Protector (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 5) (16 page)

But that was the future. She had to focus on now.

“She was…with Jorge and Tomas. The way Danica was with Matías,” she added, just in case Alex didn’t make the connection. “One was holding her, and the other was — ”

Looking shaken, he held up a hand. “I get it. Jesus.” For a few seconds, he was silent as he attempted to absorb what she’d just told him. “I’ve never — I’ve never heard of anything like this. I mean, the blood rituals are one thing, but….”

The words trailed off, and the horror in his expression told her everything she needed to know about his opinion on the subject. There were a few guys she’d known who probably would have tried to laugh off the matter with a flippant remark about consenting adults, but there was certainly no consent in either Danica’s or Roslyn’s situation.

“We have to get them out of there,” Caitlin said, anger at her herself, at her limited abilities, rising up again. What was the point in seeing these terrible things if they couldn’t give her any concrete details, any information she could actually use?

“I know that, but since we don’t know where they are — ”

“Then we have to go to someone who might.” An idea began to form in her mind, one so audacious, so completely out of left field, that she knew Alex would be sure to protest. “These guys are obviously good at covering their tracks, but if they really did come from Simón Santiago’s territory, then the logical thing is to go directly to him and make him tell us where his warlocks are holed up.”

“You’re not serious.” But the way Alex was looking at her told Caitlin that he did realize she was serious, even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself.

“I’m totally serious.”

“But — even if we did do such a crazy thing, how do you know he’d have any information? I sort of doubt Matías and his buddies filed a flight plan with their
prima
’s consort.”

Well, that was possible, but even if he didn’t have the exact information, Simón might be able to give them a better idea of where to look. People they knew in the Tucson area…something. Anything. Surely their clan leader would have access to knowledge she and Alex wouldn’t even know to look for. It had to be better than stumbling around in the dark while her friends were tortured.

“Isn’t it worth a try?” she asked at last. “Do you have any better ideas?”

His troubled silence told her that he didn’t. Since he didn’t seem to be offering any protests, she went on,

“Do you know where he lives?’

“In Pasadena, I think. I’d have to get the address from my mother.” Then he gave Caitlin a penetrating look, those dark eyes suddenly far too piercing. “And what am I supposed to say to her? She’s got her hands full with Maya, and now I have to tell her that we’re going to be running off to California to interrogate Simón Santiago, and could I please have his address?”

Put that way, her suggestion did sound pretty terrible. But there was that feeling in her gut again, the one telling her this was the right thing to be doing. On the surface, it seemed like a crazy plan. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t work.

“And that’s exactly
why
we should be doing this. I suppose technically she should be the one to contact Simón, since your grandmother isn’t well and she’s the
prima
-in-waiting. But she doesn’t have the time or the energy…and I think it would be best if Simón didn’t know we were coming. Just a feeling. He’d wonder why Maya wasn’t contacting him, and start asking questions….”

Alex still looked pretty grim, but at last he nodded. “All right. Obviously, these ‘feelings’ of yours are a little more than just that. I’ll let my mother know.”

“Thanks, Alex.”

To Caitlin’s surprise, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Gently, but even so, that delicious warmth curled low in her belly again.

She’d definitely been right when she said he was distracting. Too, too distracting.

J
ust as Alex had expected
, his mother’s reaction was not exactly encouraging

“You want to do
what?
”

“Go and talk to Simón Santiago. If these are his warlocks — and I think they must be, because they’re sure not any of ours — then he should know something that would help us find them. We need to,
mamita,
” he added, trying not to sound too desperate. “What they’re doing to those girls…it’s bad. Very bad.”
And please, God, let her not ask me for any details….

Whether she’d picked up on his urgent desire to avoid discussing exactly what Matías & Co. were doing to Danica and Roslyn, or whether she was preoccupied enough with her own troubles that she didn’t have the energy to go into any more details, Alex didn’t know for certain. But his mother sighed, then said, sounding very tired, “All right. I’ll get his address from your grandmother’s book and email it to you.”

“Thanks so much, Mom.”

