The Epilogues: Part I: Badge of Honor (The Potentate of Atlanta Book 6) - Hailey Edwards (the best novels to read .TXT) 📗

Four was Remy’s combat specialist self, which spoke volumes about how she viewed Sue.

“Walking? Not running?”

“I would say she’s taking the scenic route, but she’s visiting places no tourist wants to be caught alone at midnight. I would call it aimless wandering, but it’s methodical. She’s on a mission, and it bothers me we don’t know what it is. I would also go as far as to suspect the vote has nothing to do with it.”

“What is she looking for then?”

“Maybe it’s not a what.” Remy gestured to the empty rooms. “Maybe it’s a who.”

Midas and I had been thinking the exact same thing. This was as good as confirmation.

On our merry way out of the hotel, I spied Bishop, who lounged near the emergency exit.

Remy hung back to coordinate a schedule with herself while I went to meet with him.

“The clan master responsible for Wesley Proctor and Dean Richards is local.”

“That’s lovely news.”

“Bjorn Van de Berg.” Bishop filled me in. “He also owns Lockdown.”

The mention of Lockdown reminded me I still hadn’t received a call from my note on the bulletin board.

It had been worth a shot, even if it was a long shot. Without a callback, we were mounting evidence against Clan Van de Berg. That was progress.

Noticing a bag in his hand, holding some variety of adapter, I asked, “Are you heading back to HQ?”

“Yep.” He shook the plastic at me. “That bastard monitor is taunting me, but if this doesn’t fix the problem, then I’m going to punch a hole through the screen.”

“Good plan.” I patted his shoulder. “That will definitely remedy the situation.”

Rolling a shoulder, he booked himself a ride. “It will definitely make me feel better.”

“Be safe out there.” I shook my head at him. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Lines like that are the best part about your upcoming promotion.” He chuckled. “There’s not much you wouldn’t do.”

Clearly, I had created a monster. No. He had already been a holy terror. I had just enabled him. Encouraged him. Let his shopaholic, murderous, technology-addicted self truly shine.

That’s what friends are for, right?

No sooner had we parted ways than my phone rang. “What’s up, Bish?”

That question never got old for me. It was always good for a chuckle. On my end. Not so much on his.

“We found Sue Billiard’s family.”

“Yet you don’t sound happy.” I paced the parking lot, waiting for my ride to arrive. “Where are they?”

“In a magically oxygenated bubble anchored at the bottom of Lake Lanier.”

“I’m sorry.” I struggled for the right words but came up empty. “I couldn’t have heard you right.”

Water repelled magic. Dispersed it. Erased it. A magical underwater construct required big magic.

Vampires had no magic, aside from what animated them, and they couldn’t access that to use it.

“You heard me just fine,” he assured me. “Guess we know why Sue chose Atlanta.”

“They took her family.” I was tempted to bang my head against the streetlight. “They lured her here.”

The eligible candidate pool must be small, small enough they had to search as far as Phoenix to find one.

A contender the Grande Dame would have no reason to refuse when she petitioned to join the trial.

A woman with enough to lose they felt confident in their ability to control her and her actions.

“Black witches are my guess.” Bishop plowed on. “I’ve called in our tactical coven friends to get started on the wards. Once those are down, we can focus on how to get the Billiards out without drowning them. I touched base with a water sprite who lives in the lake. She’s agreed to monitor them underwater in exchange for a few cases of freeze-dried shrimp. Apparently, her kids are fans, and she wants to surprise them.”

“How did you find them?”

“Reece gave up sleep, that’s how.” He hesitated. “Look, kid, I want you to listen and listen good.”

“Give me a second.” I counted to ten. “Sorry, I had to remove the cotton balls from my ears.”

“Very cute, smartass.” He huffed a laugh. “The OPA can handle this. Stick to your leads. Find Neely.”

“Are we sure he’s not in the water too?”

“Lake Lanier’s surface area is thirty-seven thousand acres. That’s fifty-nine square miles. The max depth on record is one hundred and fifty-six feet, but that was before the aquatic paras moved in. They’ve dug it deeper, rebuilt parts of the town. It’s a warren, and visitors are not welcome. We’ll never clear it all before the gauntlet, even if the entire tactical coven works around the clock once they’re in place.”

“The kidnapper told Cruz what it would cost to get Neely back.”

Since it cut both ways, I wielded the reminder like a dagger as much for him as for me.

“They didn’t tell us squat,” he growled. “A threat is not the same as a ransom.”

“The gauntlet is a public event.” The words tasted like ash. “If we exhaust our leads, I’ll step down then.”

On the night of the gauntlet, the whole city would bear witness to my choice, words, and actions.

One word from the kidnappers, and I would walk away and let Sue have the city to save Neely.

With the discovery of the Billiard family, I had gotten my first clear glimpse of the bigger picture.

“What guarantee do we have they’ll honor the bargain?” Bishop demanded. “What proof do we have he’s still alive?”

“The Billiards are alive.” I closed my eyes for a beat. “We have to believe Neely is too.”

“We only know that because we found them. We might not get so lucky a second time.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “I don’t know what else to do, Bish.”

Muttered curses in languages I couldn’t decipher spewed hot over the line until his temper cooled.

“You need to make the call about Sue.” He let the other subject drop. “Do we tell her, or do we wait?”

Tell her now, and I backed her into a corner where she had a lot of explaining to do.

Tell her later, and I risked making an enemy. She wouldn’t forgive