Page 41 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

‘Archer, how lovely to see you.’ My voice was laden with sarcasm, though I wasn’t sure he was intelligent enough to recognise it. He genuinely believedallwomen were pleased to see him. ‘I was wondering if I could come in and have a little chat with you.’

‘About what?’ he scowled.

‘Oh, I don’t know... How about the things that you’re stealing from Grimoires and Goblets?’

He tried to slam the door shut but I got there first and jammed my foot in the gap, grateful for the steel-toed boots I’d had the forethought to put on despite the hot weather.

Archer scowled but gave up on trying to get rid of me and switched to a charm offensive instead. ‘Darling, I don’t know what you’re on about.’He gave me his widest smile

‘Maybe I could come inside? See if I can jog your memory.’ I winked at him.

This time, he dartedforwardsthrough the door and slammed it closed behind him. He really didn’t want me to see what he was hiding inside.

I smirked. ‘Did you lock yourself out of your own house to stop me from coming in?’

A faint grimace rippled over his jaw. Yep, he totally had.

My smirk widened. ‘I hate to tell you, but that lock won’t keep me out – a good sneeze would open that door. You need to invest in home security, and home security will invest in you.’

‘Fuck off back to London,’ he snarled. ‘No one wants you here.’

That was a direct hit to all my insecurities; he knew how to find someone’s weaknesses and exploit them. A few weeks earlier I might have felt intimidated but I’d spent weeks on the road with my friends and I knew that it simply wasn’t true. If nothing else,theywanted me there.

‘Get lost, or I’ll make you go,’ he spat. ‘You’re not the fuzz and you don’t have a warrant.’ While he seemed to think his threat would be enough to scare me off, it actually made me laugh even more.

Yanni had impeccable timing. ‘I’m not the police,’ I agreed. ‘Butsheis.’ I looked over my shoulder at her – and that was the moment Archer decided to bolt. Luckily, I was more than ready for him. Using his momentum – and the fact that I’d already hooked my foot around his ankle – I slammed him onto the ground and wrenched his wrists behind his back.

While he was still swearing, Yanni cuffed his hands behind him. She was smart so she used magical cuffs that would inhibit him shifting and weaken his normal physical strength. When he was secure, she hauled him upright and read him his rights then checked him for weapons, rifling through his pockets while he painted the air black and blue.

She took him to her vehicle and put more cuffs on him – leg ones this time – then locked the door and strode back to me. ‘You’d better be right,’ she murmured to me. ‘We need more than Scarlett’s word to hold him.’

‘I’m right,’ I said.

Yanni smiled. ‘I’ve got to admire your confidence.’

‘And my awesome detecting skills.’

Her smile widened then she looked at the door. ‘He didn’t have the key on him?’

‘Nope.’

She backed up as if she was going to kick down the door but I stopped her. ‘If you’re planning on destroying the door, can I practise a bit of magic first?’

Yanni shrugged and stepped out of the way.

If emotions were the key tonotletting my telekinesis rampage, then I was fairly sure that the opposite was true. Fortunately, I wasgoodwith emotions.

I faced Archer’s front door and thought about how shitty he was for stealing from Gwen, and for bullying and blackmailing Scarlett, for threatening to send her back to jail and to hurt her mum. What an asshole he seemed to be the way he sneered down his nose at women as if one hadn’t given birth to him. I let that trickle of anger grow and swell then I directed it at his flimsy door.

It erupted with a bang, throwing splinters everywhere. Instinctively, I drew up my hands to shield my face. Whoops, there was kicking down the door and then there was chipping it to pieces – but as the chips settled, I could see stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

I grinned. I wished Yanni would let me sit in on the interview; I’d have loved to hear his explanation as to why a werewolf needed nine wands.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Yanni stared at the destroyed door. ‘Nice work. Your powers really are growing.’

‘So, it seems,’ I replied. ‘Look – even from here you can spy some stolen goods.’ I pointed to the collection of wands Archer had shoved into an old vase. Had the vase been stolen, too? I wouldn’t have put it past him.

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