[Southern Arcana 1] Crux (22 page)

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Moira Rogers

“Yep.” Kat’s voice was easy. “Her guy in Boston had actually heard of Talbot. Said the guy’s a legend. There was an informal competition a few years back to see if anyone could get a meeting with him. They wanted his advice on some sort of magical thing—” There was a rustle of paper.

“Trip-wire wards, she called them? Anyway, Mari said that no one could even get within a quarter mile of the property, much less score any face time with him. Some of them think he’s not even alive anymore, though I’m guessing you know that’s not true.”

“Unfortunately. Any of Talbot’s humdrum security measures would have to be homegrown. Self-placed cameras with no external monitoring.”

“Mari got the impression from her friend that there wouldn’t even be anything like that. He said if no one can even
get
to your house, cameras are pretty pointless. Of course, she also warned me that he might just be bitter because he was bragging he’d be able to get in and he couldn’t.”

“Duly noted.” Jackson tugged his notebook from his pocket. “Are you at the office now?”

“No.” Her voice was sullen. “I’m at Derek’s desk. He showed up about two minutes after I hung up with you last time.”

“Good. Now, if anything should happen, you take that key we gave you. It opens a safe deposit box at the First Bank and 238

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Trust on Poydras. Number fourteen-twelve. It’ll have instructions, and everything else you might need to settle the business, okay?”

“Fuck, Jackson. What the hell is going on?” He’d never lied to Kat—didn’t make a habit of lying to
anyone
, actually—but he hesitated before answering. “This guy, the one who snatched Mackenzie? He’s got power, Kat.

It’s going to take all of us to deal with him and get her back, and that’s assuming we all make it out alive.”

“Do you need more people? Derek could help, and I’m not useless…” Kat’s sounded worried now. “Shit, I can’t just sit here and wait.”

“No.” The last thing he needed was for Kat and her cousin to get hurt when he should have taken care of Talbot in the first place. Nick would kill him for certain. “We’ve got it under control, as much as possible. You just need to know what to do if things go badly.”

“O-okay.” She dragged in a shaky breath. “Okay. But if you don’t call and keep me updated, I’ll track you down and get all up in your business, Jackson Holt.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with a slight grin. “Hey, tell your cousin Nick said hi, huh?”

“Only you could go from talking about your damn will to matchmaking, Jackson.” Some of the fear had evaporated from her voice. “Unless you want to give me the dirty details www.samhainpublishing.com 239

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about what you and Mackenzie are going to get up to once you’ve done your hero shit, keep your nose out of my business. And Nick’s too, for that matter.”

“Whatever you say, Kat.” Jackson headed for the back door, feeling better. “I’ve got to go. Do me a favor and text me with Mariko’s number, all right? I may need to talk to this friend of hers.”

“Will do. Don’t get killed. I sort of like you.”

“Yeah, I bet you say that to all your bosses. Later, kid.” 240

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Mackenzie half-expected to find someone waiting for her when she emerged from the bedroom, freshly scrubbed and dressed in more clothing from the closet. The pants were, again, tight across the hips, and the shirt hadn’t been designed for a woman with breasts, but she looked presentable enough.

Someone had even stocked the bathroom with things she might need, everything from shampoo and body wash to the clip she’d used to fasten the bulk of her hair at the back of her head.

It was hard to remember she was a kidnapped prisoner as she followed the directions Marcus had given her. Charles was terrifying, but he hadn’t done anything overtly threatening, and Marcus—

Marcus had seemed insane when she’d first met him.

Absolutely crazy, with his talk of magic and shapeshifters and destiny. It had been a lot easier to dislike him when he’d been nothing more than an obsessed, deranged lunatic.

Moira Rogers

She reached the stairs and turned left, following the faint sounds she heard from the door she assumed led to the study.

“Marcus?”

He sat in one of the wing-backed chairs, reading. He looked up and smiled when she walked in. “Ready for dinner?”

“Yeah.” She managed a faint smile in return. “I’m pretty hungry.”

