Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (18 page)

just wanted to stop with all the nonsense and actually talk to Jaxton’s sister. Kiarra turned on her heel and started walking. “Let’s go, then.”

She got a few feet before Jaxton grabbed her hand and pulled her in a different direction. Once they

reached a patch of green, with no person closer than ten feet away, Jaxton stopped and Kiarra bumped into his back. Kiarra snatched her hand out of his and glared. “Go, stay, go. Make up your damn mind.”

A woman laughed and Kiarra noticed Millie standing at her side. Millie put out her hand. “I’ve been

waiting to meet you, and I’m not disappointed. Any woman who stands up to my brother is a friend of

mine.” Millie flashed a grin at Jaxton. “He can be a bit of an arsehole at times.”

Kiarra instantly liked the woman and shook Millie’s hand. “I won’t disagree with that.”

Jaxton made a noise in the back of his throat. “If you’re quite done forming a coalition against me, can we get going? I’d rather not stand out in the open.”

Millie put out an arm and motioned for Kiarra to link hers through. “We have plenty of time to conspire.

Shall we?”

Kiarra gingerly put her arm through Millie’s and wondered if this was how female friends acted with

one another.

She gave one last glance at Jaxton before Millie started moving. As they went along the street, Millie

pointed out the various sights, telling stories like an amateur tour guide. They went down a couple of streets until they reached a section of houses, went up some stairs, and entered a two-story apartment.

Once they were inside, Millie tossed aside her keys and walked into the kitchen. Not knowing what else

to do, she followed, and Millie motioned for Kiarra to take a seat at the table. “I’ll just put the kettle on and we can talk properly.”

Jaxton came in and leaned against a counter. “Make something for Kiarra to eat too.”

For some reason, making sure she ate something in private was acceptable, but treating her like

someone unable to make decisions for herself in front of Millie was too much. “Most people would ask if I

was hungry rather than just ordering something for me to eat.”

Jaxton raised an eyebrow. “But I know you’re hungry, right? So why bother with the extra step?”

“Because maybe I’m not hungry, maybe I only want something to drink. It is too much to ask that I

want to control my own eating and drinking habits? Fifteen years of having it all decided for me was quite enough.”

“You bloody well know this isn’t the AMT and I won’t see you hungry again.”

Part of her realized the importance of that last statement, but she was too irritated to care. “That is not the issue. You need to stop ordering me around like a lackey. Or treating me like a child. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it.”

Jaxton remained silent, but continued to stare at her until someone slid a cup of tea and a plate of

cookies in front of Kiarra. She’d forgotten that Millie was still in the room.

Millie patted Kiarra on the shoulder. “You are bloody brilliant.” Millie turned and pointed a finger at her brother. “And you need to calm the hell down and become the clever DEFEND commander my brother

used to be.”

Jaxton took a cookie from the plate Millie had placed on the table. “Stop meddling, Millicent. This has

nothing to do with you.”

Millie made a face. “Call me that again and see what happens.”

“Millicent.”

A blade whizzed through the air and the point embedded into the cabinet to the left of Jaxton’s head. But Jaxton acted as if nothing had happened and took a bite of his cookie. “You missed.”

Millie turned away from her brother and said, “Kiarra, how would you like a little girl time? If you

want, we can get your hair cut, buy some clothes, and have some fun.” Millie waved her hand towards

Jaxton. “I know you haven’t had any fun with him, so it’s up to me to show you a good time. Think of it as a Welcome Back to the Outside World celebration. What do you say?”

Jaxton brushed the cookie crumbs off of his hands. “You are not taking her out on the town, Millicent.”

Millie turned and scowled. “I have three more blades and I won’t miss next time.”

Jaxton pulled out the blade near his head. “I only need one to stop you.”

As the siblings continued to squabble, Kiarra felt a pang of jealousy. Millie and Jaxton knew each other well enough to threaten each other with knives, whereas Kiarra had lacked the courage to even hug her own sister.

For now, her tender thoughts about Jaxton on the bus had vanished and she wanted nothing more than

to piss him off, and Millie had given her the perfect way to do it. She stood up from her chair and moved toward the door. Millie and Jaxton noticed and stopped bickering.

Jaxton took a step toward her. “You want to see your room?”

Kiarra raised her chin, ignored him, and looked straight at Millie. “I’d love to go out with you.”

Millie grinned. “Brilliant!” She gave Jaxton a shove. “You need to go over the recon on the desk in the

office, anyway.”

Jaxton weaved around his sister, grabbed Kiarra’s hand, and pulled her toward the stairs. “If you could

defend yourself, I wouldn’t have a problem with you going out. But you can’t, and I won’t risk it.”

Kiarra reached to her back waistband and started to pull out her gun, but Millie stepped between them.

Millie looked at her brother and said, “Jax, I can take care of her. You know I can. I would think after what happened with Tasanee, you’d believe me.”

Kiarra had no idea who or what was Tasanee, but after scrutinizing Millie’s face, Jaxton let go of her

hand.

“If you screw this up, Millie, I don’t care what mum or even Neena says, I will not work with you again

in the future. Ever.”

Millie shrugged. “Like I said, I can handle it.” She pushed Kiarra toward the door. “Oh, and did I forget to mention the recon is in code? It may take you all afternoon to break it.”

“Millie…”

“Meet us at The Last Drop at 8 p.m.!”

Millie whisked them out the door before Jaxton could say another word and Kiarra couldn’t help but

smile. She and Mille were going to get along famously.

