Page 77 of Deadly Deception
For the first time, Sara looked uncertain. “The bottom of what lake?”
“Michigan.” There was far too much glee in that particular answer.
Sara shook her head. “You wouldn’t have placed it somewhere unretrievable. That would be pointless.”
“Unretrievable to a human. I wasn’t planning on remaining human. Vampires don’t need to breathe. There’s no harm taking a stroll along the bottom of a deep, frigid lake.”
“Boone,” Sara hissed. “Is he telling the truth?”
“Yes,” I answered. “He’s telling you the absolute truth, and he’s very pleased with himself too.”
Sara’s body stilled, every muscle stiff before she moved, her arm arcing wide, slamming into Vanja’s urn and sending it sailing. The ceramic hit the tile floor and fractured into a million pieces. The crash made everyone but Sara jump.
“I need more specifics. I need coordinates. I have resources. It will take time, but I can and will find it.” There was a note of desperation in Sara’s voice I didn’t like.
“Coordinates?” Vanja laughed again. “I have no idea. I took a boat to the middle of the lake and threw everything over the edge.”
“Truth,” I said before Sara could ask.
Sweat trickled down my temples and along the back of my neck. Holding a soul as vicious and malicious as Vanja’s took too much energy. By now, Franklin was doing more than just placing a comforting hand on my back; he was holding me up. I needed to let Vanja’s soul go, and I needed to do it now.
“Vanja Simon Velchev, I release your soul.” I barely heard Sara’s outraged denials and orders to bring Vanja back. It wouldn’t do any good. He’d told her the truth. Just because it wasn’t what Sara wanted to hear wouldn’t change the facts.
“Boone.” Franklin pulled me to his chest, holding me tight as my body shivered. He shoved a piece of candy into my mouth. I couldn’t be more grateful. Surprisingly, Henson moved up to my side too.
“You okay?” Henson asked. There was true concern lacing his voice. A touch of trepidation too. “Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s not your fault, but I don’t think Sara likes what just happened.”
I didn’t either. There were different levels of rage, and just as many ways people expressed that emotion. Sara Tompkins was the silent but severely lethal type. She stood there, perfectly still. Her demeanor was deceptive. At a casual glance, Sara appeared calm. The tick in her jaw, her strained muscles, and her glinting eyes told a different story.
Tone unbelievably calm, Sara said, “I believe this might take a bit longer than I’d hoped. Keeping all of you will be far too troublesome. Jay, if you’d be so kind, please escort the sheriff to another room and dispose of him.”
The guy guarding the French doors moved, raising his weapon and aiming it Henson’s way.
“Come on,” Jay coldly said while pushing the business end of his gun into Henson’s gut. Henson didn’t budge and Jay’s grin twisted. “You gonna be a tough guy?”
“Fuck you,” Henson said, straightening his back. “If you think I’m just going to willingly walk off with you to be slaughtered more conveniently, then you’re an idiot.”
“Sara?” Jay asked as he took a step back and raised the gun. Jay sounded like he was asking for permission. I sharply inhaled and frantically searched my pockets for something I could use. Unfortunately, I was shaky and weak. Franklin had to hold me up and that didn’t leave a lot of room for me to maneuver. Panic had well and truly set in.
“Very well,” Sara said, waving her hand in the air. “It’ll be messy, but the tile will clean.”
The grin on Jay’s face was pure glee. Unlike the vibe I got from Charlie and Rita, this guy liked killing. I scrambled more,pushing at Franklin. Even if I fell on the floor, the position would let me get to my remaining, hidden charms.
Franklin wouldn’t let me go. I wiggled harder, throwing everything I had into it. Why the fuck was Franklin so calm? Why wasn’t he fighting or…doing something?
I flinched and pressed my face into Franklin’s chest when I heard the echo of the gun go off, the sound horribly loud within the confines of the house. That singular shot was followed by another, and then another. The sound was rapid fire. I slapped my hands over my ears, trying to muffle the pounding auditory pain.
The rattle of gunfire seemed to go on forever. Most likely it was only a few seconds. I shook uncontrollably, Franklin’s arms wrapped around me and holding me tight to his chest. My ears rang and it took several more seconds for me to be able to hear anything, and when I did, it was a litany of curse words haphazardly strung together combined with Henson’s heavy breathing.
“Holy shit,” Henson’s quiet exclamation filtered into my brain, and I slowly registered he was still alive. Hot on the heels of that revelation was the one that we were surrounded by one of Pops’s protective shields.
My head snapped up. At this angle, I was staring at Franklin’s scruffy chin. Leaning back enough that our eyes could connect, Franklin gave a soft grin and said, “Warlock Holland’s charms—never leave home without them.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. The sound was insane and completely inappropriate. That didn’t stop me.
“My, my.” My head snapped in the direction of Tabitha’s voice. She stood at the opposite end of the kitchen, behind Sara. “Looks like I’m a little late to the party.”
Mouth hanging open and laughter no longer a problem, I stared disbelievingly at Tabitha. My gaze traveled tothe djinn standing behind her, casually leaning against a nearby doorjamb. Aurelia simply raised a single eyebrow, the movement creasing the tattoos above it.