Her tone sharpened as she replied, “You be respectful, Alex. Simón has perhaps let things get out of hand the past few years, but he is still the consort of the Santiagos’
prima.
What has happened to Caitlin’s friends is terrible, yes. However, their current situation is none of his doing. Keep that in mind.”

Alex wasn’t sure he entirely agreed with that. All right, it wasn’t as if Simón had told the rogue warlocks to come to de la Paz territory and wreak as much havoc as possible. Even so, if Simón had been more vigilant, he might have seen the cancer growing within his own clan and taken steps to counteract it. If he even could, that is. He’d been more or less running things for years, ever since his wife became an invalid, but Alex was a bit fuzzy on how that exactly worked. Simón wasn’t a
primus,
but a consort, and so didn’t have access to his wife’s powers. Not precisely, anyway.

“I will,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about us. We’ll be extremely diplomatic.”

“Oh, I worry,” his mother told him. “I worry a lot. But I can’t leave Maya’s side, and if there’s even the slightest chance that Simón might have information that could be helpful, then it’s best you should go. I have to hope that he’ll see you, the grandson of our
prima,
going to him in person as a sign of respect. This is not the sort of thing that can be handled by a phone call.”

That angle hadn’t occurred to him. But his mother knew far more about inter-clan politics than he did. She had to, as the
prima
-in-waiting.

He just worried that she might not be waiting for much longer.

But he didn’t give voice to his worries. Instead, he thanked her again, said that he and Caitlin planned to head out very soon, and hung up before his mother could throw any roadblocks their way. Maybe it was crazy to be leaving for such a drive with the day half over, but Caitlin kept insisting there wasn’t a moment to lose. They’d get into Pasadena at almost ten o’clock, far too late to go see Simón. No, that visit would have to take place in the morning. If it was fruitful, though, they could get back on the road immediately afterward and be in Tucson by dinnertime.

That was assuming everything went according to plan. A pretty big assumption, he knew, but they had to start somewhere.

His phone chirped, indicating he had a new email. He opened up the message and saw that it was from his mother. Simón’s address. Perfect.

Caitlin had been waiting in the family room, pretending to watch TV. As soon as he entered, however, she turned off the television and looked up at him expectantly.

“I’ve got it,” he said. “I’ll program the route into Siri, but it would probably be easier if I went hotel-hunting on my laptop. Come on.”

She followed him into his office, where his MacBook sat on the desk. He opened it up, went to a booking website, then found a few prospects not too far from where Simón’s house was located. Since Alex had never been to California, all the streets and districts were unfamiliar to him. As far as he could tell, though, it was only a mile or so from Pasadena’s downtown section to the Santiago house.

The hotel room — he flicked a glance over his shoulder at Caitlin, who stood a few feet away. “Two rooms?” he asked. Just because they’d kissed once, it didn’t seem as if he should presume as to their sleeping arrangements.

She shook her head. “No, that’s just wasting money. Um…a room with two beds?”

Well, it would have been nice to hope for more, but he’d take that. Anyway, this was a quick fact-finding trip, not a romantic getaway. “Sounds good.” He selected the room, entered his information, and pushed the button to finalize the transaction. “We’re probably lucky we were able to find someplace at such late notice.” A glance at his watch told him it was almost three o’clock. Since the room was guaranteed on his credit card, a late check-in wouldn’t be a problem, but they still needed to get going. “How soon can you be packed?”

“I’m already packed,” she replied, and seemed amused by his surprise at her answer. “I mean, I’ve been living out of suitcases anyway. I just went and got a few things together, and then closed everything up while you were on the phone with your mother. Took me just a couple of minutes.”

Maybe he should have said something about presuming too much, but really, her efficiency was only a benefit here. “Well, I don’t know if I’ll be that fast, but I’ll do what I can. Why don’t you go back out to the family room while I get my own stuff packed?”

“Sure.” Her entire aspect seemed brighter now, less weighed down by those troubling visions. Alex guessed it was simply knowing that they were taking the next step in finding her friends, rather than sitting around and waiting for another vision to come to her.

