Page 19 of Wicked Love
He understood how important she was. And if he was going to put his criminal affiliations to use defending her, then I wasn’t going to argue with that.
“We appreciate any steps you’re taking to keep her safe too,” I allowed, though I wasn’t sure that “we” really included Logan. It was hard to say he appreciated anything about Beckett right now, even if I was starting to believe he probably should.
“She doesn’t deserve to be stuck in this mess,” Beckett said, standing up. “I’m going to do everything I can to get her out of it as quickly as possible. I’ll be in touch as soon as I have any definite answers.”
His face had gone tight again. He gave me a tip of his head and then marched out of the room as if in a hurry to start up his own investigations right now. Not quite the same coolly collected professional he’d been when I’d first come into the room.
Dread wound around my gut. What could this long-time criminal have noticed in the evidence I’d shared that would have made evenhimvisibly worried?
CHAPTERNINE
Madelyn
The smell of herbal incense drifted through the new age shop. I eased past shelves packed with crystals, essential oils, and other objects I’d never have come browsing through for myself. This wasn’t my typical scene, but the place had seemed like my best bet in the city for finding what I was searching for.
“Hi there,” the cashier called brightly from behind the counter. “Can I help you with anything?”
I paused, scanning the room, which was so packed with its narrow wooden shelves that it was hard to make out anything that wasn’t directly in front of me. “I’m guessing you carry tarot cards—where would I find those?”
“We have a wide selection of decks on the back wall. Let me show you.”
She led me over to the far corner of the shop. There had to be at least a couple dozen decks on display, but as I scanned the boxes, I didn’t spot the one I wanted.
“There’s a specific deck I was hoping to pick up,” I said. “I don’t see it here. Do you ever order things in specially?”
“Sure, as long as we can get it through one of our suppliers. What’s the name of the deck?”
I grimaced. “I’m actually not sure. But I’ve seen the image on the box—the same as on the back of the cards. If I could look through an online catalog or something, I might be able to identify it.”
The cashier gave me a kindly smile. “I’m pretty familiar with the options out there. If you describe it to me, I could probably figure it out without too much trouble.”
As I followed her over to the counter, I dug through my memories of seeing Logan working with the deck. “The box was kind of a silky black. The top had a silhouette of a woman with her hands raised and her hair flowing out on either side—just line art, silver and not very detailed. The same image was on the backs of the cards but not shiny there, more of a pale gray.”
“Oh!” The delight in the cashier’s voice gave me a jolt of hope. “That’s a more obscure deck, but I’ve always liked that one. I’m sure our main supplier carries it. Let me just see how long it’d take to get them in. And I’ll let you take a look to make sure it’s the right one.”
“Thank you,” I said with a rush of relief.
The woman tapped away at her computer and then swiveled it so I could check the image on the screen. A smile stretched across my face with a lifting of my spirits. “Yes, that’s exactly it. I can get them?”
“Definitely. It should only take a few days before they arrive. You can leave your phone number, and we’ll send you a text when they’re in.”
“Perfect. Thank you so much.”
The cashier beamed at me. “It was my pleasure. Thank you for stopping by!”
I walked out of the store with the sense of a small weight lifted from my shoulders. It wasn’t a lot, but at least I’d made progress on one of the many problems that’d been nagging at me lately.
My victory gave me a boost of confidence. I had other problems to tackle—and I might as well get on with doing that now. It was only a phone call, but my stomach knotted up every time I thought about it.
I was going to have to lie to my mom again so that I didn’t have to tell her the real reason I was asking questions about her and dad’s old life together.
I dropped into the driver’s seat of my car and leaned back, willing myself to relax. Then I pulled out my phone and dialed Mom’s number.
“Hey, hun,” she answered in a breezy tone that set me even more at ease. I couldn’t hear any hint of lingering pain still coloring her voice. She really had set the car accident behind her. “Is everything all right?”
I let myself give a soft laugh. “That’s what I was going to ask you. I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.” Lie number one.
“Oh, you shouldn’t be worrying about me. I’m doing great. You’ve got enough on your plate with school and the rest.”
