Warlock Unbound: Heart's Desire, Book 4 (12 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Daniel managed to get himself back under control, but barely. He kept picturing Kerry’s face in the place of the victims, screaming as Arthur stole her life, and her soul.

“Kiss me, you fool.”

He started, his gaze ripped away from the images of the victims to the image of Kerry, her lips puckered up and her eyes squinted closed. The woman was going to drive him insane.

He pecked her lips and stepped away, waiting for her reaction.

She stood there for a moment before one eye opened. “That’s it?”

He chuckled. She was trying to speak through puckered lips, the sound garbled and muted. “I tell you what. Let’s finish here and then I’ll kiss you all night long.”

Her eyes opened. “Promise?”

Damn. Daniel’s cock went rock hard from just one sultry look from those pretty blue eyes of hers. “Promise.”

She stared at the table, the heat dissipating. She stepped around him and picked up the pictures. “Then I guess we should get back to work.”

He nodded, turning once more to the book. It was still open to Kerry’s entry, and one word caught his eye above all others: Godwin. He read the entry, swearing under his breath. “You’re related to the Godwins.” He pointed out the lineage, where one of the Godwins married a mundane. One of their children married a mundane, and so on until that particular line’s magic was all but buried.

“Well. That explains a lot. I have magic because I come from a line of wizards and warlocks.” She tilted her head as though a thought struck her. “What about the others? Do they have Godwin blood?”

“Good question.” Daniel rifled through the Registry, stopping with the first entry, that of Myra Burton. Already the word
deceased
had been added to her entry. He scanned all the way down her lineage, turning three pages before he found the end. “Nope. No Godwins in her line.”

Kerry made a note on her pad. “Next is Janet Hoffman, worked for a clothing store owned by Councilor Jones.”

Daniel opened her page, scanning the lineage. “Yes. She’s got Godwin blood. And it’s recent.” He pointed at Janet Hoffman’s grandmother, Liza Godwin. “Liza Godwin is the aunt of Vivian Godwin.”

A check went next to Janet’s name. “Debra Mason, coffee shop employee.”

“A Godwin, but way back in her ancestry, almost as far as yours.” Kerry was on to something here. “Let’s keep looking. I think you may be right about the Godwin connection.”

“But what about Myra Burton? She has no Godwin connections.”

“Not in her bloodline, but what if she was connected in some other way?” Daniel would have to ask Mac if he knew anything about young Myra.

“Like dating or engaged to a Godwin?”

He stared at her, smiling. “God, you’re so smart.”

She preened under the praise, her cheeks turning pink. “It wasn’t
that
big a leap.”

“But not one I would have made. I would have looked for some secret connection, like the victim working with Arthur for some reason or another, only to be betrayed.”

“That’s equally valid. We should look into both possibilities.” Kerry tapped the Registry. “Next is Casey McCoy. Her parents worked for Councilor Padilla.”

“Nope. No Godwin blood.”

Kerry made a note on her notepad. “Gwen Nelson, electrician, worked for a company owned by Councilor Mitchell.”

He shook his head, doubt rearing in his mind. “No Godwin blood.”

“Hmm.” Kerry made a note. “Last one. Donna Page, worked in the gift shop downstairs.”

He flipped to the last victim’s page. “Yes, there’s Godwin blood, and recent. Priscilla Godwin was her great-grandmother.”

“So that leaves us with four victims with Godwin blood, and four without.” He leaned back, tapping his fingers on the work table. “If we’re right and the ones without Godwin blood still had connections to the Godwins, then…” He shook his head, trying to connect the dots.

“How do we find out? These are so-called ‘lower court’ women.” Kerry made a face. “I doubt anyone here knows who they were dating.”

“They definitely wouldn’t know if any of the victims was in cahoots with Arthur.” Daniel walked to his desk, where he researched his spells, and sat. He gestured for Kerry to join him.

She did, sitting on his lap with an ease that made his wolf grumble in satisfaction. The rumbling half whine, half growl rumbled out of him, pleasing them both.

Kerry stared at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck. “So how do we do this?”

He rubbed a hand along her thigh, the touch casual rather than sensual. “We could start with Mac. He might have some ideas.”

“We could also talk to the families. They might know something we don’t.” She put her head on his shoulder. “We could say that the king is looking into the disappearances. That might open some doors we couldn’t normally open.”

