Falling Into Place (24 page)

He didn’t bother to argue, but he was going
to be damned sure that she didn’t involve herself with Emily. He
had a bad feeling about the curse that was eating away at his
sister.

* * * *

Tremaine watched Liz as she finished her
food. She hadn’t said anything after telling Robert that they
needed to find a way to help his sister.

She sat there, staring out the window as
Robert watched her. Neither of them knew what to do to help Liz
cope with whatever she was currently overthinking, and that was
exactly what she was doing. Overthinking.

Her hazel eyes snapped to Robert. There was
a look of unease plastered on her face. “Robert, would you mind
getting Tremaine back to the house? I need to talk to Fallon about
something.” She guzzled her coffee down and looked to Tremaine. “Do
you mind going with him? I need a little time. I shouldn’t be
long.”

Doubt narrowed Robert’s eyes. “What about,
Liz?”

Her lips pursed as she glared at Robert.
Tremaine had to stifle a laugh.

“I don’t have to run everything by you. It’s
nothing major, just something I need to talk to her about. Is that
all right with you? Or did you somewhere along the way decide you
were in charge? Because I sure as hell haven’t changed that
much.”

Robert leaned in and caressed her cheek.
“No. I know better than that. I’m just worried about you. I don’t
like the idea of you being alone with all of this going down.”

“And how likely is it that James is here?”
She whispered harshly.

“Not very.” Robert sighed, his head nodding.
“Very well. Do what you must. Just call me if you need me. Need
us.” Robert glanced over at Tremaine and gave him a slight smile.
“Us, we’re both here for you.”

Trem dipped his head in agreement, and still
held back his laugh. He knew better than to try to prevent Liz from
doing much. After their trek from Sinclair’s she had stopped taking
direction so well. She was her own person, and she liked to prove
it. Robert had a right to be worried, but he would remember just
how independent she was.

“Don’t worry about me. If it takes longer
than an hour, I’ll call.” Liz pushed at his shoulder. “Move, I need
to run down to Inktastic.”

Robert’s eyes went wide as he scooted out of
the booth and she followed. “Right now?”

She kissed his lips quickly, and leaned over
to give Tremaine one. “Yes, now. I want to hurry and do this.” She
turned and rushed out the door.

Robert flopped down in his seat. “I hate
this. What do you think she needs to talk to Fallon for?” Then his
mouth fell open. “You don’t think…?”

Tremaine shook his head. “She’s not going to
be asking about us. She’s probably headed over there to see if
Fallon can spell a tattoo to make sure she can’t be duped by
another illusion.”

“Why couldn’t she say that?” Robert
whispered.

“She mentioned being ashamed. Think about
it. She thought you were James. She never wants to make that
mistake again because she doesn’t want to send you away.”

Robert let out a heavy breath. “She knew he
wasn’t me. She knew it,” He insisted. “She said so.”

“Fuck, Robert. It’s not that simple. Yeah,
she knew that when he showed up at her place.” Tremaine pushed his
fingers through his hair and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.
“She was still in shock when you woke her, and assumed you were
him. She hates herself for nearly killing you. She’s probably
thinking that if she can see through any illusion, she can’t make
that same mistake again. Can you blame her? She doesn’t want to
hurt you.”

“Did James rape her?” The words tumbled off
his tongue.

Tremaine shook his head abruptly. “No, he
didn’t get that far. She told him about the baby and he stabbed
her. She got loose, and I really doubt even Emily could put his
dick back together again.”

Robert’s brow wrinkled. “How in the world do
you know about the state of his penis?”

One brow arched. “Liz used one of your
talismans to send him back to the council. I was on duty, he landed
at my feet with his pants around his knees, his dick shredded. I’m
half surprised he didn’t bleed out.”

“How in the….” Robert shook his head,
blinking his eyes. “That trick she does with the blade.”

Tremaine growled, “Bastard tried to rape
her. He took your baby from her. I think he deserved that and
worse, even if I did have a momentary twinge of sympathy for him.
That is until I found out why he showed up in that state.”

“Explains why he was limping that day,”
Robert mumbled.

“Yeah. The healers were able to help some,
but she ruined the piping.”

