Page 5 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Five

“ And what is it you were supposed to get done?” Carlyle asked.

Devon tucked a strand of damp hair behind her ear. “ Whatever is needed.”

He imagined many had been taken in by her delicate features. She was beautiful. Had the kind of natural beauty that made some forget reason. Delicate brows arched elegantly over eyes so dark it was difficult to tell where her irises ended, and the pupils began. Her mouth was an enticement all on its own—full lips in a dusky pink hue that begged to be kissed.

Then there was her body. He hadn’t wanted to notice, but it had been impossible not to. Slender with curves in all the right places. She exuded elegance and a cool confidence that few women could. She wore it like armor.

But armor could be removed.

Carlyle rested an arm on the table. “ Let me reframe the question. What were you supposed to get done with me at my father’s townhome?”

“ I told you. They know you went to Skye .”

“ Oh , I heard that. Is this where you tell me they’ll kill my father for such an act?”

She raised a brow. “ As I told you that day, I’ve no reason to lie to you. I don’t know where your father is or why he was taken.”

“ You also said my enemies were closer than I knew. What did you mean by that?”

Her dark gaze skated away. “ If I had known you would kidnap me, I never would’ve spoken those words.”

“ You know something.”

“ I actually know very little.” Her attention slid back to him. “ As you saw for yourself, I’m expendable.”

Carlyle had expected that she wouldn’t be easy to break. But he wasn’t giving up. “ Do you know what’s happening on Skye ?”

“ I don’t pay attention.”

“ Somehow , I don’t believe that.”

A ghost of a smile tilted her lips. “ You know the organization just as I do. Power and knowledge is the name of the game. It’s who you know and what you know.”

“ And what is it that you know?”

She lifted her right shoulder in a shrug.

Carlyle blew out a breath and glanced at the floor. “ I’m going to make this as clear as possible. I will find my father. By any means necessary. I don’t choose violence easily, but I will do whatever it takes.”

“ Now you sound like the elders.”

“ Why did they take my father?”

She lifted her brows. “ You know the answer to that.”

“ Say it,” he ordered. He wanted her to speak the words, admit to something.

“ Because you defied the sacred order of the London Druids and went to Skye .”

Carlyle stared at her, his fury roiling in his stomach. “ So , instead of punishing me, they went after my dad, who has never done anything wrong?”

“ They are punishing you. Everything you’re feeling is exactly what they want.”

“ Is that so?”

Devon licked her lips. “ You can end this. Go to them.”

“ And they’ll release my dad?”

“ Maybe .”

Carlyle snorted. “ We both know that won’t happen. I’m going to find where they’re holding my father and free him. Then , we’re leaving England for good.”

“ They’ll never let you.”

“ Things are happening on Skye that could alter our world as we know it. Maybe London has something to do with it. Maybe they don’t. Right now, my focus is on locating Dad so I can get back to Skye and help my friends.”

Devon slowly shook her head. “ You’ll never make it back to Skye . They knew you’d come for your father. If you try to return to the isle, they’ll kill him. And you.”

“ They ? Or you?”

“ I’ve not gotten any orders to end your life.”

“ But you have killed.”

She remained silent, which was answer enough. Carlyle couldn’t say anything. He had taken lives himself during battle. Who was he to pass judgment? A life was a life, no matter how it ended.

“ You have a lot of loyalty for an organization that wanted to harm you last night,” he said.

Devon crossed one leg over the other. “ Those bullets weren’t meant to kill.”

“ I saw them point the rifle right at you. No matter what kind of ammunition was used, there was no mistaking the intent. There are only two reasons for London to target you.”

“ They want me out of the way.”

“ And ?” he urged when she didn’t continue.

She gave him an exasperated look.

“ It’s all right. I’ll say it,” Carlyle replied. “ They wanted me to think you weren’t working with them any longer so I would get you to join us and tell you all our secrets.”

“ It is one of the reasons. The wrong one, though.”

Carlyle ignored her. “ What were you looking for in Mason’s desk?”

“ You might as well do whatever it is you’re threatening because I’m not telling you anything.”

“ You’ll stand with the people who tried to hurt you?”

Devon held his gaze. “ Looks like it.”

Loyalty like that was either because she truly believed in what London was doing or they were holding something over her. Carlyle didn’t know her well enough to be able to judge. In all honesty, it could go either way.

“ You’re making the wrong choice,” Carlyle stated.

She rolled her eyes. “ Why does everyone always believe their way is the righteous one? Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at the Knights ?”

“ We save people.”

“ At what cost? How many people have died in your efforts to save a few?”

Anger curled through Carlyle . “ At least we’re saving people.”

“ And you don’t think London is?”

“ I know they’re not.”

