Blood Brothers (Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2)

by C. D. Hersh

  Time to seduce Roc again and make him think she was crazy for him and only him. If he thought she had a thing for Rhys, she needed to nip the idea in the bud. Murderous love triangles could be fatal to a killer’s health, and she didn’t plan on getting caught.

  Chapter 41

  Delaney got the distinct feeling something wasn’t right about Eli’s summons when she saw Harry’s car parked a couple of doors down from Alexi’s house. While today’s interview at the funeral home had gone well, there had still been an undeniable awkwardness with conversations not related to cases. Awkwardness she wanted so badly to eliminate.

  What was he doing here? Why had she been summoned?

  She cut off the engine and headed for the front door. Eli greeted her, and she eyed him before entering. “What are you up to?”

  Without uttering a word, he drew her into the house and escorted her to the living room where Alexi, Rhys, and Harry sat.

  She balked at Eli’s forward urging and took a firm stand by the living room doorway. Sweeping her gaze around the room she scanned the quartet. Eli was unreadable. Harry anxious. Alexi and Rhys appeared frightened.

  “We’ve some news tae tell ye,” Eli said, giving her a gentle push toward an overstuffed chair. She sank onto the seat, dropping her purse beside her. “Do ye trust me, Delaney?”

  She blinked at him. Where was he going with the question? She expected news about Lila’s child and a lead on the killer, not a question about her faith in Eli.

  “You know I do.”

  “Then what I’m aboot tae tell ye shouldnae be hard tae believe.”

  “I don’t understand Eli. I thought with Harry here you had news about Lila’s baby.”

  “Aye, we do. But ’tis that verra news that ’tis going tae test yer faith in me and my decisions and yer faith in those gathered here.”

  Delaney swiveled until she could see Rhys. He appeared calm on the outside, except for a tiny tick in his jaw. She could see anxiety in his aura, smoky mustard shimmering on the edge of the ring colors. This was it! Somehow Eli had found out about Rhys and he was going to reveal the man’s true nature. That’s why Rhys was nervous and afraid.

  Turning toward Eli, she said, “I trust you more than anyone in this room.”

  Out of corner of her eye she saw Harry grimace. I hurt him. Not what I wanted to do.

  “Guid,” Eli said. “Remember that.” He paused and took a deep breath.

  Delaney’s nerves chattered in her spine. Get on with it. Please.

  “We know who ’tis the faither o’ Lila’s wee bairn.”

  She looked at Alexi. “I’m sorry, dear. Really I am.” Then she glared at Rhys, ready to pounce the second Eli revealed him.

  “’Tis nae who ye think,” he said with admonishment. “Rhys isnae the bairn’s faither.”

  Delaney swiveled to Eli in disbelief. “It has to be him. I’ve got proof he was with Lila.” She dug in her purse and held out the photo of Rhys and Lila. “He knows her. Knew her before Alexi.” Another rummage in the purse produced a packet of letters. “He planned to marry her. Lila’s letters prove it. He’s not who you think he is, Eli. He’s a rogue in disguise.”

  She bounded from the chair and thrust the photo and letters into Eli’s hand. “Read them for yourself.”

  He placed the items on the coffee table. “I dinna haftae, because ’tis not Rhys yer daughter ’twas referring tae.”

  She grabbed the photo and shoved it under Eli’s nose. “Look! It’s him,” she exclaimed, tapping her index finger on the image of Rhys. “You can’t deny that.”

  Eli took her jabbing hand and stilled it between his. “’Tis his brother in the picture. His twin brother.”

  The room slanted to the right as she listed to the left, her head pounding with the rush of blood banging in her veins, vision suddenly blurry. Eli caught her as she swayed and held her upright. She stared at the picture in her hands, then at Rhys. Twin brother?

  “How long have you known this, Rhys?” she asked.

  “I meet him shortly after Alexi’s funeral.”

  “And you, Alexi?”

  “A few weeks after Rhys found out. He thought I should know in case Roc had something to do with my murder,” she replied.

  “Why would you suspect your own brother?” Immediately, Delaney knew the answer. He was a rogue, the identical twin of their Promised One, in all aspects mortal and magical. Anger replaced shock as she realized she’d been kept in the dark. “Et tu, Harry?”

  He nodded. “But I only learned about it today.”

  “You knew when we were interviewing Larch?”

  “Yes, but I couldn’t say anything because I knew we were planning to tell you together.”

  “How long have you known, Eli?”

  “A couple o’ days. Alexi told me when she discovered the laddie’s faither ’tis Falhman.”

  “Falhman?” She nearly shouted the single word. “Evil Incarnate spawned Rhys? That means he has to be evil, too.”

  “Rhys ’tis nae evil. He ’tis a true Promised One. Our true Promised One and he dinna have anything tae do with Lila’s death.”

