Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

He growled. “I would think it obvious, but I have more experience with this kind of thing. Not to mention resources and favors I can call on.”

Kiarra shook her head. “Gio is my brother and I know him better than you. I might be able to use that against him.”

Jaxton threw his hand out and gestured. “He’s spent the last fourteen years living with your uncle. An uncle, I might add, who murdered your parents. I highly doubt your brother is going to come crawling for your love and forgiveness after a two-minute phone call.”

Kiarra’s eyes widened. “How do you know about Sinclair murdering my parents?”

He might’ve fucked up, but at this point, Jaxton didn’t care. “I make it my business to know what’s going on in my house, especially when it’s full of prisoners who might try to kill me.”

“You spied on me.”

He shrugged. “Anyone with experience would’ve done the same thing.”

Kiarra made a sound of frustration. “If you’re so experienced then why did you leave your sister alone last night?”

“If I didn’t have to babysit you, then I could’ve helped her.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Yes.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Is that supposed to be a problem?”

Kiarra growled and walked to the door. Jaxton should’ve tried to stop her, but he was angry. After everything he’d done for Kiarra, she still didn’t trust him enough to ask for help.

She grabbed the door handle and looked over her shoulder. “Do I need to ask my babysitter permission to leave the room?”

If she was going to be a smart-ass, then he would too. “Just don’t leave the flat. I don’t have time to go chasing after you.”

She walked out and slammed the door behind her. He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. The things that woman did to him.

He would let them both cool down before he tried talking with her again. She always seemed to bring out his temper, but without her presence, it was easy to see that blaming Kiarra for Millie’s capture was like blaming a bartender for the next morning’s hangover; in other words, she had nothing to do with it. Both Millie and Jaxton knew the risks of working with DEFEND, and sometimes those risks included capture, or worse.

While his temper cooled, he needed to act. He reached for his mobile phone, tossed it on the ground, and stomped on it a few times. Now no one could track it or triangulate future signals.

Next he needed to call in some favors and leave messages for his team members. He only hoped they were in a state to retrieve them.

He walked over to the secured landline phone on the nightstand, sat down on the bed, and picked up the receiver. As he dialed, Jaxton looked at the pillow next to him and an image of Kiarra from last night, curled up on her side fast asleep, flashed inside his mind.

If not for AMT interference, Jaxton would probably be lying naked with Kiarra right now in post-coital bliss, helping to erase the fears of her past, while at the same time strengthening her trust in him. Instead, he would have to focus on merely keeping everyone alive, and after everything she’d already gone

through inside the AMT, Kiarra deserved better.

And one day, he would be the one to give it to her. Provided he could find a way to keep his bloody temper under control around her.

He smoothed the cold pillow before grabbing it and tossing it across the room. The AMT kept fucking with everything that was good in Jaxton’s life, and he was tired of it. After rescuing Millie, he’d find Neena, tie her up if need be, and find out her plans in detail so that he could start protecting those he cared for.

Fuck finding the Four Talents. With the exception of Kiarra, they could become someone else’s problem. It was time for the AMT to stop ruining people’s lives.

He just needed to find a way to shut them down for good.

Chapter Twenty-Five

In order to try and forget Jaxton’s words, Kiarra found an empty room, slammed the door shut behind her, and made a beeline for the closest window. Getting a look at anything outside of the AMT usually improved her mood.

After scoping out the nearby buildings and shops, she focused on the human traffic below and wondered what it would be like to have a normal life, free of persecution and full of family and friends.