Page 48 of Wild Devil

“Keep it down!” I glance back over at Frey. She stirs in her sleep but doesn’t seem to have heard Damien, thank fuck. Still, I take a few steps toward the front of the warehouse, ensuring she’s out of earshot. “But you’re right,” I say, turning back to Damien and Ben behind him. “So, let’s get to it. Any luck tracking down where Heywood went?”

“No,” Ben admits. “But your cartel buddy seems to think that he must be ready to coordinate their final plans. There is some dedication of some statue happening downtown in three days. That might be when they strike.”

“And what about the fire?” I add, crossing my arms. “Any news of the stepmother?”

Damien frowns, shaking his head. “Not so much as a fucking whisper. I bet they’re working overtime to keep it under wraps. They even put a notice in the paper of the princess’ wedding to Mr. Burnt-n-crispy.”

“Maybe now isn’t the time for jokes,” I point out, though sympathy for the bastard husband-to-be is far from my mind. I’m more worried about something Frey said. “Frey’s stepmother could have died there too.”

“My sincere condolences,” Damien says with a scoff. “You know what does deserve my emotional focus right now? Getting you clear of this mess and putting Silas in check.”

“Silas,” I say, unnerved by a sudden realization. “He wasn’t at the manor.”

“No,” Ben says. “Which means that Heywood thought it more prudent to have him somewhere else, tidying up loose ends.”

“Sounds about right to me,” Damien pitches in.

But something still doesn’t add up. “How do we know that Catherine set the fire in the first place?” I counter.

Grunting, Ben strokes his chin. “You thinking it was a setup?”

“Otherwise, why would Heywood leave his daughter and new son-in-law in the middle of nowhere, unprotected? My guess is that the fire was planned to get the unfortunate new husband out of the way.”

“But by who?” Ben wonders. “Silas or Heywood himself?”

“That’s the real question. And how long will it take them to realize who really went up in the blaze and who didn’t?”

“Another mystery to solve,” Ben says with a pensive frown. “You seem to be an expert at racking them up these days.”

“Well, call me fucking Nancy Drew,” I counter. Hell, it’s a better nickname than “ex-almost-felon.” Or “murderer.” In a twisted way, all this shit is squarely my fault. “The fact of the matter is that everything stems from the same two-headed snake. Silas and Heywood. We cut them off, and we slay the beast.”

Ben raises an eyebrow. “So, what’s our next move?”

Even though it’s self-serving, I can’t deny that there is some benefit to a certain approach. “We lay low,” I say. “Put out feelers. Keep our heads to the ground. The men can base here, but if Frey really is essential to this whole scheme, I say we move her somewhere else. A place that’s easier to defend.”

Ben scoffs. “I agree, but do you have any idea where you’d like to hide the daughter of the most powerful man in the city for a few days?”

“I’ll think about it,” I say, heading past him toward the front of the warehouse. “Speaking of hiding, where are Lyra and Sam? You got them out of the city like I told you, right?”

Ben winces as his face turns beet red. “About that… Damien knew of a place, and it turned out to be perfectly safe. Actually, you know, it was more convenient than any other solution.”

I raise an eyebrow at his cautious tone. “But?”

He shrugs. “It may or may not be legal.”

“Ben…”

“Damien may or may not have had Lex hack a real estate listing for a waterfront cabin and made it so some random alias of his shows up as the owner in perpetuity.”

“That definitely doesn’t sound legal,” I point out. Not that I’m in any position to quote property laws.

“So what?” Ben winks. “You don’t really care, anyway. It can’t be traced to you, either. Besides, Kane is there now, and Lex even rigged the security system so that a fly can’t get close to the place without us knowing. Legalities aside, it’s safe. Now we have to focus on more important things, like getting your little princess out of town.”

“Any ideas?”

“I think a lakeside retreat would do her some good,” he says. “But you need to get back as soon as possible. We need you if we’re going to take down the Heywood bastard, not to mention Silas.”

“So I take her there, but then come right back,” I suggest, hating the idea almost as much as I know what a good idea it is.

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