Lover Enslaved: Thieves of Aurion, Book 1 (22 page)

While Piper continued giving Avily the evil eye, Mara chanced a quick look across the table. Dash and Jerrick were staring at her with hot retribution.

“Okay, you’re mad. I get it.” Mara chewed on her bottom lip and followed Avily’s example by unfolding her own napkin. “But your stubborn refusal to be civil to each other forced me to be sneaky.” She sent a pleading look in Dash’s direction. “We’ve been here three days and we’re no closer to tracking down the rune. You said yourself the hotel’s computing network hasn’t coughed up any leads.
Please
, beg him to help us.”

Dash clenched his teeth. “I’m done begging him for anything. Fifteen years ago, I begged him to see reason—to find it in his heart to trust that I didn’t bed Leena. And all I got for the trouble was a price on my head for a damn rune I didn’t steal.”

A strangled gasp broke from Avily, gaining everyone’s attention. She was staring at Dash with a look of frozen disbelief.

“Sonofabitch,” Jerrick snarled, glaring at Dash. “Do you have any idea how hard I worked to keep her from learning any of this crap?”

“She doesn’t know?” Dash’s gaze veered to Avily and he groaned. “
Oh shit
. How was I supposed to know? I haven’t exactly been in the loop lately.”

Avily lifted a trembling hand and straightened her glasses. “Somebody better start talking. And fast.”

Dash leaned back in his chair. “Honey, maybe this isn’t—”

“
Fast
,” Avily demanded.

“You want the short or the long story?” Jerrick countered.

“Whichever.” Avily’s hand shot up. “On second thought, make it short. I don’t think my patience could take the other option right now.”

“Fine,” Jerrick said, his tone curt. “Remember the four months I spent in D’argen, working the Paulette sapphire job?” At Avily’s nod, he continued. “Apparently at the same time, my brother was working your sister.”

“She’s Leena’s sister?” Mara gasped.
Oh man, I didn’t see that one coming.
All eyes swung on her. She waved her hand in apology. “Go on.”

“Where’d you come up with that pile of horseshit?” The fiery inquiry came from Dash.

“I did the math.” The tense set of Jerrick’s jaw matched the steely undercurrent in his tone. “The two of you looked pretty damn cozy in your bed. That sort of intimacy takes time to acquire.”

“Of course I looked cozy,” Dash snapped. “The lousy drugs she slipped into my Ginnish Sour knocked me flat on my ass.”

Mara blinked, taken aback. “She drugged you?”

“So he claims,” Jerrick bit out.

Dash ignored his brother and looked at her. “Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who’s fallen for the old drug-in-your-drink trick.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Jerrick stretched his lips so thin, they almost appeared white. “Even after all these years, you still won’t own up to what you did.”

“Like you owned up to the fact you stole the rune and framed it on me?”

A hint of regret darkened Jerrick’s eyes. “I never intended it to go down that way. Things were said that I didn’t immediately dismiss. Eventually everyone became convinced you stole it, and I couldn’t change their minds.”

Dash’s shoulders relaxed a fraction.

“Wait a minute,” Avily said, leaning forward, her stare focused on Dash. “I think Leena did end up drugging you. Around the time you’re talking about, I saw a bunch of vials from the weird guy who used to sell potions to our mother sitting in the middle of Leena’s bed.”

Mara frowned. “You mean the vendor who owns the kiosk down the street?”

Avily nodded excitedly. “Yep. I remember when I asked Leena what they were for, she acted pretty fishy.”

Jerrick still looked unconvinced. “Why the hell would she drug him?”

Silence descended over the table while Avily pondered his question. She fiddled with the tines of her fork, rocking the utensil up and down. Trepidation softened her features. “I have a theory, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Probably not,” Jerrick said flatly. “Tell me anyway.”

“Your comment about math got me thinking. I just now realized I’ve never added up the amount of time you spent away from Leena during your stint in D’argen.” Avily smoothed her hand over the edge of the table, plucking nervously at the linen cloth. “Did you know she was pregnant?”

Every square inch of Jerrick’s face went rigid.

