Sin went pale. He glanced at his father. “Drive faster.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Sinclair
My dad parked as close as he could without bringing attention to us, which wasn’t very close since the main house had a pretty good view of the drive.
As a result, we parked along a dirt service road that was partially blocked from the house by one of the barns. The land didn’t provide much in the way of cover, as it was mostly scrub and rocks with a few scraggly pines here and there. Beautiful country, but my mind wasn’t on the scenery.
Jack and Birdie parked behind us and got out. Jack glanced toward the ranch in the distance. “You want us to shift and get out there now or stay with you?”
“Shift and go,” my dad said. “Do some recon for us. We need to keep Tony alive, and we need to find Lila. Phones on vibrate.”
“You got it,” Birdie said.
A moment later, she and Jack shifted and took off toward the ranch, a lone wolf and a raven traveling much faster than we could.
We followed behind them with a decent amount of speed. I was happy my dad’s stage time kept him in such good shape. We reached the barn in a few minutes and flattened ourselves against the wall.
My dad shoved a hand into his pocket and took out his phone. “Birdie says Gabrielle has Tony at gunpoint in the living room. Jack is still searching for Lila.”
He looked at me. “I’m going to look for your mother too. Can you and Jayne handle Gabrielle?”
I nodded. “With her magic? Easily.”
Jayne made a face. “Except if I use magic, I’m exposing myself to humans as a winter elf. I’m not supposed to do that. Don’t you think we can just take her out with brute strength and logic?”
“Maybe,” my father said. “If you have the element of surprise on your side. But if Gabi kills Tony before you can stop her, Sin, do your thing and get a confession out of him. And make sure you get it on video.”
Jayne’s brows bent. “But if she kills him before—oh. Never mind.”
I grabbed her hand, and we started for the house while my dad went off in another direction. The ranch was huge. Acres and acres of property and numerous outbuildings that included barns, stables, storage sheds, at least one guest house, and a detached garage. There was no telling where my mother might be.
We reached the side of the house and made our way toward the back, but the house was large and sprawling and that took a minute, especially while we were trying to be quiet. There was no sign of Birdie. Maybe she’d gone off to look for my mom too. Thankfully, none of the deck boards creaked as we crept closer to the French doors.
I tried one door as carefully as I could. Locked. I tipped my head toward it, indicating Jayne would have to slip through. I could hear Gabi in the other room, yelling at Tony. We needed to hurry.
Jayne nodded, then disappeared in a wisp of vapor. A moment later, she reappeared and, although a little wobbly, managed to turn the lock.
She braced herself on something out of sight. I eased the door open and left it that way in case anyone needed to get in behind us.
Gabi’s voice was rising. “You’re not getting out of this.”
“Honey, please.” Tony’s response was much calmer, with a hint of pleading. “I know I screwed up. Bad. But I love you. And I know you love me. And I promise things will be different this time.”
Gabi laughed. “Oh, they’re going to be different all right. Because you’re going to be dead. And everyone’s going to think you’re a murderer, too.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave him alive to face whatever punishment he’s due?”
Jayne and I looked at each other and froze. That was Birdie’s voice.
“Shut up,” Gabi snapped. “I still haven’t decided what to do with you, but you’re a trespasser, and trespassers get shot around here. Remember that.”
“You need to put that gun down and let me and Tony go,” Birdie snapped back. “Or the only thing you’re going to remember is being torn apart by a wolf.”
We couldn’t wait any longer. I pointed at Jayne, then back outside and mouthed the word help.
She nodded and slipped away. Hopefully, she’d return shortly with my dad and Jack. Or at least one of them.
I walked into the living room with my hands up, my voice calm, and what I hoped was a nonthreatening style.
Gabi glanced at me, a little wild-eyed. The gun remained pointed at Tony and Birdie.
