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Lily surged to her feet and glared at her father. Both fists were clenched tightly by her sides, and she looked as if she was using the last of her energy stores to argue the point. “IsaidI’m not going! Why can’t you let me die in peace?”

“Because you’re not dying on my watch,” her father snapped.

But there was a haunted expression in his gaze as he stared at her.

Tears filled Lily’s fierce eyes and trailed down her cheeks to drip from her jaw. “I’m tired, Daddy.”

“I know, and that’s why you need to rest. There’s a dinner tray in your room.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head in her frustration. It seemed Gene Stockton intended to willfully ignore what she was trying to relay.

“Mr. Stockton, I’d like to talk to you in private, if I may.”

In an instant, rage clouded the other man’s face, and in his blind fury, Stockton looked ready to pummel Trevor for no other reason than the fact he was present.

Trev kept his cool, understanding Stockton’s grief and frustration for what they were. “Sir, I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

He nodded once. “We can meet in my study after I escort Lily back to her room.”

“I want to hear it, too,” Lily said. “If it concerns me, I should get a say.”

Summing her up and weighing his options, Trev slowly nodded. “Okay, then I say we discuss this here and now, while you’re up for it.”

“Daddy?” Her voice was pleading, as if she expected her father to reject the idea.

“Okay.”

Trev hid a smile and turned to watch the water lap the shore as he waited for Stockton to bundle his daughter in the quilt he’d brought outside with him. Once they were settled, he cleared his throat. “Stockton, do you know what my father was? Is?”

“A warlock, or male witch.”

“Yes. But do you know what ability he possesses?”

“No,” Stockton admitted.

“And me? When you left me alone earlier, did you reach out to your contacts to find out what I’m capable of?”

“I did. Few knew, but one suggested you’re a magical assassin.”

“That’s putting a grim spin on it, but it’s close to accurate. Feel free to call off your investigators, Stockton. I’ll share.” Trevor locked gazes with him. “I’m a Death Dealer. I can kill with a single touch.”

Other than the gentle crash of waves, silence reigned. Shooting a glance at Lily, Trev noticed her eyes were rounded with wonder.

“What exactly are you proposing, Blane?” Although challenging, there was an underlying wariness in the man’s tone.

“The flip side of my abilities is that I can heal.” Trevor let his words sink in.

Gobsmacked, both father and daughter stared at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“Normally, I’d need permission from the Author—uh, my bosses, but I doubt they’d grant it for a mortal,” he told them. “So if we do this, we’ll need to bring in some of my heavy-hitter friends to cloak the ceremony.”

Gene Stockton staredat the dangerous warlock sitting beside his daughter. When he’d found out the man was an assassin, his first instinct was to get Trevor Blane the hell off his island. But curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he’d spied on Blane via the security cameras strategically located around the estate. He’d also shamelessly tapped the call the man made to his brother and sister-in-law and watched as the suspicion died from the man’s eyes.

When Trevor caught sight of Lily outside, he hadn’t appeared threatening, merely curious, so Gene had continued to observe him via a security app to see what the guy would do. Throughout their conversation, he’d listened in, appreciating Blane’s frank comments and how he hadn’t treated Lily as if she were a fragile flower. She hated being considered sickly.

Gene had only stepped in when his daughter swore, and his scold was a matter of habit rather than a true rebuke.

“You can heal my daughter? For good?” he asked hoarsely. His shock hadn’t completely worn off, and he didn’t quite know what to say. One question was prominent in his mind; what price would he be forced to pay?