A weary sigh fizzled from Avily. “She told me you knew. That it was the reason you called off the wedding. She said you weren’t keen on starting a family.”

Jerrick remained mute.

“She ended up miscarrying at about eight weeks into the pregnancy, which means you couldn’t possibly have been the father,” Avily said, her voice quiet and strained. “Guess she wasn’t very good at math, either. The way I see it, before she lost the baby, she needed a good scapegoat to pass off as the father.”

Without saying a word, Jerrick scraped back his chair and stood. Avoiding their pitying looks, he pivoted and stalked towards the exit.

Mara stared at his ramrod-stiff back, her heart silently breaking for him.

A mumbled curse issued from Dash. “Wait here.” He pushed from his seat and loped after Jerrick.

“Hopefully I did the right thing telling him all that.” Moaning, Avily propped her elbow on the tabletop and cupped her cheek. “I’m really not cut out for this confessional crap.”

Dash slowed his pace when Jerrick stopped next to the waist-high tin sign marking the location of the Crystal Lodge’s underground parking and slammed his fist into the metal. The sign crumpled, making a
wwoonngg
noise in the process. Jerrick shook out his fist and ducked his head in a display of absolute dejection.

Blowing out a breath, Dash resumed his stride, quickly closing the gap between his brother and himself. “Thank the gods my head didn’t cave that easily when you clocked me the other night.”

Jerrick’s shoulders stiffened but he remained facing the parking garage. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Thought you might need someone to talk to.”

A humorless laugh trickled from Jerrick before he finally deigned to turn around. The overhead streetlamp revealed a face set in abject misery. In the span of mere minutes, he looked like he’d aged far beyond his thirty-three years. “Why don’t you admit why you’re really out here?”

Dash frowned. “I told you why.”

“No, you’re here to tell me what an idiot I am.”

“No, I’m not,” Dash said, his tone soft.

“Do it.” Jerrick’s eyes held deep sockets of pain. “Tell me.”

“No.”

“You’ve called me worse names.” Jerrick’s chin jutted upward in challenge. “Sleeping in silk sheets all these years turn you into a pansy ass?”

“Nice try. And my sheets are Hammatak linen. Cost a bloody fortune too.”

Rage flooded Jerrick’s face. He stalked forward, his stance combative. “Goddamn it,
tell me
.”

“You’re doing a fine job beating yourself up. You don’t need any help from me.”

Jerrick’s shoulders slumped and he unballed his fists, dropping them listlessly to his sides. “I wasted all these years hating you.”

“Yeah, you did.” Dash inclined his head. “But I forgive you.”

The hollows beneath Jerrick’s eyes deepened. “Why?”

“Because you’re my brother. And Leena dealt you one hell of a vicious blow. I can’t stay mad at you, knowing what she did.” A worrisome thought occurred to Dash and he gave Jerrick a pensive look. “You do believe me now about not touching her, right? I might have been half drugged out of my head, but I know we didn’t have sex.”

“The things Avily said were…tough to hear.” Jerrick massaged his temple, as if trying to rub the worst of her words from his memory. “But they’re too damning for me not to believe them.” He dropped his hand and stared at the walkway beneath his boots. “It’s crazy, but even though I stopped loving Leena long ago, tonight brought all that misery racing back.”

Guilt chiseled a cubbyhole inside Dash’s chest. “You never should have faced the misery on your own.” He’d wasted so much time weaving his cocoon of bitterness, never thinking beyond his selfish pride.

Jerrick didn’t say anything. Just continued to stare at him.

“I’m here for you now.” The words, long overdue after all these years, sat like a lump in Dash’s throat. If he didn’t spew them out, he’d choke on a lifetime of regret. “I want things to be like the way they were before our fallout.”

A faint smile tipped Jerrick’s mouth. “You hinting at us becoming partners again?”

Dash grunted. “Not exactly what I meant. Besides, I have two buttinski females who think they’ve filled that position.”

“Ah yes—the hot chicky and the little chicky.” Jerrick’s expression grew speculative. “A sprite and a human. Always knew you were one kinky bastard.”

