The Curse Defiers (23 page)

It was a full minute before he answered.

No.

Liar.
He doesn’t want you there, so stay hidden. I’ll text you once he’s in.

Okay ;)

I was in so much trouble. He was definitely up to something.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHTEEN

I was nervous the entire drive to Charlotte, so much so that when we were halfway there, David blurted out that he wished he’d left me in Chapel Hill.

“You don’t mean that,” I said, swallowing my nausea.

“Only partially. I’m feeling fairly calm, but your jumpiness is turning me into a nutter. Stop.”

“Sorry.”

He reached over and covered my hand. “Deep breath, Ellie. No one died right when they went to see the collection. They died days later.”

I twisted in my seat to gape at him. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It was my lame attempt at a joke.”

I spun around and pushed my back into my seat, crossing my arms. “Not funny.”

“You’re right, but it was also my way of telling you that it’s safe for me to go in there. We’ll deal with the rest later.” He squeezed my hand. “Now let’s talk about what happens when we get to Charlotte. I’m going to need the car, so I’ll have to drop you off somewhere. There was a coffee shop a couple of miles away from the office.”

“No way. You can drop me off at the corner of the building. You didn’t bring those binoculars for nothing.”

“I brought them in case I wanted to check out the building before the meeting, not for you to play Nancy Drew. And don’t even think about taking that sword with you.”

We’d brought the sword I’d used to kill the Raven Mockers. It was currently in the trunk, wrapped in a towel. David insisted it was a last resort. “Look, I agreed to let you go in alone,” I said, “but the only way I’m getting out of the car before we get to the business park is if you physically kick me out.”

“Ellie, it’s all strip mall offices and warehouses. It’s going to look suspicious if you’re just standing around.”

“I don’t care, David. I’ll find somewhere to hide out of sight. But I’m not going to be two miles from you.”

“Fine,” he groaned. “But you need to stay away from the front of the building.”

“Okay.” But I’d already figured out a plan. After texting Collin, I had looked up the location on the Internet again, paying close attention to the buildings around the office. There was an abandoned warehouse next to it, as well as a couple of businesses I could possibly visit in the guise of a customer.

Exhausted after my mostly sleepless night, I dozed off after our conversation and woke up an hour later when David patted my arm. “Ellie. We’re here.”

I bolted upright in the seat and took in my surroundings. We were parked in front of a strip mall with several cars parked out front. At least there were witnesses.

“Is one of those offices it?” Most of the complex looked abandoned.

“No. We’re on the east end. We need to head toward the center of the industrial park. I’m having second thoughts about you staying here, though. Where are you going to go? It’ll be much safer if you wait somewhere more public.”

“No, I’m not leaving you here. Besides, there’s a flooring showroom a little bit down from where you’re going. I’ll go in there and pretend to look for carpet.”

He turned to me with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

I gave him a haughty look. “I didn’t want to give you several hours to come up with reasons to stop me from doing it.”

He released a heavy breath. “I just want to make sure you’re safe, Ellie.”

“You forget that I’m the one with powers.”

“Sure, against supernatural beings. I’m dealing with humans.”

“That you know of. And you’re unarmed and unprotected. And what are they going to do when they find out you don’t have the research information Allison was supposed to bring?”

“Ellie. We have a plan.”

“Which is sketchy at best. You’re going in alone while I’m hanging out in the carpet store. End of discussion.”

We drove through the semideserted park in silence. David pulled up in front of the flooring store and glanced down the alley in the direction of the office. I leaned over and gave him a kiss, then stared into his eyes. “Please be careful.”

“I’ll be fine. Wait here.”

Rather than answering, I opened the car door and climbed out before he could realize I hadn’t agreed. I gave him a small wave and walked over to the showroom, going inside without looking back. The car drove off and I pushed down my fear. He was right. He would most likely be safe.

I wandered around the showroom, staying close to the windows. The building he was visiting was close enough that I could see him park and get out of his car. When he disappeared inside, I took a deep breath.

“How long do you want to give him before we start to get worried?”

When I spun around, Collin was standing three feet behind me, his trademark cocky smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

His eyes shifted to the windows. “You gave me the address and the time, Ellie,” he said with a snort.

“I know that. I mean
here
. In this showroom.”

He walked behind me, his chest barely brushing my back as he passed. “It’s such an
obvious
place. You must have missed the class on stakeouts when you were getting your degree in entrapping a billionaire bachelor,” he whispered into my ear, reminding me of how he’d thought I was out to marry for money when we first met. “Or how to seduce a man. You would have gotten an A plus in that.
Although I think I need to spend more time with you to be sure.”

My breath caught in my throat and my hairs stood on end. “One could argue that I spend too much time with you,” I forced out.

“I don’t know, honey,” Collin said a little louder, wrapping an arm around my back, resting his hand comfortably on my hip. He ran his free hand slowly down a carpet display. “I was thinking something more brown for the family room.”

I tried to ignore the flutter in my stomach. “I know what you want, sweetie. But Aunt Melba has a nice cream color in her bedroom that I just love.”

