Илона Эндрюс - Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy)

“Time to earn my pay,” Patricia said.

“We know they have at least one illusion mage with them.”

“We’ll sniff test everyone.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I have more information.”

Patricia nodded. “Do you want to talk to the Lone Gunman or should I?”

I got up. “I’ll talk to Leon.”

“What do you want me to do about Prime Sagredo?” Patricia asked.

“I don’t follow.”

She pushed her tablet toward me. A silver Spider waited a few yards away from the security booth.

“How long has he been here?”

“Since 7:00 a.m.”

And nobody told me. Considering that nobody shot him, my family showed remarkable restraint.

“We don’t need to do anything about him. He’s guarding me.”

“Where do the two of you stand?” Patricia asked.

“I’ll tell you as soon as I figure it out.”

I climbed the stairs to the second floor. Leon sat in his office chair. A huge coffee mug with a drawing of an action figure and the slogan “If you’re not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot” waited on his desk.

Leon’s shoulders were rigid, his spine tense. He already knew.

Bern was smart. He vacuumed up data, and his powerful brain sorted it into logical chains. He had excelled at almost every subject in school, because once he learned something, he remembered it forever. Leon had failed most of his classes and limped to graduation with a C average, but he was sharp. When the occasion called for it, he made lightning-fast deductions. If his brother’s mind was a lighthouse beam, Leon’s was a strobe light, firing off unpredictable flashes of blinding brilliance.

“Audrey is dead,” I said.

“I figured that out. How?”

“A single shot to the temple, very quick. They have security footage of someone who looks exactly like you walking in and out of the building.”

“Looks like me or is me?”

“Is you. A high-ranking illusion mage. The clothes were right, the posture was right, and they even sauntered like you.”

“I don’t saunter.”

He said it on autopilot, his voice without any emotion. Oh, Leon.

“They killed her just because of me.”

“No. They killed her because of me.”

He jerked to look at me. His voice was harsh. “Tell me.”

I told him about Arkan. “He’s targeting us to divert attention from Felix Morton’s murder. Nothing you did had anything to do with it.”

Leon looked at me. His eyes were red. “I should have gone over when she called me.”

“Then she would have died half an hour sooner.”

“Or I would have saved her. She called me for help, and I didn’t come.”

“This was a trap,” I said. “They tried to lure you there. They waited to see if you would show up, and when you didn’t, they went with plan B. It was a pretty good plan B but flawed. They didn’t account for our dogs.”

“I should have gone, Catalina. She must have been terrified. I could tell she was scared on the phone, but I thought she was acting. I ignored her and they killed her just to set me up. If it wasn’t for me, she would still be alive.”

But she was dead, and every time I thought about it, my heart jerked in my chest. There would be time to process it later. Right now, Leon needed reassurance.

“You didn’t ignore her. You talked to her. You called the police. You told her to dial 911.”

His eyes were dark, his face grim. I could tell nothing I said made any difference. I had to lift some of this from him.

“You told me about it, and I told you not to go.”

“It’s not on you,” he said.

“Yes, it is. I’m the Head of the House.”

“She was my responsibility.”

“No. She stopped being your responsibility when you finished the case. Leon, if I could rewind yesterday, knowing what I know now, I still wouldn’t have let you go. Not alone. If you had gone, now Audrey would be dead, you would likely be dead, and we would be planning your funeral. I can’t do that, Leon. I can’t bury you. I just can’t.”

His face remained grim.

I wished I could do something, anything, to make him feel better and to make Audrey not be dead. But life didn’t offer do-overs.

“We’ll make them pay,” I promised.

His gaze focused. A cold expression hardened his face.

“What was their plan?” Leon said, his voice icy. “Lure me there, stage a murder-suicide?”

“If I were doing it? I’d kill her and shoot you but make sure you survived.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“If you died, we would be gunning for revenge. Grief hardens you. It makes you into a determined opponent. What would you do if I was killed?”

“I’d turn the city inside out.”

“Exactly. Our whole family would be foaming at the mouth to find your killer. But if you were still clinging to life, most of our energy would go toward clearing you and making sure you recovered. We would be angry, sure, but mostly we would be scared that we might lose you. It’s not just the frame-up, it’s the uncertainty. Will you live? If you live, will you be charged with killing Audrey? Are you in a coma, unable to refute the charges but tainted by murder? If you’re hovering between life and death, the authorities can’t charge you, they can’t clear you, and meanwhile House Baylor is smeared with the scandal. A PI who murders a celebrity YouTube star. Investigating Felix’s murder on top of that would be the last thing on my mind.”

He stared at me. “So, in this scenario, I’m a total screwup who murdered an innocent girl, tried to take the coward’s way out, and fucked it up? Jesus, I thought I was dark.”

That was a little splash of life. I would take it. “You need to up your game.”

I hugged him. Leon stiffened, then hugged me back. For a long moment neither of us spoke and then I took a step back.

“Have you told anyone about Audrey?”

He frowned.

“She never mentioned you by name in any of her videos. There is nothing on any of the social networks tying you together.” Bern had checked on that because Sabrian asked him to. “Who would know about it?”

“Albert,” he said.

“Albert Ravenscroft?”

Leon nodded.

“Why?”

My cousin sighed. “You know how I run in Freshmeadow Park in the morning? He started running with me three weeks ago.”

“He did?” That was news to me.

“Yeah. He talks.” Leon said it as if it explained everything.

“About what?”

“About everything. Sports. Family business. Cars. It always comes back to what a good match he would make for you. And wouldn’t it be cool if we could be buddies and in-laws. And if I could talk to you about him.”

“Let me guess, he has many fine qualities that women find attractive?”

“So many,” Leon said.

No doubt.

“One morning Audrey called, and he heard me tell her to stop. He said it was kind of harsh, so I told him about her. I know it’s against policy, but I felt it was a good teachable moment.”

“How did he take it?”

“He didn’t get it,” Leon said. “I don’t understand this guy. He seems smart. I made parallels between Audrey and me and him and you. It totally flew over his head.”

I rubbed my face. I would have to speak to Albert.

“You’re not backing off from the Pit?” Leon asked.

“No.”

“Good.” Leon bared his teeth. “I sent Marat’s background to you.”

“Thank you.”

“I suppose you want me to sit on my hands at home?”

I did but telling Leon that virtually guaranteed that he would do the opposite, especially if I mentioned that Arkan’s people would target him. He wanted that confrontation. Instead I went for Mom’s approach.