How the hells had she ended up in this fancy kidnapper’s lair, given the seeming impregnability of Max’s underground home?
Straightening, she scooted backward on her butt, away from the mess and away from the fae. But she did force herself to meet those unsettling eyes again despite her instincts. “How did you bypass Max’s wards?”
“Easily.” Goodling waved a careless hand. “Since he didn’t have any.”
What? Surely someone so protective of his privacy would install the most basic security measure available to…wait.
Wards—unlike, for instance, basic cleaning spells—could only be activated on-site, so setting them would have meant allowing a witch access to his lair. Rather than sharing his home’s location with an outsider, he’d gambled on no one ever discovering his whereabouts.
Frustrated comprehension, as well as fear for Max and Edie in their compromised location, had Gwen squeezing her eyes shut. By the time she opened them again, Goodling’s booted underling had cleaned up all evidence of her sickness, then retreated back toward the door.
“Getting into Hugh’s home was equally simple,” Josiah added. “Evenwithhis wards.”
Gwen exhaled slowly. “You set the fire.”
“Obviously.” The fae confessed to the crime with blithe unconcern. “I had one of my pet demons teleport a witch into Hugh’s apartment to set the noise cancellation spell, then spark the blaze and ensure its spread after the witch left.”
Arson hadn’t been the primary motive for Goodling’s intrusion into Hugh’s home, though, as Gwen now understood. The fae must have intended to kidnap her then too and only failed due to Haziq’s bravery.
Still, here Gwen was. Totally kidnapped.
Never give up, she thought, biting back semi-hysterical laughter.You miss one hundred percent of the abductions you don’t undertake.
“Unfortunately, we tarried too long. Your rescuer arrived before we could remove you from the premises.” Goodling glanced at the dark-haired demon behind him. “But at least the fire provided an excellent opportunity to cast suspicion upon poor Hugh’s sterling reputation for moral rectitude. Just in case he, like Boucher, chose to interfere with my plans again.”
The female demon’s lips thinned at that, but Goodling didn’t seem to notice. “Luckily, another vision revealed your new hiding place. And here you are!”
Beaming, he gestured to where Gwen sat on the floor. Then cupped a hand around his mouth as if imparting a secret.
“This particular minion of mine…” He cast another look of amused derision over his shoulder. “She made a remarkably terrible bargain with me five years ago. But if she tells anyone, her entire family will suffer, so…”
He raised his shoulders as if to say,What can you do?
Gwen closed her eyes again, because she knew then. Sheknew.
The timing all added up. Almost exactly five years ago, this particular demon would have been desperate to bail out her failing business…and had suddenly experienced an influx of returning clients for unclear reasons. That influx had saved her law firm. It had mended her family’s tattered reputation.
It had also enabled her son to leave the firm and pursue a career in interspecies politics.
As soon as Gwen opened her eyes, Goodling waved the female demon forward.
“Gwendolen Wexloff…” Still grinning in malicious glee, the fae performed an entirely unnecessary introduction. “Please meet Marlee Blacke. Hugh’s mother.”
—
The good newsfor Gwen: She now understood how the arsonist had penetrated Hugh’s top-notch wards. Marlee would have known how to bypass those wards, because she and her husband had decorated the interior of the apartment. Afterward, reconfiguring everything to protect his home against his own parents would never have occurred to Hugh.
The bad news for Gwen: Her lover’s freakingmotherhadpersonally abducted her.
Once Gwen studied the demon more closely, she could spot some resemblance to Hugh in the elegant arcs of Marlee’scheekbones. The umber hue of her thick hair. The sleek lines of her frame. But her dark eyes shone with sullen resolve rather than thoughtful concern. Her horns pierced the air above her head, sharp enough to wound instead of blunted at the tips. Finally, while Hugh might possess certain stick-up-his-butt qualities, he also radiated warmth. Marlee, on the other hand…
She might be able to light fires at will, but she exuded subglacial chill.
Goodling smirked. “I’ll leave you two females to talk while I make the necessary arrangements.”
He spoke briefly with one of the guards, who headed toward the cubicles while Josiah exited the area’s lone door. All the while, Gwen simply looked at Marlee, picturing Hugh’s devastation if—no,when—he discovered his mother’s perfidy.
“I had no other choice.” Marlee spoke first, defensiveness freighting every word. “You don’t understand. Youcouldn’tunderstand, given who you are and where you came from.”