“Good. I hope to God Emily couldn’t do
anything for him,” Robert snarled.

Tremaine shook his head. “Look, she doesn’t
talk about it. She talks in her sleep though, and once she let me
see through her memories so I would stop asking.”

Robert’s mouth fell open. That was a trick
very few mages could pull off. Tremaine had taught it to Robert,
but it was never a fun experience.

“I’ve seen what she experienced, Robert. I
understand why she drinks herself under when the nightmares start.”
Tremaine shrugged. “She doesn’t trust herself to be sure it’s
really you.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Robert turned to stare
out the window.

“I’m positive Liz can see through any
illusion now. We’ve done plenty of work on it. She just wants to
make sure there is never a way to take that away from her. Fallon’s
wards don’t go away when drugged. So it will give her some peace of
mind.”

“Right.” Robert looked over. “Should we go
over there?”

“No. Let her do this. She needs reassurance,
but she won’t take that from us. Not about that.” Tremaine stood
and walked to the bar to pay.

Jamie looked up with a grin. “Liz looks
happier.” A frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. “At least
until she left.”

He nodded. “She’s had a hard life. Never
really got her way for long.” An uneasy smile flittered across his
face. “We’ll change that. First, we have to get rid of some
asshole.”

“Take care of her. And bring her in
later.”

“I’ll try. I don’t think she’ll resort to
the rum tonight. Pretty sure we can distract her another way.”
Tremaine winked before strolling back to Robert.

Preston snuck up to Jarvis Fanning’s family
home to do some investigating. He had a strong suspicion that
Jarvis was once again playing James’ bitch. It didn’t come as any
surprise.

No one was there. Hell, Jarvis hadn’t been
there in days, and his wards were weak. He walked right up to them
and cast a melding spell before walking straight through.

Nada, nothing. It should have been harder
than that. Whatever, time to find some real info. He made his way
to the library with the old desk. He looked through drawers and
files without finding anything useful.

With a sigh, Preston sat back in the chair
and ran his fingers through his hair.

A thought struck him. Maynard had been a
pompous ass. The kind who would have a secret compartment in the
intricate ancient desk, just like in the movies. Preston slid out
of the chair, and onto his knees, started to pull out drawers to
thump around, listening for a hollow spot.

Sure enough, he found one. He felt around
until he found a groove. There was a tiny lever, and he could feel
the magical signature.

With his own spell, he popped the lock and
found a ton of old papers.

Great, more nonsense.

Except, he was wrong. The very first page
was a contract between Sinclair and Jarvis’ father. A plot to
abduct Draecyn’s child. The baby’s mother was a druid. The same
year Emily was born.

His mouth fell open. “Can’t be,” he
whispered. “Can’t fucking be.”

It explained so much though. Why Draecyn had
never trusted anyone in Jarvis’ family. Why he always favored Liz
when he was hard on everyone else.

Holy shit.

He kept digging and found old sepia photos
that would likely scar him for life. Things done to women and
children that he could hardly stomach. Then he found a picture of
Liz strung up with bloody welts up and down her back. It was her
though, he’d know that blank stare anywhere, but she was just a
kid.

Dropping the papers he closed his eyes and
breathed through the rage that threatened to black everything out.
He needed to find more proof, but things he never did understand
were finally starting to make sense.

* * * *

Amethyst walked into Fallon’s room at
Inktastic and climbed into the tattoo chair. “So, Hayden wants to
know if you want to spar tonight.”

“Sure, but won’t you be bored out of your
mind?”

She shrugged. “I figured I would watch.
Maybe even join in.” She sneered. “Hayden is convinced I can do a
few things I’m not so sure about.”

Fallon paused, and then turned around
slowly. Her eyes were wide. “I knew your magic was mingling, but
like what?”

“It’s kind of creepy.” Amethyst shuddered.
“It’s like plants respond to me. Hayden can’t do anything with
them, and it’s not like I can actually control them, but they twist
toward me.”

“Cool. That can actually come in handy in
certain situations. I might even be able to help you learn to
control it.”

“That’s what Hayden said.” She still wasn’t
sure what she thought of these new powers. The extra healing was
nice, but all the rest was weird.