“Hi, Gabrielle. I’m Sinclair Crowe. Anson and Lila’s son.” Decent start, but I wasn’t exactly an expert in talking down women with guns intent on killing their cheating husbands. “How about we all take a beat and work this out without that gun? You don’t really want to kill Tony, do you? Is he worth you going to jail over?”
Of course, she was already going to jail because of Lou, but there was no point in reminding her about that.
She glared at me. Her hand was remarkably steady holding that gun. I guessed her years on stage had taught her how to deal with nerves. “I absolutely do want to kill him. And I’m sorry about your mother, but she has to die too.”
I needed a moment after that statement, then I found my words. “Why is that?” I gave myself points for not letting my anger show through.
“Because I need to frame Tony so that he’s not some martyr. Her death is what’s going to keep me from going to jail. See, I will have caught Tony in the act of killing her, and as I try to stop him and grab the gun, he’s going to end up getting shot.”
Birdie snorted. “Forensics will see right through that.”
“Shut up,” Gabi yelled.
And just like that, we were back to level five crazy. I knew Birdie didn’t intend to stir the pot, but I had to take us from a boil to a simmer once again. “Gabi? Can I call you Gabi? It’s not the best plan I’ve ever heard.” I held my hand out, palm up. “Why don’t you give me the gun, and we can figure something else out. The pregnancy hormones have to be tough. They can’t be helping right now, are they? I’m sure the police would be understanding about that.”
They probably wouldn’t, but it sounded good.
Gabi frowned at me. “I’m not pregnant. I just told Tony that to get him to come back to me. And speaking of police, why didn’t you and your father call them when your mother went missing? Don’t you care about her?”
That was a little harder to answer. “We care very much. We love her beyond words. We didn’t call the police because…”
“I’m a psychic, and I told them not to,” Birdie said.
I jumped on board that train immediately. “That’s right. She’s our family psychic. She led us here, too.” In for a penny, in for a pound.
Gabi actually seemed to be considering that information. Wasn’t that surprising, really. Lots of people, not just in this town, were superstitious and prone to suggestions. It was one of the reasons hypnotist shows were so popular and had no shortage of willing participants.
Gabi gave Birdie a more thorough stare-down. I think the blue hair and the bedazzled T-shirt helped sell the psychic angle even more. But then Gabi had lived in Vegas a long time. Her skepticism of such things had to be pretty high.
Birdie seemed to sense that and apparently decided to lean into the role a little more. “The people who are most open to being helped by my gifts can see my psychic ability in my eyes.”
“Is that so?” Now Gabi’s skepticism was coming through loud and clear. “I don’t see anything.”
Birdie pushed her glasses up on top of her head. “Look again.”
The faintest wolfy glow lit Birdie’s gaze.
Tony jerked back as he let out a soft curse, clearly amazed.
Gabi’s mouth was open and her eyes rounded, but she didn’t say anything. Just stared. She lowered the gun slightly. Finally, she gave Birdie a nod. “If you’re so psychic, tell me something no one else would know.”
Birdie closed her eyes and held her hand out toward Gabi. A second later, she opened her
eyes. The wolfy glow was in full effect. “You’ve already killed someone. A man close to you.” She glanced at Tony. “A man close to both of you.”
Gabi’s gaze went wide.
“Lou?” Tony whispered. He stared at his wife. “You killed Lou?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Gabi said. She looked a little panicked now. She stared at Birdie again. “All right, psychic. How does this end?”
Birdie, now fully absorbed by the idea that she could predict the future, stretched her arms out and tipped her head back a little. Maybe she was feeling for the spirits? I wasn’t sure. But her showmanship was working. Light glittered off her T-shirt’s embellishments. After a moment, she shook her head. “Not well, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean?” Gabi asked. The gun dropped a few inches more.
Birdie put her fingers to her temples. “If Tony dies…you end up in prison for the rest of your life. If Tony lives…” She sighed and waved one hand at the gun. “There is too much uncertainty for me to predict clearly what becomes of you with all that metal interfering with the cosmic frequencies.”