It did feel good to be doing something. Whether it would end up being constructive, well…they’d just have to see what happened. A lot of things could be waiting for them in California, and he had to hope they could handle whatever they might encounter out there.

T
hey drove
west into the bright afternoon sun. Caitlin squinted and wished she’d thought to pick up a pair of sunglasses at Nordstrom Rack. She had her new purse with her new wallet and I.D. tucked into it, and she supposed if it got really bad, they could pull off at a gas station where she could buy some cheap glasses.

In the meantime, though, it just felt good to be on the road, to watch the desert landscape flash past as they left Tucson and headed toward Phoenix. She’d known in her heart that this was the right thing to be doing, and yet she’d still had the thought in the back of her mind that Luz would try to dissuade them, tell them that going to California was a terrible idea. According to Alex, though, she had caved pretty quickly.

They hit the Phoenix sprawl just as rush hour was starting, but for the first part of it, the traffic wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t until they got to the other side of downtown and were caught with everyone else trying to get to the western suburbs, to Goodyear and Glendale and Avondale, that Alex had to slow to a crawl.

It was excruciating, to say the least, but Caitlin knew there was no point in complaining about the time they were wasting. They couldn’t change the traffic patterns — although she thought that would be a handy talent for an urban witch to have — and eventually they did come out on the other side, leaving the suburbs and their planned communities behind them as they headed into the open desert.

The sun blared right into her face and she raised a hand to block it, as it was now low enough that the visor wasn’t doing much good to protect her. Alex glanced over and asked, “You managing okay?”

“It’s a little bright. But I’ll live.”

“There’s a spare pair of sunglasses in the glove compartment. One of the arms is a little loose, but it’s better than going blind.”

She opened the glovebox, and, sure enough, there was a pair of somewhat wobbly Ray-Bans in there. “Thanks,” she said gratefully as she settled them on her nose. They were heavier than the cheap drugstore sunglasses she usually wore, but they’d do.

Alex nodded. “I probably should’ve thought of them sooner. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” He had enough on his mind; he shouldn’t have to worry about babysitting her. And really, she had been all right until the sun dropped just low enough to be a problem.

Seemingly abandoning that topic, he said, “We should be getting into Blythe right around dinnertime. You want to stop there and get something to eat?”

Part of her didn’t, just because she wanted to get to Pasadena as soon as they could. But that was silly, because they wouldn’t be able to see Simón Santiago until the following morning anyway. They’d grabbed some tacos at a hole-in-the-wall place not too far from the motor vehicle office, but that had been hours ago. By the time seven o’clock rolled around, she knew she’d be starving. “Sounds good. Any ideas?”

“Not really. I’ve never been this far past Phoenix before. Uncharted territory.” He glanced over at her, the warm western sun flashing off his teeth as he grinned.

Even though impatience was still dancing through her, to the point that she’d had her feet pressing against the footwell, as if that would make the SUV move faster, she couldn’t help smiling in return. “Well, I guess we’ll have to take our chances.”

Another grin. “Or hope that I get a good enough signal in Blythe that I can find something promising on Yelp.”

“That works, too. My powers of divination aren’t really designed for picking out restaurants.”

He nodded, still smiling. That smile slowly disappeared, though, as he stared out at the road ahead. “Do you feel like we’re missing something here?”

Caitlin didn’t bother to ask what he meant by that. “I feel like we’re missing out on a whole lot of somethings. Do you want to be more specific?”

“Matías. What’s his endgame? What’s he using all this dark magic for?”

“Besides getting laid?” A grimace pulled at her mouth. The words had slipped out before she could stop them.

His tone grew gentle, as if he knew just how much that part of her friends’ current situation upset her. “Yes, besides that.”

“I don’t know.” She stared out the side window so she wouldn’t have to look directly into the sun. The golden-brown landscape rippled past, broken by manzanita bushes and cactus and the odd ocotillo, its strange undersea-looking branches tipped by bright orange flowers. “That is, I don’t know if these are the same guys who had a run-in with Connor and Angela a few years ago, because obviously they didn’t exchange names. If they are, it might just be a grudge thing — I mean, they kidnapped witches from both clans, so that has to send some kind of message. But….” The words trailed off, because she knew deep down that this wasn’t anything as simple as a grudge, that Matías’ actions spoke of a far deeper motivation than merely trying to get back at the
prima
and
primus
of the McAllister and Wilcox clans.

