Time for Adele to settle her future as she should have done the moment she'd realized that killing Portia Kane hadn't solved her problem. Get out, contact Irving Nast and finish the negotiations. Don't let him know she was panicked. Use his greed to cut a fast deal.
The kumpania wouldn't come after her right away. They'd be too busy grieving for Colm and worrying about Rhys. They'd presume, in her own grief, she'd run. By the time they started their search, she'd be safely with the Cabal.
She heard Hugh shout outside. A car door slammed. She raced to the window.
It was Rhys. Worse, he'd brought Robyn Peltier's friends.
All three had their hands up – Rhys and the young woman holding theirs high, the dark-haired man's at chest level, a halfhearted effort as he surveyed his surroundings.
Rhys was talking. Adele cracked open the window. Someone answered – Bernard, she thought, but couldn't be sure. Hugh and whoever was with him were on the front porch, out of her sight line.
"Who're they?" Bernard demanded, turning to Rhys.
"Delegates from the interracial council."
The council? No way. Rhys was bluffing, and she had to run down there and warn -
How? The kumpania knew nothing about Robyn Peltier. Explaining that these were Robyn's friends would do no good.
"You brought the council here?" Niko – she'd know his voice anywhere. "On our property?"
"I left my gun in the car, Niko, not my brain. The council knows these two are with me. We've arranged to have the kumpania coordinates delivered to them in three hours if we don't make it back to L.A."
"And what's going to stop these two from bringing the council back?" Hugh said.
"When you hear what I have to say, that's going to be the least of your problems. Niko, you and I both know your bullshit about the council being part of the Cabals is just that. But regardless of who works for whom, you don't want either the council or the Cabal out here."
"We'll go inside," Niko said.
"No, we'll speak in the meeting – "
"Rhys!" Robyn's friend yelled.
Rhys spun as Hugh charged. Lily – stupid Lily – screamed in terror. The dark-haired man shot forward, grabbed Hugh by the arm and swung him off his feet. Swung the brawny young man up like he was a misbehaving child, then held him by the collar at arm's length. When Hugh struggled, the man only shook him.
"Before we talk, I should explain." Rhys pointed to the young woman. "She is an Expisco half-demon. You don't know what that is, I'm sure, but you just got a demonstration. She can read negative thoughts. If you try to attack, like Hugh did, she'll know before you make a move."
"And… that?" Lily had stepped off the porch and pointed at the dark-haired man.
Even from the window, Adele saw the man lift an eyebrow. "That? Hardly polite." He threw Hugh toward her. "What am I? Let's just say I won't fetch a stick for you. I won't beg for treats. And, no matter how nicely you ask, I will not roll over and play dead."
"A werewolf?" Lily squeaked, and for once, Adele didn't sneer at her terror.
If this man was a werewolf and the woman a half-demon – and whether they were or not, they were obviously supernaturals – then Adele had made a horrible, horrible mistake.
Robyn Peltier was no human, easily killed, quickly forgotten. She was a supernatural. Maybe even on the council herself. Or maybe being in L.A. meant she was part of the Nast Cabal. If so, then whatever deal Adele had with Irving Nast had evaporated the moment she set her sights on Robyn. Adele's imagination scampered about like a mouse caught with the lights on, running this way and that in a panic, imagining death in every corner.
Adele slammed her hand down on the heat register, the metal vent biting into her skin. By the gods, she was as bad as Lily, sniveling and cowering in fear. Yes, this was a problem, but it wasn't her fault. There was no way she could have known Robyn Peltier was a supernatural. The woman had tricked her, by hiding her powers and luring Adele in.
All that mattered right now was that those two were friends of Robyn's, meaning they were about to expose Adele.
She glanced at the window. Everyone had retreated elsewhere to talk. When they came for her, she had to be gone.
She took a few minutes gathering her money. Her brain still scampered and gibbered, and she couldn't concentrate, checking three past hiding places before remembering the latest.
She stuffed the cash into her pocket, down with the seer's room key she'd grabbed on her way over. She'd planned to visit Thom one last time, get a quick fix on Robyn Peltier, maybe on that detective too. No time for that now, but she would keep the key. One more problem to distract the kumpania. Tending the seers would be more important than hunting her.
She looked around. Did she have everything?
Footsteps tramped onto the porch. The front door squeaked open.
"Adele?" Hugh called. "Niko wants to talk to you."
She took a deep breath and shouldered her bag. Footsteps echoed across the floor below. Adele crept to the other window, the one overlooking the back porch.
She eased the window open and crawled out just as the stairs creaked. She closed the window all but an inch, stepped to the side and pressed against the wall, hidden under the leafy branches.
The bedroom door opened.
"She's not here," Bernard called.
"Check the closet," Hugh's distant voice replied.
Bernard's footsteps lumbered across the room. The door squeaked. A grunt. Another squeak as he shut it.
"Nope."
"Look in the other rooms. Niko says she came back here."
Adele thanked the gods that clairvoyants couldn't remote-view one another. She waited until Bernard's footsteps retreated. Then she climbed onto an overhanging limb, shimmied along it and down the trunk. She darted to a shadowy pocket beside the porch. A pause, listening intently before she leaned out.
All was clear.
She took a slow step, hunkering down, ready to sprint to the next house. Then Lily lunged from behind that house, waving wildly for Adele to stop. Hugh strode around the corner, heading for the main house. Adele jumped back out of sight. As soon as Hugh was gone, Lily leaned out and waved Adele over.
Adele didn't see a choice. If she went the other way, the stupid girl would probably draw Hugh's attention trying to attract hers.
When Adele reached her, Lily pulled her into a tight hug, trembling against her, voice cracking as she said, "They've gone mad, Adele. Everyone's gone mad. The things that awful man Rhys is saying about you. The lies. How can they believe him? I tried to defend you, but…" She sobbed. "Hugh told me to be quiet. Then he hit me, Adele. Hit me."
Too bad Adele missed that. She patted Lily's back and made suitable noises of sympathy.
Lily went on. "He's been so angry. Like it's my fault. Like I wanted the other men to… to…"
More pats as Adele peered over Lily's shoulder. The barn was a hundred feet away, and in it, plenty of implements to help rid her of this annoyance for good.
"Wherever you're going, Adele, I'm going with you. I'm going to help you escape." Lily sniffled and straightened. "We'll run to the barn. You can hide in there while I divert attention."
Adele tried not to smile. "Sure. The barn. Good idea."
With Lily watching her back, Adele ran to the next house. Lily caught up, then watched again as Adele made it to the barn. Adele walked into the dim interior, the bone-chilling dampness seeping through her clothes, the stink of beast and shit filling her lungs. By the gods, she'd be glad to get away from -
An ear-shattering crack made Adele stagger forward, the barn exploding in a blinding light. She dropped to her knees, arms flying up to protect her head. Another crack. Another explosion that left her ears ringing, her stomach pitching.