Page 28 of Counting Quarters

Chapter Fifteen

Kyle

Raynerwasmovingcloser as the days led up to the Fire Festival. I doubted he would make an attempt to re-engage the Movement at the first town event, though. He enjoyed the suspense a little too much. Enjoyed playing with his prey.

And unfortunately, I was his prey at the moment.

No, he’d let us have our festival and live with a false sense of security, thinking the monster had truly gone away. Then, he’d strike. I just hoped he had gotten over his obsession with killing off the Graves line when he realized Storie was protected by the Quarters, and even harnessed one of their gifts. No amount of black magic could stand a chance against the ancient magic that came from the Quarter lines.

Still, I could feel his presence looming. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I could have sworn he was watching me from somewhere. Which is why I stopped talking to Blaire on our porch and invited her inside instead.

As far as I could tell, she held true to her word and hadn’t told anyone what happened that night at the station. It was over a week before I ran into her again, and she’d acted as if nothing had happened. I was the first to bring Toni back up, but as soon as I did, I got the odd sense that someone was listening, so I awkwardly invited her inside and she hesitantly accepted.

Once we were settled in at my kitchen table, she was the first to speak. “I haven’t been able to find anything in any of Grammy’s books about a spell that blocks out a soul’s memories.”

I sighed. “I’m not going to be able to keep the autopsy results from Mayor Douglas for much longer.”

Blaire tilted her head, her nose scrunched in confusion, reminding me just how young she really was. A wave of defeat washed over me at that thought. Here I was, placing my trust and the future of Beacon Grove in the hands of a group of kids and an old woman who would rather die than share her family’s secrets. I was a fool to think this would work.

“Whatever just happened, you need to stop.”

“Stop what?”

“I can feel your disappointment. I’m not sure what I did to cause it, but you need to stop. It’s throwing me off.”

I stared at her blankly. “You can feel other people’s emotions?”

“Yes.” She glared back unapologetically, and I saw it: that Granger fierceness.

Sometime during this past year, Blaire evolved from that innocent, naive girl I’d always known into a woman whose ferocity could rival her grandmother’s.

“Why would Douglas want those results?” she asked, interrupting my musings.

“He wants answers just as bad as we do.” Although, maybe for different reasons.

“Didn’t you tell Toni there were other DNA samples found on her clothes? Do you think he may have been involved with her disappearance?”

I shook my head, already having considered that possibility more times than I’d like to admit. “Mayor Douglas is not the type of man who moonlights as a murderer.” I gestured toward my stomach to prove my point. “Though, he is extra involved in these cases,” I admitted.

“He could just want this all to be over for Beacon Grove.” She shrugged and leaned back into the chair, pulling her braid over her shoulder to inspect her dead ends. “It would be a lot easier if I could just ask Grammy…”

Green eyes lifted to meet mine, and I noticed again how brightly they glowed—the same way the other Quarters’ eyes always did. I thought I'd seen it on the night she smoked, but I chalked it up to the weed. Was that a trait of hers that we all missed before, or had it just started happening?

“I’m considering bringing Tabitha in the loop. She’s a wealth of information, for sure.”

“Sure, if that information served her a purpose,” Blaire huffed, and I couldn’t argue. Tabitha would only help if there was something in it for her.

But she cared about finding Rayner. She wanted to protect Storie and Beacon Grove, and even if she didn’t fully believe it, she would do anything to keep her own family safe. I’d just have to find time to get to her alone.

“Tell me about your gifts.”

A chuckle escaped my lips, causing her gaze to fall to my mouth in a way that gave me pause. It took everything in me not to read her thoughts, and I had to focus too hard on my next few words.

“It’s not a gift. Just something I picked up along the way.”

But Blaire was unphased, completely unapologetic about the discomfort she just caused me.

“Normal people can’t read minds. For some reason, you were gifted by the gods, just like the Quarters. Just like me.” She sucked in her bottom lip, and this time it was me who was staring.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “I’m hardly as special as you,” I said in a near-whisper.

She had me under some sort of spell. I was fully aware of how inappropriate we were being. I was old enough to be her father, for heaven’s sake. But none of that mattered as she lifted a coy brow, confidently holding my gaze as she leaned forward in her chair and folded her arms on the table, spilling her breasts out of her shirt. Or when she gently gnawed on her plump lip, and I wanted nothing more than to take its place.

“You’re going to have to protect yourself better than this,” she warned with a knowing smirk.

Shit. Had she felt all that? Schooling my expression, I took a deep breath and decided not to let her have all the fun. I allowed my eyes to rake over her body slowly—so, so slowly—raising my brow in approval, until she huffed out a raspy laugh and squirmed in her chair.

“I’m sorry,” I quietly cooed. But Blaire’s unease was short-lived. With a shake of her head, she smiled broadly. “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun together, sheriff.”

---