He closed the tailgate and wiped his brow. Done.
When he turned around, he cursed under his breath. A shiny trail of blood led directly to his truck. Damn it. He fired off a text to Agent Bale.
Need a cleanup crew to Heather’s house right away. Can’t wait until morning.
A second went by, then one more. Shit, what if Bale was already busy at Ashley’s house? Finally, Drake’s phone buzzed.
They’ll be there within the hour. Is Heather all right?
Drake glanced at the darkened house. Fuck, he hoped she was.
The Serpent Society paid us a visit.
It took him a moment to figure out how to send the picture of the dead snake. Then he added, I got one of them, but I couldn’t find any ID. Maybe you can get fingerprints.
Drake headed for the house as another text lit the screen.
Shit. Stay with Heather.
Chapter Twenty
Heather ended her call with Ashley and groaned. David had given her an impossible task, but ridiculously, she still carried a smidge of hope in her heart that her sister would be willing to see her. Stupid and naive. Ugh.
Her phone buzzed. A text from David.
Great work, Heather. Keep Ashley there as long as you can. I’ll let you know when we’re clear.
Her eyes widened as she hurried to text back.
She turned me down. Don’t go in there. She’s still home, David.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Heather whispered to her phone.
David answered.
No one is here.
Heather frowned. She had called Ashley’s cell phone, so she could have been out, but… Heather rubbed her forehead. Didn’t Ashley mention being in bed? Heather couldn’t be sure now. Maybe she just assumed it.
It didn’t matter, not really. If Ashley wasn’t home, then David and his team could search for the figurehead, and this would all be over soon.
She set her phone on the end table and lay across the sofa. Less than an hour ago, she’d been lost in Drake’s arms, making love like the rest of the world didn’t exist. But now that the heat had faded, dread wandered in.
Her decision not to drink from the Grail, and the ramifications of that choice, soaked into her consciousness like summer rain on parched earth. She would grow old and die, and Drake would be unchanged and left behind. Her chest constricted as she stared at the ceiling and blinked away tears.
There would never be a happy ending for them. Not in the end. No crossing over together. No reuniting on the other side. Drake would be in Savannah. Forever.
He’d already carried the grief for his nephew for two centuries. How could she saddle him with more?
All her fantasies about their souls finding a new ending this time were just that, fantasies. She wiped the tear from her cheek. It wasn’t fair to either of them, and the more time they spent together, the more she wanted. Once she got things straightened out with her sister and David locked away the figurehead, she needed to get real.
After all that talk about how David broke her heart by walking away, was she seriously thinking about doing the same to Drake? This was different. She wouldn’t just vanish from Drake’s life without a word. She’d explain herself first. Their predicament was the opposite of David’s. David claimed to be protecting her from unknown threats. There was nothing unknown about this situation. She knew how this story would end. Death would come for her eventually; there was no way around it.
And if she truly loved Drake, how could she ask him to watch her wither and fade away while he was left behind? She could spare him this.
If she was strong enough.
The door opened, scattering her thoughts. Drake closed and locked it, releasing a groan of relief. “Thank the gods you’re all right.”
She straightened, frowning. “You found someone outside?”
“More than one, love.”
He crossed the room in a few wide strides and sat beside her. “One of Bale’s cleanup crews will be here soon. The Serpent Society was here for your sister. I got one of them, but the others are gone.”
“Why would they come to my house looking for my sister?”
His blue eyes locked on hers. “Because she was here. Right outside.”
“What? No.” Heather blinked, struggling to wrap her brain around this new information. “I called her and she wouldn’t come over.”
“And I heard her telling you that while I was looking for Greyson. She was here,” Drake said. “The men in black robes must’ve overheard the conversation, too, because they made a grab for her.”
“But she’s okay?”
“Aye.” He nodded slowly. “She got away.”
Heather shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why would she lie to me about being here?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
Heather swallowed a lump in her throat, her confidence that her sister would never hurt her wavering. “Do you think she saw us earlier?”
“I’m not sure, but whatever brought her over here, she didn’t want you to know about it.” He took her hand. “At least she can see the danger from the Serpent Society is real now.”
“Maybe now she’ll let me help her.”
Thomas materialized in her peripheral vision with his arms crossed, shaking his head. Heather sighed. Even the dead believed her sister was beyond redemption. But Ashley was her only family left.
She had to try.
…
“Damn it!” David wiped the sweat from his face. “It’s not here.”
The shed behind Ashley Storrey’s home had a few tools of the trade for magic workers—eagle feathers, sage, candles, a pentagram throw, and all sorts of crystals, but no sign of a wooden figurehead from a legendary ship. Hell,
