Page 36 of Evil Eyed
“Archer,” the four treasures said in unison.
She stared at them one by one and then her gaze fell on me. “Boss Man? But I never met him until today. I don’t know him.”
“Fae speak in riddles,” I reminded her with a wry smile. “Vanta was trying to be helpful but couldn’t be specific. You might not know him, but I guarantee that he knows just about anything he could want to know about you.”
Staring at me, she paled. “Vivi. I can’t leave her.” Whirling back toward the police station, she rushed a step before Doran caught her up against him. “I have to go help her!”
“Our first priority is you, love. We have to get you to safety. Then the lads and I will come up with a plan to help your friend.”
“He’s been her boss for years, right?” Keane added. “She’s been safe that whole time.”
But we were all thinking the same thing. She’d been safe because none of us knew her boss’s true identity. If he suspected we knew…
Riann’s phone started ringing from inside her bag. Luckily she hadn’t left it inside the police station because Stoneheart would sooner break his gargoyle into a thousand pieces than let her anywhere near that place of darkness again.
She pulled the phone out. “It’s Vivi.”
“Stay calm,” Doran replied. “She’s safe as long as she doesn’t know. Tell her to meet us back at the house.”
Nodding, Riann hit the button. “Hey. I’m okay. He’s gone.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” a man drawled in a voice dripping with amusement. “You left so quickly that we didn’t have a chance to talk about my retainer. There’s a lot of paperwork to be done if you’re going to be my client.”
“Oh.” She laughed awkwardly. “I didn’t know you had my number.”
“I don’t. This is Viviana’s phone. She’s regretfully unavailable at the moment.”
A wave of emotion flooded me through her bond. Terror, mixed with a churning, turbulent storm of rage.
“I want to talk to her.” Riann’s voice rang with the clang of swords.
“Is the leprechaun part of your little treasure harem now?”
Her eyes locked with mine, dark with desperation and dread. The treasures pressed closer, laying a steadying hand on her. Lending her their power as the wheel in her mind began to spin. She held her free hand out to me.
I pushed to my feet, still wavering with exhaustion, but I slipped my hand into hers.:My magic is yours, drained though it be at the moment.:
“Yes,” she said evenly. “What do you want?”
“I thought that was painfully obvious, my dear. I want you, of course.”
* * *
Vivi!
I gripped the phone fiercely, biting my bottom lip to keep from screaming. I’d gone off and left her without a single thought that she might be in danger. She never would have left me.
I stifled a sob.
“Don’t hurt her.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Boss Man replied in a kind, gentle voice that made my stomach heave. “She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had, and that’s saying quite a lot. But then you’re the most gifted treasurekeeper who’s ever brought the four treasures together. Am I not right, Stoneheart?”
I looked up at Doran, his jaws grinding before he finally bit off, “Aye.”
“So it’s only fitting that your friend and confidante be so talented. She’s told me so much about her beloved friend that I feel as if I know you as intimately as she does, Riann.”
I hated the way he said my name, drawing out the vowels like Vanta had done into one long syllable.Reeeen.
