Matt’s face turned red with barely contained anger. His hands shook as he took a step back. “I’ll see you in the morning.” With that lingering threat, he started back down the hall.
I slouched against the wall in relief as he finally disappeared around the corner.
“?Se?orita?” The man said, coming closer.
I took a few deep breaths, and nodded at the janitor. “Estoy bien. Gracias por su ayuda.”
“De nada.” The man left, and I was alone in the hall. At last.
I opened the envelope to actually look at the room number. I had to get to my room and call Teresa. Warn them about the spy. I wished I could be there to help. If I’d brought someone into St. Ailbe’s who could harm her… I’d done enough to her already.
I rushed down the corridor, hoping it wasn’t too late to get word to her before real damage was done.
***
It took me way too long to figure out how to call internationally. I felt a little dumb by the end of it, but a quick question to the lovely lady at the front desk, and the phone was ringing.
“Hello?” Teresa’s voice was clear.
“It’s Claudia.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I think.” I shook my head. “That’s not why I’m calling. You remember the guy I’m engaged to?”
She snickered. “The douchebag you told off the other night. Yeah, I remember. Why?”
Why she thought it was so funny when I said that word, I’ll never know. “He’s here.”
“He’s what?” Her voice shifted from calm and relaxed to stressed in a split second. “Please, tell me that’s a coincidence.”
“I’m sorry. Luciana told him I was coming, and he managed to beat me all the way from New York.”
“More direct flights,” Teresa muttered. “Okay. So, what do you think? Is it a wash? Should you come home? We can figure something else out. Do some more digging in the library. I’m sure if we put our heads together we’ll find something that can save Raphael. Maybe we should’ve tried harder before shipping you off, but it seemed like the easiest way to save him…”
This was the easy way? “No. Muraco’s right. I’ve never learned a thing about fighting demons and I grew up with la Aquelarre. It’s been my life forever. Maybe Luciana has something in her spell room, but—”
“No one is going in there. Never ever.”
It wasn’t safe, which was why I hadn’t suggested it. Teresa was the last person who’d snooped in there, and she’d ended up stripped of her powers and almost killed. “I’d never ask that of you. But I could—”
“No. We both know she’s after your powers. She managed to strip me of mine, and now that you’ve left, she wants yours just as bad. You can’t go anywhere near her.” She was quiet for a second. “I don’t like the sound of this douchebag being in Peru with you.”
“I know. But we all agreed. This is the best chance we have to save Raphael and stop Luciana.”
“Right. Well, stay away from him.”
“Thanks. I’ll be okay. I’ve protected myself from Matt for years, but his being here isn’t a good sign. I wanted to warn you. I’m not sure who is spying on us, but…” I hated to admit it was a possibility, but Teresa needed to know. “Maybe look into Beth, Tiffany, and Yvonne.”
“Yeah, I had the same thought. But Dastien and Mr. Dawson talked to them when they showed up. If they were anything but genuine, one of them would’ve smelled a lie.”
That both made sense and was a huge relief.
“There are a few wolves who aren’t acting right. They should be following Mr. Dawson’s orders, but they’re being shifty.”
I laughed. “They are shifters.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Bad use of the word.” The sound of her sigh came through the receiver. “I don’t want you to worry, but Raphael—”
“He didn’t… He’s not…” My heart stopped as I waited for her to answer the question that I couldn’t ask.
“No. He’s still alive.”
I let out a heavy breath. “Thank God.”
“He’s hanging in, but he’s looking a lot worse tonight than he was this morning. You just do your best, and then come home fast. I’ve got a feeling if you’re not back soon, well… I’m not sure what you’ll come back to.”
I leaned back against the pillows. “I know. I’m going to move as fast as I can.”
“The thing is… He’s fading faster than Dr. Gonzales expected. I’m wondering if it might make sense to get him to you. That way by the time you find his cure, he’s there. She says we can’t put him on a plane—he’s not stable enough for that—but I can get a few wolves and maybe a couple of your brujos to drive him down to Peru. It’ll take a few days, but could work out timing-wise. Then, once he’s okay, you all fly back together.”
That made sense. “Who’s going to drive him down?”
“Adrian and Shane for sure. And then I was thinking maybe Beth, and one or two more wolves. I have to see who else might be up for it. Who we can spare right now.”
“Okay. I agree. Drive him down and I’ll move as quickly as I can.”