Billow (25 page)

Frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair. "It has to be some kind of magic."

But Aquidae couldn't use magic. The entire thing was a contradiction.

Every single person in this room was doing what they could. But we still needed more help.

"What the hell are the chevaliers doing?" I muttered.

I didn't really expect an answer. Julian knew about Ian, but the rest of the chevaliers didn't. After what happened between us, I was pretty sure the temporary Head Chevalier had no intention of helping.

Surprise flickered through Tristan's eyes. "You haven't spoken to Julian?"

"No." Not since that night at Riviére.

"A group of chevaliers are helping my men. He's doing everything he can."

Since I brushed him off, I assumed Julian's ego wouldn't be able to handle it and he'd ignore anything to do with me. But he was doing the right thing. For some reason, I found it startling.

"We don't have enough to go on," Aubrey murmured.

Jeeves gave a tiny nod of agreement. "The Governor cannot push any further."

"What do you mean?"

Tristan's eyes flickered to Jeeves. It almost looked like a warning.

"The Governor appears weakened." Jeeves let out a deep breath. "And the Council smells blood. The Irisavies have been in power for a very long time. There are those who'd be happy to see it end."

Rhian took a huge risk protecting and believing in Ian. But now children were missing. Four gardinels were dead. For all intents and purposes, her daughter and son-in-law were gone.

If we didn't shut down this auction, the Council would need someone to blame. The first one up would be my grandmother.

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," Ian suddenly said. "We're spending all this time trying to find Gilroy. We should make him come to us."

Aubrey understood what he was talking about. "Money."

"It's the only way." Ian's expression darkened. "Hit him where it hurts."

"How?" I leaned forward.

"Uncovering the Nevada corporation led me to a few more assets Gilroy stored away. Including off-shore accounts. I have access to all his financials now."

Jeeves and Tristan looked mildly impressed.

I got it. "You want to squeeze him."

It was a possibility. Cutting off Gilroy's money could force his hand. But there were still major unknowns.

"It depends on how much cash he has." I tapped a finger against my thigh. "He might not need to access his accounts for a while."

"I don't think so, Kendra." Aubrey's eyes glittered with intense concentration. She was rapidly working out the solution in her head. "Especially after what you told us about him."

"And I doubt the Aquidae paid him much for info on the kids," Ian said.

Gilroy loved showing off and wasn't the type to hold back on expenses. Wherever he was, it wasn't a cheap motel. He wouldn't give up his lifestyle no matter how much he tried to stay off the radar.

It was likely he'd burn through whatever he had in a short period of time.

Ian was probably also right about the Aquidae payment. I hadn't been too impressed with Gilroy's negotiating skills.

I nodded slowly. "Maybe."

"But isn't that a lot of money to move?" Tristan asked.

"We won't take it," Ian told him. "We'll change the access codes and information on all the accounts. It'll block Gilroy the next time he tries to touch it. The bank won't be able to figure out the glitch."

"We'd set it up so it takes him a year to break back into his accounts." Aubrey sounded like she couldn't wait to tackle the challenge.

Tristan considered. "What if he sets up another identity and tries to get cards in the new name?"

Ian shook his head. "That takes longer than people think and credit cards always leave a trail. Gilroy won't want to wait. One short meeting with Kendra could bring him ten grand cash."

If anyone could do it, it'd be these two. At this point, we had to try every possibility.

A calculating look crossed Jeeves' face. "How long will it take?"

Ian glanced at Aubrey. "Three?"

"Come on," she scoffed. "We can do it in two."

He gave a soft smile and turned to Jeeves. "We'll do it in two days."

"Fine."

"Then we wait." Tristan's eyes met mine.

I turned away.

Every time he looked at me, something shifted inside. Something I was supposed to remember.

It detracted me from what I needed to do.

I kept my face blank and stared at the coffee table. The weight and feel of the dagger inside my boot reminded me to focus.

Soon. You'll have your chance soon.

The door slammed open and a massive figure stormed in.