Gabi’s eyes narrowed, and she brought the gun back up sharply. “You’re lying. I don’t know how you did the eye trick, but my soon-to-be-dead husband makes people believe all kinds of magic are possible.”
Birdie protested. “That was no trick. That was—”
“For the last time, shut up.” Gabi cocked the weapon. “Looks like I’m just going to have to kill all of you.”
Chapter Thirty
Jayne
I ran straight back to the last place I’d seen Anson. The barn. I pulled the door open and immediately found him. No sign of Lila, however. “Hey, we need your help at the house. Gabi’s got—”
He wasn’t looking at me but behind me. I turned to see an older man in jeans and a work shirt pointing a rifle at us. He had the lean, rangy look of a ranch hand.
“Jayne,” Anson began. “This is Buck Murphy.”
Or a stagehand. Snowballs. I had a strong feeling he hadn’t won that deposited money gambling so much as he’d gotten it from Gabrielle for his help. That also explained how Gabrielle had known the show’s timing and when to nab Lila. Maybe he’d even been the one to tip Lou off about Lila’s disappearance.
Buck gestured with the rifle. “Get over there with Crowe.”
I moved closer to Anson, putting my hands up. “Hey, we’re not armed. We’re not going to hurt you.”
He sneered at me. “Think you’re pretty smart, don’t you? Figured out the money, huh?”
“No, actually,” I said. “Well, we found out about the money. But we thought you’d won that at the blackjack table. It was Gabrielle who gave it all away. She killed Lou Scholtz with a big dose of ketamine. And she was the only one connected to this whole thing with easy access to the drug.”
“That stupid…” Buck shook his head.
I needed to know more. “Was Lou going to spill the beans? Is that why she killed him?”
“She didn’t mean to kill him. Just knock him out until she could wrap things up.” Buck nodded. “He came out to the ranch and saw her moving Lila into the small barn.”
Beside me, Anson tensed. “Is that where Lila is?”
Buck scoffed, his grip on the rifle tightening. “Not anymore.”
I did my best to distract him. “Lou must have told her what? That he was going to tell Tony? That she had to make things right?”
“He told her she had until the next afternoon to get Lila home and everything smoothed out or he’d tell Tony. Lou’s problem was he always had a soft spot for Gabrielle. Anyone else would have called the police right away. But she cried and made eyes at him and told him she just wanted Tony to appreciate her or some crap like that.”
I nodded. “You could still get out of this unscathed, you know. Anson and I would be totally willing to look the other way if you’d just let us go.” I nudged him. “Wouldn’t we?”
Anson nodded quickly. “I’d even let you keep your job.”
Buck frowned. “You would?”
“Sure. If you’re willing to be a team player, why shouldn’t I reward that?” Anson was inching closer to me for some reason. I figured I’d know soon enough. “Let us go, help us find Lila, and this will all be forgotten.”
Buck seemed to be considering that, which probably meant he was dumber than he looked.
Anson pressed his arm into my elbow and whispered, “Don’t freak out.”
A second later I felt like I was falling through some kind of space-time vortex. Everything whirled around me in streaks of light and movement.
In a flash, it was over. Anson and I were standing outside of the barn. About where we’d been earlier. He’d conjured us away.
Inside, Buck was shouting. Mostly about where had we gone and he was going to get us.
“Can you seal the doors shut with ice?” Anson asked. “Keep him in there?”
“Heck, yes.” There were wide doors on both sides, I imagined so tractors or trucks could be driven inside. I lifted my hands and sealed the one on our side with a thick coating of ice all around the seams. “Oof. This is taking more work than usual. Not much water in the air around here.”
“Will you be able to do the other side?”
“Yes.” Whatever it took, I’d get it done. “Let’s go.”
We ran around to the other set of doors. Buck was just sliding them back. Anson shoved them shut again, which caused Buck to do more yelling.