She snorted and raked her gaze over him in derision. “ You know, for someone who lays such words on the organization, you forget your family has been members since its inception. That includes you and your father.”

“ I’m not with London anymore.”

“ Does your father know that?”

Carlyle got to his feet and stood over her. “ Tell me where he is, and I’ll make sure he knows.”

She turned her head away.

Carlyle didn’t know what he thought. That perhaps he could reason with Devon ? That maybe she would understand the meaning of family? He hadn’t lied. He was prepared to get the information however he had to.

He gathered their plates and took them to the sink. When he turned around, Devon was gone. He wondered how long it would take her to attempt to leave. He turned up the music and began cleaning up. When he finished, he went looking for Devon and found her in the sitting room, standing at the windows, looking out as it rained.

“ I’ll eventually get through the spell locking me in,” she stated.

He had to admire her pluck. “ You can try.”

“ Where’s Finn ?”

“ No need to concern yourself with him.”

Devon looked over her shoulder at him. “ You think you can do this on your own?”

“ I do.”

“ Or is it that you’ll try to convert me?”

Carlyle grinned as he leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. “ I considered it, but I’d never be able to trust you. Even if there isn’t some ruse.”

“ Yet you would trust whatever I tell you?”

“ I wouldn’t be the one going to get my father.”

She turned to him and nodded, her eyes wide. “ Right . That would be Finn .”

“ The point—in case you haven’t already pieced it together—is that we’re both on our own here. London won’t be coming to save you.”

“ I don’t need anyone to save me. I save myself.”

Carlyle crossed his arms over his chest. “ London knows we left together. Say this is a ruse. Then they’re pleased. If it isn’t, they’ll expect you to turn on them. Either way, they’ll never trust you again.”

“ They know I wouldn’t turn on them.”

“ You sound certain.”

She flashed him a tight smile. “ Because I am.”

“ And what if someone leaks that you’ve turned on them?”

The color drained from her face. “ You wouldn’t.”

Carlyle had taken a chance with his threat, and it had paid off. He’d hit a nerve. London had something on her. Something that kept her in line and doing exactly what they wanted her to do. “ I guess we’ll find out.”

“ I thought you were in the business of saving people. I guess not everyone falls into that category,” she stated angrily.

Her jab hit home. “ Then tell me what I want to know. Once it’s verified, I’ll let you go.”

“ The damage will have already been done.”

“ Nothing has gone out. Yet . Think about it tonight. Give me your answer in the morning.” Carlyle dropped his arms and pushed away from the door. He walked to the back of the lodge where the office was.

He sank into the chair behind the desk and dropped his head into his hands. If he could contact Saber , they might be able to discover what London had on Devon . But he was cut off. Without a way to get in touch with Finn or anyone else. It really was just him and Devon in their own little bubble.

He worried about how the Knights had been compromised. He worried about everyone on Skye . He worried about Finn and Mason . Carlyle had been with the Knights all this time and felt they were making a difference. Even when they went to Skye , they had helped to control whatever was attempting to overtake the isle.

Knowing what they had already faced on Skye and what was happening now, Carlyle began to wonder if they hadn’t made things worse. He didn’t want to choose between his father and his friends. The Knights were his family. A different kind, but still family.

He had done what he could to keep his father in the dark regarding his whereabouts and who he was with. There had always been a threat that it would come out eventually. But Carlyle had believed he could control all of it. There was no need for his father to know and be forced to banish him not just from the estate but also from his life. The London Druids would demand that Thomas name a distant relative as his heir instead of Carlyle .

Not that he cared about the estate and title. His father mattered more.

He ran his hands through his hair and sat back in the chair with a long sigh. This wasn’t the first time he had thought he could control a situation. He had paid dearly before, and he likely would again.

“ I’ll find you, Dad ,” he whispered.

Carlyle inwardly shook himself. It was vital that he come up with another way to approach Devon . Her devotion to the organization was an issue. She needed an incentive to switch sides. One that would benefit her and him. The problem was coming up with something. He had already said he wouldn’t trust her. And while that might be true, he shouldn’t have said it so early.

Especially since he needed to woo her to his side. He might have once been a London Druid , but he had never seen the inside workings as she had. He and his father had gone to meetings and followed all the other requirements of the organization, but there had always been another group—the ones behind the scenes. That was Devon .

Through her, they might be able to determine if London was involved in the happenings on Skye —and learn how to stop them.

Carlyle looked through the doorway. He’d give her the night to consider her options, just as he’d promised. Tomorrow meant a new approach. She was only the enemy because she had chosen the wrong side.

Her words from earlier rang in his head. He was on the side of right. Nothing Devon could say would convince him otherwise. Carlyle had seen and experienced the truth for himself. Once he found his father, maybe he could convince him to turn his back on London . Even if it meant relinquishing everything in England .