Refuge(158)

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I chewed my bottom lip thoughtfully as I surveyed the bounty spread out on my desk: seven hundred dollars in cash, fourteen large diamonds, and a tiny vial of troll bile. The cash wouldn’t get me far, even if I stretched it, but I’d already been in touch with one of my old contacts about the diamonds and he said he could get me a hefty price, after they were authenticated of course. The only problem was it would take a few days to set it up and I wasn’t sure how much time I had.

The troll bile would fetch enough money to allow me to disappear for a long time if I wanted to. But it would also draw way too much attention. I decided to hang onto it and use it only in an absolute emergency.

My eyes went to the email from David two hours ago that was still open on my monitor.

We found her. I’m running some checks now to verify the information, but so far it looks solid. She’s in Albuquerque, but I’m not sure how long she will stay there. Are you sure you want to do this?

He’d done it. He’d actually found Madeline. Now, it was my turn. I was going to track her down and make her do something good for once in her life. The way I saw it, she owed me. My mother was the only one who supposedly knew the identity of the Master. She was going to tell me who he was and then I would tell Tristan, who would take care of the rest. It didn’t matter that neither of them knew of my plan yet. In fact, that was exactly how I wanted it.

I scooped up the glittering diamonds and dropped them into a small pouch, which I stuffed in a pocket of my old backpack along with the money and the troll bile. I scanned the room as I thought about what I needed to bring with me. I needed to travel light and fast, so a few changes of clothes and some toiletries were all I could manage.

I looked longingly at my laptop and sighed. It was thin and light and it would fit in my backpack, but I could not risk the possibility of Tristan’s security guys tracking it somehow. David was setting me up with a clean laptop and some burner phones, and letting me know where to pick them up. I had to have a way to communicate with him and know what was going on out there. It helped to have a friend with his talents, especially on this mission. Of course, I needed to get out of here first, and that was going to be tricky. I still hadn’t worked that part out yet.

A knock at the door pulled me from my musing, and I rushed to throw the backpack in the closet. “Come in,” I called after I picked up a book and lay down on the bed.

Roland poked his head in before stepping into the room. “We’re leaving tomorrow and you’re hiding in your room?”

I laid the book on my chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just been a rough few days and I wanted to veg for a while.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You mean you wanted some time alone to plan your little getaway.”

“What?” I swallowed nervously. “What are you talking about?”

“Nikolas told me he’s taking you away. He said you were upset.”

“So?” I avoided his gaze so he couldn’t see the hurt in mine. I hadn’t seen Nikolas since I’d left him that morning. A few hours ago, he’d knocked at my door, but I didn’t answer. He’d known I was here the same way I knew it was him on the other side of the door, but he left after a few minutes. I hated putting distance between us, and I felt his absence like a gaping hole in my chest. But he knew me too well and I’d never be able to hide my intentions from him. If he got wind of what I was planning, he’d have me on a plane for parts unknown tonight. I couldn’t let that happen.

Roland snorted loudly. “I know you too well to expect you to go meekly along with that. Fess up. What’s the plan?”

I struggled to keep an innocent expression. “There is no plan, Roland. I’m just reading. See?” I held up the book for emphasis.

“You know, I’d find that story a whole lot more believable if that book wasn’t upside-down.”

I glanced at the jumbled text in front of me and flushed.

“Busted.” He sat on the foot of my bed and fixed me with a serious look. “You can’t really be thinking of running off on your own after what just happened?”

Abandoning all pretenses, I tossed the book aside and sat up. “It’s because of what happened that I have to go. We have to stop this Master before more people get hurt. I’m going to find Madeline and make her give up his identity.”

“What makes you think you can find her when the rest of the Mohiri can’t?”

“Madeline is smart, and she’s watching for the Mohiri and the Master. One sign of them and she is in the wind again.” I smiled self-confidently. “She won’t be looking for me.”