Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels 1)

Yeah, by following me, and hoping I’d lead her to my father, who apparently did know something about the priestly ways of the Aedh. I glanced at my watch and was startled to find that it was nearly one thirty. I needed to get going if I was going to meet Lucian on time.

“If the sudden buzz of excitement radiating from you is any indication,” Riley commented wryly, “I’d say you have a hot date planned for this afternoon.”

“Very hot, and hopefully very sweaty.” I shared a grin with her, then glanced at Mom. “Did you talk to Fay Kingston?”

She nodded. “From what I can gather, a company that has been trying to buy an old building she owns threatened to harm Hanna if they didn’t sell. They reported it to the police, but without physical evidence the police had their hands tied.”

“Did you get a contact name off her?”

“Not directly.” Which meant that—in this instance—the cosmos had been talking to her, not Fay. She reached into her purse, drew out a pink Post-it note, and handed it to me. On it was a name—Joseph Hardy—and a phone number. “That’s the man who contacted her with the original offers—the ones before the threats were made.”

Riley plucked the note from my fingers and pocketed it without a word. Which didn’t matter, because while she might get Rhoan to chase it up, I now had Stane. “Has she heard anything else from the company now that Hanna is dead?”

Her expression was grim. “She didn’t say anything else, but I think she knows Hanna’s death was not as peaceful as we told her. She also mentioned that she’d decided to sell the property for the lower-than-market price they offered, so I think the threats have moved to encompass Steven. She certainly fears for his life.”

Damn. If Handberry didn’t have heirs, that meant everything he owned would go to auction and these people—whoever the hell they were—were possibly only two properties away from gaining control over the ley line intersection. Which meant something else Stane would have to check for us.

“And what about you?” I asked, reaching across the table to take her hand in mine. “What do you fear?”

I felt the sudden sharpening of Riley’s interest—it was an intensity that seemed to electrify the air. I ignored it as best I could, concentrating on Mom, trying to read her reactions. She could be a great actress when she wanted to, but, over the years, I’d learned a few telltale signs.

I saw them now.

The slight flaring of her nostrils. The twitch of the little finger on her left hand. Things just about anyone else would miss, but ones that told me things were more wrong than even I’d guessed.

/>

“Mom—”

She squeezed my hand. “Risa, you are my daughter and I love you more than anything, but sometimes you read far too much into things. I’m simply tired, that’s all.”

She was simply lying, and that was a fact.

“Then why don’t you go away for a while? Just pack up this afternoon and go somewhere exotic?” Get out, I wanted to add, before whatever it was she feared could catch up with her.

She smiled. Warmth mingled with sadness, and it made the fear in me rise. “Ris, it’s nothing.” She hesitated briefly, then added, almost reluctantly, “A decision I made a long time ago—a decision I could never regret—is about to catch up with me, that’s all. And that’s okay.”

“Dia, if there’s anything I can do—”

“No,” Mom said, cutting Riley off. “I don’t want anyone else dragged into this mess.”

“But—” I got no further than Riley.

“No,” she repeated, with a touch of anger. “This has to be. Trust me on this.”

I glanced at Riley and saw the determination in her expression. She’d work on Mom, and hopefully get something more out of her. But she couldn’t do it while I was here—Mom obviously wasn’t going to tell me anything.

Which was frustrating, but I guess she simply didn’t want me involved in whatever the problem was. We might have a very close and loving relationship, but there were lots of things I really didn’t know about my mom. Still, I guess all children could say that about their parents.

“Ris,” she added, squeezing my hand a final time before withdrawing it, “if you need to go, then go. There’s nothing you or anything else can do about my problem. Some things are simply meant to be.”

Which didn’t make the twisting sense of wrongness ease any.

Riley’s gaze met mine and there was a strength in her, a belief that everything would be all right. I wished I could believe it. I gathered my bag and stood. “If you need me, call. I can be there within minutes, you know that.”

She smiled. “I know. Have fun with your Aedh.”

“Oh, that was never in doubt.” I leaned forward and kissed her. “You’d tell me if anything was seriously wrong, wouldn’t you?”