That would explain…a lot, actually.
The container ship horn I overheard on our earlier call had been exactly that. He must have been standing near River Street, maybe haunting the Cora Ann for old time’s sake, while we talked.
All the brownie points I had awarded him for showing up when I needed him most tasted like ash. The trips home I imagined him making on a plane from all over the country had been made on foot or in a cab. How could that be? Why would he lie? How long had he been hiding the truth?
Stumbling across him while hunting the dybbuk was one thing. Learning the Society had kept him local? That he hadn’t told me? It stung. All of a sudden, the calls to Amelie made more sense. She knew. She had to have known. And she hadn’t said a word. He must have pulled strings to stay close to her. Fine. Okay. Boaz had a protective streak a mile wide. But why hide it and leave me the odd woman out?
As much as I wanted to blame a vow of silence, like the one the Grande Dame had extracted from Linus, if Boaz had told Amelie—even if she figured it out on her own—they had colluded to keep his whereabouts from me.
Desperate to distance myself from his truths, I tried outpacing him. “I can take it from here.”
“Not happening.” Victor blocked the path with his can. “My orders are to pass you off directly to Scion Lawson.”
The title felt odd considering everyone on campus called him Professor Lawson.
Another face, another title, another facet to a man who might as well have been a twenty-sided die.
“That would be me,” a grim voice announced behind us.
Sweet relief spiked my bloodstream as I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Linus standing there.
For the first time in our reacquaintance, he was the one who initiated a hug. The cold of his body pressed into mine gave me a surface layer of numb to go along with the deadened sensation spreading through my chest. His hands trembled on my back, and his hold was awkward, like he had no idea how to comfort someone. Or maybe, since he was the one wrapping me up tight, he had no idea how to take comfort either.
“Thank Hecate you’re all right,” he breathed against my ear before tucking his face in the damp curve of my neck. His heart raged, a pounding drum trapped between us, as if he had run the whole way. “The wards I placed on the door to keep Reardon out of his office sealed the room behind us.” He withdrew, a few inches at least. “There was no cell reception. With the building warded against wraiths, I didn’t know you were in danger until we concluded our latest experiment, and I stepped out to check in with Cletus.”
“He saved the day.” I forced out the words. “He almost gave me a heart attack by pulling me out the window, but mostly he was golden.” I had to give credit where it was due. “Hood kept the intruder busy while I escaped. I didn’t get close enough to tell if I was being attacked by a vampire, but that’s a safe assumption. Hood also gave me arrhythmia, but it’s all good.” I smoothed trembling hands down my sides. “I’m here in one piece. That’s what counts.”
“Thank you for escorting her.” He addressed Victor for the first time. “I’m in your debt.”
“There’s no debt, sir.” Victor puffed out his chest. “This is what we do.”
The urge to pull off his cap and ruffle his hair almost overwhelmed me. He wasn’t that much younger than me, but goddess, I felt old where it counted. His youthful optimism, his dedication to his job, made me wish the sentinels had a dozen more just like him. Maybe then my time in Atramentous wouldn’t be kept wedged behind a wall to protect me from remembering all the ways bored sentinels entertained themselves with people society, and the Society, had forgotten.
Wheels squeaking behind him, Victor started rolling away, donning his ancient-janitor persona.
“Is Meiko with Reardon?” I rubbed the base of my neck. “Or did you confine her to your office?”
“I couldn’t find her. I had to leave and hope for the best.” His sheepish admission colored his pale cheeks. “I wouldn’t worry about her, though. She’s smart enough to have found a safe place to hide until the lights come back on.”
“Good.” I gusted out a sigh. “We’ll never be BFFs, but I don’t want her to get hurt.”
I had enough blood on my hands without dipping them in hers.
“I’m taking you home.” Linus hefted a file. “I’ve got enough information to get us started.”
“Home?” I flinched away from him.
“To Savannah,” he clarified. “To Woolly.”
Relief melted my bones, and I closed the gap between us, allowing my head to fall against his chest. Holding it up on my own wasn’t happening. I was too exhausted. “That’s the best offer I’ve heard all weekend.”
The door swung open behind us, and Reardon burst onto the lawn with a manic energy about him.
“Linus,” he pleaded, clearly picking up on an earlier conversation. “See reason. We can continue the project here. We have the facilities and the library at our disposal. There’s no reason to take half an answer back with you.” He noticed me and wet his lips. “The sample you brought me—”
“No.” Tentatively, he stroked the back of my head, his fingers tangling in the strands of hair. “There’s nothing more to be learned in twenty-four hours, and I have obligations in Savannah I can’t neglect.”
“You mean Grier,” he surmised. “That’s what’s keeping you there.”
“The Grande Dame herself issued my orders.” The use of her official title told me Reardon was digging his hole deeper, that Linus had run out of patience. “I have no choice but to obey.”
Though the tender way he cradled me made me wonder if maybe he didn’t hate that he had been called back.
“Your mother would extend your leash for another week surely.” Reardon cut his eyes to me, to how I leaned on Linus’s strength, and that was enough to have me straightening. “Your charge is here. What harm can come to her by your side?”
“Multiple attempts have been made on Grier’s life,” Linus murmured, frowning at the distance I put between us. “There are those who oppose the Grande Dame’s ruling, those who believe Grier is guilty of the crime of which she was convicted. It’s best if I get her home where she is safest.”
The misdirection wasn’t a lie, it just wasn’t the truth as it applied to this situation.
Fingers a gentle cage around my elbow, he guided me away from the eager professor.
“I thought you trusted Reardon.” That’s how he’d justified bringing me with him.
“I do.” He cut me a look. “Within reason.” He bypassed the parking lot and led me through a small garden. “He hasn’t discovered that the magical remnants in the blood he finds so fascinating is yours, or he would have pressed harder. As it is, he’s salivating for another sample to run more tests.”
“A salivating vampire does not sound good.” I hoped he meant metaphorically, but it was hard to say given Reardon’s behavior.
“I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen his control slip. His lapse around you at the first sign of violence makes me wonder if made vampires are affected by your presence to some degree.”
“I really, really hope not. I’ve got ninety-nine vampire problems, and I don’t want him to be one.”
“He can’t leave the campus.” Linus kept going, almost dragging me into a massive building filled with trophies and awards that spit us out on a sidewalk leading deeper into the city. “You’re protected beyond the wards.”
The farther we walked, the less familiar the landmarks. “Where are we going?”
“We need a safe place to wait while I arrange for transportation.” He slowed when he noticed I was out of breath. “I sent Tony home. It’s too dangerous for him to stay here. Having him pick us up again might cost him his life.”
Proving I was thinking along the same lines, I admitted, “That’s why I took a cab.”
Approval warmed his eyes. “How did that go?”