Page 87 of The Rogue's Curse

“That’s right,” Paris said. “Well, I am. He’s only half.” Jonas scowled at him, and he tucked the sour expression into his repository of pleasant memories to summon on cloudy days. “I know it will sound cliche, but we’re the good guys.”

Blake’s gaze drifted, and Paris followed the look to see a knife block on the granite counter. He glanced back, and a guilty expression pulled at his features. Paris just shook his head silently.

Diana sipped at her iced tea and continued, “Two days after Ronnie died, this lady named Georgina showed up at our house along with a handsome older man. They said they were from the church, so we let them in without thinking.They were polite, but scary. He told me that we were going to have a lucrative business deal. I just had to close down the funeral home, and in six months, I had to sell it to him,” she said. “I didn’t want to, but he just took out his phone and showed me a picture of Ella walking across campus.”

“And then he made Mom drink blood,” Blake said, eyes downcast. “Both of us.”

Jonas leaned forward and held out his phone. “Was this the man you saw?”

Diana nodded. “That’s him,” she said.

“Carrigan Shea,” Jonas said, nodding to Paris. “Have you seen him again?”

“Not him, but Georgina came back one other time. Maybe three or four days ago,” Diana said, wringing her hands. “She told me as long as I cooperated, they wouldn’t hurt any of us, but I know they killed Ron.”

“Cooperated how?”

“I shut the business down,” Diana said. “I told him we had to honor our contracts, or it would create more of a mess. We just had a few funerals on the books for the next two weeks, so we finished them out, and then I told the staff we were closing indefinitely while I dealt with Ron’s passing. And I had to pretend not to notice that someone was using the crematory at night.” Her expression shattered, and tears poured down her cheeks. “I try to tell myself I’m not hurting anyone, but I feel like I’ve got blood on my hands.”

Paris shook his head and said, “Mrs. Goodwin, I assure you, this is not your doing. They would find another way to dump bodies if not through your family’s business.”

Jonas glanced at Paris. “This could be our chance at Shea. We leave, plan an incursion, and lure him out later.”

“Leave?” Diana said. “You can’t leave us here!”

“You don’t understand how serious this is,” Jonas said. “It’s bigger than your little family.”

“What if he hurts us? What if he hurts Ella?” she said, her voice taking on a pleading edge. “Please, you’ve got to help us.”

Paris stared at her for a long, painful stretch. He could envision it now; plant a couple of operatives in the house, several more in the trees, and draw Shea here. What if he had Diana call and tell Georgina that he and Nikko had been there? Would that be enough to draw out Shea himself? They might circumvent his protected territory entirely.

But it was unlikely. Even before their attack on the Constitution Building, Carrigan Shea rarely left his sanctuary. And even if he did, what if things went wrong? Could he dangle three humans in the air as bait? Were they acceptable losses?

“Please,” Diana said. “I lost my husband already. I can’t lose my children.”

Her words sliced through him, and he saw Jonas recoil like he’d been slapped. “We won’t,” Paris said. “If you want out now, we’ll get you out.”

“Oh, thank you,” Diana blurted.

“But would you be willing to stay with us just a little longer?” Paris said. “I have a plan.”

* * *

Ninety minutes later, Paris received a text from Nikko.

Nikko

We’re in place. I’m ready to grab the daughter. Sasha has eyes on Shea’s man on campus. Tell us when to go.

Paris nodded to Diana. “They’ve got Ella. As soon as you call, they’ll close in,” he said.

Diana stared at him, her jaw tense. Then she finally nodded and hit send on her phone. After several rings, he heard a feminine voice. “This is Georgina.”

“Georgina, this is D-D-Diana Goodwin. You told me to call if anything strange happened,” she said. Her eyes cut to Paris. “Two men came by my house asking about you and Mr. Shea. They seemed to know a lot about you guys.”

“What did they look like?” Georgina asked.

“Good-looking. One had long blonde hair. The other was kind of average. Blue eyes, kind of tall,” she said, flashing him a little smile. “I told them I didn’t know anything about anyone named Shea.”

---