that?” she whispered hopefully.
Becki felt her heart breaking as she saw the answer in his eyes.
The moment was shattered by someone calling her name.
“Becki? Hi doll, how goes it?”
Trevor Simmons, cruising by in his Porsche 911 convertible, was just what she needed…a knight in shining armor. And what a chariot he possessed!
Royce’s silence was answer enough. Sliding her arms from where they were still resting around Royce’s waist, she stepped quickly toward the car. Pretending her heart wasn’t breaking, and pretending she didn’t care, she pasted on a smile.
“Hi Trev, give me a ride?” she asked.
“Sure Babe. I’ll give you a ride anytime…anywhere.” Trevor made a production of raking his eyes up and down her body, leering as if she were all his bad-boy fantasies rolled into one. “It will be my pleasure doll,” he assured her. After casting an I-got-the-girl look at Royce, he turned back to Becki promising, “And yours, I guarantee it.”
“Take me away, Trev,” Becki whispered, her smile slipping just a little.
He smiled wickedly, “Hop on, I mean in. Let me make your dreams come true doll face.”
Becki climbed in, forced a flirty laugh, and said, “I’m just dying for someone to make my dreams come true.”
#
Royce watched as Becki drove away with the other man, leaving him standing alone. Just like you wanted, right? If he were being honest, he felt the separation to the pit of his stomach. It felt like something was being ripped from his soul; an unfamiliar, and somewhat painful sensation.
“Oh shit, Dude, what’s she doing with him?” Sean asked as he approached Royce.
“Hmmm? Oh, he’s a friend of hers evidently; she needed a ride back to her car,” Royce responded, not fully engaged in the conversation. He was busy wishing his life were different. In that moment, Royce wished to be an ordinary guy, a banker maybe with an ordinary nine-to-five day job. Who was he kidding? That would drive him nuts inside a month.
“I hope not,” Sean continued, his tone serious for once, “that’s one deadly friend.”
“Deadly friend,” now that got Royce’s attention.
“Speak to me in English Sean; clear, concise sentences, starting now.”
Sean knew Royce meant business, which must mean that Royce must be more involved with Becki than he was willing to admit. The kissing episode in the park might have been Sean’s first clue, but now Royce was going all “deadly-special-forces” on him. There was definitely something brewing here.
“Do you need a definition of NOW?” Royce thundered.
“Well,” Sean quickly responded, “that was one Trevor Simmons – Warlock Extraordinaire. He’s been on our radar for the past couple of years. He was in Savannah around the time the coin collector turned up dead. Trevor has been keeping less-than-desirable company, as in bloodsuckers. And, his bank account seems to have a steady flow of deposits, large deposits.”
Royce felt his heart stop. How did Becki figure in with a warlock who was likely a murderer and kept company with night walkers? What did she know, and why was Trevor interested in her? This changed things, a whole plethora of things. Becki had no idea of the danger she was in. He had to find a way to protect her while keeping her at a distance. He had to be able to think clearly. He could never forgive himself if he let something happen to Becki.
“Pin him,” Royce said, referring to a process of tagging an individual so they could track their movements. The process involved scanning a person’s aura to capture DNA traces, a technology recently developed by ART. Sean, a geek with too much time on his hands, was somewhat of a genius. The process had just been perfected, and they were beginning to use it more and more.
“I may be able to grab a shimmer, but he wasn’t here very long,” Sean cautioned as he grabbed a gadget out of his back pocket. Holding a device that closely resembled a cell phone, he began punching buttons, walking around in circles, and waiving the phone-like gadget frantically in large circles.
“You have to get it, Sean. We need to find Trevor. I don’t know why he’s here, but I suspect it has something to do with the coin. I do not want Becki caught in the back-lash of this mess,” Royce said. He stopped his pacing long enough to observe, “You look like an idiot doing that, and you’re attracting attention.”
A family out for a stroll stopped short when they saw Sean waving his arms around. The parents actually crossed