Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3)(101)

"How do you know it's safe?"

"Because Linus Duncan arranged it. Do you want me to drop you off?"

"No." Bern pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Texting Bug. I want to know what we're driving into. I want him to get eyes on the restaurant, and I want him to get us some backup."



Takara served as our go-to sushi place when we wanted a treat. Its listing said Asian Fusion, which in their case meant authentic Japanese cuisine and bulgogi on the menu. A quiet place, furnished in rich tones of brown and green with elegant but comfortable décor. When Rogan invited me to our first lunch, I decided to meet him there, because Takara sat right in the middle of a large shopping plaza off I-10 that had everything from Toys "R" Us and Academy Sports, to Olive Garden and H-E-B, the trademark Texas grocery store. Nonstop traffic, lots of people, and very little privacy. The perfect place to meet someone you don't trust.

Despite the two-thirds full parking lot, I recognized Victoria's car immediately. It was the only Mercedes with a human Rottweiler in a suit stationed by it. I parked at the opposite end of the parking lot.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked Bern.

"No. She doesn't want to see me. I'm going to stay here and keep the car running in case you come running out."

I handed the keys to him and stepped out of the vehicle. Victoria's bodyguard watched me as I crossed the parking lot. Twenty yards separated me from the door, and each step proved harder than the last. I could barely move. Finally my hand fastened around the door handle. Made it.

I took a deep breath and walked into Takara with my head held high.

The restaurant was empty, except for one patron. Victoria Tremaine sat in the back by the window. Almost the same table Rogan had chosen. She wore a beautifully tailored black suit. A stunning blue and turquoise shawl, gossamer thin and embroidered with peacock feathers, hung off her left shoulder. It gleamed, catching the light from the window, with what was probably real gold thread.

A hostess smiled at me.

"I'm with the lady in the shawl," I told her.

Her smile faltered slightly. "Please, this way."

"No need. I see her."

I marched to the table and checked the floor for traces of an arcane circle, just in case.

Victoria Tremaine scoffed.

"One can never be too careful." I sat in the chair.

A waiter approached us.

"Bring hot tea," Victoria ordered. "Green or black, whatever is best in the house. Two cups. Leave the kettle and keep it refilled. My granddaughter and I will be talking. Don't disturb us."

The waiter took off at a near run.

When I thought of grandmother, I thought of Grandma Frida, with her halo of platinum curls and the comforting smell of machine grease and gun oil that seemed to follow her everywhere. To me, that word meant safety and warmth. No matter how badly I screwed things up with Mom and Dad, Grandma Frida would always be there to listen, to make me laugh.

Victoria Tremaine couldn't be more different. She was taller and heavier than Grandma Frida, who was always bird-boned, but it was a formidable kind of heaviness. She wasn't fat, she was solid, as if the age accreted around her. Lines crossed her face. Unlike most aging wealthy, she hadn't bothered with either plastic surgery or illusion magic. Her hair, styled the last time I saw a recording of her, had been artfully chopped into a shorter cut that emphasized the severe lines of her face. I looked at her eyes and wished I hadn't. They were the exact blue of my father's. But my father's eyes had been kind, laughing, sometimes stern. Victoria's eyes were those of a raptor. She wasn't an evil witch, she was the aging queen. Instead of mellowing with age, she had only grown more dangerous, ruthless, and merciless.



       
         
       
        

"You look like James," she said.

"I also hold his values."

"And what are those?"

"I take care of my family, and I try to be a good person."

"A good person?" She leaned half an inch forward. "Do tell."

If we took that exit, we'd be at it for a while. "You wanted to speak to me. I'm here."

"I want you to drop this House Baylor nonsense. You belong to House Tremaine."

"No. Was there anything else?"

"You have no connections. You have no finances, no workforce, and you don't even know enough to realize how much you don't know."

"I'll learn."

The waiter brought the tea and placed it in front of us with two cups.

"At what cost? You have no idea how deep these waters are. We are related by blood. Blood is the only thing in this world you can trust."