Dead of Night (Crossroads Queen Book 2) by Annabel Chase

Author:Annabel Chase [Chase, Annabel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
Published: 2023-07-19T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

My stress from Thoreau Street carried into the next day. I struggled with my intermittent Internet, searching for ideas on how to handle the treasure situation without putting the whole town in danger. Unsurprisingly, there were no easy search terms for that. It wasn’t like I was researching recipes for meatloaf.

I received a text from Gunther to let me know that Charles Diamond’s funeral would be tomorrow but not to worry, the mage wouldn’t be buried in my cemetery. Diamond’s body was destined for the newer cemetery across town. I thanked him for the update, although I already knew my cemetery was safe from any future burials.

The Internet had trouble keeping up with the speed of my searches. For some reason, banging on the side of the computer didn’t seem to have an impact. I was grateful to Steven, Nana Pratt’s grandson, for fixing the computer, but he was right—I was in dire need of a new one. Add it to the list of Things Lorelei Needs. That treasure was proving more tempting by the minute. It was likely blood money, though. It would be like robbing the mafia, whose money wasn’t really their money at all. It belonged to their victims, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep in a house I’d renovated using ill-gotten gains. Pops had raised me better than that.

I abandoned my Internet search and returned to A Complete History of Fairhaven, a book I’d renewed from the library multiple times now. I was curious at what point Hailey would send me a warning email that I’d maxed out my borrows. Apparently, nobody else was eager to dive into the town’s history. Further evidence of their willful oblivion.

I flipped through the chapters, still ruminating on the fate of the house and its treasure. I couldn’t hand the house over to Fatima to sell while the ‘offshore account’ still existed. I would doom whatever hapless humans bought the property.

My mind kept flitting back to Bruce. Although I knew my powers didn’t kill him—not directly—I still felt a sense of guilt. The more I dwelled on it, the worse I felt. After all, Bruce and I had something in common. We both stayed hidden for protection. Okay, fine. He was protecting treasure for a powerful and ruthless organization, but was that any worse than protection for a selfish reason, which mine undoubtedly was? I, too, could be powerful and ruthless when it came to my survival.

I wondered what would’ve led Bruce to take the role of guardian for The Corporation. Money? Security? A belief in something greater than himself? Or maybe he’d been coerced into it.

Unlike Charles Diamond, there was no funeral for Bruce. It seemed unfair. Diamond was a prick and an assassin to boot, yet his colleagues would come to pay their respects. Where were members of The Corporation? Why did they not mourn the loss of one of their own?

I knew why. Because Bruce had been nothing more than a pawn to them. An object to use and then discard when no longer needed.

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