Collin’s grip tightened when I mentioned the word “bedroom” and he lowered his mouth to my ear. “I can assure you that I wouldn’t notice the carpet color if I was in your bedroom.”

My mouth went dry and I broke loose of his hold, moving on to another display rack. “Or maybe we should go with hardwood.” I immediately jerked my head up, my eyes widening in warning when I realized I’d set him up for the perfect sleazy comment. “Don’t go there.”

His eyes twinkled. “I didn’t say a word, Ellie. You’re the one with your mind in the gutter.” He moved next to me again but kept his hands to himself this time. “I say we give him fifteen minutes before we get worried.”

I nodded, guilt washing over me. David was in danger and my hormones were getting all wonky while I was talking to Collin about flooring choices. Some girlfriend I was.

“I know a place where we can watch the building. Let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, he headed for the door.

I glanced at an employee who stood several rows away. “Thank you.”

She nodded, and I followed him out the door. He stood at the corner of the building, looking in the opposite direction of the office. When I approached him, he put an arm around my back and led me around the corner.

I took two steps away from him. “Is all the touching necessary?”

“Just trying to make us look like the happy couple so we don’t arouse anyone’s suspicions.”

“Well no one’s watching us here, so it’s not necessary. Besides, David dropped me off. Doesn’t that look more suspicious?”

“I can guarantee you that no one noticed him dropping you off. But you’re a beautiful woman, Ellie, which means they definitely noticed you coming into the store.”

“Knock it off, Collin.”

“It’s true. If you’re going to learn the art of the stakeout, you need to learn the art of blending in.
You
do not blend in. You shine, demanding attention.”

“Cut the bullshit.”

“
Ellie
.” He stopped at the corner of the building.

I reluctantly turned around. “What?”

“I’m serious. I suspect you’re about to dig yourself into a shitload of crap, and you’re going to need to be more careful.” The earnestness in his eyes told me he was telling me the truth. “If you’re going to try playing private investigator, you need to stick to the background and make sure no one notices you.”

“Okay.” What he said made sense, as hard as it was to admit that he was right.

“Come on, this way.” He turned down the alley, heading in the direction of the office. We were on the backside of the strip mall, a warehouse on the opposite side of us.

I followed. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere we can get a better view without being seen.”

We walked in silence halfway down the long building until we approached a Dumpster. “This is where we go up.”

I looked from the Dumpster to the roofline five feet above it. “Okay.” It made sense to be on the roof across from the office. In fact, it was brilliant, not that I was about to tell him so. Collin had a big enough ego as it was.

He stood next to the trash bin and squatted, lacing his hands together and glancing at me with a grin. “Too bad you don’t have on one of those skirts you’re so fond of wearing.”

I was suddenly glad I was wearing a pair of denim shorts. I put my foot in his hands and reached for the edge of the metal box so I could pull myself up as he boosted. When I was on top, he grabbed the edge and hoisted himself up with little effort. Once he was on the trash bin, he repeated the process, helping me up onto the roof first before pulling himself over the edge.

We stopped when we reached the edge at the front of the building, and I was surprised to see he already had a blanket spread out, topped with a bottle of water and binoculars.

“You’ve already been up here?”

“For a couple of hours, actually. I wanted to keep track of how many people were in the warehouse in case your professor got into trouble.”

“He has a name. David.” At least Collin was proving to be useful, which made me feel better about going against David’s wishes. “So what have you seen?”

“Two guys showed up at around nine. I’ve been watching since seven and hadn’t seen any other activity until then, so I think it was empty. It looked like they turned off an alarm when they entered. There’s a front office and they entered the code to get into the back. The front door only requires a key.”

“So just the two men?”

“No. A woman showed up around nine forty-five. Very well dressed—heels, expensive skirt, and blouse. I’d say her purse cost more than your car and my truck put together.”

I chuckled. “That’s not saying much.”

“True enough.”

“Allison said she met a well-dressed older woman named Miriam. I bet that was her.” I narrowed my eyes mockingly. “And for the record, may I state that I’m more than a little concerned that you recognize a high-quality purse.”

This time he laughed. “Fancy purse or not, the two guys were expecting her.”

“Any idea who they might be? Had you heard of Miriam?”

“No.”

“Would you tell me if you knew?”

He glanced over at me, his grin fading. “Yes.”

I believed him, but it surprised me that he was being so forthcoming. That wasn’t exactly characteristic of the Collin I had come to know.

“What about the back?” I asked. If he’d staked out the front, he’d definitely know about the back.

“There’s a warehouse next to the office. The public record says it’s available for rent, but I think they’re using it for short-term storage. The office has been leased to the Henderson Foundation for less than a month.”

“The people who called David to set up this meeting said they were from the Henderson Foundation.” The fact we were finally connecting dots made me feel like we were making progress. “So they’re using the warehouse without paying for it?”

“No. The warehouse is owned by the same corporation that owns the office. I called this morning to ask about seeing the warehouse for my imaginary business, and they told me it was under renovation and wouldn’t be able to be seen for another week. Which tells us two things . . .” He turned to me with a grin. “How about giving it a guess, my little prodigy?”