Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

Millie grinned. “Brilliant!” She gave Jaxton a shove. “You need to go over the recon on the desk in the office, anyway.”

Jaxton weaved around his sister, grabbed Kiarra’s hand, and pulled her toward the stairs. “If you could defend yourself, I wouldn’t have a problem with you going out. But you can’t, and I won’t risk it.”

Kiarra reached to her back waistband and started to pull out her gun, but Millie stepped between them. Millie looked at her brother and said, “Jax, I can take care of her. You know I can. I would think after what happened with Tasanee, you’d believe me.”

Kiarra had no idea who or what was Tasanee, but after scrutinizing Millie’s face, Jaxton let go of her hand.

“If you screw this up, Millie, I don’t care what mum or even Neena says, I will not work with you again in the future. Ever.”

Millie shrugged. “Like I said, I can handle it.” She pushed Kiarra toward the door. “Oh, and did I forget to mention the recon is in code? It may take you all afternoon to break it.”

“Millie…”

“Meet us at The Last Drop at 8 p.m.!”

Millie whisked them out the door before Jaxton could say another word and Kiarra couldn’t help but smile. She and Mille were going to get along famously.

Chapter Nineteen

Millie Ward sat in the waiting area of the hair salon and stared at her mobile phone, wishing it would vibrate with a response. While Kiarra was in the other room, getting her hair cut, Millie was trying to get some work done. She liked that she was pissing off her brother by simply sitting here and waiting for Kiarra, but Jaxton and Kiarra’s arrival couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Everyone in DEFEND knew that Millie did private security and intelligence work on the side. Most of the time she worked with DEFEND, but every now and then, she’d take on a job of her own. Not only did the side jobs help to keep her skills fresh and improve them, she constantly worked to expand her network of contacts.

But people would stop seeking her out, or maybe even stop talking to her full stop, if Millie didn’t meet and exceed her clients’ expectations. The most basic of those, finishing a job, was now in jeopardy.

So even though she honest to goodness wanted to take Kiarra out for a night on the town, Millie was instead using Kiarra as an excuse to go and scope out The Last Drop, a pub in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket.

The Last Drop was a popular pub with tourists. The constant stream of new faces made it an excellent location to meet her target, especially as it wasn’t the kind of place Millie usually frequented. With any luck, no one would recognize her.

The balance of protecting Kiarra while getting what she needed from her target was going to be tricky. But Millie was stubborn and refused to delay her assignment. It’d taken her a week to plan and prepare; she didn’t know when this chance would come up again.

Kiarra walked out from the back section of the salon, her cheeks flushed, sporting a new pixie cut that framed her face. Unable to resist, Millie whistled twice and said, “Someone’s looking sexy.”

Kiarra’s cheeks turned pinker. “I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to pay you back.”

Millie stood up and gave Kiarra a walk around, checking the cut from all angles. “Do you like it?”

Kiarra nodded. “More than anything.”

Millie grinned. “Then that’s good enough for me.”

“But—”

Millie placed a finger over Kiarra’s lips, noting how Kiarra froze at the first few seconds of contact. “If it bothers you that much, think of it as a loan. Pay me back once you start drawing a paycheck for your work. Does that work?” Kiarra nodded and Millie removed her finger. “Good—now that’s settled, we have a few more stops to make before the fun really begins.”

Kiarra looked off to the side, pointedly avoiding eye contact. “Maybe we should just go back to the apartment.”

Millie had been afraid of this. Kiarra was a recently rescued first-born, and after being locked up for so long, the outside world could overwhelm her.

Yet Millie had seen how Kiarra had interacted with her brother, which meant that unlike some former AMT inmates, Kiarra was on the road to recovery. Millie would just have to convince Kiarra she was stronger than she realized.

Millie said, “How about this. We go shopping for a little while, you pick out something you want to buy, and if you still want to go back to the flat after that, we’ll go. Does that work for you?”

Kiarra finally met Millie’s eyes. “I’ve never shopped for myself before.”

Millie grabbed Kiarra’s hand, determined to condition Kiarra to her touch through repetition. “Well, that changes everything.” Millie opened the door and pulled Kiarra through. Once Kiarra was following of her own accord, Millie tucked Kiarra’s hand into the crook of her arm and started talking.

Millie pointed out some of the best shops and told Kiarra what she could find inside each one, but Kiarra remained silent the entire time. From the occasional glances Kiarra threw her way, Millie sensed there was something she wanted to ask. The contrast of how Kiarra was behaving now compared to how she’d behaved with Jaxton back in the flat only reinforced Millie’s suspicions that something was going on between her brother and this woman. Jaxton, her levelheaded brother, had all but thrown Kiarra over his shoulder and slapped her arse while shouting, “Mine!”