“Nothing,” I said, heading out.
“Ditto,” Belle echoed. “The man travels light.”
“Extremely light,” Jaz agreed. “He’s only got two changes of clothes in his bag.”
“He’s hand washed his—” I stopped abruptly.
The air between Belle and me had begun to sparkle, and the energy that followed was fierce and familiar—my father’s. My gut churned, and I rubbed my arms, fighting back fear as the sparkle condensed and then faded. A single sheet of paper fluttered softly to the floor.
Jaz stepped forward.
“Don’t touch it,” I warned, “Magic lingers, and I’m not sure what it’s designed to do.”
“There doesn’t appear to be anything written—” She stopped as a thin thread of gold appeared on the parchment-like paper and words appeared.
I stepped forward, even though part of me—a very large part of me—wanted to do nothing more than run.
We need to meet, daughter dearest, the message said. Write when and where on this paper. You have two minutes before it is returned to me.
“He knows you’re here,” Jaz said, her expression disturbed. “But how?”
“We think there’s a tracker on our SUV,” Belle said.
“And I take it from both your expressions that this parent isn’t someone you want to meet?”
“No, not quite yet.” Not until Ashworth and Eli got back into the reservation, at any rate. They may not make any difference in the end, but my father, at the very least, wouldn’t do or say anything too drastic in front of such an audience.
“What are we going to do?” Belle said, her face pale.
“Answer the message, for a start.” I glanced back at Jaz. “You got a pen on you?”
She tugged one out of her top pocket and handed it to me. I flicked the nib down, then, with only the slightest hesitation, carefully plucked the parchment. Magic stirred briefly across its surface, but I was wearing gloves, so anything he hoped to glean from my touching it would be voided. I walked across to the bedside table and began to write…
Meet tomorrow night, 8 pm, at our café. Don’t attempt to see us tonight. We won’t be there.
Then where the hell are we going? Belle said. He likely knows all our contacts by now, and we can’t put any of them at risk by landing on them tonight.
We’ll stay at a hotel somewhere. I picked up the parchment and returned it to its spot on the carpet.
That’s not going to help if there’s a tracker on the SUV.
We won’t use our SUV.
I stepped back from the paper and glanced at Jaz. “What’s the general range of trackers?”
She shrugged. “Anything up to half a kilometer or so, depending on the device.”
“So it’s possible he’s not currently in viewing range.”
“Very.” A smile tugged at her lips. “I take it you want to swap vehicles?”
I nodded. “We need to keep out of his way until tomorrow.”
“What’s to stop him from coming into your café during the day?”
“Witnesses. He won’t want them.”
She frowned. “Which begs the question, why?”
I grimaced. “Long unpleasant story.”
“Is it one Aiden knows?”
“Yes.”
“So he’ll be there at this meeting tomorrow night?”
“I doubt even the threat of magic will keep him away.”
A smile tugged her lips. “He does get protective about those he cares about.” She stripped off her jacket and made a give-me motion toward mine. “Keys are in the pocket. Keep the jacket’s hood up when you’re leaving, because that hair of yours will give the game away if he happens to be looking your way when you pass.”
“We won’t be going back the same—” I stopped as energy surged into the room again. A heartbeat later, the parchment was gone.
“I’m thinking now is a good time to leave,” Belle said. “Before he decides to do a drive-by or something.”
“Good idea,” Jaz said. “Just be careful. The boss will be mighty miffed if you endanger yourselves—and we had more than enough of his foul moods when he and Mia split.”
Mia being my nemesis—the wolf he’d loved and lost.
I handed her my coat and put on hers. “We’ll be careful. Thanks, Jaz.”
She grinned. “Repay me with a brownie, and we’ll be good.”
“Done.”
We headed out. I told Belle to wait at the top of the stairs, then tugged on the hood and went to retrieve the ranger vehicle. I started it up and switched on the headlights but didn’t immediately throw it into gear. Instead, I leaned on the wheel and scanned the night, looking for my parent or anyone else who might be a little too interested in what I was doing.
The moon was bright and my eyesight once again wolf sharp, but there was nothing that tweaked my instincts. If someone was out there, they were far enough back that they weren’t within range of my senses—both my vastly improved regular ones and the magical.
I drove around the back of the hotel and pulled up next to the stairs. Belle jumped in and slid down the seat, out of immediate sight. I drove back onto the road, splitting my attention equally between where I was going and the rearview mirror. I couldn’t see anything or anyone following us.
After a couple of kilometers, I said, “I think it’s safe now.”
Belle immediately sat up and pulled on the seat belt. “Are we still going to see Katie?”
I shook my head. “Neither of us can afford to be down on energy tomorrow night.”
She snorted. “Like us being at full power is going to be of any use anyway.”
“We won’t be alone, and neither of them will do anything too radical in front of witnesses.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“Yes.” I just wasn’t sure of anything else.
“Clayton won’t leave it at just a discussion. We both know that.”
“Which is maybe why my father is here. He’s had close to thirteen years to reflect
