Page 58 of Heir of Ashes
Because I had been turning to face Logan and had both him and Rafael in view, I caught Rafael’s questioning glance and Logan’s barely perceptive nod. Question asked and answered, I thought mildly. Whatever the silent exchange was, Logan wasn’t deterred by it. His eyes were narrowed, and I could sense his anger, a familiar sensation pulsating above Rafael’s rage.
Had he heard the conversation between us? The shower was still running. Whatever had alerted him, he hadn’t finished his shower yet. His narrowed eyes shifted to me. He was clearly trying to figure out who he was supposed to aid. Sweet.
I forced myself to relax, not an easy feat with Rafael nearby, and gave Logan a forced smile. “Rafael thought I wasn’t fit to join the mission, that I looked harmless. I told him I could get past his guard, and he wanted me to prove it.” Aiming my forced smile at Rafael, I shrugged and added, “I guess I proved my point.”
Rafael’s jaw tensed a fraction, understanding the underlying meaning of my words. Then he smiled back, a more convincing one, and leaned back on the desk.
“Indeed, you surprised me.” And it won’t happen again. The words weren’t spoken aloud but were acknowledged nonetheless.
Logan was still angry, though, and I didn’t want to be the cause of a feud between two friends. Soon I’d be gone, but those two would still be around, bumping into each other occasionally, if nothing else. If they wanted to fight over something, it wasn’t going to be over me.
Rafael relaxed, and this time it was genuine as the rage dissipated, clearing the stifling atmosphere. Logan was trying to do the same.
“You need some help scrubbing your back?” I asked, giving him an appreciative look. Any other time, I’d have blushed to the point of combustion, but today the words were empty, without weight or meaning.
He looked down at himself, as if just now noticing he was naked and dripping wet. Without a word, he turned and went back to the bathroom. He didn’t close the door all the way.
I cast a contemptuous glance at Rafael after the shower stopped and found him watching me with that speculative gleam still in his eyes.
“I see why the white coats think you’re dangerous,” he said, acknowledging his previous comment.
“You see nothing,” I snapped.
“They offered me a lot of money to come after you,” he said before turning to flip on Logan’s laptop.
So, they both shared a profession. I bet this Douglas guy did too. How many hired mercs had refused the bounty? I narrowed my eyes at Rafael’s back. “I’d have killed you.”
“I’m sure you’d have tried,” he said almost absentmindedly.
Logan emerged from the bathroom, dressed in faded blue jeans and a dark blue long-sleeve t-shirt.
“Your turn,” he said to me and headed over to watch what Rafael was doing.
Chapter 19
As I showered, I mulled over Rafael’s reaction to me. Although it was obvious Logan had been updating him, he’d left out crucial details that would have prevented Rafael from viewing me with suspicion. Like the fact I had been rescued by a six-legged, bear-like creature rather than single-handedly evading the army. There was also Kincaid and the gruesome evidence in the hijacked vehicle—proof of a struggle, not a negotiated exchange. And the truth about Remo—though explaining Remo would have been dicey since even I didn’t know why he targeted me. And then there was my real name. I’d thought Logan was trying to preserve my privacy when he’d used Eliza to introduce us, but now I wondered if there was something more behind that.
I tried to put myself in Rafael’s place. Would I have reached the same conclusion if I were missing those key details?
… After all he’s been through,he’d said. What did that mean?
If Logan had left multiple voicemails updating him, then Rafael had no reason to suspect any gaps in the information. I tried to look at it from different angles, but none made sense why Logan would want his friends to suspect me of anything.
One thing was for sure: Logan didn’t trust me. I certainly didn’t manipulate him to isolate us. If he didn’t take me to the place Rafael mentioned, it was because he didn’t want me to know its location. Or … he didn’t trust his friends with me.
I paused with the shampoo in my hand and frowned at the facts. What was I missing? No wonder Rafael was so paranoid about me. Given the same information, I might have suspected myself. But selling Logan out? He was definitely reaching and reaching far, wasn’t he? Maybe Logan had just asmany people gunning for him as I did. If I could trust Rafael’s words and connect them with past events, the PSS and “Black Drammen” were two of them. Kincaid had admitted that he had orders to capture Logan. Two common enemies. It made me wonder about the guardians’ attack. I had assumed they were after me, but hadn’t the first move, the first guardian, gone for Logan first? And when Logan ran back to the hotel room, the guardian I’d been fighting had followed him. Maybe if I hadn’t kicked the hand of the second guardian, it would have followed him, too.
I was staring at a difficult puzzle, one with many pieces missing. I couldn’t even get a vague image of a corner, much less the whole picture.
God, what a mess.
I could hear Logan and Rafael murmuring outside and, leaving the water running, I strained to catch their words.
Logan was saying, “ … not waiting for the next meeting of the council for them to realize he’s really missing. They won’t even connect the case with the Society for a long time after that. They know I’m going, so if I get caught, they’ll have no choice but to come for me.”
Rafael argued, “Douglas is trying to reach Vincent. He’s been out of touch on a case, but he thinks he should be back soon. The Hunters will no doubt try to verify your claim. All you have to do is wait.”
“I can’t. The Society might just hide Archer. If it’s a formal call, they’ll have plenty of time to stash him somewhere no one will find.”