"Tell me where they are," Gabe roared. He grabbed the front of Ian's shirt and pulled him up. "Tell me!"

Powerful muscles shifted and raw fury etched into every line of his face. He was going to rip Ian apart.

Aubrey jumped up, her face pale and frightened.

Tristan pulled Gabe's shoulder. "Gabe —"

"He knows!" Light brown eyes were wild. "He helped them. Told them where to find them."

"N…no…" Ian stammered.

Jeeves' expression was alarmed. "Ian's been helping us. He's not involved —"

"The hell he's not! He's a goddamned nix! Lying is what they do. He's going to start talking right now —"

I shoved my way in front of Ian. "You're just mad because you didn't believe him from the beginning."

Gabe flinched.

"He's been telling the truth this entire time. You're pissed at yourself. We wouldn't have any information without him."

I knew what pain and grief did. How it devoured Gabe from the inside out. But I wasn't going to stand by and let him take it out on Ian.

"What about you?"

A deep, relentless accusation shone in Gabe's eyes.

"Why'd you take so long to figure out your vision, Kendra?" Every word cut. "Why did you let that nix walk away? If we brought him back here, questioned him, then —"

"Gabe. That's enough," Tristan murmured.

Hot waves of pain crackled. Everything he said haunted me in the darkness of my room late at night.

He was right.

Ryder. Nick. Marcella. The children.

I clung tight to the rage until everything else numbed.

"I swear to you I'll find them." My voice was cold. Dead. "I'll get the bastards who did this."

For a long moment, my uncle stared with glittering eyes. Then he whirled around and left.

Ian slumped back to the sofa and Aubrey wrapped her arms around him. Jeeves exchanged a look with Tristan and headed after Gabe.

Frozen, I returned to my seat. The way he looked at me…

No matter how pissed or disappointed he'd been with me since I arrived, my uncle had never looked at me like that.

As if I were something despicable. A monster.

Would he ever look at me again as his niece? His family?

It's the nature of your fate
.

Jourdain's words were a reminder the answer was no.

There was only one thing I was born to do. Everything else had no relevance.

"Come on." Tristan's voice was gentle. "Ian should get some rest."

He escorted the three of us down to the foyer. Once we reached the ground floor, Aubrey said she'd return to the Academy a little later. I could tell from her eyes she wanted to stay with Ian.

He needed her right now.

With a quick goodbye, I stiffly walked out to the courtyard and sensed Tristan's eyes following me.

Ewan waited next to the school SUV. "Everything okay?"

"Fine. Aubrey's staying a little longer."

He tilted his head as if he heard something more than my words. But he got in the car without saying anything.

I climbed in and gazed out the window. We drove past a familiar head of bright yellow hair standing next to another blonde outside the Justice Department.

Chloe and Amber were deep in conversation. I didn't even know they were on speaking terms.

As if she felt the weight of my gaze, Chloe lifted her head and turned to watch our car.

I couldn't stand what was on her face.

It was the same expression I'd just seen on Gabe. I'd seen it on Tristan. My grandmother. Even on Julian that night at Riviére.

In that moment, Chloe looked utterly alone.

TWENTY

Cam and I crossed the Quad after an evening workout at the Training Center. Groups of students were outside, ready to start their Friday night social life.

Earlier this afternoon, Aubrey and Ian began work on Gilroy's finances. Unable to help, I left them alone and the usual restlessness had taken over.

I searched Cam out after dinner, hoping a good sparring would take some of the edge off. But restraining my Virtue only added to the iciness biting into me.

In the end, training didn't relieve any of my tension. I couldn't remember the last time physical exertion didn't help.

But it'd worked for Cam. His expression was more relaxed than it was an hour ago.

"Why don't you join us in the cafeteria? It's pissing everyone off."

Ingesting the crappy food was bad enough. But meals had now become an exercise in torture because Alex and Cam no longer sat with us.

Aubrey, Chloe, and I pretended everything was normal. We talked about the investigation, school gossip, anything to avoid the big elephant in the room.