“Good idea.” He leaned forward, careful not to dislodge his mate, and grabbed for his desk phone. This phone was internal to the building only, and would connect him with Gareth, Mac, or the Council, depending on which buttons he pressed.

He called Gareth. “We have some info on the missing girls.”

“Gen and I are on our way.”

In typical Gareth fashion, he hung up without a good-bye. “You hear that?”

“Mm-hm.”

He could almost hear the gears turning. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m a Godwin.”

He tensed. “And you have blonde hair and blue eyes.”

She nodded, shivering slightly. She jumped when Gareth walked into the room, followed by Gen.

Daniel, irritated at the interruption, glared at his brother. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

Gareth shrugged and settled his ass right on Daniel’s work table. “Sure, but it’s good to be the king.” He grinned, winking at Kerry. “So. What did you find out?”

Kerry stood to allow Daniel up. “Four of the victims have Godwin blood.”

“And we want to find out if the other four had ties to the Godwins, but we’re not sure how.”

Gen held out her hand. “Show me the list.”

Kerry handed it over, and Gen read it, nodding at times. When Gen was done she handed the list back to Kerry. “All right. Here’s what I can fill in. As far as I know, Myra Burton has been dating my cousin, Reggie, since high school. Rumor has it there was going to be a wedding next year.”

“So that’s one,” Daniel sighed.

Kerry marked it on her list. “What about Casey McCoy?”

Gen slowly shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“And Gwen Nelson?” Kerry stood, pen poised over paper, ready to make a mark.

Gen’s brows furrowed. “I believe Gwen and Alicia Godwin were dating, but it was sort of hush-hush as Ali’s parents didn’t approve of their daughter being gay. I’m not certain if they were still together at the time of Gwen’s disappearance.”

“So that’s almost all of them, except for the one we couldn’t identify.” And that one continued to haunt Daniel. “You think one of the older council members might know her?”

“It’s possible, but they’re not exactly speaking to us right now.” Gareth rubbed his chin. “I could order them to answer, but I will more than likely get a run-around rather than the truth.”

“Then we assume there’s a connection to the Godwins with all of the victims, no matter what.” Gen stared at the Registry, biting her lip. “We could also comb through the Registry and see if any recently deceased wizards match up with our victims physically.”

“It will take a while, but it’s definitely an idea.” Daniel stood. “I’ll deal with that.”

“Thanks, bro.” Gareth clapped Daniel on the shoulder. “I love it when one of you takes one for the team.”

Daniel knew better. “In other words, you’re thrilled you don’t have to do it.”

“Exactly.” Again, that huge Gareth grin appeared. Gareth stood, reaching for Gen. “In the meantime, we’re going to scry one last time for the victim’s name.”

Kerry nodded, already flipping through the Registry. “We’ll make a list of those who match and see if we come up with the same name.”

Gareth looked at Daniel, but Daniel merely shrugged. His mate was a nurse, a scientist as far as he was concerned. If she wanted to cross her t’s and dot her i’s he wasn’t about to stop her. If anything, it would allow them to show irrefutable proof as to who the missing woman was.

She was flipping through, muttering to herself, but her pen never touched paper until she was nearly through the wizards.

“Irene Thomas, blonde, blue eyed, age twenty-two, a Godwin by blood, deceased.” Kerry looked up. “She’s the only one so far who fits the profile.”

“Keep checking, just to be sure.” Daniel rubbed his hand down Kerry’s back as she leaned over the book once more.

After a few moments of nothing but the sound of pages being flipped, Kerry shook her head. “She’s the only one.”

“Then she has to be our unknown victim.” Daniel stared at Gareth. “Four with Godwin blood, four connected to the Godwins in some fashion.”

“He’s killing his own. But why?”

Gen stepped forward, the Own shivering as she clung to Gareth. “I think I know.”

Before Gen could tell them, Kerry’s cell phone rang. “It’s my sister.” She waved her hand toward the workroom door. “I’ll take it out there. You guys keep working in here.” She absently kissed Daniel’s cheek and sashayed out, the phone to her ear. “Hi, Kelly!”

Daniel smiled as he watched her shut the door behind her.

“Your mating is going well?”

He pulled his attention away from whatever his mate might be doing back to his brother. Gareth was holding Gen tight, her reaction to finding out all of the victims were associated with the Godwins all too obvious. She was pale, still trembling as she wrapped her arms around Gareth.

