Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,93

thigh.

I handed Belle the backpack and then rang for an ambulance. She squatted beside him and hastily unzipped the bag. While we didn’t have any potions that could fix these sorts of wounds, we did carry a regular first aid kit. First order of the day had to be stopping the bleeding.

“What the hell happened, Kash?”

“The bastard shot me.” His tone was angry. “The bastard actually shot me.”

“Why would Roland do that?” Belle pressed a thick wad of gauze onto his shoulder wound, then added, “Press this—hard.”

He obeyed. “He was pissed.”

“Because you erased the files?”

“No, because I transferred the funds out of the business account and then closed everything down.”

Belle swore silently. This is my—

No, it’s fucking not, I cut in angrily. He’s the one who abused your friendship and profited in the process. He’s the one who decided to rip off his friend, not you.

Yes, but if I’d—

You can hardly be responsible for his decision to milk the business accounts. I daresay if you dug into his mind deeply enough, you’ll find it’s not the first time he’s done this.

Probably not. To Kash, she added, “For a smart man, you show an amazing lack of intelligence.”

He snorted, then made a gargled sound of pain. Sweat popped across his brow, and for several seconds he did nothing more than suck in air. His reply, when it came, was faint. “I knew you were just after my body.”

A smile tugged her lips. “A fact I made no secret of. How did Roland escape?”

“Car.”

“Plate number?” I asked.

He rattled it off. “He said something about a storage unit. He was yelling that no bloody witches were going to get the better of him.”

She glanced at me. Why would he be going back to the storage unit? He knows he can’t get in.

Maybe getting in isn’t his intention.

True. Her gaze returned to Kash. “Did he say why he was going there?”

“No, but he’s the type to destroy what he can’t have.” Kash grimaced. “It’s actually not the first time he’s shot me. This time it was totally uncalled for, though.”

Which only made me wonder exactly what he’d done the first time.

“And you’re still in business together? Why?” Belle asked.

“Because we’re a good team.”

“I think your definition of a good team and mine are miles apart.”

Footsteps echoed on the old floorboards, and the wild magic stirred briefly across my fingertips. But the soft scents flowing toward me said it was Tala and Ava, and the sparks faded.

“Anything out back?” I asked.

Tala shook her head. “Only a trail that led over the rear fence. He obviously had a car parked in the rear lane. You called an ambulance?”

“And got Roland’s plate number.” I gave it to her. “He’s apparently headed across to our storage unit for some no doubt nefarious reason. Can you get someone to meet me there?”

“I’ll order Duke across, but you’re not to go in until he arrives. Understand?”

I nodded. “Magic is pretty useless against bullets, and Roland seems a little too trigger-happy for my liking.”

“I’m coming with you,” Belle said. “Mom, can you keep the pressure on this?”

“As long as you both promise to be careful.” She squatted beside Belle and placed her hand on the gauze covering the wound on Kash’s thigh. “I do not want to lose either of you just when I’ve found you again.”

“Careful is my middle name,” Belle and I intoned together.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who actually believes that statement.” Tala’s voice was dry.

I grinned, not bothering to deny it.

We quickly jumped back into the SUV and drove across to the storage facility. There was no sign of a vehicle, either on the road or inside the complex. The alarms we’d layered into the spells protecting the storage unit hadn’t been triggered, and the facility’s main alarms were also silent.

I didn’t pull into the driveway, but instead cruised slowly past. We had no idea where Roland was, and until we did, we couldn’t risk entering the storage area. Not when he was armed.

“I have no sense of him in the front portion of the complex, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hiding out at the back,” Belle said. “It’s also possible he had second thoughts and decided to get the hell out of the reservation. A sensible person certainly would.”

“We’re talking about a man who has shot his partner several times and yet remains in business with him, so I don’t think the term sensible can be applied. Besides, I think it’s a