I might as well get ready for the climbing part of the plan. My window was already open. I wiggled the screen out of the frame like I had the night Ky had visited me and set it on thefloor.
An alert pinged. Jin had checked back in.Just saw the Bentley zooming by. Good luck, BriarRose!
My lips twitched into a smile at the nickname. I shoved the phone into my pocket and clambered onto thewindowsill.
The house’s architecture wouldn’t have made a climb from the ground very easy, but the design included a wooden protrusion that ringed the second floor. When I’d looked before, I’d thought it was at least half a foot wide. Now, glancing down at it, I had to admit that “nice and wide” might have been overstating the situation. I’d be able to stand on it, but it wouldn’t hold much other than the balls of myfeet.
That was enough. The room Celestine used for her business affairs was only a couple over from my bedroom. I didn’t have far togo.
I eased myself out and settled my feet on the ledge. It held firmly enough. Leaning into the side of the house as tightly as I could, I edged one foot over, then pulled the other foot after it. One scoot, and another, and another, leaving my bedroom windowbehind.
The breeze licked past me, tossing my hair. My pulse skittered. My fingers tensed against the cool slats, attempting to grip theiredges.
Almost halfway there. I reached the next window, the bedroom that would have been my stepsister Anastasia’s if she hadn’t married off into some other witching family a few years back. Stopping, I clutched the windowsill for a minute to rest my tensed muscles. Then I pushed myselfonward.
To my relief, I found that Celestine had left her office window halfway open. Bracing my elbow on the sill, I prodded the screen with my other hand until I managed to pop it free. I flinched at the clatter as it hit thefloor.
No one came running. After hanging there frozen for a moment, I scrambledinside.
My stepmother’s office was about the same size as my bedroom, filled with similar built-in bookshelves and a few cabinets and a big desk that was so barren I had to wonder if she ever used it. Celestine worked as a stockbroker for a bunch of the witching families, moving their money here and there to make it grow. Sometimes even giving the market a little magical “assistance” in a particular direction, from the comments I’d heard hermake.
I’d never asked her much about the job. She thought the stuff in here was important enough, though, that she kept the door magically locked at all times and had to admit the housekeeping staff personally, watching them as they worked. I guessed that made sense, when she was dealing with people’sfortunes.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for, but whatever shady activities she’d gotten into, I had to assume this was the most likely place for her to be keeping evidence. Well, this or her private magicking room, but that was entirely windowless, so there was no way I was breaking inthere.
I prowled from cupboard to cupboard, opening binders, checking inside boxes. Everything I found appeared to be related to herbusiness.
Here. One drawer in her filing cabinet offered a slew of private documents. Medical records, real estate documentation, financial reports… I skimmed everything quickly until my gaze caught on one large number on a bankstatement.
Just a couple months ago, Celestine had transferred fifty thousand dollars out of one of her personalaccounts.
What the hell could that have been for? I didn’t remember hearing mention of anything that would have cost even a tenth that much. Actually, she’d been making a fuss about how she was needing to be careful with money to save up for my wedding celebration. And if she’d already spent tens of thousands of dollars onthat, I was sure I wouldn’t have heard the end of ityet.
The recipient was identified only as a different account number, so that didn’t help me. I stared at the paper for a few minutes, gnawing at my lower lip. It might have nothing to do with anything. But if Celestine was throwing around that kind of money in secret… Just thinking about it set me nerves onedge.
Who was she paying off—and forwhat?
Chapter Nine
Rose
Kyler’s apartment was up a narrow flight of stairs beside the fish and chips place it was perched on top of. The smells of fried batter and vinegar followed meup.
I paused under the dim light fixture, my fingers curling into my palm. I hadn’t visited any of the guys in their own homes before now. The thought of it made my heart thump faster. But what Ky and I were going to be discussing, I wanted to be sure no one else overheard. I hadn’t even wanted to send the information to his phone. If my stepmother ever had proof that he’d helped me poke around in her finances… Ireallydidn’t want to think aboutthat.
“Well, go on,” Philomena said. “You’ve already been fretting over this for two days. If it goes on much longer, I’ll start growing grayhairs.”
“You are never going to turn gray,” I said, but I did knock on thedoor.
Ky opened it a few seconds later, grinning when he saw me. “Come in, come in,” he said with a sweep of hisarm.
Stepping inside, I felt immediately at home. Which was strange, because the space was pretty chaotic. The open-concept kitchen area was all clean lines and stainless steel. The living room attached held a futon with big cedar arms and moss-green cushions, a shabby-chic coffee table, and a matching cabinet stuffed full with a huge TV, sound system, and various other electronic devices. At least a dozen pieces of art, ranging from the size of my hand to the size of my outstretched arms and in nearly a dozen different styles, hung on the pale goldwalls.
But it felt likeKyler. So much boundless enthusiasm for so many things, jumping from one area of interest to the next as a new thought struck him. Full of bright warmth underneath. As he motioned me to the couch, I caught a whiff of lemon that suggested he’d done some equally enthusiastic cleaning for my visit. Then the sweet cedar scent of the futon’s frame smoothed over thattang.
“Quite the place,” I said, taking it allin.
Ky laughed. “I know what I like. And I like a lot of things.” He pointed to the entertainment cabinet. “Battling pixelated monsters.” Then to the walls. “Exposing myself to visuals I don’t totally understand.” To the furniture. “Supporting this town. Everything in here I got locally. Which does mean you’ve got to be a bit flexible when it comes to style. Especially when some of it was donated by myclients.”