Desmond nodded. “I’d go to hell and back to find you. ”
I squeezed his hands, worried if I let go, he might vanish. Part of me was still terrified this was all a dream.
“You did. ”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Secret McQueen. Two SIG P226 9mm handguns. Seven ammunition clips, silver. One silver knife. One leather holster. One pair leather boots. One leather jacket. One Kate Spade purse…leather. One Samsung cellular phone. ”
“Something that isn’t leather,” I said, having picked up some attitude from the woman handing me my belongings.
Holden sat next to me, a stony expression on his face.
The woman continued, unimpressed with my interruption. “Holden Chancery. One iPhone. One pair Armani shoes. Leather. ”
“That’s it?” I asked when she passed him a plastic bag with his brown shoes and phone enclosed.
“It was all I wanted back. ”
I hugged my jacket close to me and handed my bag of belongings to Desmond for safekeeping.
“I want Maxime’s things too,” I insisted.
“The vampire had nothing of value on his person. ” She sneered when she said person.
“And Sutherland Halliston?”
“Why on earth would I give you his belongings?”
“Because he’s my father. And because something in there might save his damned immortal life. Now give me his stuff. ”
She frowned but didn’t offer further argument. I was betting someone had told her I had the right to claim on Sutherland’s behalf—Logan or Tyler probably—otherwise she might have argued longer or called a supervisor for permission. Instead she returned with a small baggy.
“Sutherland Halliston. One wallet, leather. One Nokia cellular phone. One pendant, crystal. ”
When she said crystal, my pulse jumped. He really did have it, the one thing that might save his life with the Tribunal. I hadn’t known what I was looking for, but when the clerk said crystal, I knew. I knew what he had without a sliver of doubt in my mind.
That stupid broken window I’d found in the closet before the Doctor grabbed me. He’d somehow managed to swap them. Sutherland might be crazy, but it looked like resourcefulness ran in the family.
“Thank you. ” All of the surliness vanished from my tone, replaced with genuine appreciation. “Thank you. ”
“Desmond Alvarez,” she continued, ignoring me, though I saw her lip twitch into a momentary smile. “One BlackBerry. One wallet, leather. ” Since Desmond hadn’t been stripped on arrival like Holden and I had, it made sense he would have the least to collect when we left.
“Sign here,” the clerk said, passing us a clipboard. “You sign twice. ” She tapped the line by Sutherland’s name. I obliged her.
“One more thing,” I said, which seemed to surprise her. “Do you have a cellphone charger?”
Seven hundred and forty-one new texts.
One hundred and eighty-seven missed calls.
Ten voicemails, which was the maximum number my phone could accommodate.
I didn’t know where to begin.
I cleared the missed-call log immediately. I knew who I would have missed calls from, and I’d get back to each of them in turn. I skipped the texts for the time being because, well, there were too many for me to go through without an afternoon of free time. I jumped into the voicemails.
Lucas calling to apologize for his behavior.