Chapter 27

27

VIOLET

"What things?" I ask sharply. "About Josef? Witches?"

Kai sits, a smug aura coming over him. "Dad has dealings with witches. He gave your father names, which that Josef guy wasn't happy about."

"I bet," says Grayson beneath his breath.

"But Dad's hiding more," Kai continues.

I finally sit, perching on the edge of a black leather recliner positioned close to the TV. This changes things. "Continue."

"I don't know what he's hiding."

"Well, that was a pointless bargain." I make to stand.

"But I can find out. Get into Dad's office. Check his safe?"

"Do you know what was stolen from the safe at your party?" asks Grayson. "Your dad blames us."

He shrugs. "I don't know what's kept in there. But if I help you find what Dad is hiding, will you do what I'm asking and help me leave?"

I exchange looks with the guys. Yes, we're capable of protecting Kai to an extent, but not totally. If Viktor's involved, we've an unknown element in Kai's situation.

"If you find and give this information to Dorian, he'll help," Rowan informs him.

"Yeah. Why ask us?" Leif scratches a cheek.

"Because I want done with all this supernatural bullshit! I can get away if you help me. Leave the country."

"That's rather ambitious." But still, his offer is persuasive—Kai could uncover important facts.

"Wait until Dorian has caught the people responsible," suggests Rowan. "Leave then."

"No!" Kai stands. "I'm done! I'm fucking ove r this life. Yeah, I have everything I want, but my parents always suffocated me. I couldn't join my mates on school excursions—everybody went to Paris a couple of years ago, and I had to stay home. I have special ‘counsellors'; I'm not stupid, they're witches. I just accepted the monthly meetings as a kid, but now? No. I swear these witches screw with my head. Your father tried to screw with my head. I'm in the middle of all this and I want out. If these people targeting me know I've walked away from my family and inheritance, they'll have won anyway, right?"

Silence fills the room after his outburst. Witches? Sawyer doesn't like witches, but their influence is everywhere. How far does this connection go?

"Do you know the name Viktor Whitegrove?" I ask.

"Violet!" says Rowan.

"Or Joe Smith?" I continue.

"No. Neither."

"What other business interests does your father have? Human businessmen of his caliber always have investments."

"No clue. But that's what I could find for you." Kai drags a hand through his hair. "I'll get into the safe somehow. Please. Leif, you must understand. You want to leave this town too."

Leif chews his lip. "Not anymore. And running was always a more dangerous plan."

"You've stayed because she can protect you." Kai jabs a finger at me. "And she can protect me."

I clear my throat. "‘She'? I am in the room."

"Sorry," he mumbles. "Violet. But will you help me leave?"

"We can't," says Rowan, "No."

"Yes," I say at the same time as Rowan's no, and he gawks at me. "If you bring us information about your father. But not only business dealings. Look for anything personal that appears odd."

The others stare at me but at least don't interrupt.

"Oh, yeah. He hides personal things." Kai sneers. "Like the other woman. Women, probably."

"Also, not a surprise. Would you surmise that you've unknown siblings?" I ask.

"Huh?"

"Secret kids," says Grayson.

Kai's jaw slackens. "No. Dad couldn't hide that."

Grayson scoffs. "Yeah. He could."

"If Sawyer has other offspring, I hope that they're under protection too," I say.

"I'd know!" protests Kai. "Mum puts up with the affairs, even if she doesn't know the half of it, but another kid? That'd be a deal breaker."

"Good grief," I say. "Isn't human marriage a legally binding agreement to remain with one partner? Has she agreed to these dalliances?"

Leif laughs at me, and I scowl at him.

Kai waves a hand. "I guess she likes the money."

"Interesting. I would like to talk to your mother at some point."

"Why? Your father's already looked into Mum—and her mind. She doesn't have any supe connections."

" And I'd like to talk to you about Josef," I continue. My phone screen fills with notes as I type, and the familiar thrill buzzes through at a step in the right direction.

"That lawyer has always been around. I expect I'll find more when I start looking?" he suggests. "Tell me. Is this a yes or a no?"

"A maybe," I reply, glancing at Rowan. Compromise.

Kai crosses his arms. "I know you looked around the factory that night Viggo died and found something," he says. "I could search for more."

"Hang on," says Grayson. "How do you know about that?"

"Yes. This discovery wasn't revealed. Are you aware what we found in a box?" I poise, fingers over my phone, ready to take more notes.

"Dunno. But Dad went nuts."

Oh. But Sawyer denied any knowledge of the box, and nobody could find anything in his mind. Was Sawyer upset by losing the deeds or the tiara? Both?

I purse my lips and open a copy of the photo stored on my phone. Then I show the image of Madison and Viktor to Kai.

"I have a question, Kai. You don't know what was stolen from your father's safe the night of your party, but he claims somebody thieved an item of jewelry. Do you recognize what the girl in the picture is wearing?"

Kai takes hold and peers. "The thing on her head? No."

My shoulders drop. I'd hung onto a tiny idea that the party thief took the tiara and hid it in the factory, and Kai may've seen the item before. I hate when my theories are wrong.

