He shook his head. No way would he allow her to get tangled up into this anymore, no matter how much her words made him want to haul her into his arms and kiss her senseless. “This isn’t your battle.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Jeez Almighty, she was a stubborn woman. The last place an FBI agent should be at the moment was with him.
“Liv,” he disengaged his hand from hers. “Go home to Brodie. He needs you.” He hardened his voice, even while his heart splintered at his next words. “I don’t.”
A stricken look crossed her face, and she took a sharp step back. Kayla was at her side in a second, shooting him a glare.
“We have orders to bring Mrs. Westcott, too,” Tablet Guard said.
“Fuck your orders. She has nothing to do with this.”
The guard stepped away for a moment. When he came back, he said, “Come with us, sir.”
Zeke followed the guard with Lupos slapping lightly against his thigh. He didn’t look back at Liv, because she would have seen in his eyes all the things he wished he had said, instead of delivering hurtful words designed to protect her.
Liv watchedZeke as he followed the two enormous guards down the walkway. According to Phin’s model, the path led to a private entrance to Nicola’s study.
After she recovered from the initial shock of his harsh words, her blood boiled. He had only said what he did to make her get as far away from him as possible. Did he really think she would abandon him when he needed someone the most?
“Phin?” Kayla said, nodding at Zeke’s departing back.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He looked at Liv. “Do you know what this is about?”
The youngest Blackwell’s initial confusion had given over to a much more volatile emotion—betrayal, hurt, anger, something that made his body vibrate with violence. By the look of him, he didn’t even know what he was fighting to contain.
Liv hesitated a moment, then nodded. “It’s …very important to him.”
In her earpiece, Cruz said, “Super-Fucking-Man.”
Phin’s jaw turned to steel, then he stomped after his brother, muttering beneath his breath. “I’m going to rip off his fucking red cape and stuff it up his—”
“What’s going on?” Kayla asked, her earlier amusement gone.
Liv was torn. She didn’t want to betray Zeke’s secret, yet the situation had exploded out of control. Then she considered how Zeke’s insistence on locating the sword on his own had dropped them into their current circumstances and decided to not make the same mistake.
She glanced down the walkway. What if Nicola’s goons had noticed Zeke’s or Phin’s earpieces and were listening in?
As if reading her mind, Rohan said, “Liv, you can speak freely. I’ve switched you, me, and Cruz to a private channel.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Nearly a century ago, someone stole a Blackwell family artifact. A longsword.”
Cruz’s voice filled her ear. “Lupos.”
“Yes, Lupos,” she repeated for Kayla. “He found the heirloom in Nicola’s museum and attempted to smuggle it out.”
Silence surrounded her, then Rohan said, “Nicola must have placed a security chip on the sword. The moment he walked out of the house, the chip’s radio frequency must have triggered a silent alarm.”
That would explain the flashing red light on the guard’s tablet, and Nicola’s smug conviction that she would locate the doll. Only it wasn’t the doll that alerted her security system, but the Blackwell sword.
“He’s going to need provenance,” Kayla said. “Something that will top whatever phony paperwork Nicola has in her possession.”
“There’s an antique dealer in Charlotte who might be able to help us out,” Rohan said. “Zeke has a standing order with him to have first right of refusal on any antique weapons he comes across. He might know someone who can authenticate Blackwell ownership.”
Liv recalled Zeke’s research file, and a plan started to formulate in her mind. A risky one. One that Zeke might not be able to forgive her for. Better that, than him going to prison.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do.”