“You were charged with watching her?” Her righteous outrage was couched in her love for her sister and made him admire her even more.
“Basically, but as it turns out, your sister is remarkably resourceful.” He chuckled, knowing Asia already knew where the conversation was headed… they’d been here before.
“I’d planned to scare her into my arms, where she’d be much easier to watch. My goal was simple—make a preemptive strike, make her feel vulnerable, then ride in like the proverbial knight in shining armor.” He’d wavered on the plan too long, and his damned indecision had nearly cost London Adler her life.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who knew the value of her work. My men barely managed to get in place before the second team. If they’d arrived first, London would have vanished, locked away in a secure, underground lab before you’d have even known she was missing.” He knew of several in the United States alone, all secured so tightly, it would take powerful magic to free her.
“She wouldn’t work for them. I know her—honor and ethics are everything.” Asia pulled from his hold. Turning, she fisted her hands on her hips and glowered at him.
“Yes, Cara, she would. They’d have threatened everyone she loves. You and your siblings are public figures, Asia. You’d be easy targets. Hurting one of you would be all it would take. London would sell her soul for her family, something her husbands understand and have planned for.” Eli and Evan Monroe spared no expense sheltering their wife and children. The basic security measures had already been in place because most of the patients Evan treated at his on-site surgical center were rich and famous enough, they required absolute privacy.
“You’d sooner break into Fort Knox than the Monroe compound.” Asia’s confidence in the men her sister married was admirable but inflated.
“How quickly do you think London would sneak out alone if she believed you were in danger?” If he didn’t care about the sweet chemist’s safety, he’d send her an anonymous message, demanding a clandestine meeting at a remote location in Boston to discuss her sister Asia’s safety. Franklin had no doubt, London would secure her babies in the Monroe mansion, then make her way to the designated meeting place. She would go to great lengths to protect her family.
“Everyone in our family is a prime kidnapping-for-ransom candidate. I’ve been asking all of my brothers and sisters to upgrade their security systems. So far, Austin is the only one who has listened. I didn’t have to say a word to my brothers-in-law, they were already taking over-the-top measures.” Franklin chuckled at her observation, truer words were never spoken.
“I suspect Cooper will be the worst of the lot because he is keenly aware of the dangers lurking in the shadows of the world of vast wealth.” Cooper had already pulled Catalina out of one hellhole, he wouldn’t relish the thought of repeating the experience. Someday, Franklin would tell Cooper who’d been behind the anonymous phone tip, detailing Catalina’s location, but Franklin didn’t think Hicks was ready to hear how he’d come up with the details—at least not yet.
Everything Franklin told her was the truth, but he’d been careful to leave out any reference to the extent of his own magical gifts or his family connection to the Council of Magic. Asia had only seen him do a few spells so insignificant, they were little more than parlor tricks. It was difficult for him to remember they were special when he’d been making things appear and disappear with a quick wave of his hand since before he could walk. Refocusing his attention on the woman stretched out in front of him, Franklin noticed she was watching him with something akin to envy.
“I wish I had your abilities. Damn it to Hades. I would have already had all this packed up and on its way home. It could be stored in one of Adler Oil’s warehouses, and Vienna could sort through it at her leisure.” Franklin made a mental note to keep a tighter hold on the mental shields he used to keep Asia from hearing his thoughts. Her ability to hear him was getting stronger each time they were together. For her own protection, there were aspects of his life, she was better off not knowing yet.
“Didn’t Vienna say she only cared about a few pieces?” He smiled when she nodded, moving from beside him. He watched in wonder as she absently smoothed the pads of her slender fingers slowly over the surface of another Knights piece. “Do you have her list?” His gorgeous woman looked up, blinking to bring the world around her into focus, confusion lighting her dark eyes. “The list of things Vienna wanted to keep for herself, Cara. If you have it with you, I think we should secure all of those items in her grandfather’s office.” Asia didn’t respond for so long, he was beginning to wonder if his words had registered.
“It’s tucked in the outside pocket of my briefcase. I didn’t want to dig for it.” It was obvious she was still lost in thought, so he waited. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Do you hear that? It’s almost a chant—rhythmic and so soothing, it’s almost hypnotic.” He went completely still, afraid to move and break the spell of whatever held her.
“Listen closely, Cara. Can you make out the words?” He knew she’d been chalking up her increasing magical abilities to convenient happenstance, but Franklin recognized the changes for what they were—threads. Each time they made love, he felt another silken thread tie their souls together. The tighter the bonds, the more magic they would share. It pleased him as much as it worried him—Franklin wasn’t convinced Asia was ready for the all-encompassing commitment he and the world of magic would require of her.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I am hearing it with my mind rather than my ears.” He understood her confusion—residual energy radiating from artifacts was a difficult concept to grasp until you experienced it personally.
“Pick it up, let’s see if that helps amplify what you’re hearing.” With a little luck, holding the item in her hands would do more than strengthen the volume; it should also… Before he could finish his thought, she gasped.
“Oh, my Goddess.” And there it was—confirmation. “I saw it being forged, the craftsman used techniques he knew his competitors had never seen. He infused magic into the cross before forming the rest of the icon. All the history, every moment of its existence, is stored in it. I’ve never touched anything like it—never heard a voice whisper to me across time.” Franklin closed his fingers over hers, gently breaking the connection.
“A little at a time, Cara.” He’d seen others fall so utterly into residual history, they never wanted to return. Some were pulled back by the plea of a loved one, but others were permanently lost in the netherworld between the present and the past—existing in a dream state, much like a coma. He’d seen it misdiagnosed as everything from a delayed reaction to trauma to a stroke—if a doctor wasn’t from the magical community, they had no way to recognize what they were dealing with.
“It would be so easy to fall.” She shook her head in an effort to clear the cobwebs before finally meeting his gaze with a dazzling smile. “Thank you. The past is a wonderful place to visit, fascinating to study, and I was privileged to get a quick glimpse of what it was really like, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Moving up onto her tiptoes, Asia pressed a chaste kiss against his lips.