“Okay.” He offered her his arm, and patted hers as he led her out the door. “I had a table set up in the conservatory. We don’t really grow many things in there, but the view of the stars through the windows and ceiling is breathtaking.” It wasn’t her shapeshifter instincts that suddenly screeched a warning. The part of her that recognized where the evening was going was purely human—and entirely disturbed.

The fact that Marcus didn’t seem like a raving lunatic anymore didn’t mean she was ready to cuddle with him under the stars.

He recognized the look on her face. “Oh, no. It’s not like that. Well, okay, maybe a little. But I’ve toned it down, I swear. Dad wanted to hire a violinist.”

“Yeah.” Mackenzie glanced at him. “I don’t necessarily think you’re trying to hurt me anymore, Marcus, but I’m pretty sure I can’t downshift from kidnapping to moonlight serenades in less than twenty-four hours.” 242

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“Which is why we’re just having dinner.” The look he wore was bland but pleasant. “No talk of destiny or duty or any of that crap. You tell me about your life, and I’ll tell you about mine. Nothing more to it.”

As if it could be that simple. But arguing wouldn’t change anything. “I’ll try.”

Marcus fixed his eyes on the stairs as they descended.

“Look, Mackenzie, believe it or not, this really isn’t my idea of the perfect way to meet and woo a woman. Not that you’re not terrific,” he added quickly, “but it’s all a little rushed and fake for my tastes.”

“I spent the last month and a half in a state of blind panic.” Anger crept into her tone, in spite of her determination not to antagonize Marcus. “I barely slept. I lost
everything
I had. You people destroyed my life, and a violinist isn’t going to make me forget that.”

He looked contrite. “I didn’t know that
you
didn’t know.

When I came to see you, I mean. I wouldn’t have been so blunt, if I had. As for everything after that… Well, we didn’t have a choice. You’re our last chance, Mackenzie.” She stopped and pulled her hand away as he descended the final step, leaving her eyes on level with his when he turned to look at her. “I’m your last chance,” she agreed in a quiet voice. “You were willing to go to some crazy lengths to www.samhainpublishing.com 243

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get a hold of me. So I’m wondering what happens if I don’t agree to this. How far are you and your father willing to go?” Marcus stared at her, his eyes dark. “Considering what you’ve been through,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion,

“I’m going to try very hard not to be offended by your implication. But you can rest assured, Mackenzie, I’ve never touched a woman who didn’t want me to do so, and I’m not going to start now.”

Guilt stabbed at her, but she pushed it aside with ruthless resolve. “The men you sent after me
killed
people, Marcus.

Innocent bystanders. I didn’t think you’d be terribly worried about willingness.”

The shock that widened his eyes before disappearing behind anger was fleeting but unmistakable. “What are you talking about?”

He doesn’t know.
Exhilaration rose as quickly as the guilt had, and she shoved it down. If Marcus was truly oblivious to the things Charles had done over the years…

She met his eyes without flinching. “The first one was in Minneapolis. The tall one, Eddie? He had me cornered in the stairwell at my hotel. Two college kids came through the door, and I guess they thought Eddie was mugging me. One of them called the cops and the other one tried to get in between us.” She could see the scene in her memory even now, could hear the slightly drunken slur in the boy’s voice. He couldn’t 244

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have been older than twenty-one, newly legal and enjoying the hell out of the city’s nightlife. The memory of what happened next made her voice shake. “Eddie snapped his neck. Like it was no big deal.”

Marcus was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. “You must have been mistaken. Eddie wouldn’t have
killed
anyone. That’s not what this whole thing is about.”

“It happened again in Chicago,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “The bouncer at the place I was dancing.” He backed away from her. “Look, maybe Eddie roughed them up, but he didn’t kill anyone. That’s bullshit.”

“Steven told me it’s been going on for years.” Instinct screamed at her, told her not to press him. If he really had no idea what was going on, she risked pushing him into rejecting what she said out of hand. She tried to pull back, but she couldn’t stop the flood of words. “What do you think happened to my parents, Marcus? What do you think happened to
your
parents?”

