A breeze drifted through, bringing an earthy aroma of grass and moss and pine that clashed with the stench of hot asphalt. The buzz of cicadas mingled with the rat-tat-tat of a woodpecker, and in the distance a hawk screamed. I dropped my head back against the seat and tried to chill, but I couldn’t stop reaching mentally for something that wasn’t there. I also couldn’t stop trying to figure out where we went wrong. How had Katashi been so certain we’d show up? Yes, we’d followed clues, but none of them were glaringly obvious. In fact, if we hadn’t listened to that phone call, we never would’ve . . .
Shit. We’d gobbled up their lures like hens on corn. Angus McDunn had worked with Bryce for fifteen years. He knew how thorough Bryce was, and he’d been confident Bryce would find the “dropped” piece of paper that led us to the horse farm and Catherine McDunn.
My mouth tightened as I replayed the conversation in my head. It had all been an act. If she hadn’t dropped the info about the calls from Angus, we wouldn’t have heard “number six” and known where and when to walk into the trap. Yeah, she was good. I couldn’t wait to have another nice chat with her—as soon as I stopped feeling like pounded shit.
“That was fucked up how Kara dropped that on you.” Pellini’s voice, barely audible and only because the breeze was right. I peered ahead and saw Idris sitting on the grass ten or so yards in front of the truck, head in his hands and elbows on his knees. Pellini sat crosslegged a half dozen feet from him. I slumped down a little so I could still see, but not be quite so obvious I was watching them. I was already an asshole for using personal information about Idris as a weapon. No need to add to it by flagrantly invading the privacy he needed right now.
“It can’t be true,” Idris said after a moment, voice unsteady.
“Well, so what if it is?” Pellini replied with a shrug. I knew I should close the window and stop being an intrusive jerk, but I didn’t.
A motorcycle zoomed past, covering Idris’s reply. “Look,” Pellini said, “one thing you do know is that you have a fuckload more potential than you ever imagined.”
“I guess so. If it’s true.” A pause, followed by an incredulous, “The demonic lords have children?”
I snuck a quick glance at Eilahn. I suspected she’d been surprised by that detail as well. Note to self: don’t ever let anyone entrust you with a really sensitive secret ever again. Dumbass.
Pellini blew out a breath. “I’ve known Kara a long time. She can be a stone cold bitch when pushed too far, but I’ve never seen her lie or throw out something that big without knowing for sure.”
Wonderful. I was a bitch who knew her shit. This was a prime example of why eavesdropping was a Bad Idea. Yet I still didn’t raise the window. Hell, I deserved to hear any and all criticism. Plus, I was nosy.
“She’s my cousin.” A rustle of grass and gravel as Idris stood. “Tessa is my birth mother . . . and Katashi has her.” Even from this far away I heard the dread and horror in his voice. Katashi had brutalized his sister. Idris had no reason to believe Tessa couldn’t be subject to the same fate even though Katashi treated her well now. “I’m going to kill him,” he said, rage in his voice once again. Gravel crunched as he strode toward the truck.
“Idris. Stop.”
To my surprise, he did.
Pellini clambered to his feet and caught up to Idris.
“You and I need to get something straight,” Pellini said. The words carried clearly with them nearer. “I didn’t ask for any of this shit, but since I’m in it neck deep the only thing I can do is make the best of it. Because of that, because I’m on this team or posse or whatever the hell you want to call it, I consider you a teammate. I’ll go the distance for you and pound anyone who tries to fuck you over.”
Silence as they faced each other.
“But?” Idris finally replied.
“It’s not a ‘but.’ It’s an ‘and,’” Pellini said, voice hard and uncompromising. “And the same goes for Kara. She’s my teammate, too. As wrong as she was to dump that crap about your parents on you, you were just as wrong to tell her it’s no big deal that she lost a fundamental aspect of who she IS.”
Damn it, my face was getting all wet again.
Pellini wasn’t finished. “This arcane and demon-summoning shit is everything to her. She doesn’t know it, but I’ve done a shitload of checking up on her. I’m pretty sure that becoming a summoner saved her life when she was younger.”
Wait, what? He knew my history of acting out with drugs? Jeeeez.
“So if I hear one more fucking word from you about how it’s better for everyone that she had the craft she loves ripped away from her,” Pellini continued, tone harsh enough to melt stone, “I’ll pound you flat, and I don’t care who the fuck your daddy is. Y’got me?”
“Yeah,” Idris replied, all belligerence gone. “Yeah, I do.”
“Good,” Pellini said, friendly again. “Let’s get back to the house so we can regroup and figure out what to do next.”
I stabbed the window button as they approached, relieved when Eilahn did the same. A few seconds later the guys climbed into the truck and closed the doors. Pellini pulled back onto the highway, and we rode in taut silence.
After several minutes Idris cleared his throat and gave me a sad and uncertain look. “Sorry I was a dick.”
I nodded. “Sorry I dropped a bombshell like that on you.”
He returned my nod, and I knew we were cool again.