Page 31 of Too Cursed To Kiss
“Well, yes, a little.” Apparently, they already knew the bigger story. I glanced at Wald. He nodded his approval to continue. I sat up straighter. “Your daughter has completely screwed me over. She killed my friend Gentry. Poisoned him and then accidentally poisoned me. Then she called the police, framing me for his murder. I gather you made her get the abortion, and I’d like to know who the hell you think you are?”
The crystal chandelier above us tinkled, and china on the mantel rattled. I gripped the arms of the chair as the floor vibrated, calculating the distance to the door. “Earthquake?” I asked innocently while realizing how utterly stupid I was. Maverick’s face was ashen, his cheek twitching. He, too, had a firm hold on his chair but not in fear. Jeezus Christ. I needed to remember I wasn’t dealing with normal people.
“Father, Harlan doesn’t lie, but she’s also not very skilled at diplomacy,” Wald said, redirecting his father’s attention.Maverick’s head twisted to look at him. Wald’s lips had set into a grim straight line. The shaking stopped.
Wald continued, “Harlan interrupted the theft of the artifact. She had it in her possession for a time, and tried it on, so she’s been targeted as a protector. Now, she’s in danger from her own people because of Britannia, and from the Grigores because of my carelessness.”
“She wore it?” Maverick snapped, locking eyes with Wald.
“Only for a second,” I replied, glancing from father to son, who were now staring at me. Maverick’s lips pressed together.
“Where is the ring now?” Maverick asked.
“I have it in safekeeping, but the box is lost to us,” Wald replied.
“Lost?” Maverick’s voice was shrill.
“I was unable to retrieve it before the building on 2ndAvenue exploded,” Wald said, like he was spitting out sour grapes.
Gears turned in my head. “The fire yesterday? Your box took out a building? They said it was likely a gas explosion.” Someone had mentioned it at the Save-Mor that their husband had been fighting a fire in the historic district.
“The box doesn’t like to be contained,” Wald replied.
“Did it survive?” Maverick asked, rubbing his square chin with long bony fingers. There was some resemblance in the way they lingered and his lips twitched. I wondered if I had traits of my birth father. Mom had said, except for my blue eyes, I didn’t look anything like him, and she refused to talk about him. All I had was his blue eyes and his last name.
“I don’t know. When I heard from Britannia about the poisoning, I rushed to the address, but Harlan had removed the poison device. A pen. I followed Britannia to the club,which also turned out to be the pen’s destination, but I was followed.” Wald got up and began to pace in front of the stone mantel of the fireplace. “It must have been Britannia who was originally being targeted. I confronted the agent who had appropriated the ring from Britannia, but he secreted it in the bathroom where Harlan found it.”
Wald paused and stilled, staring at Maverick. His lips parted for words and then closed. Maverick nodded at him. Wald swallowed. My throat tightened. Whatever he was about to say was hard.
“Harlan was ill, Father. She tried it on before I could stop her. I took her to the safe place and called Britannia, but the Grigores must have followed her again as we barely escaped.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the mantel.
“So you thought bringing her here was a good idea?”
“I actually brought Harlan here earlier, but she decided it was better if we went back to Portland.” Wald glanced in my direction with a grimace.
He was holding a grudge about the door. Great.
Wald returned his attention to his father. “Unfortunately, my car had been tracked. I confronted multiple agents, leaving a mess as I mentioned. And we left that car behind. Then we returned here to get your advice.” The words flowed out in a rush. Wald leaned against the fireplace as if it would hold him up. I hadn’t quite realized this was hard on him. Until now, it had been all about me and my problems.
“Hmmm…” Maverick sat back in thought, steepling his fingers in front of his lips.
Britannia entered through the hall’s double doors.
“Britannia, you have explaining to do,” Maverick ordered, dropping his hands. “Tell me about the poison you used on the humans.”
Wald’s shoulders went rigid, and my heart skipped. Britannia stopped in the middle of the pale-blue carpet, completely nonplussed by her father’s seriousness. “My usual blend. Untraceable. Slow. Works with the metabolism. No way it can come back on me.” She glared at me and sneered.
“Especially now.” I glared back. “Why did you call the police then?”
“Because the agents were trailing me. I thought if we switched them onto a human they would drop their interest in me. It worked marvelously.” She smirked at me.
“You set me up,” I snapped.
“I did. You were the perfect person.” She cocked her head.
Every muscle tensed. I jumped up ready to take her down again. Wald walked between us before I could get a punch in.
“Stop. I will not have fighting in my home.” Maverick’s honey-dripping words soothed my anger, and I sat down in the nearest chair, disoriented. The china was rattling again. The knick-knacks looked expensive. The photo on the table next to me was a picture of Wald with shorter hair and a fishing pole. Were there baby pictures of him? I started to scan the room. There were photos of Victoria and Maverick much younger. Obviously, these people aged. On the mantel was a photo of two girls. One could be Britannia, but I couldn’t tell from a distance.
