Drew nodded.

  “Will you be okay if I talk to Amberly?”

  “Tell me if she’s actually going to be okay. The EMT said she’d be fine, but she doesn’t look good.” His eyes drifted off to my right.

  “I’ll tell you the truth.” I gave him a quick hug, then turned away.

  When I came over, I’d been so focused on Drew, the rest of the world had faded. Only a few feet away, Wilson leaned over to speak to a woman on a stretcher. She’d been placed on her stomach, her clothing cut away from her back where chunks of pottery and brick were embedded in her pale green skin. Blood shone bright red around the wounds.

  Her short, cropped, sea-foam-green hair was covered in dust and sticking up oddly. Half her face was obscured from the way she was laying on the gurney, but the corner of her mouth and eye had deep lines of pain. “I’m telling you, I don’t know why someone would want to kill me or why they’d decide magic and the kiln were the best way.” She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled.

  “Sorry, Amberly, you know I have to ask.” Wilson sighed. “Once we start the reconstruction, we may find some answers.”

  She gave a tiny nod.

  “Pine, what do you want?” Wilson straightened.

  My head tipped toward Amberly. “To have a few words.”

  “If they’re more questions, don’t bother. I don’t have any answers.” She peered up at me.

  I crouched down so our faces were level. “No, ma’am. I’m not talking as a TBI agent, but as a sister. Thank you.” I had to pause, or I’d cry. “Thank you for protecting my little brother. Thank you for getting him out of the building and shielding him.”

  “He didn’t tell you?” Amberly winced but smiled slightly. “No. I see he didn’t.”

  I waited for her to continue.

  “When all this happened to me, I collapsed. Drew carried me away from the building. His phone was in the building, so he ran to the house down the street to call for help. They’d already called, so he came back and sat with me.” Amberly winced again. “Wilson, I stayed cause it’s my shop, but I can’t stay any longer. This back is only going to get worse. I can’t keep the pain blocked.”

  Wilson bellowed for the paramedics even though they were hovering not ten feet away.

  I reach out. “May I?”

  She nodded.

  My fingers lightly touched her shoulder. A delicate strand of magic rose up, and I fed the power to her.

  Amberly grimaced, but her face lost the sickly cast.

  When I’d channeled some power to her, I broke the connection. It wasn’t as much as I could’ve given another witch, but I didn’t have much left, and it would help her though the next few hours.

  “Thank you.” Her breathing evened out. “That will help.”

  “I wish you a speedy recovery.”

  The paramedics rolled her away.

  “Excuse me, I need a word with my brother.” I stepped around Wilson, whose eyes never left Amberly.

  One of the paramedics followed me over to Drew. “We need to take him too.”

  Drew looked between me and the paramedic. “What is it?”

  “Let me talk to him first.” Wand in hand, I started writing. “Amberly will be fine. You need to go to the hospital too.”

  His jaw tightened, and he nodded. “Will you come with me?”

  “Not in the ambulance, but I can follow.” My phone buzzed. I yanked it out of my pocket and answered as soon as I saw the number. “Dad, I’ve been trying to call you.”

  “We heard about Drew.” He was talking so fast his words ran together. “How is he?”

  “Where is he?” Mom called out.

  “Yes, where is he?” Dad repeated.

  The paramedic tapped me on the shoulder. “We need to go.”

  “Give me a minute.” It would be best if Mom and Dad stayed with Drew. I had a witch to see. “I need to talk to the EMT.”

  I got the name of the hospital from the paramedic, reassured Drew, gave him one more hug, and sent him off.

  “Kelsey?” Dad said. “I can hear you talking to Drew.”

  “Drew is as fine as can be expected. He still can’t hear, but my guess is the cat ears are the problem.” I waved to Wilson, who tipped his hat. Taking that as the all clear to leave, I walked back to my car as I gave them the relevant information. “And stay away from the clan. I have some suspicions.”