"But I know who he is."

I never thought Kai could ever silence me, but I'm speechless as he pushes my other theory closer. Sawyer.

"How?" asks Grayson. "This photo was taken before you were born."

"I've seen him in old family pictures."

Family. "Your father?" I ask, voice returning and body surging with excitement.

"What? No. He was never that good looking." Kai chuckles. "Besides, don't you think I'd look similar? He's about my age, right?"

"Then who?" presses Grayson.

"My uncle. I only saw his picture a few months back. Someone made a movie for Mum's 50th birthday with photos and old video clips." He points. "That's her brother."

"What's his name? Where is he now? Was he at your eighteenth?" I demand.

"Calm down. No, he wasn't at my birthday because he died before I was born. Mum got angry with Dad for including a picture of her with him and their parents in the movie. I thought because they're all dead, and it upset her."

"He's dead? This guy, your uncle?" asks Grayson. "When did he die?"

Kai straightens. "Why all the questions about an old photo? What's this got to do with my dad's business? Dad never knew my uncle, and I've never seen the girl or crown before."

Wrong. His parents married over twenty years ago—aged around eighteen. Sawyer would know Sarah's brother. "What's your uncle's name?"

Kai shrugs. "Robert? Roger? One of the two. Last name Piper. Is the girl a witch?"

"What makes you ask that?" Rowan frowns.

"Mum reckons a witch killed my uncle. That's why she's scared of them. She gets pissed when Dad has dealings with them."

"Witches are female and male, Kai," I say. "Why have you never told us this?"

He scoffs at me. "Humans hating witches isn't unusual. Neither are accusations against them. And why would I tell you that I have a dead uncle unless the death happened recently?"

Research into Kai's mother's background did reveal a dead brother, but the death happened years before Dorian's council existed, so nobody deemed the incident relevant. Dorian must've interviewed Kai's mother but, as Kai says, a dislike of witches isn't unusual amongst humans. Mrs. Sawyer's attitude to them wouldn't appear untoward considering the threats against her son.

"This is significant," I announce. "Kai. You must discover everything you can about your uncle. Find more photos. The montage from your mother's birthday. Would she talk to me?"

"Violet." Rowan touches my arm. "Don't overwhelm the guy."

"Yeah. What do you want? Things from Dad's office or info on my uncle?"

"Both," I shoot back. "You have to find us the names of all the witches he deals with that Dorian might not know about."

"How do I know if the names I find are witches'?"

"Important families all have names like me and Violet—Willowbrook, Blackwood, Thornwood?—"

"Whitegrove," I interrupt but no recognition flickers on Kai's face. "Do you know the names of any of your counsellors? Why would your mother allow the sessions if she dislikes witches?"

"Only the witches' first names. And how would I know why? Mum and Dad have hidden a lot, otherwise why would a necromancer send zombies after me?"

Leif suppresses a smile as I suppress a retort.

"Yeah, there're a lot of secrets," says Grayson. " My uncle is mixed up in this."

How much does Kai know about what happened after he fled the warehouse the night Viggo died? If his family keeps secrets, and Dorian doesn't like to share his findings widely, Kai might not know anything precise.

"Please contact us with information as soon as possible," I inform him.

"And you promise to help me get the hell away from here?" he asks.

I smile. "At some point, yes."

I've learned a lot about the guys' body language over the last few weeks, and although I can only detect Rowan's unimpressed feelings through our link, I'm not unfamiliar with Leif and Grayson's expressions. Wary and slightly despairing.

"We should go," I say.

I've enough information—and lack of—to deal with for now. The guys and I must investigate what we can and leave Kai to uncover more. Starting with everything on record about Robert Sawyer and Kai's mother. We've a new person to put under surveillance.

"One thing," says Kai as we're about to step through the door. "Rory's wake. The DUI, and my memory blank. Was that witches? Dad ignored the damage at the lodge and hasn't visited the place since, but weird that the fire happened the same day, right?"

"Were you at the lodge that afternoon?" I ask him innocently.

"I don't know. I've no memories, but this is different to alcohol blanks." He grips the doorframe. "Do you see what I mean? People are always screwing with my mind."

Leif stares at the ground, and a surge of sympathy for Kai rises, surprising me. I dislike humans. A lot. And that's a mutual distaste built on distrust. But a life of supernatural interference? However unpleasant and objectionable Kai may be, he doesn't deserve that—or the target on his back.

Rowan speaks. "Your father always protected you. Maybe he needed to that day."

And failed miserably.

"Yeah, well, I never asked for any of this."

"You can't choose your family," says Grayson. "Being a Petrescu isn't much fun either."

"And a Blackwood?" Kai asks me. "Your father must be the worst."

"The worst what?"

"Y'know. Like mine. Annoying. Controlling."

I give a sweet smile. "My father and yours are nothing alike."

In the past, I would've given Kai a full run down on his father's faults, but I don't. Not only because I've learned that insulting people often ends their cooperation with me, but because I suspect Kai already knows every single one.