Page 6 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
The tight knot that had formed in the middle of my chest loosened a little. “Whoother twowas that fucking witch talking about?”
“Maybe she’s just pulling your chain,” Eric said.
I looked at Damien for his opinion.
He was stroking his chin. “Something tells me she isn’t,” he said after a moment.
“Then one of them is Rosalina,” I said. “It has to be. But who could the other person be?”
Eric thought for a moment. “Tom Freeman? Your brother?” He lifted his hands and shrugged as if to saythat’s all I’ve got.
I pressed a hand to my forehead as if to squeeze an answer out of my brain. I could call Tom, but I had no idea how to contact my brother.
With my enhanced wolf hearing, I caught the sound of Jake’s steps out in the hall. Without thinking, I jumped to my feet, rushed out of the kitchen, and ran straight into his arms. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he wrapped me in a tight embrace.
“What is it?” he asked, sounding a bit panicked. “Is everything all right?”
I shook my head and inhaled his fresh scent, trying to find some comfort in it. He stroked my hair without asking any more questions and held me until my panic subsided. When I pulled away, his silver eyes scanned my face.
In a quiet tone, I explained everything as we stood there in the hall. His hands rested gently on my waist as his eyebrows pinched together in concern. When I was done, I dragged him into the kitchen, where Eric and Damien sat making conjectures.
“How do you think that damn witch knew about Toni’s plan to track Gonira?” Eric asked.
“Maybe just a logical deduction,” Damien answered.
“I think she does have Rosalina,” I said as we approached.
Damien cocked his head to one side. “How are you so sure?”
“She used her phone, besides it’s the only way she could’ve learned about my deal with Kalyll. Mekare got the truth out of her. It’s the only explanation. The Prince wouldn’t tell anyone, and none of us would’ve either.”
Eric nodded as he thought about it. “Quick thinking, Toni. It makes sense.”
“And the third person?” Damien asked. “Who could that be?”
I grabbed my phone again. “I have to rule out Tom. I’ll call him. I don’t have a way to reach my brother, though. No one knows how to get in touch with him. God, I hate him sometimes,” I added as I pulled aside and dialed Tom Freeman’s personal number.
To my relief, I quickly verified that Tom was all right. He was also at home, getting ready to go to work.
“What’s happening? Everything all right?” he asked with considerable suspicion after we exchanged greetings.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. I read about that raid in the news this morning. I didn’t know if you were involved.” While I was brushing my teeth, I’d perused the news on my phone for a few minutes. The local police, with the help of the feds, had busted a rhabo operation overnight. Shots had been exchanged, and a few people had died. It was the perfect excuse for my call.
Tom seemed to buy my story. “Thank you for your concern, kiddo, but I wasn’t involved. There are other things keeping me occupied these days.”
“Good. I’m glad, Tom. I have to go now. Please, be careful.”
“You too.”
I whirled and faced the table again, a horrible feeling crowded my chest like the worst heartburn in the history of heartburns.
“So not Tom,” Jake said. “And probably not your brother since he’s not around.”
Eric rose from the table, taking his still-full plate with him. “A safe assumption, I would say.” He scraped the food into the garbage can and rinsed his utensils before putting them in the dishwasher.
“Ithasto be Rosalina,” I said.
Damien threw his hands up in the air. “No use in racking our brains trying to figure this out. Our time would be better spent preparing for tonight. We need to plan what we’ll do when we get there.”
