Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown #2) - Keri Arthur Page 0,33
it was being done on the books. This isn’t.”
My frown grew. “I don’t want Ginny getting in trouble or putting her job on the line—”
“She assures me she isn’t.”
Knowing my cousin as well as I did, that didn’t reassure me one little bit.
“She hasn’t volunteered to look after her as well—has she?”
“It wouldn’t be practical, given her day job. Jackie and Ron—another old friend of mine—are coming in, but they won’t get there until tomorrow morning. You and Luc will have to hold the fort until then.”
“Is it safe to involve Jackie? She’s been attacked once already, and she seemed convinced they’d try again.”
“Which is why she went to ground days ago. They don’t know where she is, and she’s taken all precautions to ensure it remains that way.”
I hoped she was right, because Jackie had already suffered enough at Darkside’s hands.
“Stop worrying, Gwen,” Mo added. “Everything will work out fine.”
“It hasn’t so far, so I’ve every right to worry.”
She chuckled softly. “That is an inclination you got from your father. I’ll send the address through when I hang up. Ginny will meet you there with a DNA kit. She’ll prioritize the samples, so we should have the results back within twenty-four hours.”
I wasn’t surprised Mo had organized all this even though she hadn’t been part of the conversation between Luc and I. We really did think the same way on most things. “I take it you’ve already given her some of Max’s DNA?”
“His hair and toothbrush, yes. She said the two should provide enough to get a match—if there is one.”
I really hoped there wasn’t. Really hoped that if there was, then this little girl was nothing more than another of his rash ‘wouldn’t it be fun’ schemes that he later came to regret. It might be a harsh desire, given there was a life involved, but better she be a mistake than part of a scheme involving Darkside.
“Will you be there?”
“I think it’d be safer if I wasn’t.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
I hung up, and a second later, her text came through. Luc immediately programmed the address into the GPS, and the gentle hum of the engine soon had my eyes drifting shut.
I woke with a start sometime later to the realization that we’d stopped. I rolled my neck to ease the ache of resting my head awkwardly against the window, and then looked around. We were at the end of an unremarkable street filled with crisp, modern-looking two-story terraces. Each front yard was small but tidy, and there were at least a dozen children playing out in the street. Not the sort of area I’d expected a safe house to be in, and that was no doubt the whole point.
Luc walked around the back of the car and opened my door. “You want me to take her?”
I shook my head, undid our seat belts, then picked her up and climbed out. She woke but didn’t say anything; she simply looked around, her expression showing interest but no fear. I couldn’t help wondering why, given her mom had just been killed and two utter strangers had taken her away from her home.
The front door opened as we approached, and Ginny appeared. She was typical Okoro in looks, with long dark hair kept back in a plait and dark brown eyes. She was also barely five feet one and petite in build, but woe betide any criminal who thought either made her a pushover—as many crims now behind bars would no doubt attest.
“Are you sure you’re not going to get into trouble for this?” I asked as she stepped to one side and motioned us through.
“Yes. I told the chief inspector I’m working on a witch kidnapping case in conjunction with the council. He’s aware it has to be off books until we’ve collected enough incriminating evidence.”
“I didn’t think that sort of thing was allowed.” I stepped inside. To the right of the small entrance hall was a living area, and directly ahead were the stairs leading up to the next floor. A hallway ran down to what appeared to be a kitchen diner. I headed down, my footsteps echoing.
“When it comes to dealing with anything human related, it isn’t,” Ginny replied. “Every operation has to be checked and re-checked, and then signed off by the higher-ups. But the rules when dealing with witches are more flexible simply because we’re often dealing with magic that can alter perceptions and situations.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “That’s not very well advertised.”