“I think I’ll be giving Franklin a few pointers on how to keep brilliant minds on task.” Cam’s voice held a note of teasing, but she felt guilty for letting her mind wander.
“I’m sorry. The point I wanted to make was about Catalina’s lock picking skills. It was an incident I hadn’t thought about for a long time. I’m sure our parents had secured the door with both a lock and magic. Catalina has never had any trouble getting through locks.”
“And now you wonder if she’s using magic to open them?” When she nodded, he smiled. “I’d say that’s probably a given. I think you just experienced what my grandmother always called ah-ha moments. Those flashes of insight that make us wonder how we hadn’t seen it earlier.” He shrugged, but she sensed thinking about his grandmother had brought on a few misty memories of his own.
“The Quans’ playroom is filled with some amazing antique equipment, but I’ll let you and Israel explore it on your own. I suspect there are pieces you’ll want to talk to Vienna about securing for the club.” She also suspected Franklin was going to lay claim to a few as well. He laughed out loud, holding out his arm, indicating they should continue their tour.
“Sweetness, I’m always looking for new and unusual ways to torture naughty submissives. Don’t forget the line between pleasure and pain smudges very quickly. Distinguishing the sensations becomes impossible under the hand of a skilled Dominant.” She and Franklin hadn’t experimented a lot with pain, but Cam’s words sounded oddly like foreshadowing.
When they passed the office where they’d left Franklin and Israel, Asia was relieved she didn’t hear raised voices on the other side of the door. Hopefully, the silence meant Israel was satisfied with whatever answer he’d gotten; otherwise, he was hiding Franklin’s body, and even though she was still hurt by his deception, she didn’t want to think about him rotting in a shallow grave.
I assure you I am alive and well, Cara—but you and I are going to have a long discussion about trust. We’ll also address the issue of you locking me out. Franklin’s voice moved slowly through her mind, much like the slow-moving fog on a spring morning. His distinction between a discussion about trust and addressing the issue of shutting him out wasn’t lost on her. She wondered if their foray into the blurred line between pain and pleasure Cam mentioned earlier might come sooner rather than later.
Walking down the long corridor leading to the back of the house, Asia tried to subtly steer Cam away from the room where she’d sensed the opening of the tunnel where dark magic protected what was suspected to be a cache of gold coins. Her effort was met with a gentle tug and low chuckle.
“I think I’d rather go this way.” Damn. She was supposed to be distracting him, and she hadn’t made it an hour before he’d zeroed in on the area she was supposed to avoid. “Don’t look so distressed, sweetness. The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end, and I never turn my back on danger—that’s the best way I know to die young.” She understood what he was trying to say but wasn’t looking forward to disappointing Franklin.
Hold up. What am I thinking? He’s the one who’s been seeing someone else. Or maybe not. When he’d finally gotten through her defenses a few minutes ago, she’d gotten the distinct impression he didn’t agree with the message Eden sent.
“Franklin Cordesi considers you his, sweetness. In his mind, you are already a couple in every way that matters. To my knowledge, he has not played with another sub since he met you.” Pausing to turn and face her, his thoughtful expression told her he’d given a lot of thought to what he was preparing to say.
“In all the years I have known Franklin, he has never given me any reason to doubt his integrity. If you will stop and think about the men and women I call friends, you will know how important it is to me, they are honest in every way.” When he seemed satisfied she understood, he once again started down the hall.
“Now, tell me why you were so determined to keep me from exploring the danger lurking ahead. I do appreciate knowing what I’m walking into. Good intel is often the difference between a mission’s success and failure.”
Giving him a brief overview, hoping she wasn’t sharing too much, Asia followed Cam down the hall, watching as he appeared to take in every detail of their surroundings. As they approached the door, she realized Cam was holding a gun. Holy hell, she hadn’t even seen him retrieve it from wherever it had been hidden.
“Damn it, Cam, put that away. You can’t shoot this problem.” Franklin’s amused voice sounded from inside the room. “And tell Asia to get her lovely ass in here and help us find the entrance.”
Two hours later, Asia sagged into a chair, completely spent. There were too many people in the room for her to be able to sense anything beyond the conflicting energies battling to prove who was the best detective. Different magicals popped in and out so often, she’d stopped trying to keep track. When she’d finally been ready to pull her hair out in frustration, Cameron Barnes asked Franklin to clear the room. When she took a step toward the door, he’d shaken his head.
“You and Israel need to stay.” It was all he’d said until everyone else was out of earshot. “While I have the utmost respect for your magical abilities, you have been overlooking the entrance because you’re trying to sense it rather than observing your physical surroundings.” Stepping up to the least ornate mantle Asia had ever seen, Cam slid his fingers along the underside of the dark stone. Stopping near the right side, he turned to them and smiled. “Never underestimate the power of the obvious. Sometimes, what seems trite is simply the answer, hidden in plain sight.”
Asia gasped as a section of the wall slid to one side, revealing what appeared to be a narrow stairwell. A stale breeze assaulted her senses a split second before Asia was knocked off her feet by a blast of dark energy so powerful, her temples pounded from the force. The last thing she saw before being surrounded by darkness was the look of horror on Franklin’s face as he rushed toward her.
Chapter Eight
Cam couldn’t remember a time he’d been more excited by a puzzle, and that’s what this whole clusterfuck was—a centuries-old puzzle. After finding the entrance to the tunnel, Franklin asked him to close it while he carried Asia up to Quan’s office. She’d recovered quickly once they were enclosed in the room close to the mansion’s entrance but wouldn’t be on her feet again anytime soon from the look on Franklin’s face.
“I personally cleared this room of any lingering energy, and I’ve repeated the spell several times in an effort to make certain none of the suspected dark energy below the house makes its way upstairs and particularly, not into this room.” Franklin paced along the wall of windows behind the desk, pausing each time he passed close to where Asia lay resting.
“Have you swept it for electronics? I brought some equipment with me—just in case.” It was a good thing the Wests’ jet had been available; it would have taken hours to get everything they’d brought along through a TSA checkpoint.
“I assumed clearing the energy would disable anything made by nonmagicals.” Franklin looked muddled as Cam shrugged, unconvinced.