Chloe nodded at the appropriate moments, but I knew she wasn't really listening. Her eyes inevitably flitted to Cam at least twice every meal.

"She doesn't want me there."

"That's not true." Actually, I wasn't sure what Chloe felt since she refused to talk about it. But I was certain she wanted Cam and Alex with us. "It makes it worse when you don't come near us."

"Oh yeah?" he muttered. "So why doesn't she come over and sit with me and Alex? Why do I have to go over to your table?"

This was ridiculous.

"If you just talk to her —"

"And what?" He stopped, irritation gleaming in his hazel eyes. "Beg her to take me back? It's not my choice, Irisavie. She didn't want to be with me, not the other way around."

I couldn't get yesterday's image of Chloe in the courtyard out of my head.

"Don't you care that she's alone?" I snapped.

"Of course I care! But she wanted to be alone. You can't force someone to be with others. You should know that better than anyone."

I glared. "We're not talking about me."

He rolled his eyes and marched away. I ran and caught up with him near the dorm doors.

"Just think for a —" I abruptly stopped.

Julian leaned against the dorm building, a slim volume of poetry tucked under his right arm.

"Hey," he said hesitantly.

I gave a stiff nod. I was still pissed for what he'd tried to pull by dragging me to Tristan's party.

But Julian didn't let what happened between us affect his job. He was helping, doing what he could.

It made me wonder if I'd misread him and that left me uncomfortable with some of the things I'd said that night.

I didn't like hurting him.

Cam's eyes flickered between us. The silence grew unbearable.

Maybe I should just apologize and get it over with.

Julian beat me to the punch. "Aubrey was looking for you."

It was the last thing I'd expected him to say.

"Um…" I fumbled slightly. "Really? Did she say what it was about?"

Relief crossed his face at my response. He stepped away from the wall and approached. "No, but she seemed pretty upset."

Did she try to reach me? My phone was off during our workout. I quickly turned it on.

Fifteen texts from Aubrey.

The first message shot adrenaline through me. "Chloe."

Cam tensed. "What happened?"

But I was already headed inside the dorm. My eyes scanned the lounge. Amber, Dylan, and the usual Redavi. No Aubrey.

I ran up the stairs to the third floor. Cam and Julian were right behind me.

She answered after the first knock.

"Kendra." Aubrey's face was white. "Chloe left Haverleau."

"What are you talking about?" Cam pushed his way into her room. Julian and I followed.

"After dinner, she said she wanted to talk so we came back here. I thought it'd be a chance to find out…" Her voice trailed off and she glanced at me.

She thought Chloe might want to talk about Cam.

"We talked a little. Nothing much." Misery pinched her expression. "After she left, I realized my keys were gone. I thought I misplaced them but I always put them in the same spot."

Cam grabbed her arm. "Is the car gone?"

Aubrey nodded. "The only person who could've taken the keys is Chloe. I tried calling her, but she turned off her cell."

"Maybe Adrian's with her —"

"No," Julian said. "I saw him get into an SUV after dinner. He probably thinks Chloe's here at the dorms like she's supposed to be."

My pulse tripped.

Aubrey gestured at the laptop on her desk. "I tapped into the car's GPS system. She's in Lyondale, near the Trident."

"Why?" Cam's anger masked his fear. "What's she doing?"

"I don't know." Aubrey's voice slightly shook.

Chloe was edgy and more tense than usual. But I attributed it to stress over the break-up and our stupid fight.

Aubrey and I included her in everything. She knew what was going on with the investigation.

Why did she do this?

I reviewed every detail I'd noticed over the past few weeks. And I remembered yesterday's strange scene.

Without another word, I raced down to the first floor, the others at my heels.

Julian knew what I was doing. He distracted the lobby guard and pulled him away from the doors.

I strode into the lounge and grabbed Amber's arm. Startled, her mouth opened. I pulled her up.

"What —"

"You and I are talking. Now."

Dylan and Andrew partially rose from their seats. Cam stepped forward. They took one look at his face and sat right back down.