A knock on the front door froze her in her tracks. Heather took a deep breath and reached for the handle. Her eyes widened. “Greyson?”
“Aye.” He grinned, tipping his black baseball cap. “Drake asked me to stay close during your meeting. Just wanted you to know I’m here if you need me.”
“My sister is not going to hurt me,” she said much louder than she intended to, but between her dead grandmother and Drake’s lecture about not trusting her own flesh and blood, her patience was wearing thin.
Greyson popped his hands up in mock surrender. “Didn’t say she was, lass. I’m doing my job, that’s all. If anything goes sideways, give me a sign and I’ll be here.”
“Thank you.” She straightened her top. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
He turned on his heel and jogged down the stairs, seemingly not affected by her uncharacteristic flare of anger. She closed the door and went into the kitchen for a lemonade. As she bent to look in the fridge, a tap on the window of the back door made her gasp.
Ashley was outside.
Heather frowned and opened the door. “Why are you—?”
“I can’t stay long.” Her gaze darted past Heather, toward the living room. “Is Drake here?”
“Drake? How do you know—?”
“Is he here?” Her cold glare pinned Heather in place.
“No.” Heather shook her head.
“Good.” Ashley pushed her way into the kitchen.
Heather crossed her arms to keep her hands from shaking. All the warnings from Drake and Greyson had her doubting her sister’s intentions. “What the hell is going on, Ash?”
Ashley engaged the deadbolt on the back door, and Heather’s pulse jumped. Her sister came closer. “We need to talk. Alone.”
“How do you know about Drake?” Heather never mentioned Drake to her sister. Not that he was a secret, but they hardly ever spoke and when they did it wasn’t to discuss men they were seeing. Maybe Ashley had seen them last night after all. She would’ve recognized him.
God, what if she saw them…together? Heather’s gut twisted, intuition shouting for her to run.
“I know all about Drake.” Ashley snatched Heather’s wrist and dragged her into the living room. “I know everything. The night he saved your life. Your first kiss. All of it. Okay? Now that we’re caught up, I have bigger problems to discuss.”
“How could you know any of that? It’s not possible.”
“Oh, it’s very possible.” Ashley pointed at the computer. “I’m Queenie.”
“What?” Heather jerked free of her sister’s grasp and stumbled backward. “No. You’re…” She shook her head, rejecting the evidence laid out in front of her. It couldn’t be true. The betrayal hurt too much to contemplate. “No way. You hacked into my computer.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Why bother when I can hack into your life?” Cold indifference gleamed in her dark eyes. “I warned you those online games were trouble.”
The truth stung deep in Heather’s soul, igniting an unfamiliar raw, bitter rage. “I can’t believe you did this to me.” Her hands balled into fists. “I’ve been defending you all this time, to everyone. Against everyone’s advice, I invited you here because you’re in serious danger. For all I know you staged everything.” She took a step closer to Ashley. “You can hate me all you want, but if you don’t give that figurehead to Agent Bale, the Serpent Society will kill you.”
“Believe me, I would be happy to give it to him.” Her sister tipped her head back, and shrill laughter escaped her throat. When she met Heather’s gaze again, she sobered. “Those fanatics don’t even know it exists. They’re just pissed about giving me money for a forgery of Pandora’s Box and for taking one of their precious rings. I’m not afraid of them.” Ashley shook her head. “They’ve underestimated my magic.” Ashley snarled. “You all have.”
She lifted her hand in Heather’s direction and started to pull her fingers closer together. Suddenly, Heather’s throat tightened. She reached up, struggling to free herself from an invisible grip.
“Ashley,” she choked. “No.”
“Sorry, sis. I tried to find another way. Nothing worked out. You’re my only hope now.”
“Of…what?” Heather couldn’t breathe as the vise tightened around her throat.
The front door groaned and suddenly burst open as the lock tore free from the frame. Drake came in first, hammer in hand, with Greyson right behind him, gun aimed at Ashley.
“Let her go!” Drake shouted.
“One more step and she never takes another breath,” Ashley replied without taking her eyes off Heather. “Put the gun on the floor.”
Heather’s vision blurred as she struggled for air, but she still caught Drake’s nod to Greyson. He had a plan. She couldn’t surrender, fighting to cling to consciousness.
As the gunner lowered his weapon, Drake threw his. The hammer flew end over end, hitting Ashley’s knee so hard she crumpled to the floor screaming.
Heather fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. The spell was broken. Drake rushed to her side, drawing her into his arms. He kissed her hair. “Are you all right, love?”
“Yeah.” She coughed. “I think so.”
Greyson collected his gun and pointed the barrel at Ashley. “No more tricks.”
“There are always more.” Ashley gripped her knee as she glared up at the pirate. “Fuck you.”
Heather’s ears popped. She blinked, frowning at the empty space on the floor. “Where’d she go? She can’t just vanish.”
Drake got to his feet, helping her up with him. “Damn it. Ashley couldn’t have gotten far with a broken leg.”
“I’d wager she’s long gone, mate.” Greyson holstered his gun. “Bale called it a blur spell. She can slow time for us, so what seems like a second could’ve been five or ten minutes passing us by.”
Heather crossed her arms, rubbing her hands along her biceps to calm the goose bumps. Her attention slipped to her left hand. Her bare left hand. Her grandmother’s ring was gone. She’d