A groan tumbled from Dash. “Good gods, don’t repeat that to Mara. She thinks I’m a big enough pervert as it is.”

“Ah, so she knows the true you. Amazing she still put in a good word for you the other morning.”

“She did?” Dash’s heart momentarily lifted at the idea—until reality slapped him in the face. “She probably did it because she needed us to reconcile. For the rune.”

Jerrick didn’t look entirely convinced. “If so, she’s going to be mighty disappointed. I lost track of the rune’s whereabouts a few years back.”

Dash wasn’t surprised. Still, it did put a crimp in things. “Maybe the trail isn’t completely cold. We’ll start with the individual you sold it to and work our way from there.” He stopped, realizing how presumptuous he sounded. Particularly when minutes ago he’d insisted he didn’t need any more partners. “That’s if you want to lend a hand.”

“I’m the reason you’ve got a price on your head. The least I can do is help get that damn rune.”

Stepping around Jerrick, Dash clamped a hand around his brother’s shoulder. It was the first physical contact they’d exchanged in fifteen years that didn’t result in blood loss. Kind of made him misty eyed. “Then let’s get to work.”

Chapter Seventeen

Dash shook his head while Mara, Jerrick and Piper battled for supremacy over the touchscreen controlling the Crystal Lodge’s central computing network. Perhaps convincing everyone to pile into the cramped ten foot by ten foot terminal hadn’t been the wisest idea.

“Damn it, would you quit batting your wings against my chin?” Jerrick growled before taking an ineffectual swipe at Piper.

“Can I help it your head’s in the way?”

Mara leaned over the chair Jerrick occupied. “I’ve got a brilliant idea. How about the two of you take your bickering out in the hall while I finish looking?”

Jerrick snorted. “Nice try, Blondie.”

Stifling a laugh when Mara tweaked Jerrick’s ear, Dash turned and caught Avily staring at the back of Jerrick’s head. It wasn’t the first time he’d busted her doing it, either. She shifted restlessly. When she noticed him noticing her, a fierce blush rode her cheeks and she mumbled something about needing to use the bathroom facilities. Hugging her chest tight, she spun around and trotted from the terminal.

Dash swung his gaze back to his brother. His suspicions started buzzing louder than the irritable sounds coming from Piper. He strode to the group clustered around the screen and tapped Jerrick on the shoulder. His brother glanced up with a distracted scowl.

“We need to talk. In private.
Now
.”

Jerrick’s scowl didn’t budge. “I’m in the middle of something.”

“That can wait,” Dash said, waving at the screen. “This can’t.”

“Fine.” Jerrick shoved his chair back and stood. The second he vacated his spot, Mara plopped onto the seat.

“This better be damn important.” Muscles rigid, Jerrick stalked from the room.

Dash trailed after him. Once he felt reasonably assured of their privacy, he glared at his brother. “You stupid ass. She’s just a kid.”

Jerrick blinked. “Who you talking about?”

“Avily.” Dash grabbed the edge of the doorframe to keep from plowing his fist into Jerrick’s nose. “What were you thinking bedding her?”

“
What
?”

“Can the innocent act. It’s all too clear now why you’ve avoided Avily’s doorstep the past five years.” Dash blew out a disgusted breath. “We all know Leena hurt you, but I thought you had more class than to screw her baby sister.”

Jerrick’s forehead furrowed. “I haven’t touched Avily.”

Dash’s righteous indignation dissipated slightly. Either his brother was one amazing actor or he was telling the truth. “What about the crack you made back in the Glasstisserie?” He grunted in response to Jerrick’s blank stare before elaborating. “When Avily needled you for swearing, you made a crack about kissing her. And don’t deny she was the one you were referring to. Her expression gave it away.”

Guilt flashed in Jerrick’s eyes. He swiped a hand through his hair. “Okay, I admit I kissed her. But that’s still a big jump from screwing her.”

Dash mentally replayed the look on Avily’s face before she realized she’d been busted. “Must have been one hell of a kiss, because she’s been giving you the stink eye all night.”