The thought tickled at the back of her mind. Was Matías somehow behind Maya’s mysterious wasting illness? But she’d been sick for months, according to Alex. Then again, they really didn’t know how long the warlock had been lurking in de la Paz territory. Caitlin waited to see if she’d experience that strange inner nudge, the one that told her that her suspicions might be right, but she felt nothing. Probably better to tuck the idea away for now. They were already doing everything they could to find Matías, and adding to Alex’s worry wouldn’t help anything. Besides, those inner twinges weren’t infallible; so far she hadn’t experienced anything she could call a false positive, but they also didn’t chime in on every single notion or idea she might have.

He spoke then. “But you don’t really think it’s just a grudge.”

“No.” She turned back toward Alex. By then the sun had begun to slip down behind a range of jagged mountains to the west, so the light wasn’t quite so painful. “I can’t say why for sure.”

“Another feeling.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. So far those feelings have been mostly right, so I’m willing to go with following this one for now. I just wish that one of these stupid visions would show the front of the house or apartment or wherever it is they’re holed up. Something where I could see a street number or an address. That would be a hell of a lot more useful than seeing them — ” She broke off then. No point in going over it again. Alex knew what she was talking about.

He gave her a grim nod. “That’s the tough thing, I guess. Some powers are easier to control than others. Mine’s pretty concrete — I mean, all I have to do is imagine that shield coming up around me, and it just appears. But when you’re a seer…when you’re tapping into time and space and all that…it’s a lot less cut and dried. So I don’t think you can give yourself too much grief over not being able to pinpoint it the way you’d like. At least we know more than we would have if you didn’t have that power at all.”

True,
Caitlin thought.
And maybe I could have lived a long time without knowing some of it.
She didn’t say that to Alex, though. Instead, she pulled in a breath and looked ahead, at the unending ribbon of black pavement that lay ahead of them, and hoped they wouldn’t reach their destination and discover this had all been a colossal waste of time.

T
he signal
on his phone kicked back in as they entered the town limits of Blythe, so Alex handed it over to Caitlin. “Can you find us someplace to eat?”

“You like barbecue?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Then how about this place?” She angled the screen toward him so he could see some images from the restaurant she’d selected. The pictures various Yelpers had added to the site showed barbecued ribs and brisket sandwiches and an assortment of other dishes, all of which looked pretty damn good to him, considering he’d only had a couple of meager street tacos to keep him going for a good chunk of the day.

“Sounds good. Can you get the navigation started?”

She pushed the screen to start them on their route. Her fingers just barely brushed against his as she gave him back the phone. Even that light touch made his heart start to pound, but he did his best to ignore the way she’d gotten his body to react. No, that wasn’t even fair. He was getting himself all hot and bothered. Caitlin probably had no idea that even her lightest touch was enough to make his blood seem to boil.

The restaurant was just off the freeway, and he pulled into the last remaining parking space before shoving the phone into his jeans pocket. Thank God the bulge had subsided. “Did you bring a jacket?” he asked, looking at the thin knit top Caitlin was wearing. It might have been fine for a bright, sunny day in Tucson, but now that the sun was down, it would be much cooler here.

“Yes,” she said, then pulled on the handle to open the door. “It’s in my suitcase, though, so you’ll need to pop the back so I can get to it.”

“No problem.”

They both headed to where their luggage was stowed, and he watched as she opened up the larger of her two suitcases and got out the jacket. After shrugging into it, she said, “What about you?”

The air was cool, but he thought he could manage. “I’m fine. Let’s go eat.”

She raised her shoulders, as if to say,
your funeral,
and then followed him into the restaurant. Well, diner. It was the sort of place where you ordered at the counter and then had someone bring you your food. Not fancy, but it definitely smelled good in there.