  “I don’t believe it. It’s too fantastic.” Delaney flung the photo on the coffee table. “You’re lying.” She looked directly at Rhys.

  “Then scan us,” Rhys said. “You’ll see we’re all telling the truth.”

  “The truth as you believe it. The truth as Eli wants to believe, because he won’t renounce his precious Promised One. The truth as you’ve told it to Alexi and Harry.” She crossed and stood in front of Rhys. “I have scanned all of you. You’re scared, Rhys. You could hide your guilt beneath the fear.”

  “You bet I’m scared, and rightly so. You’ve made it clear you’re out to get whoever killed Lila. Which means it’s either going to be me or my brother at the end of your gun.”

  “Scan Harry,” Eli said. “He canna hide the truth. He hasnae the training.”

  Harry put his hand out in front of his chest. “Whoa, whoa,” he exclaimed. “What’s this scanning thing?”

  “Some o’ us can see a person’s aura,” Eli explained. “It gives us the ability tae see things aboot ye.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Emotions. A person’s basic nature,” Alexi said. “After a while we can get a pretty good reading on whether someone is telling the truth.”

  “Kinda like a cop gut,” Rhys added. “Not one-hundred percent correct, but close enough to get a fairly accurate gauge.”

  “Have you used this on me without my knowledge?” Harry asked Delaney.

  “Maybe once or twice.”

  He stared at her, shock and confusion rolling around on his features. After a moment, he spread his arms wide, a smile creeping across his mouth. “Go ahead. Scan me. I’m an open book, Delaney.”

  Confused about his enthusiasm, she tentatively scanned him. “Do you believe Rhys’ story?”

  “Absolutely.”

  The soft blue aura showed no lies there. “Have you met his brother?”

  “Nope. I believe he’s real because of the mismatched fingerprints Katrina showed me.”

  “What?” Delaney asked.

  Harry dropped his arms. “Think about this, Delaney. The prints on the beer bottle didn’t match Rhys’ even though the DNA did. You ignored that in your quest to pin something on Rhys. Those fingerprints have to belong to his brother.”

  “But you told me you were in my apartment,” Delaney said to Rhys.

  “Well, I wasn’t. It was Roc, and I covered for him because I couldn’t let anyone know about him. I was undercover for the society, Delaney. Remember? I couldn’t risk you finding out about him and destroying everything. Seems I was right, since you were on your own secret mission. You should have l
eveled with us.”

  For a second she couldn’t say anything as the logic of Harry’s statement and the accusatory truth of Rhys sunk in. They were right.

  Harry stepped closer to her. “Scan me again, Delaney,” he whispered. “Ask me how I feel about you.”

  She didn’t have to scan him to see the love shining from his eyes. “It’s clear, Harry.”

  “Ask me if I want to marry you,” he prompted. “Because I do.”

  Eli stepped next to them. “Ye’ll have tae table the courting, because we have a bigger problem tae deal with.”

  “What?” Harry and Delaney said in unison as they stepped away from each other and stared at Eli.

  “Falhman not only knows who Rhys’ and Roc’s faither is, he knows the mither, too.” Eli swung his piercing gaze around the group, expression solemn. “She’s a McCraigen, which means the blood o’ two o’ the strongest shifter families runs in Rhys and Roc. With Rhys married tae Alexi, any o’ their bairns ’twill have all three bloodlines. That hasnae happened in eons. We will haftae protect Alexi, Rhys, and their family, if they have one, with all our resources and our lives.”

  Delaney looked at Harry, her heart breaking. “Do you know what that means?”

  Shoulders drooping, he answered, “Yeah. Work comes first and love suffers.” He glanced around the room. “Are we done here? Because I know I am.”

  “I’ll see you out,” she said.

  “Don’t bother. I know the way. It’s all too familiar.”

  As he left, she sank onto the nearest chair, her shoulders shaking in silent sobs. He loved her, she knew that now. Although his proposal was more about what he wanted than if she would marry him, she felt the same way.

  Glancing around, she saw Rhys and Alexi with their arms wrapped around each other. Eli stood to one side, alone, as always. She would end up like him.

  A flutter of hope rose as she remembered what Eli had said. Table the courting. Not stop the courting. Eli had heard Harry’s proposal. If she could get Harry to agree to let her continue to serve on the council and protect Rhys and Alexi, maybe their relationship would work.

  Chapter 42

  Rhys noticed Sylvia creeping around the precinct the next day. He hunted Gladys down to find out what she knew.

  “Sorry, sugar,” Gladys said. “She’s been quiet as a mouse in a house full of cats with me. Hasn’t asked me to do anything for her. I think she knows I’ve been watching. Although, the other day, when we found Delaney Ramsey’s daughter, Agent Riley was sweet as pie. Gave me fifty dollars for an arrangement for the funeral.”

  “Seems generous.”

