Movement caught my eye. A shadow passing across the upstairs windows.
I frowned. Everyone should be at the party. Even Molly had thrown herself into helping, though I suspected that had moreto do with eyefucking Vanin than actual dedication to saving the store.
The office door stood open when I reached the top of the stairs. Papers littered Mags’s desk, drawers hanging open like hungry mouths. My heart rate kicked up. Someone had been searching for something.
“Hello?” I stepped closer, cataloging the mess. “Is someone?—”
Tate sat up from behind the desk.
I stumbled back, but two massive forms blocked the doorway. Fae males, by the look of their ears. Their clouded eyes were strangely unfocused and fixed on some middle distance.
“Miss Morton!” Tate’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Perfect timing. I was hoping we could have a drink. Business owner to business owner.”
A hand clamped around my upper arm. One of the fae shoved me forward, forcing me into the visitor’s chair. I struggled, but his grip was iron.
“Now, now.” Tate tsked. “Let’s be civilized about this. I’ve been working too long to let you ruin everything.”
“Working on what?” I demanded, trying to keep the tremor from my voice. “Breaking and entering?”
He laughed, the sound like oil sliding across water. “Oh, this?” He gestured to the ransacked office. “Just making sure your dear aunt didn’t leave any... inconvenient paperwork lying around. She had such a bad habit of that near the end.”
The way he said it made my skin crawl. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing she didn’t agree to.” He pulled a crystal decanter from Mags’s bottom drawer. “We shared many pleasant evenings discussing the future of this property. My special vintage was quite persuasive.”
The fae’s clouded eyes caught my attention again. Empty. Vacant. Like they weren’t quite there.
Cold realization hit. “You drugged her.” The words tasted like ash. “Was she the only one? Or have you been drugging everyone ‘sharing a drink’ with you?”
“Such an ugly word.” Tate poured amber liquid into two glasses. “I prefer to think of it as encouraging cooperation. A little drink here, a signature there. Soon she was practically begging to switch vendors.” His smile turned cruel. “The preliminary sale contract was just the beginning.”
One of the fae males shifted restlessly by the door. My muscles tensed as I tracked his movement. If I could just?—
“Everything was proceeding perfectly.” Tate continued, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Then that idiot mayor’s office denied my permits. Something about insufficient parking for luxury condos.” He sneered. “So I decided to take the whole block.”
The casual way he spoke about destroying people’s livelihoods made my stomach turn. But worse was the hard glint in his eyes as he continued.
“Though I must admit, your aunt proved... surprisingly resistant near the end. Started talking about changing her will, leaving everything to her dear niece.” He sighed theatrically. “Tragic how stress can affect the elderly heart, isn’t it?”
The pieces clicked into horrible place. The switched vendors and Mags’s erratic behavior.
My aunt hadn’t died of natural causes. She’d been murdered. By this monster sitting across from me, watching my reaction with predatory satisfaction.
Rage burned through my veins, but I forced it down. I couldn’t let him see how badly his revelation had shaken me. Not when I needed every advantage to get out of here alive.
The heavy ledger sat on the corner of the desk. One good swing…
“Then you showed up.” Tate raised his glass in a mock toast. “The prodigal niece, come to ruin all my careful planning. Tell me, does your orc know what you really came here to do? That you planned to sell and run back to Seattle?”
“You’re insane.” I kept my voice steady, buying time as the remaining fae guard shifted his weight. “The police?—”
“Will what? Believe the outsider over a respected local businessman?” Tate chuckled. “Especially once you sign everything over. Which you will.”
The guard near the door swayed slightly. Now.
I snatched the ledger and hurled it at his head. He stumbled, caught off guard by the projectile. I bolted past him, nearly falling as I rounded the corner and raced for the stairs.
“Get her!” Tate’s roar followed me through the shelves.
