Page 83 of Amber Gambler

“I’ll fill you in on the way.” I palmed my keys. “I promised Kierce I would be right back.”

“Okay.” She drifted over to me, determination in her movements. “Let’s go.”

With both of us focusing on her efforts to stay present, I loaded her into the wagon and made the trip to the restaurantin record time. I found Bash where I had left him, still on his phone. I caught his frown as I led Farah to the office where Kierce swept a hand down the wall wearing a look of concentration.

“I’m back.” I was sure he heard me come in, but still. “I brought Farah.”

“Hello, Mr. Kierce.” She crept forward. “What are you searching for?”

“There’s a ward.” He stepped aside so as not to crowd her. “Can you sense it?”

“I’ve never felt one.” Palm to drywall, she pressed her hand in a few inches. “Should it tingle?”

“Spirits experience magic differently.” I sidled up to Kierce. “Can you push through it?”

A line bisected her brows as she worked to get her hand close enough to touch the magical barrier.

“Ouch.”She jumped back, slinging her wrist. “That hurt like a mother—” She bit her lip. “A lot.”

“Maybe Collins got confused about which part of the building kept him out?” I twisted the faucet on the pedestal sink, but Kierce was right. It didn’t squeeze out so much as a drop of water. The toilet, which he had examined, held only a dry tank and bowl. “Maybe this was where he couldn’t follow.”

As ragged as he had run himself searching for Audrey, even he knew his mind was slipping.

“That would mean someone who knew about this place brought her here.”

“Armie was friendly with everyone.” I thought about it. “But he wasn’t really friends with anyone but us.”

“He would have hidden his people from you,” Kierce said, “to avoid exposing himself.”

“You mean acolytes.” A shiver lifted the hair down my arms. “Do you think he has local worshippers?”

“Whatever game he was playing with you, he would have been running more schemes. He wasn’t feeding on you or your family, not yet, so he would have been feasting on the misery he inflicted on others. After embedding himself in your community, he would have secured followers next.”

“I’m not so sure he wasn’t feeding on us. On Josie anyway.” I read his confusion. “They got together, and it was good. Then they imploded, and it got ugly. But the breakups never lasted longer than a few days or maybe a week. They couldn’t stay away from each other.” The possibility made me wish I could burn him out of existence all over again. “Could he have been inflicting small hurts on her to satisfy those parts of him?”

“He would have craved a taste of his eventual payoff,” he said without any particular inflection.

Though he left it at that, I had no trouble filling in the blanks, and I hoped I dreamed of Armie tonight. I would love to wrapmyhands aroundhisthroat for a change.

Shifting forward, ready to restart the search, Kierce stepped on one of the toilet anchor bolts.

A soft pop and then a hiss drew our attention to the section of wall across from the pedestal sink.

A section three feet wide and six feet tall slid aside, revealing a metal door with an inset handle.

“A secret door?” Farah gawked at the big reveal. “Who was this guy?”

During the time I had known him, I had never suspected secrets like these. “I have no idea.”

“What was that noise?” Bash, who must have been coming to check on us, ducked his head in the room then cursed under his breath. “The realtor neglected to mention this particular amenity.” He had his phone in hand in an instant. Or maybe he had never put it away. As the point of contact for the clan’s myriad business interests, he kept it glued to his ear except whenhe was on the clock at Lure, where the thumping bass made private conversation impossible. “Any idea where it leads?”

“None whatsoever.” I checked with Kierce. “How do we get past the ward?”

“The door itself is clear.” Farah had squinched her eyes and tried it for us. “You can open it.”

“He must have insulated it.” Kierce tipped his head. “To prevent his patrons from sensing it.”

“He was playing a dangerous game, given the caliber of his clientele.” Bash exhaled. “I must report this.”

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