  “I thought so, considering she didn’t contribute anything for Alexi’s flowers.”

  Considering how Sylvia felt about Alexi, that didn’t surprise him.

  “You don’t know when the funeral’s happening, do you?”

  “Not a clue,” Rhys said. “Since she seems to be avoiding you, have you heard any scuttlebutt around the office on her?”

  “Well, I did hear she ordered one of the secretaries out of the copy room and locked the door while she made copies of something.”

  “Why?”

  Gladys leaned in close to Rhys and whispered, “The way Joan tells it is she had a stack of papers to copy. She told Agent Riley she couldn’t stop because of collating and that it would be a couple hours before she was done. Riley had a hissy fit and commandeered the copy room all for a couple of papers. I mean, why were two measly papers so important she had to chase Joan out and lock the door?”

  Good question.

  Gladys tipped her chin down and fluttered her eyelashes. “But you didn’t hear any of this from me, sugar. I don’t believe in office gossip.”

  Rhys stifled a laugh. Gladys was the go-to girl if you needed something. He flashed her a big smile. “Thanks. The secret is safe with me.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t help you, sugar,” she said as he left.

  He watched Sylvia all morning waiting for an opportunity to check her desk. Right before lunchtime he saw her head for the ladies room. He made a beeline for her desk, a case file folder in his hand, to use as an alibi if she caught him rifling through her stuff. The file drawers were all locked.

  Discouraged, he plopped onto the desk chair, pitched his folder down, and knocked over an open cup of coffee. The liquid rushed over the edge of the desk right onto Sylvia’s open handbag. Frantically, he tried to stem the flow, but failed. As he reached for the handbag to get it out of harm’s way, he saw two sheets of paper sticking out. He grabbed the papers and opened them under the cover of the kneehole.

  The DNA report on the Lila’s baby. What would Sylvia want with this?

  He folded the papers and stuffed them into the handbag, wiping the exterior as clean as he could, and shoved the handbag beneath the desk. Then he mopped the spill on the desk, but not before Sylvia reappeared.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  The heat from her glare bored onto his back, and he stopped his clean-up efforts. “I knocked your coffee over.” He held out the empty cup. “Want me to get another?”

  Tapping her high-heeled toe with machine gun rapidity, she glowered at him and answered, “No! Get out of my chair, now!”

  Grabbing the file folder, he stood and backed away. “It’s only coffee, Sylvia. I cleaned it up. No need to blow a gasket.”

  She shot another bullet-riddled stare at him, and he headed for his desk. As he sat, she jerked her chair out and checked her handbag, rifling through the same pages he read. After grabbing her handbag and jacket, she stormed out of the office.

  He went to Captain Williams’ office and stuck his head in the open door. “Got a minute?”

  Harry waved him in without taking his gaze off his paperwork. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I discovered Sylvia has copies of Lila’s baby’s DNA report.”

  Snapping the file folder shut, Harry gave Rhys his full attention. “How the hell did she get them without the coroner’s knowledge? He’s got instructions to tell me about anything she or Delaney do in his morgue.”

  “Don’t know the answer to the question. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this. She knows Roc and I are brothers and Falhman is our father. Won’t take much to connect the dots with the baby’s DNA.”

  “Question is, who will she connect them to? You’re still the obvious connection to Lila, unless she knows about Roc and Lila. She’s got a whole lot of blackmail power in her hands. Would she use it?”

  “In a heartbeat. Guess I’d better warn Roc.”

  Taking the chance Roc would be home, Rhys went to Roc’s apartment building and phoned from the lobby. Roc answered on the first ring. “We need to talk,” Rhys said. “I’m downstairs.”

  “I’ll come down and get you.”

  Seconds later the elevator doors opened and Roc motioned Rhys in. When they reached the penthouse door, Roc said, “I’m glad you’re here. I was debating if I should call you.”

  Rhys checked Roc out. Worry lines furrowed his forehead. “Something wrong?”

  “The better question might be, Is anything right?”

  Removing his Stetson, Rhys raked his hand through his hair. “Not much,” he replied. “Can we sit?”

  “Sure. You want something to drink?”

  “No.” Rhys took a seat and Roc sat in the opposite chair. “They know about you,” Rhys said.

  “Who?”

  “Eli, Alexi, Delaney.” He wondered if he should include the captain, but decided against it. Better to save the cop angle for an ace in the hole.

  “Ahh, Rhys. Why’d you go and do that?”

  “To save my hide and yours.” Rhys perched his hat on his knee. “Even if I hadn’t said anything, with all the DNA evidence and your fing
erprints, they were going to figure out I was not the one in Delaney’s apartment. Eventually, they’d find out I was a twin. Better to get it out in the open. Seems less guilty this way. Easier to strike a bargain with a confession.”

  He paused, watching Roc for any signs he was making inroads into his psyche. A crack that would let him convince his brother to tell all.