“Also, it would be very good for your source if no action was taken until after her divorce was finalized.” She hesitated again. “You know, just in case the tip actually did lead to something.”
“Well, I don’t know what the information is. Nor do I know how long the divorce will take, but if it’s possible to wait, I think I could agree to that.”
“I met with a divorce attorney this morning,” she confessed. “Austin figured out where I was staying and showed up at the hotel last night, so she’s going to file papers and a restraining order right away. She’ll also be sending Austin a settlement offer I don’t think he can afford to refuse. Anyway, hopefully the divorce won’t take too long.”
“It must have been very unpleasant when Sullivan showed up,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. What have you got?”
“A proposition,” she replied. “I’ll tell you what I know—and I have to warn you, it isn’t a lot to go on—and in return I want you to teach me how to defend myself.”
He straightened from his slouched position. “Do you feel like you’re in danger?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Tension like a finely spun wire ran through her reply. “Maybe not. But I do feel uneasy, and I would like some insurance. Something up my sleeve, just in case. I’m not talking about a long-term commitment. One spell would do it, or even a way to somehow channel the ability I’ve already got. I would rather do that than buy a gun. Guns can be taken away from their owners, but nobody can wrestle this Power away from me.”
Ah, such naïveté.
Still, given her current level of knowledge, she wasn’t wrong, and respect stirred. “Is this connected to your tip?”
“Yes. I think Austin’s dirty. I found something in the contents of our safe.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I accept your proposition. Now you have to have dinner with me and explain what’s going on. After I cancel my other plans, I’ll be all yours for the evening, but we shouldn’t meet in public.”
Her relief was palpable. “No, I don’t think we should meet in public either. We shouldn’t be seen together. Where do you want to meet?”
He considered various options. “Somewhere outside the city. Do you know the Sweetwater Creek State Park? I haven’t been there yet, but from what I’ve read, the park is huge. That should offer enough privacy.”
“Of course. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve been many times, and it’s only about thirty minutes out. Yes, I’ll meet you there. The park has a visitor center. Once you locate that, there’s a picnic area not too far away.” She rattled off directions, and he grabbed a pen to jot them down.
“Got it,” he told her. “I’ll leave right after work and meet you at six.”
“Thank you.” She paused, and when she spoke again, the reluctance had returned. “If you’re coming right after work, you’ll be hungry. I’ll bring something to eat.”
An inexplicable reaction warmed him. They weren’t friends, and he had given her good cause to be wary of him. He couldn’t think of a single reason she would make such an offer unless she was just… nice.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“See you then,” she said.
Before she could disconnect, he added, “Oh, and Molly? If someone is really intent on doing you harm, a restraining order isn’t anything more than a piece of paper. You should relocate, and this time don’t use your credit card.”
She blew out a breath. “That’s next on my list of things to do. I checked out this morning, and as soon as the bank opened, I bought some prepaid Visa cards. After I finish talking with you, I’m going to find somewhere else to stay.”
Relaxing, he smiled and purred, “I knew you weren’t just a pretty face.”
“You think I’m pretty?” She sounded astonished but then added quickly, “I’m hanging up now.”
He laughed. “I think you’re beautiful, and I’m hanging up now too. Be careful, and make sure you don’t have somebody following you. See you soon.”
After the call ended, he fired off an email to cancel his dinner date and then sat back in his chair.
So, Molly thought Sullivan was dirty. How about that.
Her information might or might not be relevant to Josiah’s interests, but that didn’t matter. The main thing was, he should be able to gain more of her trust, at least enough so he could give her some training.
That could be enough for her to exercise control so she would stop being so damn visible to those who had magic sensitivity and enough interest in the Atlanta area to check out new anomalies. Helping Molly helped him.
He found himself smiling again. They hadn’t talked that long, but she had still managed to evoke a surprising number of emotions. And with every change in her inflection, he could imagine her expressions.
She was busy and preoccupied with her own problems, but she wasn’t letting any of that dull her sharp mind. Yes, she was beautiful, but beauty was overrated in these modern times. A woman with her kind of intelligence was sexy as hell, and he liked that. He liked her very much.
But that was irrelevant. He had no place in his life for nice people—not with the kind of damage he intended to inflict and the danger that came along with it.
It took some effort, but eventually he put her out of his mind and got back to work.
Chapter Five
Molly slipped her phone back into her purse and climbed into her SUV. Only time would tell whether Josiah was as good at keeping his word as he claimed. She had set her course of action. That had to be good enough for now.
The early-morning meeting with her new attorney, Nina Rodriguez, had highlighted everything that had been bothering her, and not in a good way. Nina was an attractive fifty-year-old Hispanic woman with sharp dark eyes and a warm smile who, she said, loved to take cheating assholes of either sex to the cleaners.
Molly had emailed the zip file of documents to Nina the night before, and they went over everything in person. As soon as Nina had laid eyes on the mysterious bank account, she’d recognized the format from a bank in the Seychelles islands.
“Is your husband laundering money?” Nina asked, one eyebrow raised.
“I-I don’t know,” Molly replied. When she’d found the violet panties, she had thought Austin couldn’t do anything more to rattle her. She’d been wrong.
Now, indulging in a newfound sense of paranoia, she drove around in circles while she kept an eye on the surrounding traffic. She was more shaken than she liked to admit, and she’d grown uncomfortable driving the Escalade. It was too distinctive, and the license plate a matter of record.
So she drove to the nearest Cadillac dealership and sold it. While she waited for the dealer to cut her a check, she called a car rental—not the one conveniently located across the street from the dealership, but one from a few miles away—and reserved a sedan. The rental company offered a pickup service, so she was able to complete both transactions within a couple of hours.
After that, she searched on her phone until she located an available Airbnb apartment in a trendy neighborhood near Clark Atlanta University. She chatted with the owner for ten minutes, then bought a week’s stay with one of her prepaid Visa cards and drove to the new place.