From the way Caitlin took an appreciative sniff, it seemed she felt the same way. And although she had to be even more apprehensive about what they were going to find in California than he was, it didn’t seem to have affected her appetite. She ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a side of mac and cheese, while he opted for sliced tri-tip with steak fries.

“Obviously you’re not one of those girls who only eats salads in front of guys,” he joked as they sat down.

She rolled her eyes. “Nope. I like to eat.”

Alex couldn’t help wondering where she put it, since she was fairly slender, except for her chest.
Built like a swimsuit model,
he thought, wondering what she’d look like in a bikini. He had a feeling he wouldn’t find out anytime soon, even if they were headed to California. No beach trips in their future, that was for sure. But if this had a happy ending, maybe he could convince her to stay a few days more at his place, swim in his pool, before she went home. Or would that even work? She was on break from school right now, but he didn’t know for sure when she had to go back.

His phone rang then. Frowning, he pulled it out of his pocket, then looked at the number on the display. He didn’t recognize it, although the number did have a Phoenix area code. “I’d better get this,” he said apologetically, and Caitlin nodded.

“It’s fine.”

He accepted the call before putting the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Alex, it’s Miguel.”

“Oh, hey, Miguel,” Alex replied. Across the table from him, Caitlin lifted an inquiring eyebrow, and he shrugged. “What’s up?”

“I have a little more information. I don’t know how much of it’s going to help, but I figured I’d pass it along.”

“Anything would be great. We haven’t been able to get much more on these guys.”

Caitlin seemed to tense, and she leaned forward slightly, as if she expected by doing so that she’d be able to overhear what Miguel was saying. Alex wasn’t sure it really worked that way, but maybe she’d be able to pick up a little bit.

His cousin said, “Well, I went back to the neighborhood where the McAllister girl says her friends were taken. I did some asking around, and it turns out that someone down the next street did actually see them as they were leaving. Thought the girls must be high or something because of the way they were wobbling around.”

Not high…just under some really nasty mind control. But it was better that the neighbors thought Danica and Roslyn were on drugs. A couple of loaded college girls was a lot easier to explain away than dark spells and darker talents.

“Did the person who saw them notice where they went?”

“They got in a black late-model car. Sporty. One of those updated muscle cars. Wasn’t sure if it was a Mustang or a Camaro or what. But flashy enough that they noticed. The neighbor, a Mrs. Herrera, said she thought they were drug dealers because of the car and the tattoos and the way the girls were acting. Anyway, because she lives around the corner from the house the guys were using, she really didn’t see where they were headed. Back out to the main road, obviously, but after that, who knows?”

Who knows? That was for sure. Alex wondered if the car was really theirs or if they’d stolen it. They wouldn’t even have to do something violent like a carjacking. No, Matías’ talent would lend itself pretty well to walking up to someone in a parking lot and asking for their keys. Maybe eventually the vehicle would be reported as stolen, but by then they could have ditched it or switched out the license plates or something.

“Any way to figure out if the car was stolen?”

A chuckle, and Miguel said, “Already ahead of you. I did search the stolen vehicles database. Cars like that are a tempting target, so they do tend to get ripped off. But Mrs. Herrera also said it had paper temporary plates, although the car was parked far enough away from her house that she couldn’t see the actual numbers. That narrows it down, because it means the car was stolen somewhere in Arizona. They don’t use paper licenses like that in California. Turns out the car is a Dodge Challenger and was taken from an auto detailer three days ago. Tucson P.D. is on it, but I have a feeling that the paper plates on this car were taken from someone else’s, and they probably haven’t even noticed. I mean, most people don’t memorize those temp things the way they do a real license plate.”

No, they probably hadn’t. Alex knew that when he’d bought the Pathfinder, he couldn’t have read back the code on those temporary plates if his life had depended on it.

“So anyway, unless those boys get pulled over for some kind of traffic violation, I doubt the police are going to catch up with them. I let our guys know to pay extra attention when they see a vehicle like that, and word’s gone out to the rest of the clan to keep an eye out. If they’re holed up someplace and not venturing out much, they might still be hard to track down. But if they go out for beer — well, someone might notice.”