Flare of Promise (Asylums for Magical Threats #3) (8 page)

All too soon, Leyna was over the wall and out of sight. Her absence helped to regain his wits and focus on the end goal of getting to Giovanni.

It wasn’t as if he and Leyna had a future anyway.

Will followed the two women and pulled himself up.
 

He quickly jumped to the other side. The second his feet touched the ground, Millie and Leyna hurried off in the direction of the large, two-story house in the distance, and he followed.

The silence and lack of Leyna’s hand in his gave him time to think. He might’ve agreed to go with Millie and tell all, but he didn’t know Millie’s boss or what her people would do with the information. A back-up plan was in order, just in case the woman’s boss turned out to be no better than a crazy drug lord or power-hungry politician like James Sinclair.

No matter what others might think, Will had some morals left.

Then there was the problem of Leyna. If he stayed around the woman too much longer, he might start doing something daft, such as forgiving her for breaking his heart and possibly giving her a second chance.

Which he didn’t want.

Mostly.

What the hell?
Frowning, Will picked up his pace.

Chapter Six

Millie increased her pace as they drew nearer the large, two-story house at the western end of town. She shouldn’t care so much about seeing Giovanni again, but not only had her pride been stung, the man was a walking contradiction. Kiarra Melini—her brother’s girlfriend and Gio’s first-born sister—kept telling stories over the phone of the young lad who’d taken in stray animals and nursed them back to health. How Gio had morphed from that boy to the lackey of James Sinclair was beyond her.

Sure, nabbing Gio would win Millie bonus points with her boss, her brother, and Kiarra, but she would keep him tied up until he answered her questions. Otherwise, she might go mad from the ‘what if’ questions floating inside her mind.

Reaching the perimeter of the giant house belonging to the town’s mayor—bribed heavily by the AMT research facility to look the other way—Millie put up a hand and Petra and Will stopped just behind her. Scanning the area and listening intently, she didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. No doubt, the mayor had security inside the compound. However, earlier research had shown there weren’t any security cameras due to the AMT Oversight Committee’s mandate, which worked to their advantage.

It was still a daft place to have a secret meeting since getting in and out would be difficult for the untrained. And no matter what Will Evans said, Gio wasn’t trained for an assignment like this one.

Rather than worry about what could happen, Millie moved to Will’s side and whispered into his ear, “Once we’re inside the tree line, we should be safe and I’ll allow you to lead. For now, I need to know which direction to go.”

Will pointed to a spot southwest of the house. With a nod, Millie signaled for Petra to watch their backs before Millie weaved her way toward the spot, careful to stay out of sight.

When they were nearly to the tree line, she heard a small branch break.

One second passed, and then another, but she didn’t hear another sound. Maybe it had been a wild animal.

Taking out the stun gun she’d purchased from a contact in China, Millie inched slowly toward the trees. Everything remained quiet until they were all about five feet inside and shielded from view. A large crash sounded from deeper in the forest. Moving through the trees as quickly as she could without giving away her position, Millie readied her gun. When she approached a small clearing deep in the forest, she halted and blinked.

Neena Chatterjee stood over an unconscious Giovanni Sinclair, her foot on his arse and a grin on her face. Neena waved. “Hello, Millie. Right on time.”

Millie surveyed the area but didn’t sense any other threats. With a sigh, she pocketed the stun gun. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Neena prodded Gio’s arse with her shoe. “Because I need to keep you on your toes.” Petra and Will finally emerged from the trees. Neena waved at them. “It’s nice to meet you two in person.” She growled and made cat claw motions with her hands. “Although you are much more stunning in person, Leyna Grunwald.”

Petra aka Leyna frowned and looked at Millie. “Who the hell is that?”

Millie motioned toward the petite, copper-skinned woman with wild, curly black hair. “May I introduce my boss, Neena Chatterjee.”

Neena skipped toward them. When she stopped, she took out a baggie and opened it. “Trail mix? I brought my super-secret blend with me today.”

Leaving Petra and Will to fend for themselves, Millie approached Giovanni.
 

