Page 40 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Chapter Fourteen

Archan

Unknown origin.

Leaning back on the sofa in my apartment, I glare at Zac, Barney, and Nathan.

“She must be involved. Her excuse of wanting to know what I am is only half the truth,” I start. Tension creases Zac’s eyes, and I put a hand on his shoulder. “Stop beating yourself up, Zac. We all missed it.”

He looks to Barney and snaps. “How close are we? They have the files, the last locations, and they most likely know we’re searching for Pan and the artifact—the Jar.”

Barney takes his phone out of his back pocket, and we wait while he scrolls through his emails. “We’re close to finishing the search of the Iron Mountain; Dina only has access four hours a day, so it’s taking time.”

“And the others?” Zac demands.

“We’re working on the natives of North Sentinel Island. They’re hostile.

Michael’s in Poland and has made some progress.”

I stare at the floor. “What do you think Natia is after?”

Nathan exhales and runs a hand over his head, causing the groomed, short curls to dissolve into a mess. “The Jar, possibly Pan’s protection…”

“We track her,” I say. “If she finds it, she will lead us to Pan, and we’ll destroy them both.”

Zac grabs his beer and takes a long drink. “What about Lawrence? He doubled the bounty for her last night.”

Barney laughs. “From those glimpses of her memory, I don’t think they’re friends. He’s either pissed off and wants to kill her himself, or he’s infatuated with her. I would vote the second one, given how alluring she is.”

Zac rolls his beer between his hands. “What about her shields? If I break them, I can scan her memories and maybe find Pan’s location. Screw who her grandfather is.”

I work to relax my fists when I see the whites of my knuckles. I don’t want anyone else’s hands on her, plus Zac can easily destroy an unwilling mind. “No. I will do it my way.”

Barney huffs. “It’s taking too long.”

I give him a hard stare. “Are you challenging me?”

A look of panic crosses his face. “Of course not.”

“I’ll have cracked her shields by the end of the week. Then you can take a read, Zac, and we will know for sure who she is. Get someone to watch her apartment; put a tail on anyone who isn’t delivering food or cleaning. Don’t interfere with her actions, but get Leo and Jed to follow her. I want an hourly report.”

I stand and walk to the window to look out over the twinkling city lights. Humans have come so far in the last hundred years, but I’m not fond of the skyscrapers. The concrete jungle is littered with imitation nature; plastic plants falsely shine in the artificial light, struggling to give the illusion of life. Most people don’t even notice. Natia’s reaction to my rooftop surprised me; she took in every branch, every bloom. Her hands touched the garden as if she could draw strength from the life before her. Zac pulls me out of my musings. “What about the messengers? They’re restless.”

“They will have to be patient, unless they want to end up like Kelly. We will continue to protect them, but they will need to stay in the house under guard.”

Barney sighs and shakes his head. “I can’t believe we lost her.”

“It’s not your fault. We’ve protected the rest.”

The men and women we sent to Khalkaroth were supposed to get us closer to Pan’s location. We suspect he’s protecting Pan and trying to locate the only object we can use to track this person—the Jar. But the more false artifacts we lure Khalkaroth out with, the more suspicious and careful he becomes with his movements. Our last messenger, Mary Conway, disappeared following her exchange. We suspect he’s realized our intentions, so Mary was our last messenger. Which means Khalkaroth could have sent Natia in his place to steal the Jar he believes we have or sabotage our efforts to find Pan. It’s an unusual tactic for the normally brutal demon—but maybe he’s learning the art of subtlety? She certainly fooled me into trusting her not capable enough to steal from my own apartments.

I glance at the office doors, remembering that they were open slightly the morning of our breakfast. I dismissed it at the time, believing Margret, my cleaner, had mistakenly left it open. I should have known after eight years of no errors she wouldn’t have done that. But sweet, innocent, beautiful Natia never entered my mind—if her naivety is an act, she plays it well, her cheeks wearing the glow of her embarrassment more times than not, and she showed no signs of panic, which would have given away her intentions. It doesn’t fit that he sent her, but I need to be sure—if she is working with Khalkaroth, she will regret the day she walked into my life.

“See if you can tie any of Natia’s group or security company to Khalkaroth,” I say.

Nathan turns to me. “You think she’s working with him?”

“No, but we can’t take any chances,” I state. “Let her snoop around. We don’t have the Jar, so there is nothing to lose. But it will keep her busy while I work on breaking her shields.”

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