While Anson held the doors in place, I sealed them. The drain was instant. I felt like I could lie down and nap.
Then a loud pop broke the desert’s calm.
Anson looked instantly panicked. He shifted toward the house, where the sound had come from.
I swallowed. “Tell me that wasn’t a gunshot.”
He didn’t answer, just took off running. I was right behind him. Jack came out from one of the storage sheds, saw us, and yelled, “House?”
We both nodded. That got him running too.
I’d left the French doors open, something I was very glad about because it was one less obstacle in our way.
We burst into the house.
“Sin? Are you okay?”
“Yes, in here.”
We came around into the living room, and Jack let out a strangled cry. Birdie was on the floor, blood all over her arm and shoulder.
He rushed to her. “Birdie.”
She smiled weakly up at him. “It’s just a flesh wound. And Sin already called 911. Took the breath out of me, though.”
Tony had the gun and was holding it on Gabrielle, who looked like she very much wanted it back so she could use it.
I went down to my knees beside Birdie, taking the hand Jack wasn’t already holding. “What happened?”
Sin filled me in. “Gabi took a shot at Tony—”
“He insulted me,” Gabi snarled.
Tony gruffed out a breath. “I said you were crazy. It’s only an insult if it’s not true.”
“Enough,” Sin growled.
They shut up.
Sin finished. “Birdie went to shove him out of the way, and the bullet grazed her shoulder.”
I exhaled. That didn’t seem so bad.
“Ruined my good T-shirt,” Birdie sniped.
I laughed to keep from crying. “I’ll buy you another one.”
Sin looked at his dad. “Have you found mom yet?”
“No,” he said softly.
I’d had about as much as I could take. I patted Birdie’s hand. “I’ll be right back. It’s time to end this.” Then I pushed to my feet, walked over to Gabrielle, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground enough so that only her toes touched the floor. “Where’s Lila?”
She snorted and sputtered. “Get your hands off me, you—”
I pushed a sharp wave of cold through my body and into hers via my hand.
Her words disappeared in a shuddering breath. “I’m so c-cold.”
“And g
oing to get colder if I don’t get an answer now.” To underline my point, I took her down a few more degrees.
Her eyes bulged. “W-wine c-cellar.”
“Where is that? Downstairs?” She didn’t answer me. I looked at Anson. “I thought houses in Vegas didn’t have basements?”
“Most don’t,” he answered. “But it’s a little easier to dig them in the desert.”
Tony gestured with his free hand. “Back through the kitchen. Glass and iron door.”
“Sin, go with your dad. We’ve got this.” I glared at Gabi. “Because you’re certainly not going to try anything, are you?”
She tried to shake her head, but she was shivering too hard. I eased up on the cooldown as Sin and Anson took off for the lower part of the house.
The soft cry of sirens filled the air. In that moment, they were the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.
Chapter Thirty-one
Sinclair
My father and I raced through the kitchen, found the glass and iron door, whipped it open, and plunged down the stairs in the dark.
“Lila, can you hear me? Lila?” My father called for her, but there was no answer.
I found a light switch and flipped it. No mom but rack after rack of wine bottles lined the walls. In the center was a plush little seating area. Very posh, but I couldn’t have cared less.
“There.” My dad pointed to a small room at the end with another wrought-iron and glass door. “Has to be.”
He ran to the door, nodding immediately. “She’s in there. And she doesn’t look good.” He tried the door, but it was locked. He stepped back, turned his body toward the door, and rammed it with his shoulder.
This wasn’t the time for the subtleties of magic.
I joined him as the glass shattered and the metal groaned. He reached through the debris to unlock the door and finally got it open. “Lila, honey, I’m here.”
My mother was tied to a chair in the center of the small room, her head slumped to one side, a gag in her mouth. I was going to kill Gabi. I went to work getting the gag off my mom while my dad untied her arms and legs.
Lost in Las Vegas Page 17