“So far, so good. We still have to complete the mating.” And when they did, he would whisper the words that would place the shadow wolf on her shoulder, marking her as his. “Now.” He focused on Gen. “Tell us what you know.”

She flinched. “It’s just a theory, but…”

Chapter Twenty

“You’re what?” Kerry stared out the window, amazed. There had to be some mistake, because this was proof positive that her brother-in-law, Dennis the Menace, was actually
homo sapiens
, not a Neanderthal. “No way.”

“Yup.” Kelly giggled, sounding so happy it made Kerry’s heart hurt.

Her sister should always sound that good. While Kerry couldn’t stand Dennis, Kelly worshipped the ground the man walked on. Dennis returned the feeling, and that was enough to make Kerry tolerate him. But this? This she wasn’t ready for.

“We’re pregnant!”

“Holy crap.” Kerry sat down, unable to continue standing. She was going to be an aunt. “How far along are you?”

“Eight weeks and counting. You need to come over so I can show you the ultrasound pictures.”

Aw, shit. How did she explain to her twin that what she was asking for wasn’t possible? “I, ah…”

“Kerry? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She was lying through her teeth, but what was the alternative? So she spit out the only thing she could think of. “Daniel and I are together.”

“It’s about goddamn time!” Kelly sighed dramatically. “I was wondering when you two would finally start dating.”

They were doing so much more than dating, but that wasn’t something she could share with Kelly. They were twins, but there were some things that were fundamentally different between them. Kelly was much more conservative than Kerry. “Yup. Totally dating.”

“And boinking?”

Boinking? Kerry burst into laughter. “Boinking? You’re a grown-ass woman, you know. You can say fu—”

“Not in front of the children!”

Kerry continued to laugh. “I’m pretty sure the kidney bean has no idea what we’re talking about, sis.”

“Oh, no. You are not naming my child Bean.”

Well, that settled that. Kerry grinned, imagining all the fun she could have with her niece or nephew, fun that would drive stuck-up Dennis up the wall. “Of course I am. I’m the cool aunt.”

“So, when are you stopping by? I tried to call you at work, but they said you were on leave. Is everything okay?”

Kerry took a deep breath. This was the part she knew her sister was going to fight her on. She wasn’t ready to tell her she was already gone. “I’m moving to New York.”

Dead silence. The kind of silence that made one wonder if the other person had accidentally hung up on you.

“Kelly?”

Still nothing. Then, in a rapid burst, Kelly began to speak. “You can’t move to New York. I need you here. You have to go with me to Lamaze classes and go shopping for baby clothes and the nursery furniture and I can’t let you move, damn it.”

Kerry blinked. Kelly almost never cursed. She must be seriously losing it. “Kelly, Daniel lives in New York now. He works for his brother Gareth at the hotel.”

“Fine.” Kelly’s voice was shaking with anger. Kelly always hated it when Kerry argued with her, especially when Kelly’s mind was made up over something. “Then date someone else. You don’t need him if he won’t stay here in Pennsylvania.”

“Kelly—”

“No. You can’t move and that’s final.”

Maybe Dennis could get through to Kelly. “Can you put Dennis on the phone?”

“No.” Kelly was getting the stubborn tone Kerry knew well. “You can deal with me.”

Kelly would have been pissed if she hadn’t heard the sheer panic in Kelly’s voice. “You’re going to be fine, sis.”

“No, I’m not.” Kelly was beginning to cry. “You won’t be here.”

Had the pregnancy hormones kicked in, or was Kelly having one of her normal meltdowns? “I’m not dead, you know. I’m only one state up.”

“What if I need you to babysit? Huh? Or…Or if I need you to check the baby when she has a fever.”

“If you need a babysitter, ask Dennis to ask one of his sisters or his brother. He’s got, like, twenty siblings.”

“That’s not funny. He only has six.”

“See?” Kerry tried to interject some humor. “Babysitters galore. And if the baby gets sick, call me and tell me the symptoms. I’ll tell you if I think she needs the doctor or the hospital, I promise.”

Kelly blew out a breath. “I don’t like it.”

“Aw, don’t pout. You need to be where you are, and I need to be where I am.”

“But why?” The whine was also familiar. Kelly had used it to her advantage more than once. “Can’t you do what you need here?”

