Read Online Trace of Magic by Diana Pharaoh Francis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Diana Pharaoh Francis
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idea how it feels or what you’ll do to keep it.”
“He dumped you,” I said. “How is that love?”
“He had his reasons and he never dated anyone else. Whatever made him break off our engagement, it wasn’t about us,” she declared.
Except she was clearly afraid that it was. I kept my mouth shut.
“Could what happened here today be related to your breakup?” Price asked suddenly.
Both Taylor and I stared at him.
“It was six months ago,” she said warily.
“But you said he didn’t date anyone else and clearly you both are still very close. You have a key to his condo, right? How many ex-fiancées still have one of those?”
Taylor nodded. I was trying to wrap my head around the possibility that Josh had broken up with her to possibly protect her from whatever trouble he was in. It sounded like something out of a soap opera. It also sounded all too possible, given the current circumstances.
“Think back. Was he acting strange? Was there anything going on that seems suspicious now? Maybe something to do with his job? Or maybe he gambled?”
Taylor started to shake her head and then stiffened. “Wait. There was something. He seemed kind of nervous and sometimes I’d catch him up in the middle of the night in his office. I just thought it was work stress, or the wedding. But then he ended things and I thought that’s why he’d been so strange. He’d been trying to figure out how to break up with me.”
She looked at Price. “What’s going on?” There was a measure of hope mixed in with her fear. That maybe Josh hadn’t wanted to break things off, but that he’d had to. That maybe she and he could still have their lived-happily-ever-after future. If he turned up alive, of course.
“Wait a minute. You’re suggesting that this all started six months ago. But if he did end the engagement to protect Taylor, why would he keep seeing her?” I asked.
“Don’t sound so surprised. Maybe it wasn’t that easy to let go of me,” Taylor said with a glare.
I winced. I wasn’t being a very supportive sister. “Of course it wasn’t,” I said. “This makes better sense than him suddenly falling out of love.” Maybe it did, but it would have been a lot better for Josh if he had just fallen out of love. Now he was in serious trouble.
Price drummed his fingers on the countertop. “I need to do some digging,” he said.
“Looking for what?”
He looked at me. “I wouldn’t have to hunt if I knew what I was going to find,” he said like I was five years old. Asshole. “I want to check into his financials. Phone records. Talk to people where he works and do a general background check. It also wouldn’t hurt for you to do a trace on him. See where he’s been recently.”
I’d already thought the same thing. If I didn’t have to worry about getting Taylor home and taken care of, I’d probably be out doing it instead of letting him insult me. Not that I would be able to follow Josh and his captors. Their nulls prevented that. But I could track his backtrail and find out where he’d been for every second of every day since he was born. Not that I could ever let Price in on that particular talent.
“This storm is going to shut everything down for the next twenty-four hours or so,” he said. “But I can at least get an analyst to run down his dossier.”
The ding of the elevator in the hallway made all of us jump. Price palmed his Desert Eagle and pressed a finger over his lips to tell us both to be quiet. No shit, Sherlock. I grabbed Taylor and pulled her down behind the kitchen island, pulling my own gun as I did. Price went to stand against the wall, out of sight of the front door.
Whoever they were, they weren’t trying to be quiet. There was a rumble of low voices and the thud of feet. I counted four of people. Suddenly they went quiet, seeing the open door. They pushed inside, kicking aside debris.
“What the fuck?” said one and there were hisses at him to be quiet.
Before
“He dumped you,” I said. “How is that love?”
“He had his reasons and he never dated anyone else. Whatever made him break off our engagement, it wasn’t about us,” she declared.
Except she was clearly afraid that it was. I kept my mouth shut.
“Could what happened here today be related to your breakup?” Price asked suddenly.
Both Taylor and I stared at him.
“It was six months ago,” she said warily.
“But you said he didn’t date anyone else and clearly you both are still very close. You have a key to his condo, right? How many ex-fiancées still have one of those?”
Taylor nodded. I was trying to wrap my head around the possibility that Josh had broken up with her to possibly protect her from whatever trouble he was in. It sounded like something out of a soap opera. It also sounded all too possible, given the current circumstances.
“Think back. Was he acting strange? Was there anything going on that seems suspicious now? Maybe something to do with his job? Or maybe he gambled?”
Taylor started to shake her head and then stiffened. “Wait. There was something. He seemed kind of nervous and sometimes I’d catch him up in the middle of the night in his office. I just thought it was work stress, or the wedding. But then he ended things and I thought that’s why he’d been so strange. He’d been trying to figure out how to break up with me.”
She looked at Price. “What’s going on?” There was a measure of hope mixed in with her fear. That maybe Josh hadn’t wanted to break things off, but that he’d had to. That maybe she and he could still have their lived-happily-ever-after future. If he turned up alive, of course.
“Wait a minute. You’re suggesting that this all started six months ago. But if he did end the engagement to protect Taylor, why would he keep seeing her?” I asked.
“Don’t sound so surprised. Maybe it wasn’t that easy to let go of me,” Taylor said with a glare.
I winced. I wasn’t being a very supportive sister. “Of course it wasn’t,” I said. “This makes better sense than him suddenly falling out of love.” Maybe it did, but it would have been a lot better for Josh if he had just fallen out of love. Now he was in serious trouble.
Price drummed his fingers on the countertop. “I need to do some digging,” he said.
“Looking for what?”
He looked at me. “I wouldn’t have to hunt if I knew what I was going to find,” he said like I was five years old. Asshole. “I want to check into his financials. Phone records. Talk to people where he works and do a general background check. It also wouldn’t hurt for you to do a trace on him. See where he’s been recently.”
I’d already thought the same thing. If I didn’t have to worry about getting Taylor home and taken care of, I’d probably be out doing it instead of letting him insult me. Not that I would be able to follow Josh and his captors. Their nulls prevented that. But I could track his backtrail and find out where he’d been for every second of every day since he was born. Not that I could ever let Price in on that particular talent.
“This storm is going to shut everything down for the next twenty-four hours or so,” he said. “But I can at least get an analyst to run down his dossier.”
The ding of the elevator in the hallway made all of us jump. Price palmed his Desert Eagle and pressed a finger over his lips to tell us both to be quiet. No shit, Sherlock. I grabbed Taylor and pulled her down behind the kitchen island, pulling my own gun as I did. Price went to stand against the wall, out of sight of the front door.
Whoever they were, they weren’t trying to be quiet. There was a rumble of low voices and the thud of feet. I counted four of people. Suddenly they went quiet, seeing the open door. They pushed inside, kicking aside debris.
“What the fuck?” said one and there were hisses at him to be quiet.
Before
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