Unconscious, the man looked almost peaceful. There was no hardness to his jaw or tension in his forehead. Of course, with his eyes closed, she couldn’t see the intelligence or cunning in his gaze. For some odd reason, she wanted to slap his face and wake him up so she could.

But Millie resisted. Her next job was getting Gio out of China. Only then would she have the chance to interrogate the man and get some answers.

~~~

Petra barely had time to refuse the offer of trail mix from the crazy lady before said lady moved between her and Will. Looping an arm around each of their waists, Neena pulled them closer together. For such a petite woman, Neena was strong.

Petra’s frown deepened as she looked down at the woman. “You’re not what I expected.”

Neena winked. “I’ll take that as the highest form of flattery.” Giving one last squeeze, Neena released them. “But you’ll get used to it. After all, you now work for me.”

Will spoke up. “Wait a second, who the bloody hell are you, lady? I never agreed to work for anyone.”

Neena tapped her chin. “Aw, but you’re wrong. You were working for Gio. Then you agreed to give information to Millie’s boss, which is moi. Since Gio is now my prisoner, that means you work for me.”

Petra took a step toward Neena. “How do you know all of that? I’m pretty sure Millie didn’t have time to call you between the bomb, fleeing, and getting here. Who are you, exactly?”

Millie rejoined their group and beat Neena to the reply. “Neena has visions of the future. I don’t understand how it works, exactly, but her track record has been 99 percent correct to date.”

Neena tsked. “Hey now, that 1 percent isn’t my fault. The idiot ate a peanut and died from shock.” Neena looked back to Petra. “He did it on purpose, too, the rascal.”

Millie rolled her eyes. “Only because you drove him mad first.”

Neena waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s not my fault if he couldn’t understand brilliance.”

Petra resisted pinching the bridge of her nose. “How about we forget the statistics and figure a plan to get the hell out of here.”

Neena pointed deeper into the forest. “Go that way and a team will help you escape. No enemies should stop you in the next ten minutes. Oh, and this fine man here is free of bugs or anything that can track him. Yet another reason you owe me.”

Will spoke up. “I’m not going anywhere until you give me some answers. For all we know, it could be a trap.”

Neena looked to Will. “Ah, look who’s clever. But I assure you, it’s safe. Ignore my help and you won’t make it out of here alive.” She glanced between Petra and Will. “And I think you two very much want to survive this together.”

Petra reached out to grab Neena, but the woman jumped a few steps back. Neena raised her hand. “Ta-ta for now. The next time we meet, Leyna will rise from the dead.”

Neena turned and skipped into the forest.

Turning toward Millie, Petra shook her head. “There’s no way in hell I can work for that woman.”

Amusement twinkled in Millie’s eyes. “Oh, she’s not that bad. And I’d heed her warning. I tried to resist once, and later ended up with a broken leg.”

Will muttered, “She probably broke it for you.”

Millie looked at him. “Ah, but she doesn’t need to do that. Planting a small nugget of an idea in someone’s brain will help her years down the line. Neena definitely plays the long game.” She motioned toward the forest. “I’m going in the direction she said. You can carry Gio.”

Petra growled. “I’m not bloody carrying him alone.”

Will moved to the unconscious man. “I’ll do it.”

She watched as Will squatted and maneuvered Gio’s body over his shoulder. Will stood up with ease. Petra was impressed. “You were never that strong in our old life.”

She regretted bringing it up, but Will replied before she could dismiss it. “And you had a different name. Do you want to go through everything that’s changed or get a move on? I, personally, don’t want to loiter around. I like staying alive.”

Millie started walking and Will followed. Petra jogged to catch up to him. “I didn’t say it to be negative. I’m actually quite impressed with your strength. It means you might not die on our way out of China.”

Will adjusted his grip on Giovanni. “I may not like my ability, but I can heal myself. It’s going to take a lot to kill me.”

Petra raised her brows. “What, such as decapitation? Unless you can regenerate, that would definitely kill you.”

Will answered dryly, “I’ll try not to get my head chopped off. Does that ease your mind?”

She frowned. “Don’t joke about this. When you’re on the run, death is always a possibility.”

“Says the woman who’s been doing it for two years and is afraid to ask someone to help her escape her old life.”

