Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1)(56)

I shook my head, confused. “Why would he want us to find it?”

“Because he’s done, at least for now.” Quinn nodded at the baby stuff. “He didn’t move it to a new location, he didn’t smuggle Nolan out of state to keep him away from Itachi’s investigation. We’re supposed to find this and know that he’s done. It’s over, Lex.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “Over over? Are you suggesting that we just stop looking for whoever kidnapped my niece?”

There was a knock on the front door, and Quinn grimaced. “Can we agree that there’s not going to be anything else in here, and move this conversation outside?”

I allowed Quinn to lead me down the hall and back to the entryway, where we let in two vampires dressed in jeans and CU sweatshirts. The woman looked to be about my age, with a blonde ponytail tied high on her head and a gigantic tote bag in lieu of a purse. The man seemed a few years younger, with an earring and shaggy hair that curled past his ears. They looked like any normal couple on their way home from a football game, except for their unreadable expressions and the easy, fluid way they moved. Quinn didn’t introduce us; he just gave the vampires a tight nod as we edged past them toward the door. They returned the nod in perfect, eerie unison, and I was careful not to touch them as we went by.

Back at the car, Quinn started for the driver’s door, then glanced over his shoulder at my face and stopped. “What do you mean, it’s over?” I demanded. “We’re not done. I’m not done. Someone killed Nolan, and whoever did it was in on Charlie’s kidnapping.” I glared at him, my hands balled into fists. There were people talking and laughing at the far end of the lot, and Quinn stepped very close to me before answering.

“I’ll talk to Maven and Itachi,” he said quietly. “But I know exactly what they’re going to say.” A bitter expression crossed his face. “‘Sometimes the cost of secrecy is not knowing the whole truth.’ Three of the four players are dead, and the fourth player is walking away. That will be good enough for them.”

“But there are other threads to pull,” I said through gritted teeth. “Itachi has contacts with the police, right? Maybe he can get into Nolan’s financials and find out who paid for the baby stuff. Or we can go back to Kirby and push harder. Victor and Darcy’s neighbors, we never did get to talk to them, and maybe they—”

“Stop, Lex,” Quinn interrupted. “This guy killed a high-ranking vampire, a frickin’ general in Itachi’s army. You don’t think he’ll have covered the rest of his bases? And if we go poking around at Nolan’s bank or Darcy’s building, we may end up accidentally pointing him at people who really don’t know anything. We’ve been outmaneuvered. We’re done.”

“And where does this leave me?” I demanded. “I was supposed to help you find and stop this guy. It was my goddamned field test. If I don’t get this position with Itachi, he’s not going to leave Charlie alone.” My voice broke on Charlie’s name, and I hated how weak that sounded.

“I’ll tell them you did good work,” he promised. “I’ll make sure he and Maven know this wasn’t your fault.”

“That’s not good enough,” I sputtered.

Quinn studied my face for a moment. I don’t know what he saw there, but he closed even more of the distance between us, until we were close enough for him to whisper. “Do you need to hit me?” he said.

My eyes widened. “What?”

“You’re shaking,” he said matter-of-factly. I looked down at my fists. Sure enough, there was a visible tremor. Glancing around, Quinn quickly reached out and grabbed my hands, stilling them.

I reacted without thinking, jerking my hands back and snapping them out to shove Quinn hard into the side of the car. He hit it with an audible thump but didn’t react. The voices at the other end of the lot went quiet.

Quinn just leaned there, his eyes probing mine. “Feel better?” he asked, his voice still low. “I meant it, you know. You can hit me if you want. You might break your hand, but if it you think it’ll help, I won’t stop you.”

Balling up my fists, I spun on my heel and paced a few feet away, my body thrumming with unspent anger. When I was sure I wasn’t actually going to hit him, I turned and stalked back. He had straightened up, but was still leaning against the car, motionless. I just stared at him, seething. I’d struggled with anger since I’d gotten out of the army, but something different was happening now. It felt like rage was rolling through every part of my body, seeping out from my chest down into my legs and fingers, pushing out against the inside of my skin. You’ll feel things harder, Simon had told me. I felt like I was going to explode.

Quinn’s nostrils flared suddenly, and he glanced down. “Lex,” he said softly, genuine concern in his voice. I followed his eyes down to my left hand, which he took gently, turning it over and uncurling my fingers. There were four thin trickles of blood trailing from my palm. I’d clenched my fist hard enough to draw blood. “Oh,” I said lamely. “Does that—”

Quinn dropped my hand and jerked away from me. His pupils had dilated, and he turned his head, avoiding my eyes. “Christ . . . did Simon say anything about your magic growing?”

“Yeah, I guess . . . why?”