  “I got that message too. We’ll talk about it later.” Dad sighed. “We’ll keep you updated on Drew.”

  “Thank you, and tell Stacy I love her when you pick her up from school.”

  “We will.”

  I hung up and leaned forward, resting my head on Fabian’s steering wheel. Of all the crazy things I’d actually thought Olivia would do, trying to kill Drew had never been on the list. Attack Dad? Maybe, if she really lost it. Kill me? Sure. The first time, she had half an excuse.

  But Drew? He wasn’t even a witch. And he was still a kid. Trying to kill him was insane, even by Olivia’s standards.

  She could get away with tormenting me, or even Dad. We were witches and part of her clan. If she didn’t understand how many lines she’d crossed, I was going to make it clear to her.

  I cranked Fabian and headed out of town. Six long years, and I still remembered every every turn, every mile of the drive to the clan house. Cute brick houses dotted the sides of the state highway. Once in a while, a stretch would be dominated by fields.

  The trickiest part would be getting to Olivia. Most of the clan lived on the estate. Plus, she’d taken to having two secretaries to ensure she didn’t have to see anyone she didn’t want to see. I’d have to get through the gate and past her thugs before I got to her.

  As satisfying as it would be to go in, flinging spells, and ready to battle my way to her, it wasn’t realistic. Even ignoring my current power shortage, there were too many people.

  Nice smiles, heavy implication that I’d been summoned, and more smiles. That’s how I’d get to her. It was believable. Most people would probably assume I’d been summoned in the past and they simply hadn’t heard.

  My phone rang.

  I glanced at the number and swore. “Agent Pine.”

  “Where are you?” Smith’s voice boomed over the phone.

  Wincing, I yanked it away from my ear. “Sorry, sir. A personal matter came up.”

  “Did it?”

  “Yes, sir. My brother was injured in an explosion.” True, as far as it went. The rest of the details could wait.

  He was silent for several seconds. “I need to debrief you and get your report today.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be in as soon as I know more about my brother’s condition.”

  “Next time, let me know before you run off.” Smith hung up.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I tossed the phone in the passenger seat.

  Only a few more miles now. I skirted the south side of Clarksville, crossed under I-24, and headed for the estate. A few large subdivisions branched off almost immediately. After that, fields cut through the trees, and houses sat beside the road on their land.

  Three miles east of town a turn lane peeled off the road. I followed it. My heart sped up as I went under the wrought iron arch with curling letters reading Bausen Estate. The founding members of the Bausen hadn’t been the most creative lot.

  A uniformed man watched me roll up to the keypad.

  I held my breath as I tapped the buttons. There was no reason my access code shouldn’t work, but reason didn’t seem to be factoring into Olivia’s decision-making lately.

  The light flashed green and the gate opened.

  I rolled through at a sedate pace, not wanting to attract undo attention. My goal was to blend in, as much as I could in Fabian. He was a distinct car, which I usually enjoyed, but today, I’d have really liked to surprise Olivia.

  To most people, the estate would look like a nice gated community. It had several playgrounds, a small lake, walking trails, a pool, gym, tennis courts, and all the amenities. The neighborhood illusion lasted if you didn’t see the school, Bausen Headquarters, or Olivia’s house.

  House was the wrong term. She had a mansion. It sat at the far end of the lake with a private dock. One wing was devoted to the family, with five bedrooms and everything else one expected in a house. The rest of the dwelling was split between entertaining space and offices for running the clan.

  Getting to the eyesore (Truthfully, the brick colonial was lovely. Olivia tainted it.) was a challenge. It had its own gate. A code wouldn’t get me past it. No, I had to convince whichever poor witch was stuck on duty to let me in.

  Or I had to park and hop the fence on a freshly healed leg.

  Risky either way, but it would be easier to start with asking nicely.

  I debated between the two for the last few minutes of the trip, but I finally decided to attempt the gate first. Once I hopped a fence, it was clear I was breaking rules. Going through the proper channels would sway some clan members to my side if they ever heard about my visit.

