Page 63 of Charmed

Riley did a double-take. "Hell to the no."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't mean literally, just let him think I'm considering."

Screw this. Sideways, upside down, and diagonally. Just screw it. "And I said hell no. You are not getting anywhere near him. Have you forgotten there's a Venetores on the island? Who knows if my uncle's brought the other four hunters to join him. We barely escaped that alley. Kaida almost died."

"Your faith in me is staggering."

Forget the Minister. Riley was going to kill her himself. "I have all the faith in world for you. It's him I don't trust. What if something goes wrong? Who's going to heal you?"

She waved her fingers in dismissal. "Kaida was caught off guard and drugged. This is entirely different. I'm talking about a carefully orchestrated meet."

He growled, heaving oxygen as visuals of her broken, bloody, and deader than dead swam to mind. How many times was he going to lose his shit before she figured out he was serious? There was no scenario where he was okay with her in harm's way.

"Calm down." Tristan raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "She might be onto something. It could be the best way to gather intel. We'd be with her as backup, out of sight."

Brady scratched his jaw. "We'd need a location where we'd be available to her in a flash, but able to stay hidden." He snapped his fingers. "The public beach. It's closed at night, so no tourists. The northern tip has that rocky inlet and that cave we used to play in as kids. Remember? It would work."

"I know the one." Ceara nodded. "I could do an invisible barrier spell while we're in the cave. We'd be able to see and hear him, but he won't see us."

"Vote?" Fiona's eyebrows pinged. "I say yes."

"No." Riley unfurled his vise grip on the table. Had they all gone mental? "Not a chance."

Kaida offered him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, but I say yes, too. Only if precautions are in place."

"I'm with her." Brady wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Ceara and Tristan both nodded their consent, and Riley flew out of his chair. Temples pounding, he stalked the length of the room and back. Outnumbered. They were willing to just feed Fiona to the wolf, and he had no say in the matter.

She sighed and pulled her cell from her pocket, then looked at Tristan. "What's his number?"

As he rattled off the digits, she programmed them into her contacts under the name "Asshole." Rising, she set the phone on the table, hit Call, and promptly pushed Speaker. She leaned into her palms while Riley paced anew.

"This is Gregory Meath, CEO of Meath Hotel Enterprises for England and Ireland. Leave me a message, and I'll return your call. If the matter is urgent, you may call the main office and ask for Bernard, my personal assistant. Good day."

Fiona blew out a quiet breath. "Meath, it's Fiona Galloway. I've thought about the offer you mentioned yesterday, and it warrants discussion. The others don't know I'm calling. Tomorrow night, midnight, at Six Fates beach, the north tip by the cliff wall. No siblings, no minions, no weapons. You and me. If I sense anyone's with you, I'm gone. Show up one minute late, we're through."

She disconnected, staring at the screen. "Ta da."

Riley shoved his hands in his hair and reclaimed his seat when he wanted to put his fist through the wall. Repeatedly. His pulse jacked against his neck and his heart threatened mutiny while the rest of the crew simply sat in menial silence, not meeting one another's eyes.

Fine, he'd say it. "This is fucking insanity."

Brady swiped a hand down his face. "Why don't we get lunch going and—"

"Yes, over a meal, let's chat about how many ways our uncle can torture, maim, and murder Fiona." Riley glared holes in the ceiling. "Great plan. What do we serve for something like that? Chicken soup? Chef salad?"

"And," Brady interjected, "we can hash out the details to ensure Fiona's safety."

"Drink of choice being a Bloody Mary, for sure. A martini just won't cut it. Not visceral enough, in my opinion."

Brady kept right on going as if Riley hadn't spoken. "Afterward, let's split up. Kaida and I can do research at the library and the museum. There could be lore records we might not have seen. Riley and Tristan, you guys can go through the Minister's journals again, see if we missed something. Fiona and Ceara, maybe you should talk to Mara. Perhaps she knows more and doesn't realize it. Sound good?"

"I got it. Finger sandwiches."

Swiping her phone off the table, Fiona pivoted. "Rain check on lunch. Ceara and I are leaving. We'll talk to Aunt Mara. You guys do your thing. We'll meet up tomorrow after work and cement a plan for the beach."

"Lovely idea." Riley pointed to the floor to punctuate the statement. "Let's wait until the very last minute to formulate a tactic to walk you into a trap. I mean, why draw it out? A quick merciful death is just as brave."

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