Petra was tempted to kick Will in the balls for mentioning her problem in front of Millie.

Millie looked over her shoulder and chimed in. “What is he talking about, Petra?”

“Nothing—“

Will cut her off. “Ask her why she had to change her name from Leyna to Petra.”

Millie raised her brows. “Why, Petra?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

Millie studied her a second before shrugging. “I’ll get you to tell me later. Right now, we need to hurry and find this team of Neena’s. Being quiet may not hurt, either. And definitely no snogging.”

They all fell quiet, but Petra glared at Will for good measure. She was grateful he hadn’t spilled her troubles, but hinting was still bad enough. Millie would pester her incessantly.

Petra couldn’t wait to be free of everyone and go back to working solo.

Then Will reached out to touch her lower back with his free hand and kept it there. How he managed to keep Gio balanced on one shoulder showed a degree of skill.
 

She really should move away from him. Will would get the message if she did.

Yet as he lightly rubbed the small of her back, some of her irritation eased. She wondered if his glowing, green light could affect a person’s emotions or not because Petra should be pissed off, but a small part of her was glad he’d brought up Sean Reilly and her troubles. After all, Millie and her boss might be able to help her.

If Petra stuck around, that is.

Looking up at Will, Petra burned to know something before she left. Not sure when she’d have the chance again, she blurted out in a whisper, “Earlier, you mentioned not wanting to be seen as a weakness for a second time. What did you mean?”

Will’s voice was so low she could barely hear him. “Aren’t we supposed to remain quiet?”

“Neena said we should be free of threats for the next ten minutes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you believe her?”

She touched his side. “Maybe. Consider it a peace offering for you mentioning my past in front of Millie.”

He looked at her askance. “I could say no.”

“You could.”

Will stared a few seconds and sighed. “Fine. A few weeks after your funeral, some blokes came round looking for you. They beat me up pretty badly. One even drew a knife. After that, I vowed I would learn to defend myself for the future.” He paused, but Petra remained silent. She was rewarded when he added, “They were looking for you. Knowing what I know now, I think they were tied to your brother’s fuck up. It also means you faking your death was in vain.”

She frowned. “Not true. While I’m sorry that happened, you would probably be dead right now if I’d stuck around.”

He stopped and met her gaze. “And maybe we’d be married with two dogs, living in a quaint house outside of London.”

Petra searched her brain, wondering if Will was right.
No.
She’d done the right thing.
 

She was about to explain how when Millie dashed ahead and peered through the undergrowth. Going on high alert, Petra adjusted her stance and took out the small gun hidden in her purse.

The second Millie snorted, Petra released her hold on the gun. Millie’s voice filled the vicinity. “Figures Neena would send you.”

A male voice with a British accent answered, “I’m here saving your arse. Have some gratitude.”

Millie looked back at Will and Petra. “It’s my brother, Jaxton.” She whipped her head back around. “And Kiarra? Is she here too?”

An American female voice replied, “Right here. As if I’d allow Jaxton to leave me behind. Neena said you’d have a surprise for us. What is it?”

“Well...” Millie trailed off and motioned for Will to come forward. Just before he reached Millie’s position, Millie dashed ahead through the undergrowth. While keeping her eyes and ears open, Petra followed.

As soon as Petra cleared the last of the bushes and other foliage, she saw a helicopter sitting in a clearing, with a tall man who had the same shape of eyes and brow as Millie. Next to him was a short, dark-haired woman. Petra had seen both of them back in a pub in Edinburgh many weeks ago.

Luckily, neither one seemed to recognize her. Petra was about to introduce herself when Will maneuvered Gio to the ground and Kiarra whispered, “Giovanni.”

Millie put her hands up. “Surprise. We have your brother.”

Petra eyed the woman named Kiarra. All she knew was that Kiarra was an elemental fire first-born and the niece of James Sinclair. Petra had suspected the fire user to be working with DEFEND, the organization fighting to bring down the AMT prison system. The way she was leaning against Jaxton pretty much solidified Petra’s assumption. After all, Jaxton Ward was a well-known DEFEND commander in certain circles and DEFEND commanders were rarely allowed to have relationships outside of the organization.