I could tell he was checking for magic or anything else so I stepped closer and reached out to feel for magic. There was a lingering trace of magic but it wasn’t enough to concern me. “They were here, but I don’t think they did anything to the car.”
Elias held up a piece of paper. “They left me a note.”
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Enough.” I walked around the car and grabbed the note from him. Holding it out in front of me I waited for him to take it back. He didn’t move.
“Listen, we’re stuck with each other for a bit longer and if we’re going to pull this off, we have to start being honest with each other. I get it, you’ve got some secret mission and some dark past or some shit. But you have to be at least partially open with me or you’re going to get both of us killed. I can’t keep my guard up properly if I don’t know what I should be preparing for.”
“Okay,” he said.
I opened my mouth to argue more before his response sunk in. “Thank you.”
“Read the note,” he said.
I unfolded the paper and read the note.We know you have the stone. Time to pay, little brother.
A chill ran down my spine. “I don’t understand. How would they know and how are they connected in all this? Did your brother kill Lola?”
“No. He’d have the stone if he was the one who killed her. He’d have sensed it’s presence.” He glanced at me. “You were right to hide it. If we’d had it on us, I suspect it would be in his possession now.”
“Is he working with the killer, or against them?” I asked. “If word got out about a moonstone, every coven and pack would want a piece of it.”
“I’d say we’re about to be very popular,” he said.
“Xander,” I said, my heart racing. “If they tracked it to us, they could be headed to him. Unless they went there first.” I wouldn’t forgive myself if Lola’s brother got killed on my watch. I was supposed to stop all this, find the killer, not make things worse.
“Get in,” Elias said.
Elias was speeding through the parking lot, making a hard turn onto the main road before I even got my seatbelt on. I slammed my hand against the dash to brace myself.
“Those shifters better not pull anything this time.” There was a slight growl to Elias’s voice. It should’ve sounded sinister, but it sent a shiver through me that wasn’t in any way related to fear. I pushed the thought aside. Elias was bad news, not the type of dude I should be getting any kind of emotional attachment to.
“I knew it wasn’t safe with us,” I said.
“It’s probably not safe anywhere,” he said. “We have to figure out a way to protect that stone. My brother can’t find it.”
“The stone is fine for now.” At least I hoped it was. “We can’t stop looking for the killer. We can warn Xander and then we have to keep moving.”
“This is more important than Lola’s killer. Not to disrespect your friend, but my brother cannot have that stone,” he said.
“Hey, you’re not the one who will be tossed in a jail cell if this goes sideways,” I said.
He glanced at me, then looked back to the road. “You know I said this could start a war?”
“Sure,” I said. “But it’s one stone.”
“Not to my brother. He lives for war. Any weapon in his hands is a thousand times worse than it is in in anyone else’s possession.”
“That’s dramatic,” I said.
“It’s true.”
“The stone is safe, I promise,” I said.
“How do you know for sure?” He glanced at me. “We should go get it, take it far away from here.”