Savannah Sacrifice (3 page)

“Why didn't you tell someone you were being threatened?”

Now there was a suggestion from someone who clearly had no contact with the spiritual world. “For starters, do you really think it would make anything better? No one can help me, so why should I complain? And what would I have told Harper or Chance? To get everything ready for this trip, I had to steal the safe deposit box keys from Harper. Then I had to forge the will and everything else the bank is going to need to get to the box. I don't need anyone else getting into trouble trying to help me. I'm tired of everyone around me getting hurt. I'm not willing to put you at risk either.”

“Look, Starling, I'm here to keep you safe. That means if you need something, I'm in.”

“I just need to get into the bank, get the books, and get a handle on the spirits. Then everything will be okay. I don't need you.”

“You're not going alone.”

“You may get hurt. I told you, I don't want anyone else to get hurt for me.”

“Then tell yourself I'm putting myself at risk for the Sisterhood.”

There was an inexplicable pain in her chest at his flippant response. “Fine.”

“It's a damn good thing you're a nymph,” he said, ignoring her shortness. “Or I would say you don't have a chance in hell of getting into the bank vault.”

“What does being a nymph have to do with getting in?”

Jasper gave her a sideways glance. “Won't you use all your, you know,
feminine wiles
?” He shifted uncomfortably and stood up from his position against the wall.

She snorted with laughter. “Did you really just say feminine wiles? What are you, eighty?” She walked ahead, leading the way downstairs to the lobby.

The thought of using her power for seduction made her skin crawl. Yes, it was something she could turn on and off, not some innate attraction, but with this power came problems. The only time she'd used her gift had been on a poor neighbor boy when they were fourteen. She hadn't a clue what she was doing. She'd asked the kid to share his slice of pizza, and when he'd said “no,” a strange energy had passed over her body. The next thing she knew, he was handing her the entire box.

He'd been hard to get rid of after that day. His affections led to his showing up at her door in the middle of the night, love letters, and playlists. He'd only stopped when his family finally moved away.

She didn't need any more stalkers. She already had more than her fair share of the dead kind.

“Where's this bank?”

She pulled her smartphone from her purse and tapped a few buttons. “It looks like it's only a few blocks from here.” She slid her phone back into her purse. She looked up and caught him staring at her with his earthy brown eyes. At their center was a ring of blue, so faint that if she hadn't been in the right light, she would have missed the haunting, but sexy, mixture of colors. “I've been wondering, how old are you?”

She couldn't look away from the blue oasis in the desert of his eyes.

“Twenty-three.”

A burst of energy surged up from her stomach, but she tried to ignore the feeling. She couldn't feel anything for this … shadow. “Seriously? Huh. I would have thought you were like, thirty.”

“Thirty isn't old, you little shit.”

“I didn't say it was. I just meant that you look older.” She finally managed to divert her gaze. “And we're going to have to come up with some kind of backstory if you are going to keep tagging around with me.”

“We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but I'm hoping, if everything goes right, we are going to be in and out of the bank and then back to your dad and Harper on the ten o'clock flight.” Jasper opened the door leading to the parking lot and waited for Starling to pass through.

She stole another glance at his enchanting eyes as she passed by. “Here's hoping everything goes according to your plan.”

The entire bank smelled like industrial strength cleansers and bullshit. Over the last few years, since going to work for the International Legislative Organization of Nymphs who called themselves the Sisterhood, Jasper had gotten really good at identifying that pungent smell of people who lied for a living. Though admittedly, ever since Ariadne Papadakis had taken on the Sisterhood leadership role, life had been a little easier—at least when he'd had to deal with the leaders.

Starling weaved past him and headed for the row of tellers waiting to take people's money. There was only one man in the row of women, and Starling made a beeline toward him. “Excuse me?”

“Yes, ma'am, how may I help you?” the middle-aged man answered in a thick Georgian drawl.

“I need to get into my safe deposit box. It used to be housed at the First National Bank. I think it's now here?” Starling's voice wavered with nerves.

Jasper walked up behind her and put his hand on her lower back, appearing to comfort her. If she played it right, they would be in, out, and gone. He could go back to work trying to dig up facts about the Catharterians from the FBI files he had hacked into, and she could go back to the care of her family.

Soft warmth radiated from her where he'd placed his hand, and he pulled away. She definitely needed to get back to her family.

The older man glanced at him and smiled. “Not a problem, ma'am. Do you have your key?”

Starling rifled through her purse and pulled out a ring of mismatched keys. “Right here,” she said, lifting a little brass key.

“Great,” the man answered with a smile. “Let me take you to the bank manager.”

If they left Georgia on the ten o'clock flight, they would be back to Vegas before midnight. As soon as he got back, he could work on finding the Catharterians' lair. He was so close to finding the location, he could almost taste it. Once he found their home base, he could get a population estimate. From there, he could figure out exactly how much danger Starling and the Sisterhood were in and how to protect them.

The man led them to an office where a black man sat behind a desk, typing away on his computer. “Devon, sir? We have a young lady here who needs to get into her safe deposit box.”

“Thanks, Jim. I'll take care of her.” Devon looked up from his work and smiled at Starling, but as he noticed Jasper, his expression faded and annoyance took its place. “Do you have your key?”

Starling jingled the ring. “Right here.” She flashed Devon a flirtatious glance, one that Jasper recognized from their time in Vegas, one that made whispers of jealousy creep through him.

“Great,” the man said. He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. The employee glanced up at Starling before his gaze wandered down to her chest and lingered a moment too long. “Just need to take care of a few things and you can get just what you need.”

The man's words made the hairs on the back of Jasper's neck stand on end. “Yeah, we just need to take care of a few things before we get married.”