  Luck was with me at the gate. I didn’t recognize the young witch in the gatehouse, which meant she was less likely to know me. Even better.

  The gate itself was a relatively new feature, having been added when I was a kid. Because Olivia had just as much imagination as our founders, it was a scaled-down version of the estate gate. Her grand stroke of genius was giving the house the official title of Bausen House and ensuring it was properly displayed on the arch. The colloquial of clan house hadn’t been good enough for her.

  The flapper arm went up, and the blue sedan in front of me rolled through. I pulled up to the gate house. The gate itself was open, with only a flapper arm between me and my goal.

  I rolled down my window and handed over my clan ID. “Kelsey Pine to see Minister Crowder.”

  The witch, who couldn’t have been more than sixteen, took my ID and retreated. Through the window, I could see her checking a computer.

  The blue sedan that had gone through ahead of me had stopped. Because the window tint was so dark, I couldn’t see in. Hopefully they were just brushing their hair or something.

  “You aren’t on the list.” She handed my ID back. “Use the turnaround as you leave.” She pointed to the cut-through behind the gate house that would take me to the outbound lane.

  I gave her my best business smile. “Could you call and check? The minister was clear. She wanted to see me as soon as I could get here.”

  She shook her head. “If you aren’t on the list, you aren’t on the list.”

  “I’ll vouch for Ms. Pine.”

  My blood ran cold. It couldn’t be him. I looked up.

  Aiden smiled. The same smile some girls said made his eyes twinkle. “I was aware of Ms. Pine’s visit, though not the exact timing. She can follow me in.”

  It took everything in me to maintain my polite expression. “Thank you, Aiden.”

  The witch went back in the gatehouse, and the arm went up. I was in.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I went through the gate, not that I could go far with Aiden’s car still parked in the road. My hands tightened on the steering wheel. Of all the witches to see me, it had to be him.

  He wouldn’t help me.

  He would find a way to torment me.

  Narzel blast it.

  Aiden strolled up to the window. “Follow me, and then we are going to talk.”

  “Got it.” I rolled up the window.

  He raised a brow but didn’t comment.

  In retrospect, I should’ve jumped the fence. That would’ve made it much easier to avoid Aiden. With the way my luck had gone lately, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near Olivia.

  The entire way to the gravel parking lot bedside the house, I muttered about this turn of luck. It didn’t even make me feel better. I got out of my car in the shade from the colonial building and came face to face with Aiden again.

  His eyes never left my face. “Come inside. We can talk privately.”

  “Fine.” Had I known where Olivia was, I might’ve made a run for it, but I didn’t. At least if I was in the building, I could try to get to her office or private rooms.

  Aiden turned and walked onto the grass, only he was aiming for the side of the building.

  As far as I knew, there wasn’t a door there. “The door is the other way.”

  He didn’t stop. “Short cut, unless you want to explain what you’re doing here to Olivia’s secretary.”

  “If you’re tricking me…” I couldn’t think of a good enough threat.

  “I’m not.”

  I followed him between two large holly bushes, and sure enough, there was a faux brick door set in the side of the building. I’d expected another keypad, but Olivia had stepped up the security. The door was spelled so it would only open for people it recognized.

  The knob turned readily enough for Aiden, and he held the door open for me.

  Inside, the building hadn’t changed. The tightly woven, ivory carpet was a shade or two lighter than I remembered. The walls were the same pale beige with hard, white trim. Each door was adorned with a small plaque listing the title and name of the occupant.

  Part of me itched to make a break for it. I knew the way to Olivia’s office. I could be there in thirty seconds. But if I ran, Aiden would sound the alarm, and I’d be hard pressed to get the quality time I wanted with Olivia.

  “This way.” He went down the hall and opened a door with his name on it. Inside was the same color scheme as the hall. The outer office had little in the way of personalized touches, though the desk was empty. “My secretary is at lunch.”