“Look at it this way, if you ever run into
trouble, you’ll have a new talent to help get you out of it without
resorting to things you hate doing.”

Amethyst glared back, but Fallon had a good
point. “Yeah, all right. You can help me.” She groaned and laid her
head back on the seat. “But it’s not like Hayden will ever let me
get into trouble.”

Fallon snorted. “Trust me, Ame, a time may
come when Hayden can’t keep you out of it. It’s not like he’s
breathing down your neck every second.”

She smirked. “I kind of like it when he does
though.”

* * * *

Liz pulled up in front of Inktastic. Her
request was sounding dumber by the second. She hoped Fallon wasn’t
busy and that she wouldn’t look at her like she had grown a second
head. Didn’t matter though, she had to ask because she’d feel a
fuck load better if she knew for sure that she could never mistake
James for Robert or vice versa.

Tomahawk looked up. His normal smile didn’t
reach his eyes. He hadn’t been the same since Darla left. She knew
that feeling, and asking wouldn’t help. She wore that same look for
a long time after she walked out of Robert’s life.

“Hey, Liz. What’s up?” Tom asked.

She winced. “Is Fallon available? I need to
talk to her about a piece. Just a small one, but I need her
input.

“Sure, sure. Special work,” he teased. “I
wish I could do half the shit she can do, but she is the best.”

Trying to lighten the mood she teased, “You
only want to get me undressed, you perv.” Liz winked as Fallon
walked out with a raised brow.

Fallon shot Tom a smirk. “He wants to get
every woman into some stage of undressed. He should know better
with you. Hell, you only ever wear a one piece when swimming, and
you certainly have the body to pull off a two piece.”

Liz shook her head, feeling really
self-conscious. “Sure, I’m in good shape, but I have scars I don’t
show off. You’ll see them if you can do the piece, but I really
don’t want anyone to be able to come back.”

“Why’s that, Liz?” Adam asked as he walked
out from his office with Brody beside him.

“Shit. Maybe I should come back later, when
it’s not crazy in here.” She started to back toward the door.

Fallon must have caught on, because she
grabbed Liz’s wrist and dragged her into her room. She called into
the hall, “We’ll need a little privacy for this, boys.”

“Sure thing, sugar,” Brody leaned down to
drop a kiss on Fallon’s lips before he ducked down the hall. “See
you later, Liz.”

No one else said a word. People knew that
once Fallon set her mind to something, you didn’t bother to argue.
Not if you valued they nose or limbs.

As soon as the door was shut, Liz put a
soundproofing spell up to lock the sound into the room. “Sorry, I’m
a little self-conscious, but I know I told you one drunken night,
forever ago, about why I left Robert.”

“Yeah. James tried to force himself on you
while wearing Robert’s face. He nearly killed you. That’s why
Robert still wears your handprints, because he woke you up and you
freaked.”

Liz looked down at the ground, pulling in
deep breaths.

Fallon reached out and squeezed her
shoulder. “You know that’s not your fault, Liz. He knows that,
probably better than you do.”

Liz blinked back tears as she pulled her
shirt and sweater over her head to show the scars that disappeared
into her pants. There were four jagged lines.

Fallon gasped. “Shit, Liz. I see why you
won’t wear a two piece. Not that any of us would ever say a word
about it.”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, well, I need to
know if you can cast a spell.”

“Let me guess. One to strip illusion. At
least for you.”

“Please tell me you can.” She knew she was
pleading, but she didn’t care. “The design doesn’t have to be
fancy, doesn’t even have to be big. Fuck, I’ll take an “X” across
my forehead. I never want to mistake Robert for James again. Not
ever, not even under the worst situation.”

“Slow down.” Fallon told her. “I get it. I
take it you and Robert are doing all right? Minus this little hold
up?”

Liz blushed. “Uh… um… We’re all doing
fine?”

Fallon’s head tipped to the side.
“We’re?”

Liz squeezed her eyes shut. She really
wasn’t sure what to expect from Fallon after the hell she had been
put through with Robert and Tremaine. She wasn’t sure what to say,
so she tossed it out there.