Chapter 47
Forty-Seven
They had fallen asleep so late that they slept well into the day, waking together mid-afternoon. It was a first, but one that Cally could get used to. She would have to give some serious thought to shifting her body clock and taking the night shift.
The only downside of a vampire boyfriend.
Though he was so much more than merely a ‘boyfriend’.
“You seem pensive, ma chérie. I hoped you would wake with a smile.”
“Oh, I did. I was just thinking about our relationship. Not ‘pensive’ at all. Content and happy.” She snuggled in against his side and placed a kiss on his chest.
“Good.” He reached for his phone and checked the time, then freed his arm from beneath her and started typing.
“News?”
“Some. Marcel has left Brookline’s police department in a baffled state of helplessness, with a little pressure from our lawyers.
They want someone to blame, and so they are wasting their efforts on tracking down the ‘rogue contractors’ who so willfully deployed illegal ordnance in our home defense. ”
“Will that cause you problems?”
“Not in the slightest; it was all conducted through offshore shell accounts. They will find nothing.”
Cally shook her head. His world was quite different from hers, often bordering on the surreal.
Not ‘his’ world. ‘Our’ world, now. To be fair, breaking and entering WHOI hadn’t exactly been a normal working week.
“Any news on Eve? And Noah?” Cally slipped from the bed to retrieve her own phone.
“Both well. Eve has recovered and Noah is with Zoey and my thralls.” He paused, as if recalling all those who had died the night before, then continued reading from his phone.
“Belle informs me that Tobias has regained consciousness and healed most of his injuries. She has him secure, and he is claiming nothing he did was of his own free will.”
“Is he still intent on killing you?”
“She suggests the ‘cognitive recalibration’ dissuaded him.”
“The what?”
“I assume she refers to the blow to his head.”
Cally had a missed call from Eve and a dozen text messages, mostly gushing about the size of Gabe’s LP collection. She smiled ruefully and climbed back into bed, then typed a quick reply.
“Gabe is not awake yet,” Antoine continued, “but Belle is. She has invited us to her house to plan our next move.”
“What is our next move?”
He carefully set down his phone, then slid an arm around her and drew her close.
“In truth, I am torn, ma chérie. Half of me wishes to see Roberto dead, whatever the cost. The other half… I am loath to risk you.” He made a sound of discontent.
“No, that is not true. It is not half and half. I do want Roberto dead, but I will not endanger you.”
Cally tensed beneath his arm, pressing her lips together. She was the weak link, holding him back.
But damn it, didn’t she have power now? She had the books and laptop. She’d proven Eve’s ‘fragment’ theory worked. All she needed was the right combination. There must be something that could help.
“I told you we would fight him together.”
“And I told you he is too dangerous.”
She pulled away so that she could see his face. “We’re not having this argument again. I want him dead. You want him dead. Together, we are strong enough.”
He stilled, face expressionless, eyes searching hers. “I… am not sure.”
“I am.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” He smiled gently.
“I know that if we leave, if we run, then his continued existence will plague both of us—me more than you, perhaps. It will be a taint that will sour whatever we do, and that…” He paused and took a breath.
“I cannot so easily dismiss the vengeance I have longed for these past weeks.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“Yes, I know. And that is, perhaps, what concerns me most of all.” He smiled, though it lacked humor. “I fear your impulsiveness is rubbing off on me.”
“Good.”
He shook his head. “This could all end in disaster, for both of us. By Belle’s estimate, Roberto is about a third again as strong as I am. I cannot win against him.”
She pushed herself up, padding across to the couch, leaning over it to retrieve her bag. “I need time to find a spell. Eve and I have done most of the work. Let me see what I can do.”
“Pardon, did you say something?”
She turned back to him in confusion.
He spread his hands in mock innocence. “I didn’t hear a word after you bent over the sofa.”
Heat warmed her cheeks, then she narrowed her eyes. “Don’t dismiss this, Antoine. I can do magic.”
“My apologies, I did not intend it like that. I have faith in you.” He rose from the bed and walked to the wardrobe, taking out a black silk robe for her.
It was far too big, but it smelled faintly of him, and she pulled it on happily.
He dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, both in black, then lifted one of his long retro leather coats from its hanger.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Breakfast. There is a small café nearby. Coffee and a bagel? Something while you work?”
Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. “But it’s daytime. Will you not burn?”
“It’s raining and overcast. I will be fine for a short trip.”
