“This is my responsibility. I won’t risk my new sister-in-law’s family heirlooms by leaving them with a stranger.” Her words came out harsher than she intended, but holy fucking dust bunnies, was he serious? How damned naïve does he think I am? Shit balls, I hope I don’t look that stupid.
“Who are you?” Braun’s barked question registered a heartbeat before a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders. As a shifter, Asia’s sense of smell rarely allowed anyone to sneak up on her, but the man supporting her seemed to have materialized out of thin air. She knew instinctively he wasn’t a magical, but as clouded as her mind was, she was struggling to put a name to the distinctive scent tugging at the edges of her memory.
Silas Vernon. Dom at Prairie Winds. Let him lead this. Braun doesn’t know him. She was grateful for the information Catalina was feeding her. She relaxed against him, hoping he knew how close she was to falling.
“I’m Silas. Asia and I are friends. I met her on the highway and turned around to see where she was headed.” He gave her a quick squeeze before continuing. “It seemed odd for you to be driving into the warehouse district by yourself. What’s up, girl? Your brothers would have a shit fit if they saw you here with some dude they didn’t know.” Pretending he just noticed the artifacts, Silas chuckled. “Damn, what’s this stuff? You working on an estate sale, Asia?”
“She is not, but since you are a friend of hers, perhaps you can help her to her car. She doesn’t appear to feel well. I’ll finish up my documentation and lock the door as I leave.” Braun had obviously fallen for Silas’s easy-breezy hippy persona. Asia shook her head, but Silas gave her another reassuring squeeze.
“Nah, I’m just going to hang around until you all finish up. Damn, Asia, you’re hotter than hell. You coming down with something? Why don’t you head on outside and get some fresh air? I’ll wait here, with… oh hell, what did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t say. I’m a professor and was asked to authenticate and appraise the items you see. I’m also quite capable of finishing up without supervision.” Animosity was pouring off Braun, the negativity getting harder and harder for Asia to cope with.
“Yeah, well, since I don’t know you from Adam, I think I’ll stick around. I’m not really the trusting sort.” Silas had dropped the easy-going beach bum speak, replacing it with a tone laced with steel. “I could always call the locals. They’d probably be interested in knowing why you seem so anxious to be left alone with a bunch of artifacts that don’t belong to you.”
“Are you accusing me of being untrustworthy?” Braun’s phony outrage pissed Asia off.
“Listen, finish up your pictures. You have two minutes and not a second more.” Once again, the air in the room was crackling around her, making Asia wonder what was coming—whatever it was, the walls were practically vibrating.
Chapter Twelve
Franklin was going out of his damned mind, worrying about Asia. The Keepers of the Secrets team was so close to breaking through the last layer of magic protecting whatever was hidden beyond the shimmering door, he couldn’t leave—but worrying about the woman who held his heart was destroying his concentration. When the electric charge around the team diminished yet again, every member of the team turned to him in question. Shrugging, he stepped back from the circle.
“Let’s take a break. It will give Franklin a chance to check on what’s happening in Texas.” John Kelly’s word was not questioned—even among this distinguished high-ranking group. Franklin saw the questioning looks but was relieved he wasn’t forced to deal with the questions he knew were floating through their minds. No doubt, John saw the curious looks as well but chose to ignore them. Franklin nodded his thanks before ascending the back stairs. Already dialing Israel’s number before he closed the office door behind him, Franklin scanned the room for the source of the ominous energy he’d sensed stepping into the room.
“Who’s in the room with you?” Franklin couldn’t hold back his laughter. He might be the wizard, but Israel was one of the most skilled empaths he’d ever met, and it was damned impressive. “Never mind, I don’t have time to chat. Put out some feelers—we need to find out what the hell happened to Asia between the airport and her arrival here. Something is definitely off. We’re taking her to London as soon as we get her out of the damned warehouse.” Franklin knew Israel was referring to London Adler-Monroe. Asia’s younger sister was a renowned chemist. If anyone could figure out what was going on, it would be London.
“Take care of her—she is my life. She may not believe it yet, but it’s true.” Israel didn’t respond for several long seconds, but Franklin knew the other man was still on the line.
“Her heart knows, but you hurt her, and it’s going to take some time for her bruised ego to heal. Find out what happened on the damned plane—we need to know who and what. Better start looking for the real professor, I’m sure he didn’t bow out voluntarily.” A pang of guilt moved through Franklin. Knowing the man who’d agreed to do him a favor probably suffered because he’d agreed to help, caused his heart to squeeze.
“I’ll meet you at London’s lab as soon as possible. We’re close to finishing this up, but I can’t leave until it’s done.” If Asia had been alone, he wouldn’t have thought twice about leaving, but she was surrounded by her family and friends, so he’d give her the space she needed to heal. “I’ll find out what happened on the plane. We have specialists who can go back and watch. They won’t be able to interfere, but they will be able to provide much-needed information.”
“I’ve already sent them, Frankie.” Spinning around, Franklin saw his sweet grandmother standing inside the door, a rueful smile replacing her usually upbeat expression. Franklin ended the call, reiterating his promise to meet them in Boston as soon as possible and making certain Israel promised to keep him posted on Asia’s condition.
Catalina watched from the shadows, grateful Braun wasn’t a shifter. The rage pouring through her would spike her personal scent to the point, every wolf in a five-mile radius would not only know she was nearby, they’d also know how close she was to erupting into a full-blown rage. Something was wrong with Asia, but until Silas could get her clear, there wasn’t anything any of them could do. Braun was a ruthless son of a bitch with nothing to lose, making him the most dangerous person in the damned room.
No, Princess, you are the most dangerous because you’re reacting from emotion rather than logic. Stop. Think. You’re trained for this. Cooper’s voice came over her earbud. Smooth. Confident. Right. Damn, the man was annoying. She felt more than heard his soft laughter.
“Braun is wanted in so many countries, there’s going to be a fucking bidding war.” Cam Barnes’ observation might have sounded like sarcasm but was likely far truer than any of them wanted to think about. “Silas is trying to get Asia to move, but she is so confused, she’s forgotten we’re here. Several of us have tried getting her motivated, but she isn’t responding to her brother or any of the Doms she knows.”