Blowing out a stream of smoke, Kane asked, “Have you found that woman you were looking for? Evangeline?”
Jourdain’s lips tightened. “Not yet.”
Ready to show that he was willing to put his money where his mouth was when it came to the proposed alliance, Kane offered, “Just say the word and I’ll put all of my resources to work for you, help you find her.”
A raised brow. “You’re actually being sincere, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “But then, I suppose it makes sense considering you were part of Morgan Rhys’s Hunter team. She’s a woman of remarkable integrity.”
Throwing back the last of his scotch, Jourdain, seeming to have come to some sort of decision, leaned forward in his seat. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”
Chapter Eleven
“The woman in the footage you sent me. I was truthful when I told you I didn’t recognize her, but what I omitted was that she could be Evangeline.”
Kane frowned. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Jourdain stubbed out his cigar and stood, pacing in the limited square of space behind his desk. “Evangeline Duvalier is my aunt. She’s also an extremely powerful witch capable of disguising herself with glamour to look however she chooses, and with me and my people looking for her, she will definitely be concealing her true appearance.”
“Why would your aunt be hiding from you? Better yet, why would she align herself with vampires?”
“Because I believe they helped her escape.”
“Escape?” Okay, Kane was missing too many pieces of this puzzle.
“As I said, Evangeline is extremely powerful, potentially one of themostpowerful witches on the planet.”
Kane felt his eyes bulge. “More powerful than you?”
A sharp nod was his answer and Kane’s mouth fell open. He’d seen what Jourdain could do, couldn’t imagine anyone stronger than the man before him. Shaking his head at a notion that was seriously close to blowing his mind, Kane instead focused on the question Jourdain hadn’t answered. “You said escape, that implies that she was held captive.”
Jourdain grimaced. “Her lust for power knew no bounds. She embraced forbidden magics, dark spells that are banned for very good reasons and that magic corrupted her, warped her mind. For everyone’s safety, including her own, we chose to bind her, imprison her, but that required cooperative magic.”
Imprisoned by her own family? And here Kane had thought his family drama was bad.
Bracing his hands against the desk, Jourdain leaned in. “Those witches that were left as a challenge to you were also key anchors to that spell, and I don’t believe in coincidence.”
Kane was starting to get it. “So, she made a deal with the rogues, pointed out the witches that needed to be killed so she gets her freedom, probably with promises that in freeing her they’d get power over this territory.”
Releasing a little huff of laughter devoid of humor, Kane shook his head. “They got the raw end of the deal considering all but one of the suspected rogues are dead. Meanwhile, an insanely powerful witch is roaming around, plotting who knows what with no way for us to positively identify her, and I have a hole in my memory that may or may not have been caused by the same witch.” He considered that for a moment with a frown. “If it was your missing Evangeline, what would she want with me?”
“Good question. You don’t remember anything?”
“I remember going to the bar to ask about the rogue that’s still at large and to show his picture to the bartenders. Then, nothing. That footage I sent you, I don’t remember any of that. The next thing I know, I’m waking up on my couch the following night.”
“She didn’t take something from your person or apartment? Nothing’s missing?”
Kane shook his head. “Just my memories.”
Jourdain nodded his head thoughtfully as he mulled things over. “She may have been gathering information, questioning you while you were in her thrall.”
Oh, wow, didn’t that just give his heart the warm and fuzzies? Kane thought with a wry twist of his lips. And God only knew what he’d given up if that was the case.
“Is there anything you can do to retrieve the memories? Some spell or hypnosis or something?”
“If she had simply blocked your memories, that footage would have jarred something loose. Having seen it and still not remembered, that means she took the memories. They’re no longer there for me to find for you.”
Well, that sucked.
∞∞∞
