Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1)(77)

Then again, it wasn’t late for me, either. I stood up. “We’ve got to—” I wobbled, a little unsteady. “Where do we go?”

Quinn shook his head. “That’s a good question.” He held up his phone. “Itachi and Maven have their vampires watching the highways, all the major roads out of the state. Kirby tried to pass into Wyoming two hours ago. They turned him around, but he got away.”

“Was Charlie in the car?” I asked.

Quinn shrugged. “Our people only saw the top of a car seat, but presumably.”

It made me oddly relieved that Charlie was in a car seat. It was kind of stupid, since I knew Kirby could still do any number of horrible things to her, but at least if they got into a fender bender she’d be fine. “Okay.” I paced a few feet away, thinking. My shoes still felt sticky and disgusting, but I could handle that. I paused and turned back to Quinn. “What time does the sun rise?” I asked. “Seven? Quarter after?”

He nodded. “About that.”

“Then we’ve got five hours before he tries to leave the state again,” I concluded.

It was Simon who said, “How do you figure?”

“Charlie,” Quinn said, understanding dawning on his face.

I nodded. “Kirby’s got a null with him, so he can go out in the sun. His smartest move is to wait until dawn, when all the vampires guarding the border will have to go to ground. Then he can sashay right out of Colorado.”

“If they cross the state line,” Quinn said quietly. “Itachi and Maven can’t help. She’ll disappear.”

I nodded and resumed my pacing. “How do we find them?” I glanced at Simon. “You said something once about using spells to find things?”

He shook his head. “We’d need something of Kirby’s, preferably hair or fingernails. But even then it’s unlikely the magic would work.”

“Because he’s also magic?”

Simon nodded. “That, and because he’s with a null. I’m not sure anyone could find a null.”

“Shit.” I paced to the edge of the candlelight, then back. It was getting downright cold out here, and I longed to go inside the farmhouse, which was now glowing with light. But I wasn’t ready to face all those people—the ones who’d had to hold me down while I screamed.

I needed to focus on the problem at hand. I needed a plan. “Back to the plan,” I muttered. What was Victor and Darcy’s original plan for Charlie? They were going to take her to Nolan’s house. Nolan was then going to take her to a middleman—Kirby?—who would take her out of state. Like links in a chain, presumably to avoid accountability. Each person would only have the baby for a few hours, so they wouldn’t appear suspicious.

I stopped pacing and turned back to the two men, who were watching me. Simon looked a little bemused, which was kind of fair. I probably looked ridiculous, with the ruined dress and my hair and makeup smeared everywhere. Quinn’s expression looked as implacable as ever at first glance, but I was getting better at reading the subtleties. He was watching me intently, looking for an opening to jump in and help.

“Was Kirby always in on the plan?” I said to him. “We were both so sure he wasn’t involved after we spoke to him at the fraternity.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about that. I could be wrong, but I believe Kirby was recruited later, after the attempt with Victor and Darcy failed.”

“You don’t think he could be the middleman?” I asked. “The ‘merchant’ who was supposed to get Charlie from Nolan?”

Quinn shook his head, but Simon visibly jumped. “Wait, say that again,” he urged.

I raised an eyebrow, but said, “Darcy told me that she and Victor were taking Charlie to their senior—Nolan—who was taking her to the merchant. The merchant would place Charlie with new . . . well, she used the word ‘parents,’ but it felt like she meant something more insidious.”

Simon closed the space between us in three steps and took my arm. “You’re positive she used the word ‘merchant’?” he said.

“Yeah, why?”

Simon looked from me to Quinn, then back at me. “Because the Merchant isn’t just a middleman. He’s a witch.”





Chapter 36



Quinn made a call to update the vampires. While he did that, Simon and I started toward the house. I was moving okay on my own, but I noticed he was keeping one hand hovering behind my back, ready to catch me in case I toppled. “Who is this guy?” I asked. “The Merchant?”

“His name is Billy Atwood. He’s a shitkicker witch just east of Gainesville who fancies himself an outlaw,” Simon explained, his voice sour. “He’s the last in the Atwood line of witches, at least around here. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t even have much power, but he thinks he deserves to be a badass. He started calling himself the Merchant when he began dealing.”

“Drugs?” I asked.

Simon nodded. “Drugs, guns, stolen valuables. He’s so unbelievably small-time, though, that nobody particularly cares. Atwood’s the only drug lord I’ve ever heard of who has to keep up a day job. He’s a freelance welder.”

“He sounds like an *. Why the hell would vampires be working with him?” I wondered.