He paled and took another step, but his eyes went hard.

“My parents died in a car accident when I was a child,” he said stonily. “Charles Talbot took me in, and he’s given me everything. So you might want to watch what you say next.” She’d gone too far. “I’m sorry.”

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we’re supposed to do is more important than what I want, or what you want. But that doesn’t mean Dad would let the things you’re describing happen. He wouldn’t.” She ignored the guilt and the protests of her empty stomach, and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Should I go upstairs?”

His hands clenched into fists at his sides before relaxing.

“No. No, of course not.” He nodded down a hallway. “The conservatory is that way. Enjoy your dinner.” With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off in the opposite direction.

Thanks to her newly sharp senses, Mackenzie heard both voices before she reached the top of the stairs. She recognized the cadence of the first voice as belonging to Marcus, but the second was lower, muffled, and she couldn’t place it.

As her steps brought her closer, she realized Marcus was talking to Charles, and the conversation had grown heated.

“Why didn’t you tell me Eddie and Mason might be—” Charles cut Marcus off in a low voice. “You should have recognized it as a possibility, Marcus. In a perfect world none of this would have been necessary, but you of all people know what we’re fighting for.”

“It’s
unacceptable
, Dad.” Marcus’s own voice was low and furious, but rising in volume. “We’re trying to save 246

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people, not kill innocent ones who just happen to get in our way.”

“I’ve been alive almost eighty years,” Charles replied shortly. “I’ve watched my kind slowly disappear. How many of us do you think are left? Thirty? Forty? Your children could be the last generation. A few human deaths are nothing compared to the extinction of our entire race.”

“What about
cougar
deaths?” The question was quiet but damning. “What really happened to my parents? To Mackenzie’s parents?”

Mackenzie froze, afraid to move as silence fell in the study. Her heart pounded so loudly she was terrified Charles and Marcus would be able to hear, but no one came to the door as the silence stretched out.

When Charles finally broke it, it was with a harsh curse.

“Steven and his lies. The girl doesn’t know better, Marcus, but
you
should. Steven’s had time to fill her head with nonsense.

It’s your job to make her understand, not to let her confuse you.”

“But it makes sense,” Marcus protested weakly. “If you’d have Eddie kill people to get to Mackenzie, what else would you do?”

“Nothing is more important to me than the cougars.” Charles’s voice was icy. “
Nothing
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It took Marcus a long time to answer. “Okay. Okay, Dad.

I’m sorry.”

Mackenzie heard footsteps and scurried back as quietly as possible. When she reached the top of the stairs she cleared her throat and walked—with a good deal more noise—toward her room.

Charles opened the study door, his expression warm and friendly and contrasting starkly with the cold look in his eyes.

“Ah, there you are, Mackenzie. I hope you enjoyed your dinner?”

It was the hardest thing in the world to smile at him, and she was sure it looked sickly and terrified. “It was good, thank you. I was just—” She gestured down the hall.

Marcus appeared beside him in the doorway. “I should only be a couple of hours, Dad.” He brushed past Mackenzie without even looking at her.

“Drive carefully,” Charles called pleasantly. “Mackenzie, please allow me to accompany you to your room.” Fear skittered up Mackenzie’s spine, and she turned without thought. “Marcus, where are you—” He continued as if he hadn’t heard her, but Charles spoke just behind her, quiet and cold. “He has some errands to run. I can’t go myself, because I can’t trust you not to lie to him in an attempt to secure your own interests. But don’t worry. He’ll return soon.”

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She spun to face Charles. Fear made her stumble when she saw the furious expression on his face. “I didn’t lie.” She hated the slight tremble in her voice, but her newly awakened instincts felt nothing but pure, unabated power from Charles, the kind that made her want to find a dim corner and hide.

“Neither did I.” Charles’s words and manner were matter-of-fact. “There is nothing more important to me than the cougars.” At her small start of surprise, he rolled his eyes and leaned closer. “Yes, yes, I could feel you out here, eavesdropping. Tell me. Did you learn anything useful?”