“Nope.” Kelly couldn’t allow herself to be swayed as she had in the past. People often thought she was the dominant twin, but the truth was Kelly got her way more often than not when it was just between the two of them. Kerry couldn’t allow her sister to cajole her into moving back to Pennsylvania. It just wasn’t possible. Even if she wasn’t mated to Daniel, her powers weren’t bound yet. Until she found an elemental she could work with and gain power from, there was no way she could go to Pennsylvania, even for a visit.

She especially didn’t want demons whispering in her ears while she was around her pregnant sister. Who knew what could happen to Bean? Could the demon take over the baby’s body? Could she accidentally unbind the child’s magic? She needed to talk to Gen before going to see Kelly and her baby. She wouldn’t endanger either with her wonky magic powers.

“What do you mean ‘nope’?” Kelly’s voice became a whisper. “Is he in the room?”

Kerry rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Is he deliberately keeping you away from me?”

What the fuck? Was Kelly saying what she thought her sister was saying? “No, he’s not abusing me, or separating me from friends or family, or doing any of the things assholes do before they abuse their significant other. He’s actually in the other room, doing his own thing with his brother, Gareth.”

“Is he building a dungeon where he’ll flog you?”

Kerry choked. “What?”

“I’ve seen that movie, you know. He’s going to make you his sex slave.”

“First off, I can’t believe you watched that horrible movie.”

“I kind of liked it,” Kelly muttered.

“Oh, do you want Dennis to enact some of the scenes?” Kelly gagged. “Ugh. Now I have to get that image out of my head.”

“You leave my Denny alone. He’s not some kinky freak like Daniel.”

Kelly couldn’t help it. “But you watched a kinky movie together, right? Did you and Dennis get your freak on when it was over?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“C’mon, Kelly.” Kerry spoke soothingly. This panic attack was so typically Kelly that Kerry had the lines down almost perfectly. She’d figure out how to get her twin out of her funk. And if that didn’t work, she’d sic Lana on her. “You know things will work out fine.”

“No, I don’t. I keep dreaming that you’re in trouble. I want you to come home, so I can see for myself that you’re okay.”

“I swear to you that I’m fine, Kelly.” Again, utter bullshit, but she couldn’t tell Kelly what was really going on. She’d probably never be able to tell Kelly about her magic, or the potential Bean would have to become magical. “Maybe Daniel and I can move back at some point.”

“You’re lying to me. You’re never coming back.”

“Kelly,” Kerry sighed. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.” A wet sniffle signaled the crying portion of Kelly’s upcoming breakdown. “You’re abandoning me.”

Melodrama, thy name is Kelly.
“I am not!”

The sniffles became outright crying. “My baby won’t even know you.”

“Stop it.” If Kelly kept going she’d work herself into greater hysterics. “I’m not abandoning you, not for Daniel or anyone else. But I have to do what I have to do, just like you did. New York is my home now.”

“You said now,” Kelly whispered.

Kerry grunted. “I’m already here. Things…happened, and I didn’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice, Kerry. And you chose him.”

“Kelly, don’t do this.” Kelly wasn’t crying anymore. She was shutting Kerry out, something she only did when Kerry did something Kelly
really
didn’t like.

The click of the phone was her only answer. Kelly had hung up on her.

Kerry’s head dropped as a slew of emotions flowed through her. Anger, betrayal, the familiar love for her twin and the need to ease Kelly’s fears all tangled together in one hell of a mess. Where was Kelly when Kerry was in the hospital, recovering from her injuries? She’d made a quick visit, bringing flowers and staying for fifteen minutes before telling Kerry she had to leave in order to fix Dennis’s dinner. But when Kerry couldn’t be by Kelly’s side the moment she demanded it, Kerry became a villain.

Kelly would get over it. Dennis was one of the few people capable of making Kelly calm down from one of her snits. In the meantime, Kerry would concentrate on getting her magic under control and Arthur’s existence wiped off the map. There wasn’t much else Kerry could do until Kelly was ready to talk to her again.

Daniel pulled her close, his hand resting on her hip. “How was your phone call?”

“Great.” The lie tasted like acid on her tongue, but what could she do? They had far more pressing issues to deal with than her sister. “I’m gonna be late for my lessons. Mind if I take off?”

Daniel exchanged a glance with Gareth. “I’m going with her.”

Gareth nodded. “Do what you need to do. Just keep an eye on both of them for me.”

Kerry rolled her eyes. At least she was no longer on the phone arguing with her twin. “C’mon, Daniel. Teacher doesn’t like it when I’m late.”

Daniel took her hand. “We wouldn’t want Teacher to punish you.”