Chapter 25

“It’s gone!”

At Aiden’s sharp cry of utter dismay from the phone shaking in her fist, Anna glanced over her bare shoulder at Rory. Still curled up tight and fast asleep, her poor husband had paid the price for Aiden sending her home after Madame Dumont’s soiree. In the morning sunlight, she smiled. Exhausted, and well-drained, he hadn’t budged at Aiden’s wail.

Still dressing, she sat on the edge of the bed in only a sleek black skirt and russet lace bra. With an earring dangling from her fingers, she returned to the phone.

“The ring?” she whispered.

“Yes. She took it. Must’ve been her.”

“Hui Ying? Really? You two seemed, uh,”—again she looked at her husband’s crumpled form—”rather close last night.”

“Look. I’m sorry about that, Anna.” Even as he spoke, her heart fluttered at the powerful wave of warmth from him. “I know I owe you. But ... She needed to talk. She wouldn’t tell me in front of anyone else.”

“Yeah.” Despite his surging flash of care, her voice hardened more than she’d wished. “Um-hmm, really? Looked to me, you know, with your hand on her tit, like she wanted to do a lot more than talk.”

“Nothing happened.” At the tone of his voice, Anna’s heart thumped; she could imagine him holding up his hands. “We never even had a chance to speak. All I remember was walking into the bedroom to change and ... And that’s it. This morning, I woke up, and it was gone.”

“She took it from your finger?” After lowering the earring to her lap, she sighed.

“No. As soon as I got home, I put it in the safe, but ... Well, it was wide open this morning and...” Though he lowered his voice, its pitch raised. “Oh fuck, Anna. I’m so sorry. I’ve no idea what Blaine can do with it. Will it impact you? Eva? Sophia Dumont? The others? Oh, my God! What have I done? I never thought I’d lose it.”

“You didn’t lose it.” Her fist clenched the earring’s sharp points. “It was stolen. Just like it was taken from Blaine.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Stolen.” Aiden’s voice raised again. “But now he’s got it, Anna. And I don’t know how that may affect you. I just don’t. I’m so sorry.”

Before she could reply, the phone clicked as he ended the call. With a swift smack of her lips, she started to ease from the bed to finish dressing. But when a sudden surge of energy swept through her, she trembled. Fear. Not simply anxiety. Aiden was terrified. And guilt. So much guilt. With a gulp, she glanced at Rory, still snoring, before staggering to her feet.

After clipping the earring in place and sliding a thin ivory blouse over her, she halted in the middle of the room. Another glance at her husband brought a smile to her face. As she knitted her brows, she inhaled and focused her mind.

“If anyone can protect us, it’s you, Aiden,” while whispering, she clenched her fists and concentrated her mind ever harder. “We made our choice. It wasn’t only the ring that drew us to you.”

After hanging up, Aiden tossed the phone to a couch and scanned the room once more. Still in the crinkled tuxedo from the night before, he walked in a slow circle, scouring everything in sight. Nothing. The only thing out of place was the sailboat painting. It lay on the floor beneath the open safe door. All the other items remained in the safe except...

“Fuck,” he murmured, then exhaled. “Okay. Okay. I’ve warned Eva, Sophia and now Anna,” he clenched his fists. “Alright, um, I’ll call Gina. Oh, and Kendra and Tim. Fuck! Fuck. Fuck.” As he spun on his heel, his voice rose. “How could I be so fucking gullible? So goddamned stupid.”

As he paced, thin beams of orange sunlight sliced across the floor. The fingers of both hands raked through his hair as he struggled to breathe. Over and over, his mind tumbled, reviewing what had happened.

They’d arrived at his apartment. Hui Ying had giggled, then moaned as his hand roamed along her back. While slipping from his jacket, he’d walked into the bedroom.

Blackness had smashed into him. Profound. Arms trapped in the sleeves. Toes of his shoes scraping. Head thumped on the mattress.

A muffled cry. Inhuman. Muttering. Another wail. A strident blast of ancient music. The ring!

With a groan, he pirouetted to face the open safe. When one foot caught on a rug, he growled. Along his skull, his fingertips clawed. He’d locked it away. It’d been secure. Still in her shiny golden dress, Hui Ying hadn’t paid any attention. At the towering glass doors, she’d been staring out at the stars.

Glass?

Reflection? She’d watched him dial the combination.

“Oh, fuck.” He flung a swift glance toward the balcony doors. Open, the sounds of traffic slipped past them and thin blue curtains swirling in the morning breeze. “What a goddamned idiot.”

