Medusa's Dagger (Aya Harris Collection 1)

“He will.”

The spark in Gideon’s eye unnerved me. I wasn’t sure what made him so confident.

“Fine.”

I picked up the old track phone and dialed Nicky’s number. Just like the last time, it went to voicemail and I thanked my lucky stars. With Gideon’s silent prompting, I left a message asking Nicky to meet me, telling him that I really needed to speak to him. The guilty feeling in my gut made my voice tremble a bit, but I hid it for the most part.

Gideon took the phone when I was done and placed it on the table in front of us. “Now we wait.”

The little screen on the Samsung faded to black. I watched it, unblinking, until angry tears filled my eyes. Everything I’d built in Arcana – my new life, my friendships, my job – was hanging in the balance. I was only twenty-four years old. People my age were supposed to be worried about dating, paying school loans, and their career. Not about their psycho killer brother or the harpy mob.

“He’s going to kill me, I just know it.”

“No, no he’s not.” Gideon swung my stool around until I faced him. The muscles along his jaw tightened. “I won’t let him. I’m an SI agent, remember? It’s my job. Plus, you’re stronger than you think. I sure wouldn’t want to face you in a dark alley.”

I laughed and blinked away the tears. “Yeah, all five foot six of me. I’m sure formidable.”

“Well, you scare the hell out of me.” Gideon bit his bottom lip.

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the buzzing of my cell phone on the bar. Saved by the bell.

I snatched it up and opened to the main screen. Text Message shined in bold white letters.

“He sent a message.” I clicked on the messages. The only one in the inbox was from Nicky.

“What’s it say?” Gideon leaned in close to catch a glimpse.

I held it out for him. “He said yes. He’ll meet me tonight.”

Suddenly, all the worries of the day came crashing down in a load too heavy to bear. I grabbed my full glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth. Tonight would be the family reunion to die for.

Chapter Eight

I closed my apartment door behind me and leaned against it for support. There were only three hours left until our meeting with Nicky at the North Central train station. Gideon had taken a taxi back to his hotel. He was going to fill Agent Silva in on the play and gather some resources. I didn’t like the idea of her getting involved, but he didn’t give me a choice.

The one good thing about tonight was that it would finally come to an end, one way or another. I’d have to face Nicky, quit pretending he didn’t exist, and hopefully move on with my life without his shadow hanging over me. It’d be nice to have my freedom again.

The apartment was dark and still. I turned on all the lights and peered in Johnny’s room. No one was home. He must’ve stayed at Steven’s place. Either that, or he was working late on another case. His clients tended to be a helpless bunch.

Johnny couldn’t help throwing himself into his work. He often said that if he didn’t do his absolute best and someone innocent got locked up because

of him, he wouldn’t be able to live with it. It was a heavy burden to bear. I didn’t envy him.

I wanted to slip in bed and pull the comforter up over my head, but I figured if I did that, I wouldn’t get up again until morning. I settled for flopping down on the couch and throwing my feet up on the other end instead. The sweet call of sleep rang in my ears.

The combination of French food and too much whiskey had left my eyelids heavy and my head fuzzy. I needed rest. Just an hour of sleep before tonight’s big reunion. That’s all I wanted.

It felt like I’d barely closed my eyes when I heard my cell phone buzzing in the recesses of my purse.

Who could that be?

I scrambled off the couch, catching my toe on the rug and tumbling to my knees. The phone continued to buzz. I crawled to the kitchen table and pulled it out of my purse, answering without even looking at the screen.

“Hello?”

Suddenly I realized that it wasn’t my new phone in my hand, but the old track phone. The sleep that had clouded my eyes only a moment ago cleared up in an instant. No one but Nicky would be calling this number, but it was too late to hang up.

“Little Bird.”