Geomancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 5)

“Are you sure about this, Sean?”

He repeated the words he’d been telling himself all morning. “It’s better this way.”

“You know that I left Katherine once?”

Sean reeled at the confession. He couldn’t imagine it. They seemed inseparable.

“It was the biggest mistake of my life,” Lann continued.

“It’s not my choice.” He shut the door and leaned through the open window. “Thanks for putting me up. I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Patting the roof of the car, he turned and headed for the terminal without looking back.

Chapter 16

The café where Asia, Emily, and Matt stopped for an ice cream on Saturday afternoon had a view of the beach. Asia stared at the familiar surroundings as they finished their chocolate sundaes.

The streets of Cartagena seemed both the same and different. They were the same because nothing had changed and different because she was different. She wasn’t the same person who’d left for Isla Del Pirata. Most of all, it was different without Sean’s presence. He hadn’t returned to the bar, not that she’d hoped he would. Jerry’s Pub had closed down, and now the premises stood empty like a sad, abandoned dream. She wondered about it more than what was healthy for her heart, but she had every intention of staying well away from that address. Five more months, and she’d be able to breathe easier. In one hundred and fifty days, they’d be back in Copenhagen.

A waitress stopped next to their table. “Can I get you anything else?”

“A piña colada, please,” Matt said.

Asia lifted her gaze to him in surprise.

“Matt,” Emily exclaimed, and then added under her breath, “You’re a minor.”

“I think I deserve a drink to celebrate that I got accepted into the most prestigious university in Copenhagen,” he said defensively.

“Make that three piña coladas,” Asia said to the waitress. When she was gone, she gave Matt a stern look. “You still have to finish a few months of school, but I agree. You deserve to celebrate. One cocktail won’t hurt, right Granny?” Remembering Sean’s advice, she added, “Matt is turning into an adult. I think he’s old enough to take responsibility for his actions.”

Matt’s chest all but inflated.

Emily gave him an endearing look. “How did you grow up so fast?”

By sunset, they’d finished their drinks and were making their way back to the small apartment Asia rented close to the harbor. Cain had set up a bank account with a generous deposit for her, enough to afford a much bigger place, but she hadn’t touched that money. She didn’t want a penny from Cain Jones. Her old job paid enough to cover their rent, electricity, and grocery bills.

Someone called her name, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up. A man wearing a gray suit and yellow tie stood in front of the street entrance of their building.

Tension tightened her shoulders. She glanced around. The man seemed to be alone. No other suspicious looking men were lurking in the street. She only advanced because the street was busy, and they were surrounded with people.

“Can I help you?” she asked from a short distance away.

“Miss Asia Sommer?”

She placed herself between the man and her grandmother. “Yes?”

He held a piece of paper and a pen to her. “Please sign here.”

“What is it?”

He shrugged. “Legal papers.”

Asia glanced over her shoulder at Emily and Matt. They looked as baffled as she was.

She turned back to the man. “What legal papers?”

“I’m not familiar with their content, ma’am. I’m only responsible for the delivery.”

She took the pen cautiously. After she’d signed her name on the slip, the man handed her a white cardboard envelope and took off without a greeting.

Not wanting to show Matt her concern, she kept her features schooled as she ushered them inside and locked the door. Emily started dinner while Matt went for a shower. They were as curious about the content of the envelope as she was, but they gave her space to open it in privacy. Stepping out on the small balcony overlooking the street, she sat down in the plastic chair, broke the seal, and pulled out what seemed to be a contract. She skimmed over the text, her gaze settling on Sean’s name and signature at the bottom. It was the deed to Jerry’s Pub, which was now in her name.

She dropped the contract in her lap and stared unseeingly at the building across the street. Why would he do this? The bar was his dream. Was it to assuage his guilt?

Tearing the contract into eight neat squares, she went to the kitchen and dumped the pieces in the trashcan. Emily shot her a questioning glance from the stove, spatula in hand, but Asia said nothing. She couldn’t speak with the lump in her throat.

The following morning, Asia dialed the number stamped on the cardboard envelope and was transferred to a lawyer’s office.