  Behind the inner door, he’d made a few changes. Two prints of Monet paintings flanked the door. A bust sat on one of the built-in shelves, and a stack of papers occupied half the desk. The office was large enough for two chairs and a small table by the window.

  “Take a seat.” Aiden motioned to the entire room. To many women, he looked like the dream man. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes, and fit. The matte, black suit with the white, buttoned shirt, top two undone, would’ve melted a good many girls.

  He scared me.

  Deep down, some primitive part of me saw him, and all I could think was run. That was why I took the seat at the table that put my back to the door. As much as I liked to see the door, I really didn’t want him between me and a means of escape.

  Aiden took the opposite seat, leaned back, and lifted a brow. “Why are you here?”

  I couldn’t force a smile, so I settled for a neutral expression. “Exactly what I told the gate witch. I need to see Olivia. She summoned me.”

  His eyes never left my face. “No. She didn’t. I would know if she summoned you.”

  Narzel. “I need to see her.”

  “Tell me why.” He leaned forward. “Six years is a long time. What brought you here now?”

  I weighed my options. Maybe the truth would work, but only if there was a fragment of a soul in him. One he’d grown since he'd bullied everyone. “Do you love anyone?”

  Aiden tensed. He nodded slowly, and there was something warm in his cold brown eyes. “Yes.”

  “What would you do if someone hurt that person for no reason?”

  He got up and paced the length of the room. “Where is this going?”

  Odd. Of all the reactions I’d expected from him, this wasn’t it. Where was the cold-hearted monster I loved to hate?

  “Kelsey.”

  This time, my eyes didn’t leave his face. “She attacked Drew.”

  He froze. “Your brother?”

  “My brother.”

  Aiden turned away. “She wouldn’t do that.”

  I stomped across the room until I was in front of him. “She called me. Told me pottery was dangerous. That’s what he’s into to these days. Pottery. He works at the studio in town. By the time I got there, half the building was gone. He’ll live. I don’t know if he’ll hear again. Amberly, the fey who owns the shop, her back may never be the same. Spell fragments everywhere. She did it, Aiden. She tried to kill him.”

  “Who knows?” His voice was flat.

  This new Aiden, with feelings in his eyes and a stony expression. I didn’t trust him. “Right now? You and me. The police on scene know magic was a factor. When Dad has time, he’ll go by and check. He’ll see the same thing I did.”

  Aiden swore. “This could drag down the whole clan.”

  “Good. Let it die. It’s brought my family nothing but misery.”

  “You don’t mean that.” He couldn’t hold my gaze. “You do. You don’t care about us.”

  “No. Yes.” I paced to the window and back. At five steps there and six back, it wasn’t nearly far enough to be satisfying. “All I wanted to do was work for the police. To do that, I had to lose my clan friends, my boyfriend, distance myself from my family, and so much more. Without a vampire who took pity on me, I would’ve been homeless. No one stopped Olivia. What has this clan done to deserve my goodwill?”

  He closed his eyes. “I can get you in to talk to her. That’s it.”

  “It’s more than I expected.”

  “She can’t know I let you in.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Plans have to be put in place. The entire clan can’t pay for her crimes.”

  “I won’t tell her how I got in, but are you sure everyone is so innocent? I’m not.” Not with my family history.

  Aiden walked over to his desk. “Is there no one you want to spare?”

  “Narzel!” He was right. If the entire clan paid the price that would include Jamie, his mom, and all the others who’s been my friends. It would include Dad. “I’m not letting her get away with this.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.” He opened his computer and clicked around.

  Staring at him wasn’t going to change the speed of whatever he was doing, so I went over to the window. His office was on the back side of the building. From here, I could see across the lake to the picnic tables and swimming area. It was empty right now. As a kid, Dad had brought us here a few times, but not often. Now I didn’t know if that was because the clowder wasn’t welcome or because of Monique.

  “She’s alone. Only the downstairs secretary is here right now.” He came around the desk. “Do you still know the way?”