Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

Kiarra froze. Jaxton gave her a squeeze, but never took his eyes off of Cam. Part of her was grateful he’d asked what she’d been afraid to voice, but another part of her was afraid of the answer.

Cam’s face softened a second before returning to her hard expression. “They died fourteen years ago.”

Kiarra’s heart skipped a beat. She’d dreamt of her parents rescuing her over the years, and now she at least had an excuse for why they had never come; whether the excuse was valid or not remained to be seen.

Jaxton rubbed up and down her arm, reminding her of where she was and how far she’d come in only a few days. The warmth of Jaxton’s body, as well as the now familiar scent of male and soap, reminded her that if she could stand up to him, she could certainly ask her long-lost sister a question. “How did they die?”

Cam shook her head. “You’re not ready for the answer. But just know that they fought to get you back until the day they died.”

Could she be telling the truth? Kiarra was afraid to hope.

Cam leaned forward and said, “I don’t know what they told you inside the AMT, but Kiarra, our parents never stopped loving you.”

Between the sad tone of Cam’s voice and the flash of sadness in her eyes, Kiarra decided to believe her.

She’d thought the worst about her family, yet she might’ve been wrong.

Yes, her parents had given her up, but if Cam was telling the truth, the possibility that they’d realized their mistake and fought to get her back brought tears to her eyes. Tears she didn’t want anyone else to see.

Kiarra slipped out from under Jaxton’s arm and flew to the doorway. She managed to race down the hall and up the stairs to her room without anyone stopping her. After reaching the safety of her room, she closed the door and let her tears fall.

After all these years, her parents might have wanted her after all.

Chapter Twelve

Jaxton’s first impulse was to follow Kiarra and see how she was doing, but he couldn’t leave Cam alone without a guard. Marco might’ve confirmed Cam’s story with Neena, but Jaxton hadn’t. He wanted to know why Neena would send a team of people to his house, with AMT enforcers on the hunt, and not tell him.

He eyed Cam. At the very least, he needed to make sure Kiarra’s sister would still be here when she was ready to talk with her.

Yet instead of making sure Cam would stick around, he said, “Kiarra’s only been out of the AMT for a few days. I’m not sure she was ready for that.”

Cam raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one that brought it up.”

“I’m her trainer, and as such, any remarks that would upset her should go through me.”

“Do all trainers snuggle with their trainees in front of company?”

Cam’s actions were borderline insubordination. “This is my operation. Neena sent you here and now you’re under my command. I want to make sure we’re clear on that.”

Cam shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not like you’re going to send me away. We both know Kiarra would never forgive you if you did.”

Jaxton stood up and stared down at Cam. “You haven’t been in Kiarra’s life for a very long time. You have no idea what she wants.”

“And you do?”

He ignored her and looked directly into the security camera. “Send Marco down.” He turned his attention back to Cam. “Marco will show you to your room and get you settled.” Cam opened her mouth to protest, but Jaxton beat her to it. “Yes, Marco. He’s going to be your guard until I get all of this sorted out.”

“I can’t promise that you’ll get him back in one piece.”

“Alive is all that I ask for. We’ll meet back down here tomorrow at 8 a.m. I’ll give you your instructions then.”

Marco walked into the room. “Yes, boss?”

“Show her to one of the extra rooms and stand guard.”

“Sure thing.” Marco turned toward Cam and put out a hand. “Shall we, my beauty?”

Satisfied that Cam was in safe hands, he ignored their bickering and headed up the stairs. Cam was a problem he could handle later. Right now, he wasn’t about to let Kiarra relapse into the hesitant and scared woman from earlier, no matter what he had to do to prevent it.