Page 41 of The Devil You Know
“At the very least, I can make coffee and cook dinner. An army moves on its stomach, after all.” Parker grinned.
Evan checked his messages. Joe said that Johnny was touching base with the other covens but didn’t have answers yet, and he hadn’t heard back from Jenna. Travis Dominick and Teag Logan did have news on the observatory inscription, and their answers matched, leaving Evan feeling confident that at least part of their plan was going right.
“What’s next?” Parker asked.
“My friend Joe is recruiting reinforcements for us to go after Seth,” Evan said. “I think I know where he’s being kept. Just in case Osborn is still planning to do the ritual at the full moon, I need to break into the abandoned observatory and steal his anchor—he needs that to work the magic. Friends just worked out the code so I can open the safe.”
“Okay. When do we go?”
Evan stared at Parker. “It’s dangerous. And technically, it’s against the law. We’ll be breaking and entering.”
Parker sniffed. “Please. Not my first time. Don’t you remember Old Man Anderson’s farm back home? I engineered senior skip day and got us past guard dogs, an electric fence, and a bad-tempered bull named Floyd.”
“I’m not saying you don’t have talent,” Evan replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “But this involves magic and the police.”
“I can’t do magic, so let me give the cops a merry chase. Don’t spread it around, but I’ve outrun the cops more than a few times when keggers got busted.”
“Shocking,” Evan said, deadpan.
“I’m practically a criminal,” Parker said in a conspiratorial whisper, reminding Evan why he had missed his brother so much. The two of them had always been on the same wavelength.
Evan weighed his options. Sitting around while Seth was missing was driving him nuts. Retrieving the anchor might slow Osborn down, and it gave them a valuable piece of leverage, as well as the means to stop the sacrifice ritual. Joe and his friends were busy hunting down other essential information through their contacts. And Evan knew he shouldn’t go to the observatory alone.
“All right, you’re in,” he said, although he couldn’t quash his reservations. “We’ll go tomorrow, right after we bring your car to the campground. Make sure you wear your running shoes because you might need them.”
* * *
“You’re going to a party?”Parker asked, as Evan adjusted the tux Adrian had delivered to the campground office.
“Fundraiser—and the main suspect for Seth’s kidnapping is going to be there,” Evan replied. “I’ll be with someone Osborn doesn’t dare touch. Pretty sure Joe and Jenna will be there undercover as well. I need to get a feel for this guy—and I’ll do my best not to throttle him on sight.”
“What do you want me to do while you’re gone?” Parker asked.
“Stay inside the RV and don’t open the door.” Evan fussed with his cummerbund. “We’ve got plenty of DVDs and good Wi-Fi, so you can kick back and relax. There’s soda in the fridge and pizza in the freezer. Just don’t go anywhere and don’t tell anyone where we’re located.”
“I can do that,” Parker said. “This is a pretty comfy place.”
Evan smiled wistfully. “Most of that is Seth. He’s really made it a home for us.” He put on his tux jacket, and Parker nodded in approval.
“Look at you—Jackson Evan Malone, secret agent man,” Parker teased
“Not bad, considering I never made it to senior prom.” He heard the rumble of a car outside and glanced out the window. “Figures Adrian drives a Maserati.”
“Holy fuck,” Parker said, looking out the window and letting out a low whistle. “You’re going in style.”
“Let’s just hope we pick up some useful information,” he told Parker. “We need to get Seth away from Osborn and safely home.”
“Just remember—‘shaken, not stirred,’” Parker said, clapping Evan on the shoulder on his way out of the door. “You’re Malone—Jackson Evan Malone. Gotta play the part.”
“Dork. You know I hate ‘Jackson.’” Evan smiled from the ribbing despite his worries.
“Eh, says the uber-dweeb,” Parker countered with a smirk. “Knock ’em dead.”
Evan had butterflies in his stomach as he walked out to the sports car. Part of him felt guilty for attending a plush event while Seth was imprisoned, even if it was to help find a way to save him. Although he knew that attending the fundraiser with Adrian was completely platonic, Evan also felt weirdly unfaithful.
“What should I expect?” Evan asked as Adrian pulled out into traffic. “Nice car, by the way.”
“Thanks,” Adrian replied with a grin. “Bonus—if anyone chases us, we can outrun them all.”
