Page 46 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

Dre leaned in closer, her voice a low growl. “We knew that too. What are you planning for the reunion, Evelyn? We know your family is plotting something theythinkwill be big.”

Evelyn's defiance crumbled slightly and a flicker of doubt crossed her face. “I don’t know everything, alright? They didn’t tell me the full plan. But I know they want to disrupt the reunion to weaken Marie's position. They think if they can cause enough chaos, it will break the spirits' power.”

Dea's eyes softened, sensing the truth in Evelyn’s words. “And the murders? Why kill innocent people? I know you wouldn’t do that but someone in your family did.”

Evelyn shook her head vehemently. “I swear, we had nothing to do with the murders. My family is desperate, but they wouldn’t stoop to that. I can’t say for sure about the Dubois and Rousseaus. They’re far more violent than we are.” Apparently, there’s no honor among thieves.

Kota and Dre hammered at her, trying to get her to change her response about the murders. She never wavered from her first stance. She told us a little more about the Dubois and Rousseaus which only served to make us suspicious of how much control the Montclair’s actually had over everything. The other two families were big and provided a lot of members who would act as fodder and a diversion while the Montclair’s snuck inside and grabbed the power.

Adèle’s voice whispered again, “She doesn’t know anything. That’s why they sent her.”

I exhaled slowly, trying to digest the information. “Your family has clearly kept you ignorant of their plans. It's unfortunate they didn’t come here in good faith. We will hold nothing back when we stop them from whatever they have planned.”

Evelyn scowled at me. “What happens to me now?”

Lia stepped forward with a stern but fair expression. “We’re not going to hurt you, Evelyn. But we will be keeping an eye on you. Any false move, and you’ll regret it.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened and she looked at us. “You mean I can go?”

“We aren’t the monsters here,” Kota replied and stood up to open the door. The rest of us remained in our seats as she scurried out of the room. “We have to tighten security even more,” I said. “And we need to find their Trojan Horse. How did you know it was a fake, Lia?”

Lia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “There wassomething about the way she smirked. It was too confident. At that moment, the big explosion it made when we destroyed it seemed overblown. I took a chance. Thanks for not throttling me for it.”

“I almost kicked you,” I admitted. “To say I was shocked was an understatement. But now we know it was a fake.”

Dre stood with Kota and jerked her chin at the exit. “Let’s go find their real way in. And warn the shifters so we can have more security in place.”

The drive back from the French Quarter was quiet as we all contemplated what could be the new Trojan Horse relic. We all went our separate ways when we arrived at the plantation. Kota and Dre went into the kitchen to cook dinner while Lia and Phi went out to the barn to grab supplies for the reunion.

I went into the parlor and began looking over the stuff we’d brought back from the swamp. I thought one of those was more likely to be the culprit. I was sorting through the bags and vials when my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number. The words on the screen sent a chill down my spine. ‘There will be more murders. One will open the doorway for an attack during the reunion.’

I jumped up, heart racing, and hurried to find my sisters. Lia and Phi were walking in the backdoor as I headed down the hall. I gestured to the kitchen. We walked in and found Dre, Kota, and Dea making something. Adèle lounged on a windowsill with her eyes half-closed but alert.

“We need to talk,” I said. My hands trembled slightly as I held up my cell. “I just got a warning about a murder and an attack during the reunion.”

All heads turned towards me and the room fell silent. Lia was the first to speak. “What kind of attack? And who sent the warning?”

I shook my head as my mind raced. “It was sentanonymously. The number is restricted. It feels credible. Regardless, we can't take any chances.”

Dre crossed her arms, her brow furrowing in concern. “How can we use this? It doesn’t give us a timeframe for this murder.”

Dea looked thoughtful when her gaze met mine. “We need to heighten our vigilance and reinforce our defenses. And increase our visits to the swamp. We should warn Remy, as well.”

“Consider the source,” Adèle advised. “It could be someone trying to help or someone trying to instill fear. Think about who might benefit from causing chaos.”

Phi nodded. “Adèle's right. We need to consider all possibilities. It could be one of the families, Garrick, or even someone else entirely.”

Kota stirred something sizzling in a frying pan when she added, “We should inform our allies and get extra security on standby. Between us all we will have a better chance at stopping the next murder.”

“I'll contact the council and let them know about this latest threat. Xinar, Cyran, and Kassandra will likely offer patrol units. Regardless, they need to know about this.”

“Stay focused. You six have faced greater threats before. Trust in your abilities and in each other,” Adèle reminded us.

CHAPTER 16

DAHLIA

We were just about to head back out to the swamp when my phone rang. The timing couldn’t have been worse, but I answered it because it was coming from the council building. I wondered if one of the hotline workers grabbed the wrong phone. My gut knotted as I prayed they weren’t calling for another death.

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