Women of the Otherworld 10.5 - Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong Read Free Book Online

reason these kids come to us instead of flocking to the Warners . They get a whiff of this, and we’re through.”
     
    Silence. Then Tommy sighed. “You’re right. I’ll take care of it.”
     
    “Thank you.”
     
    * * * *
     
    We never did find out exactly what “taking care of it” meant, because right after that they started preparing to move Davy’s body, and we didn’t dare stick around. We hoped to follow them in the car, but they were gone before we made it back to the rental.
     
    We drove to our hotel in silence. I was busy thinking and Savannah didn’t interrupt me. As we walked through the hotel parking lot, I turned my cell on and checked for messages.
     
    “How many times did Lucas call?” she said.
     
    “None.”
     
    “Seriously? Better check your phone, ’cause I’m pretty sure your battery’s dead.”
     
    “It isn’t.”
     
    “Huh.” She pushed the door open for me. “Must be busy fending off Ava, then. Probably praying you’ll call and rescue him.”
     
    I smiled. “Probably.”
     
    I phoned Lucas from the elevator. It rang through to voice mail. I left a message.
     
    “So, do I get your theory now?” Savannah said as we walked into our room. “Or can I give you mine first?”
     
    I tugged off my shoes and sat on the edge of my bed. “Go for it.”
     
    “Okay, so apparently Ava and her brother weren’t as discreet as they thought. Big surprise there. The Gallante brothers suspected they’d cheated. After Jared leaves, they go after him, kill him, toss his body in the bay. One guy dies, no big deal. But then a second guy has an allergic reaction or something and almost dies. And now a third guy really does die, and the Gallantes realize they’re in deep shit—with Davy dead, someone might find out about Jared and link them to his murder. So they need to hide Davy’s body.”
     
    “One problem. They said the first death was a fighter. That couldn’t be Jared.”
     
    “Not necessarily. After Jared won some of the money he owed, maybe he figured entering the ring would be an easy way to win the rest. Tommy fights, so obviously they accept challengers without powers. Jared just says he’s from a supernatural family, and they let him in.”
     
    “Possible…”
     
    “But you doubt it.”
     
    I tugged pins from my hair. “First, I don’t think Jared would jump into the ring so fast, not when he made easy money from betting. Second, if the Gallantes killed him, it was accidental. Neither strikes me as a cold-blooded murderer. Tommy could have roughed him up to teach him a lesson and he died of his injuries. But that doesn’t explain the first fighter’s death.” I set the pins on the nightstand. “So either you’re right about Jared fighting…”
     
    “Or we have two completely separate cases.”
     
    * * * *
     
    We were getting ready for bed when Savannah caught me checking my phone.
     
    “You know why he isn’t calling, right?”
     
    My stomach did a strange little clench. “No.”
     
    She flopped onto the bed. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you. Spoil the surprise.” When I gave her a blank look, she sighed. “My God, Paige, you’d think after eight years with the guy you’d have this figured out by now. He’s in San Francisco, right? Only an hour away? He’s coming over. Probably has a room reserved already, champagne chilling. A nice romantic getaway. Plus an excuse to bolt from Airhead Ava, which is a huge bonus.”
     
    “Did he say he was coming?”
     
    “No.”
     
    “Did you tell him where we were staying?”
     
    That gave her pause. “Well, no, but… Okay, maybe he isn’t coming tonight, but he will tomorrow, after he casually asks about our hotel.”
     
    I glanced at my phone.
     
    “For God’s sake, Paige. Just call him already. He’s probably trapped. You know Lucas. He’s not going to tell Ava to get lost so he can phone you back. Give him the excuse.”
     
    I nodded and called. On the second ring, someone picked