After tearing his hands free, he pounded them against his thighs. As they watered, his eyes bored into the safe, focusing on the empty square where the ring’s box had been. His heart, a lump of iron, tumbled. Fear. Pure terror.

“Can he control them now?” He asked the missing ring. “With you, what could Blaine do to them? Fuck, what have I done?”

At the sudden scratch of a lounge chair’s leg, he spun to face the blue curtains. Highlighted by brighter orange sunlight, they churned in a stronger gust of wind. Every muscle tightened at the slim shadow appearing beyond them. When Hui Ying’s gold-clad form glided through the spinning translucent material, a low, snarling growl erupted from him. It was primal, and a crimson haze encircled his vision. The hackles on his neck stood. With every muscle vibrating, searing heat and icy blasts competed within him.

In a flash, the entire room vaporized into a blood red blur. Clenching so hard, his fingers cracked, both fists thumped against his steely thighs. His pulse roared into his ears, muffling all but his thundering heartbeat.

“You!”

Right as he yelled, a surge of energy—pure rage—shot from him. With her red-rimmed eyes widening, the diminutive woman lurched to a halt and buckled under both impacts. In two swift steps, he was before her. Only after glaring from beneath scrunched brows did he note the ornate wooden cube in her tiny hands.

Although her lips were moving, he heard nothing but the hammering in his achy skull. As the room began a slow spin, she lifted the box. With a quick shake of his head, he focused.

“ ... so very sorry, Aiden. I just can’t do it.” As the thundering pulse drained from his ears, her clipped British accent amplified. “I just can’t. I’ve been ... Sensing. And listening to you.” She paused for a lengthy gulp before adding. “Last night, I wasn’t sure, but now I know for certain. I can’t. I can’t take this back to them.”

“Them?” Although he glanced at the box, his fists remained at his side. “Blaine Hornsby, I get. But who else?”

At the slight waver in the golden dress, his brows loosened. As the red haze lifted, time slowed. Just as he was about to ask again, she inhaled and puffed out her tiny but firm chest.

“I shouldn’t say, but I must. No. Not him.” She swallowed before adding in a whisper while scanning to both sides. “The ones who sent me. Who trained and, um, ordered me to find Mister Hornsby. To hunt the ring. And bring it back. To them.”

“Who? What are you talking about, Hui Ying? You arrived with Blaine.” Aiden’s voice quieted as the visions from last night replayed. On an ebon rocky spire. In chains. Her naked little body. Spiraling crimson clouds. “Oh. Does he know about that?”

The small woman shook her head. With a swift smack of her lips, she pushed the box into his chest.

“I won’t do it. They can punish me all they want. Again. There’s not much left of me, anyway. You’re not like the others, Aiden.” After a sigh, she once more shoved the box into him. Once he lifted his hands to grip hers, she jerked. A glittering tear dribbled from one reddened eye to slither down her cheek. “You really care. I could hear it in your voice. I can feel it right now. You’re even worried about me. Even after ... After last night.”

Instead of pulling her fingers free, she pressed them into Aiden’s closing fists. Despite the golden dress flashing at every rapid heartbeat, she remained in place. With her lower lip trembling, another tear followed the first. Before he could speak, she twisted her digits to grasp his.

“Everyone else. They only thought about themselves. Blaine Hornsby’s only ever cared about what the ring’s loss meant to him.” Her voice became a whisper as her fingers tightened on his. “You, though. You only care about the others, Aiden.”

“Everyone else? Who—”

Suddenly engulfed in a gyre of flickering orange, he fell silent with a gasp. At an abrupt blaring of music, his hands squeezed Hui Ying’s tiny fingers. After dropping his gaze to the wooden box in their grip, his mind probed deeper. Within the darkness, the circle of blazing metal flared.

Joy. Relief. However, as he inspected closer, there was yet fear. Hui Ying’s sudden inhale brought him back to her.

“I need to leave,” she said. “And quickly. They ... They don’t like failure. And I’m sure they won’t appreciate betrayal.”

“Who?” Despite the swift jerk of her fingers, he gripped her and the box tighter. While trying to pull from him, she swayed in his grip, scanning past him at the surrounding room. “You haven’t answered me, Hui Ying.”

“You wouldn’t believe me, Aiden. Trust me. I wouldn’t believe me, either. Everything that’s happened to me is ... Hmm, by definition, beyond belief.”