Page 59 of Tattered Huntress
‘Boonder’s a good man,’ he said quietly. ‘A better man than I am. He accepted my apology without a fuss. I tried to persuade him to stay but his mind was made up. He promised that it wasn’t me who made him quit but,’ he held up his hands, ‘I did hit him and I have to own the fact that I fucked up.’ He didn’t look away but his voice lowered. ‘He dropped you. I thought you’d gone because he dropped you and I lashed out.’
My mouth suddenly felt dry. ‘It wasn’t his fault. It was an accident. There was nothing Boonder could have done.’
‘I know. I wouldn’t usually react like that – in fact, Ineverreact like that.’ His jaw clenched. ‘Something about you makes me act out of character.’
I couldn’t explain why his words made me feel defensive, but they did. ‘Because I’m a grubby junkie?’ I asked bitterly.
‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Because you’re you.’
I swallowed, then I surprised myself by reaching out my hand towards him. Fuck it, I couldn’t trust him, I didn’t like him – but I certainly didn’t hate him. ‘You were right before. We won’t be besties, Hugo.’ I paused. ‘But maybe we can be friendly rivals?’
He eyed my hand with a brooding expression. ‘I suppose I can accept that.’ He took my hand and shook it, and I pretended I didn’t feel a jolt of electricity when we touched. ‘Only one key part to go, Daisy. It will be mine.’
I pulled my hand away as quickly as possible. ‘Game on, princess,’ I told him.
Hugo only laughed.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
It took longer than I liked to settle down after Hugo left. Something about him made my skin itch – and not in an unpleasant way. I still wasn’t sure why he’d sought me out, but the strange frisson between us seemed to grow stronger every time we were alone. To be honest, something about Hugo mademefeel out of character.
I knew part of me lusted after him whether I wanted to or not, but there was more to it than mere desire. Whatever it was, it annoyed me.
Eventually I shoved him out of my mind. There was a lot of information to sift through, but Greenwood’s public profile made it a reasonably easy task and I didn’t have to dig far to find what I needed. He liked talking about himself and he’d been interviewed numerous times over the years. He waxed lyrical about his upbringing and his education at Gordonstoun, a posh boarding school for the well-to-do. He discussed his business enterprises; he seemed to believe that poverty was experienced only by those who were weak-willed and lazy, which was easy to say when you’d been born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Greenwood was so far out of touch, he lived on another planet. Sometimes he said something interesting but not often.
Of the seven properties that Greenwood owned, his palatial country pile over the border in Wales seemed the most likely to house the third part of the key. He spent most of his time there, and I found an old advertisement for a swanky home-insurance company for gazillionaires that included his endorsement on their website. In the blurb, his comments suggested the Welsh mansion required large insurance premiums. It also had a lot of security. It was by far the most probable location for a priceless Jacobean artefact.
I smacked my lips. ‘Alright! Saddle up, brownies! I know where we need to go. It’s a long way to Wales so we should set off now.’ I had no idea how we’d get inside the house but I’d worry about that part later.
Hester’s head popped up from behind one of the roses. ‘Wales?’
‘Yep! That’s where the last key part is. I’m sure of it.’
She stared at me but she didn’t move and she didn’t say anything. Neither did Otis.
‘Come on,’ I said with a trace of impatience. ‘The others will probably come to the same conclusion, so I’d like to get there before they do.’
Hester still didn’t fly over to join me. ‘We have to tell her,’ she muttered to her brother.
‘I can’t condone theft,’ he answered.
‘It’s not theft, Otis. It’s borrowing.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘What’s going on?’
They exchanged glances. Hester nudged Otis. ‘Tell her.’
‘You tell her.’
She shook her tiny head. ‘It has to be you.’
He pouted then sighed deeply and flutteredreluctantly in my direction. I waited; I didn’t know what was happening but I suspected that a lot of patience would serve me well.
‘You need to promise,’ Otis said, avoiding my gaze, ‘that you will make sure the key part is returned when you are finished.’
