Page 67 of Deadly Avarice
Boone’s voice sounded less shaky when he said, “I’m sorry for worrying you. I… It’s not exactly what Tenzen said. More the way he said it. It gave me the creeps and made me feel like he’s got eyes on me that I don’t know about. I feel stupid and paranoid. It’s ridiculous.”
“It is not ridiculous,” I sternly answered. “Don’t ignore your instincts. Besides, it’s not just you.”
“You mean we’re sharing in group paranoia?” Boone tried to lighten the mood by joking.
“Maybe, but somehow I doubt it.” I didn’t like how spooked Boone sounded. I checked the time. I typically remained at work another two hours or more. I still had work I wanted to do on the Davies’s case, but I’d drop it and head home if that’s what Boone needed. “Do you want me to come home early?”
“No,” Boone quickly answered. “That’s not necessary. I’m okay, really. I just… I think I just needed to hear your voice. I’m sorry for bothering you at work.”
“You are never abother. And for the record, I love hearing your voice too. Anytime, anywhere. Do you hear me?”
“I do” was Boone’s quiet response.
“And do you believe me?”
I heard Boone inhale and exhale before again answering, “I do.”
“Good. I’ll be home within the next couple of hours. Promise me you’ll call if you need me sooner. Also, do me a favor and let your pops know about Tenzen’s call.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea? He’ll just worry and—”
“A worried Warlock Holland isn’t always a bad thing. He’d want to know. I’m not sure about Lydia.” It wasn’t that I wanted to keep Boone’s momma in the dark. I just didn’t know what Lydia could do, and I didn’t want her to get hurt.
“I’ll ask Pops. If he thinks Momma should know, then he’ll say something.”
Boone was right. His parents worked like a team with a single goal when it came to their son. “Okay. I’ll text you before I head home.” At this rate, I might as well sell my place and completely move in with Boone. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to my residence and most of my clothes and personal effects had already migrated to Boone’s house.
“See you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I answered before hitting the end button.
If my phone had been a living creature, I would have strangled it within my death grip. What was Huxley’s game? He wanted something, that was clear enough. What wasn’t clear was what. As I sat there thinking over what Huxley said to Boone, thewhatbegan taking a murky shape and that picture didn’t just chill my blood, it turned it to ice. Our trip to Chicago a couple of months ago illuminated a very poignant fact.
I’d always felt like Boone was one of a kind, but I loved him and most thought that way about the one that completed them. When I looked at Boone, I didn’t see a uniquely talented necromancer. I saw the man who lit up my life, who made a house a home, who made me laugh and comforted me when the horrors of my job became too much to bear alone.
But I’d seen the look in Sara Tompkins’s eyes when she realized Boone could bring a soul back with only a pile of ashes to work from. I saw that same crazed, covetous look in the Midwest Vampire Queen’s coal-black eyes. When they looked at Boone, they didn’t see the beautiful soul beneath. They saw a means to an end, a way to assuage their greed and lust for power.
The question was, what did Huxley want Boone for? That was the key that would unlock the mysterious door hiding Huxley’s motivation. It was a door I didn’t want to open, and yet knew without a doubt needed to be taken down with a battering ram.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Erasmus
Gaia, I hated this. Snuggled up on my couch, I stared at the flames licking their way up from the logs below. My eyes were dry from staring too long. Feet pulled up and knees tucked, my position reminded me of how I’d found Navarre upon our first introduction. There was something innately soothing about resting in the fetal position.
It was also a little hard on the knees.
Stretching out, I rested my feet on the coffee table but still didn’t take my eyes off the fire as I remembered my conversation with Pops. It wasn’t that it had gone badly, just… I hated his worry more than I hated my own.
Pops didn’t think it was time to involve Momma yet, and I trusted his opinion. I was also more than a little relieved, although that relief was a minuscule drop in the lake of angst taking up residence in my brain.
“You seem very melancholy.”
I barely twitched when Aurelia shifted into my line of sight. The sound of the little hamster ball rolling across the floor sounded distant as the fella took off toward the hallway. I was only halfway surprised Aurelia was still carting the thing around.I didn’t think she liked this one as much as Little Fang and wondered endlessly why she continued caring for it. Was Aurelia truly that bored?
“I’m resting,” I halfway lied. I was physically resting, but I couldn’t get my brain to shut off and do the same.
