised you answered an unknown number. Thought I would be leaving you a message.”
“Tessa. Marilyn found your cell phone on the kitchen counter earlier and gave it to me. I figured you might reach out to me another way. I have already answered two calls today about my car warranty expiring and about being audited by the IRS. You owe me.”
“Sorry. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be late for dinner. I just got a call from Nadia at Connor’s gallery. Connor wants to meet with me. He may have a lead on Mia.”
“That’s great. But I don’t like the idea of you meeting with him alone.”
“I’ll be fine. The only vibes I got from Connor the other day were about him wanting to make money. If he found someone who can connect us with Mia, all the better. I’m meeting him at his gallery. As soon as I’m done and back in my car, I’ll give you a call.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
Tessa pulled into the parking lot, but before she could get out of her car, Nadia came out the front door and waved at her as she walked to the passenger side.
Tessa rolled down the window. “Where’s Connor?”
Nadia leaned over. “He’s finishing up with a customer. He wanted me to give you this.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a gun.
Holy shrimp and grits.
Nadia climbed into the car. “Drive.”
Tessa’s stomach tumbled. “What’s going on, Nadia?”
Nadia faced Tessa with a cold stare. “Start the car and drive now.”
Tessa started the car and backed out of the space, her mind spinning at how she was going to get away from Nadia.
“Drive around to the back of the building.”
Her hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel. “Why are you doing this?”
“I’m finding out what game you’re playing.” She looked Tessa up and down. “I wasn’t mistaken the other day. I did sense you.”
What did that mean? “Sense me?”
“Don’t play dumb. Stop by that van.”
That van was one of those windowless vans that serial killers used. Nope, she wasn’t getting in that van.
She slammed her foot on her brake, and Nadia jerked forward in her seat since she wasn’t wearing a belt. Tessa jumped out of the car and took off running.
A large hand grabbed her shoulder.
Her self-defense training kicked in. Tessa elbowed backward, heard a satisfying “umph,” and then stomped down on his foot with her wedge sandals.
She spun around and kicked him in the groin. He stumbled back and bent over and she ran around him, but Nadia was now out of the car, pointing the gun at her.
“Enough! Get in the van.”
Tessa screamed. The guy grabbed her and threw her roughly into the back of the van and slammed the door shut. Payback for black-and-blue balling him, probably. She scrambled to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
Nadia climbed into the passenger seat, and the guy ran around to the driver’s seat and jumped in. He put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot. Tessa fell back as he took a turn too fast.
“Slow down,” Nadia barked. “We don’t need to attract any cops.” She turned to Tessa and made a motion with the gun. “Sit down against the side with your knees up.”
She looked around the van, but there was nothing to use as a weapon. “What’s going on, Nadia? Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere we can talk.”
“We could have talked at the gallery.” This was bad. As in bury-the-body-in-the-woods bad. And for what?
Nadia glared at her. “Not for the conversation we’re going to have. I have a feeling some persuasion might need to happen to get straight answers from you.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
Persuasion? She sounded like someone from a bad spy thriller. Tessa stopped herself from laughing even though hysteria was bubbling up from inside, threatening to erupt.
“I’ve got her.” Nadia frowned at whatever the person was saying. “It was my call to make.” Nadia turned away and lowered her voice. “I can handle it.” More talking on the other end, louder this time, but Tessa still couldn’t make out the words. Nadia hung up soon after.
“Sounds like someone isn’t happy with you kidnapping me.”
Nadia glared at her. “Shut up.”
But Tessa was in full fight mode, even if that meant using her words to land the punches. “What? You don’t want to admit what you did was a mistake? You think there aren’t going to be repercussions? You should let me go now. Pull over and let me out and I won’t tell the cops what happened.”
Nadia stared at her for a moment. “Pull over.”
Tessa’s heart thumped. Was she actually listening to her? The guy pulled to the side of the road.
Nadia nodded at the guy. “Give it to her.”
“You can’t just do it?” he said.
“No. Magic isn’t going to work on her.”
Give what to her? Magic? Wait…Nadia was a witch? And why the hell wouldn’t a spell work on her?
Tessa crab walked backward away from him as he moved toward her. Before she could fight, he crowded her.
“Hold still!” He grabbed her arm and jabbed a needle into it.
Within seconds the world grayed. She tried to concentrate to stop herself from passing out. To focus on anything to stop it. She looked at the bastard’s lower arm.
At a tattoo in the shape of a red cross like the Knights Templars wore.