War of Hearts(54)

Her eyes filled with wariness. “What does that mean?”

The blaring ringtone of Conall’s temporary phone made him bite back a curse. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw it was Ashforth. He looked at Thea. “It’s him.”

“Answer it.” Her expression hardened. “He still has your sister.”

The thought of Callie anywhere near the slimy fuck made Conall murderous. A growl erupted from the back of his throat before he could stop it.

A gentle hand on his arm brought his head up from the phone. Thea was touching him. “You can do this. For Callie.”

A calm moved through him and then a sense of loss when she removed her hand. Ignoring the latter, he answered Ashforth with a curt, “Conall.”

“Good, you’re still alive.” Ashforth’s cool, cultured voice threatened to obliterate Conall’s calm but he kept himself under control.

“Aye. Is the town clear?”

“Yes. And the bodies dealt with. I’ll arrange for another vehicle. Where are you staying?”

“No.” Conall needed time to think, which meant he needed space from the bastard. “Someone within your circle is leaking information to the Blackwoods. I think it best I arrange transport and call you when we’re on the road again.”

“Fine. But I’m working on finding out who that rat is.”

God help the traitorous little rodent.

“I’ll be in touch.” Conall hung up abruptly without asking for his sister. He didn’t want Ashforth even breathing her name. Thank fuck he’d sent James with her.

Conall stood from the bed, towering over Thea who had returned to watching him with a guarded expression. He’d do anything to rid her of that wariness forever.

His breath stuttered at the thought.

“Well?” she asked.

Clearing his throat, he held out his hand to her. “I’m not going to turn you over.”

Instead of the gratitude he was hoping to see, instead of feeling her hand in his—something he’d anticipated more than he should—Conall watched her shut down. Thea pushed off the bed, ignoring his outstretched hand. She seemed to bristle with outrage. Her teeth clenched together, and she bit out, “You have to. For your sister.”

“My pack will help me free Callie and James from Castle Cara.” They would but he knew that wouldn’t be the end of their problems with Ashforth. Conall may have to kill the bastard. He’d never killed a human before. Then again, the man who’d tortured Thea barely qualified as human.

“Conall, Ashforth is more powerful than you seem to understand. He’s killed people and gotten away with it. He’ll have your sister flown out of Scotland before you can ever hope to get to her. And she’ll die. In his hands.” Her words pierced straight through him. “We’re stuck. You can’t let me go and I can’t hide from you. He knows that now. And he’ll hurt everyone you care about if you don’t bring me to him.”

Impotence churned his insides to hell, and he let out a low growl of outrage that made her nostrils flare. He gave her a sharp shake of his head so she’d know his anger was not directed at her.

Her answering smile was melancholy. “It was always going to come to this.”

“To what?”

Thea flexed her hands, her eyes shadowed. “I have to kill Ashforth.”

“Thea—”

“We make the exchange.” She stepped close to him, tilting her head back to hold eye contact. Sincerity and determination rose to the surface of her eyes. “We heal your sister and you get her out of there. I’ll deal with Ashforth. He thinks he can best me, but I’m stronger than I used to be. His drug isn’t as effective outside of that special room of his. After that” —she shrugged, looking away—“we go our separate ways.”

Conall hated the plan. Every part. “And the Blackwood Coven?”

Thea strolled over to the bed to pick up her rucksack. “They’re my problem, not yours.”

Her words needled and as Conall followed her out of the hotel room, letting her lead him into the first phase of a plan that should have satisfied him, he grew angrier with the lass, and her lack of trust in him, by the second.





Trusting Conall was difficult for Thea. She knew he thought she didn’t trust him, but she’d shown some faith in him just by telling her story. It was more than anyone else got these days. Yet, it was hard to deny there was something about Conall that made her want to trust. A genuine decency.

Not only was it strange to feel like they were no longer at war, it was odd because she almost felt like they were a team now. Not totally, but almost. For so long she’d been alone, unable to confide in anyone about her abilities. Conall knew the truth, and being different himself, he seemed to accept her. It was kind of nice.

She knew she should resent the hell out of him for coming into her life and making it impossible for them to escape Ashforth’s machinations, but she couldn’t resent the guy for doing something she would have done too. She’d put her trust in Ashforth by allowing him to take her blood in the hopes of saving Devon.

And she would have given anything to anyone to have saved her parents from that plane crash.

It wasn’t any different from Conall joining forces with Ashforth to save his sister.