“Married,” the man said with a raised eyebrow. “Congratulations.” He finally turned his gaze away from Starling. “I just love to see happy couples.”

Starling shot Jasper a look, but he pretended not to notice. It had been her idea that they run under the cover of a relationship. It wasn't his fault if it was inconvenient.

“Follow me,” Devon said, walking past them and out to the elevator. They waited in silence as the ancient elevator whirred and buzzed to a stop in front of them.

He hated elevators. People were too close. There were too many possibilities for attack. Not that the bank manager would attack. No. There was no bulge at his ankle or hip. He wasn't carrying a gun, but he had to weigh about two-fifty. In an enclosed space, Devon had the size, but Jasper had the experience.

The doors slid open. “Ladies first,” Devon said, motioning for Starling to step through. Before Jasper could take a step, the manager shoved his way in next, making his percolating anger roil.

Jasper wedged his body between Starling and the man, and she shot him another sharp glance. “Small elevator, eh?”

Devon answered with a grunt and pushed the button for the lower floor. “Miss, I'm going to need your box number, your signature, and your key when we get down there. Then we can get out of these
small
elevators.” He eyed Jasper.

“The less time we spend here, the better.” Starling's elbow connected with the middle of his ribs, but he bit back a grimace of pain. “Lots of wedding plans to take care of. Isn't that right, honey?” he asked, forcing a smile.

The door to the elevator opened and Devon led the way out. When he was about ten steps ahead, Starling turned to Jasper and put her hand on his arm to stop him. “You. Stay. Here.” She pointed to a spot outside of the elevator's doors.

“No. I'm not leaving you with that guy. No way.”

“Look, I don't know the box number. I don't have a chance in hell of convincing him I know my shit if you're constantly acting like my over protective boyfriend. Just give me five minutes. If I'm not back with the box, then you have my permission to act out whatever macho fantasy thing you have going on in your head right now.”

“I'm here to take care of you. If I let you walk into that room with a man I don't know, I might as well go back to the Sisterhood.”

“Jasper, it's not like some bank manager is going to be gunning for me. Really. He is just some stranger at a bank. Big whoop. Now quit being so paranoid. I've got this. If nothing else, I can send my ghost friends after him, right?” She sent him a wilting smile, but it did little to quell his apprehension.

“Five minutes.”

Starling turned. Devon stood at the end of the hall, waiting. “Not coming?” the manager asked with a wide smile that made Jasper want to punch his teeth down his throat.

“I'll be right out here.”

Devon stuck out his arm for Starling to take. Starling looked over her shoulder and mouthed the words “Be good” before accepting it.

She was just lucky that Jasper wasn't the kind to kill out of jealousy.

He started to take a step after the couple but stopped. The bank manager wasn't a danger, only an annoyance. He couldn't act like this. He couldn't act like he cared.

• • •

Devon turned to the computer. “It says that the safe deposit box is located here after being moved from the First National Bank. What did you say the box number was?”

Starling smiled. “Well, the thing is that I don't actually know.” She pulled the keys from her purse and laid them on the table. “But here is the key.”

“The keys they used didn't come stamped with a vault number.” He tapped a few keys. “What is your full name?”

“Starling Jackson, but the box is under the name Jenna Cygnini.”

He looked up from the screen. “And you are Jenna?”

“Can I pretend that I am?” she asked, trying to use the most seductive voice that she could muster.

Devon's rich, chocolaty skin looked so soft, but his biceps pulled dangerously against the seams of his suit jacket as she moved in closer. She had told herself she wouldn't seduce a man to get what she wanted, but standing here now, staring at Devon's tiger-like eyes, it was hard not to give in to her whim.

He cleared his throat, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to catch his gaze. “Are you saying that you are not the owner of the safe deposit box?”

“Not exactly. My aunt, Jenna Cygnini, passed away a few months ago. I'm just here to collect her things.”

“Do you have her will stating that you are her benefactor?”

“Yep.” Sweat started to collect in her palms as she reached into her purse and pulled out the folder she'd carefully put together over the last six months. “I think you will find all the documents you need inside.”

Devon took the file folder and laid it out on the desk. He scanned over the will. She wiped her hands against the legs of her jeans, doing anything to calm her nerves.

He looked up, a frown on his face. “It says here that one Harper Cygnini is the will's benefactor.”

“I know, but keep reading. It says that I'm supposed to get a collection of hers, a collection that resides in one of your safe deposit boxes.” She glanced up at Devon, who was still frowning. In a desperate attempt, she bent over, making sure to squeeze her perky breasts so that they just peeked over the neckline of her v-cut shirt. “See,” she said, pointing at the clause, “right here.”

She could feel his gaze brush over her bare skin.

“I don't know about it,” he said, but his voice was weak. One little sexy nudge and he would be in her pocket.

“I completely understand. But if you notice, all the other documents are in order. I have the probate court's signatures stating that I have submitted the will and they have approved for me to open the box.” She pushed the will aside, so the probate court's order came into view. It was amazing what a person could get online.

She gathered the fake paperwork. “And here is Jenna's deed to her burial plot.”

That had been a little tougher to gain access to. But now all Starling had to do was provide a fake signature. As long as he didn't look too closely, her ruse would work.

Devon glanced over the burial deed. He flipped the will back over. The sweat pooled in her palms and she wiped her hands over her jeans a second time. Chance would have been ashamed at her obvious tell, but hopefully the manager wasn't much of a poker player.

Devon pointed at the will. “I can't help but notice that there's no notary seal.”

Crap.

“What?” she asked in a strangled voice. “That's weird. It came from our lawyer.”

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't allow you access without first checking the authenticity.” He picked up the papers and arranged them back in the file. “But if you make a deal with me, I would be willing to overlook any issues.”