Her eyebrows rose. “How could you possibly know that?”
He collected his phone from beside the bed and waggled it at her. “Weather app.” He slid it into his pocket.
She laughed and shook her head. “I thought you were going to say you could smell the rain.”
“I am sorry to disillusion you, but the air coming in here is filtered.” He pointed to the vents. “A precaution.”
“When did you last buy breakfast?”
He thought for a moment. “Two hundred and seventy-eight years ago, but I assume the principle hasn’t changed.”
“Do you even have any money?”
He pulled out a black credit card and waved it. “Still not a barbarian.”
She huffed a laugh. “I can’t believe you’re fetching breakfast. But yes, go. I’m hungry, and I’ll work better with some food.”
He gave her a kiss. “I will not be long.”
The door clanged shut behind him, leaving the room eerily quiet and soulless. She gave herself a little shake, then set up Eve’s laptop on the coffee table. She knew her passcode; it was easy to log on and find the spreadsheet they’d been working on.
A few curses and boons had caught her eye before, but she was certain the concept of transferring power was the correct route.
Antoine had said, so many times, that she was a powerful witch, and she recalled how brightly the obsidian in Mr. Alexander’s study had glowed.
And that was raw intent, with only a made-up chant to harness it.
She knew so much more now, but was she strong enough to tip the balance in Antoine’s favor? That was another question.
She hadn’t made much progress before her phone rang, and she answered it, expecting it to be Antoine asking for a breakfast order. But it wasn’t.
“Hey darling.” Her dad sounded calmer than when they’d last spoken. “Catch you at a good time?”
“Uh… sure.” She glanced whimsically at all the spell books spread around, and wondered how she’d ever explain it all. But now wasn’t the right moment. “How are you?”
“I’m good. And you? Did you get it all sorted with that Darian fellow?”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit. It’s been a bit… hectic.”
“No problem, I understand. Maybe we can find a day to do lunch?”
“That sounds great. And I’m sorry about Darian. He was totally out of order”—so to speak—“turning up like that. I… don’t work with him anymore.”
“It was a bit strange. I’m glad you’re not stuck with him.” Her dad paused. “I had a question for you.”
“Oh? Shoot.”
“I know you’re a hotshot cyber expert, but you do only use it for legal things, right?”
Cally hesitated, phishing attacks on WHOI springing to mind. “Strictly morally good.” True… if not what he meant. “Why do you ask?”
“Well… the funniest thing happened,” he said, sounding awkward. “My retirement statement came through and it showed zero.”
“Oh my God, Dad!” Goddamn Order. I can’t believe they actually did it! Antoine is going to—
“No, it’s all right. It was all a big mistake, apparently.” He chuckled, embarrassed. “I rang them and at first they said the feed was down, no records at all. I was a bit worried there for a while, I won’t deny, but then they phoned and said they’d reconciled to custody and it’s all fixed.”
“Good,” Cally said vehemently. “So it’s sorted?”
“Well… that’s the thing. It’s back, but it’s wrong. They emailed me archived PDFs and every payment is larger than it should be.” His awkwardness had returned. “Honey, you didn’t… do anything, did you?”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” she said truthfully.
“Of course, of course,” he replied hastily, sounding relieved. “Well, apparently I’m now a lot wealthier. I feel guilty about it, as it’s not really my money, but it’s a ‘computer says no’ situation—or ‘yes,’ more accurately—the woman in the call center was adamant that everything is correct.”
“In that case, Dad, you should enjoy it. Sounds like it would be a complete pain in the ass to reverse it all out. My advice? Best not draw attention to it.”
“Do you think so?”
“Sounds like a mistake in your favor, and not one they can put right.” Cally grinned. Thanks, Mr. Alexander. “Pay your taxes and… maybe go on a cruise?”
“Huh. I suppose I could, couldn’t I?” he said thoughtfully. “You really think it’s all legitimate?”
“It’s just numbers on a ledger. It’s not real money to anyone except you, and if the computer says it’s right, they won’t take it back.”
“Well, maybe you’re right. I’ll just sit on it for a while, just to be safe. Then maybe I will take that cruise.”
“You deserve it, Dad.”
“Lunch in a week or two then?”
“Sounds great. I’ll let you know?”
“Sure. Bye, honey.”
“Bye, Dad.”
Cally chuckled as she dropped the phone on the couch, and the call had helped put her in the mood to be productive.