Chapter Nineteen

Millie Ward sat in the waiting area of the hair salon and stared at her mobile phone, wishing it would

vibrate with a response. While Kiarra was in the other room, getting her hair cut, Millie was trying to get some work done. She liked that she was pissing off her brother by simply sitting here and waiting for

Kiarra, but Jaxton and Kiarra’s arrival couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Everyone in DEFEND knew that Millie did private security and intelligence work on the side. Most of

the time she worked with DEFEND, but every now and then, she’d take on a job of her own. Not only did

the side jobs help to keep her skills fresh and improve them, she constantly worked to expand her network of contacts.

But people would stop seeking her out, or maybe even stop talking to her full stop, if Millie didn’t meet and exceed her clients’ expectations. The most basic of those, finishing a job, was now in jeopardy.

So even though she honest to goodness wanted to take Kiarra out for a night on the town, Millie was

instead using Kiarra as an excuse to go and scope out The Last Drop, a pub in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket.

The Last Drop was a popular pub with tourists. The constant stream of new faces made it an excellent

location to meet her target, especially as it wasn’t the kind of place Millie usually frequented. With any luck, no one would recognize her.

The balance of protecting Kiarra while getting what she needed from her target was going to be tricky.

But Millie was stubborn and refused to delay her assignment. It’d taken her a week to plan and prepare; she didn’t know when this chance would come up again.

Kiarra walked out from the back section of the salon, her cheeks flushed, sporting a new pixie cut that

framed her face. Unable to resist, Millie whistled twice and said, “Someone’s looking sexy.”

Kiarra’s cheeks turned pinker. “I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to pay you back.”

Millie stood up and gave Kiarra a walk around, checking the cut from all angles. “Do you like it?”

Kiarra nodded. “More than anything.”

Millie grinned. “Then that’s good enough for me.”

“But—”

Millie placed a finger over Kiarra’s lips, noting how Kiarra froze at the first few seconds of contact. “If it bothers you that much, think of it as a loan. Pay me back once you start drawing a paycheck for your

work. Does that work?” Kiarra nodded and Millie removed her finger. “Good—now that’s settled, we have

a few more stops to make before the fun really begins.”

Kiarra looked off to the side, pointedly avoiding eye contact. “Maybe we should just go back to the

apartment.”

Millie had been afraid of this. Kiarra was a recently rescued first-born, and after being locked up for so long, the outside world could overwhelm her.

Yet Millie had seen how Kiarra had interacted with her brother, which meant that unlike some former

AMT inmates, Kiarra was on the road to recovery. Millie would just have to convince Kiarra she was

stronger than she realized.

Millie said, “How about this. We go shopping for a little while, you pick out something you want to buy, and if you still want to go back to the flat after that, we’ll go. Does that work for you?”

Kiarra finally met Millie’s eyes. “I’ve never shopped for myself before.”

Millie grabbed Kiarra’s hand, determined to condition Kiarra to her touch through repetition. “Well, that changes everything.” Millie opened the door and pulled Kiarra through. Once Kiarra was following of her

own accord, Millie tucked Kiarra’s hand into the crook of her arm and started talking.

Millie pointed out some of the best shops and told Kiarra what she could find inside each one, but Kiarra remained silent the entire time. From the occasional glances Kiarra threw her way, Millie sensed there was something she wanted to ask. The contrast of how Kiarra was behaving now compared to how she’d

behaved with Jaxton back in the flat only reinforced Millie’s suspicions that something was going on

between her brother and this woman. Jaxton, her levelheaded brother, had all but thrown Kiarra over his

shoulder and slapped her arse while shouting, “Mine!”

When Millie finished telling Kiarra about the latest shop, she stopped and pulled Kiarra off to the side.

“Ask me anything.”

Kiarra blinked. “What?”

Millie gave Kiarra her most encouraging smile. “You’ve been glancing toward me, then away, and back

again for the last five minutes. I’m sure you’ve learned from my brother that Ward children don’t often beat around the bush. And at the risk of Jax corrupting my image with blatantly unflattering tales, ask me

anything you like. I’d rather you hear it from me than from Mr. Grumpy.”

“He’s not that grumpy.”

Millie fought a smile at Kiarra’s defense. “With all the scowling and glares he throws, he’s not exactly Mr. Charming. I love him, but he and I are two very different people.”

Kiarra looked at Millie from the corner of her eye and smiled. “You two have more in common than

you think.”

Millie raised an eyebrow. “You care to back up that statement? I am neither male nor grumpy, which

already puts quite a gulf between us.”

Kiarra laughed and Millie knew she was making progress. “I’m not saying you two don’t have your

differences. Most of what I think you share is personality-wise. Both of you are rather…”

Kiarra trailed off, most likely afraid she’d offend Millie, but Millie was having none of that. “Say

whatever you like, as long as it doesn’t involve the word ‘prude.’”

“Well, you both can be a bit bossy.” Kiarra gave her a sideways glance. “And stubborn.”

Millie’s mouth raised in a half-smile. “Anything else?” Kiarra hesitated and Millie patted her on the arm.

“Now, now, you can’t stop there if you’re to convince me that Jax and I have quite a bit in common.”

Kiarra’s voice was so low, she almost didn’t hear it. “You’re both kind, and care a lot about your

family.”

From Taka’s reports, Millie knew a little of Kiarra’s background, and her heart reached out to her.

Jaxton was annoying most of the time, but he would lay down his life for her, without hesitation. He’d

proven as much with his single-mindedness about rescuing Garrett.

Millie once again linked her arm with Kiarra’s and started walking. “Hm, maybe you’re on to something.

But if you ever tell Jaxton I said that, I will deny it till my dying breath.”

Kiarra smiled again. “He would probably just ignore the comment anyway, so I don’t see the point.”

“Yes, he does have selective hearing, but that’s a universal male thing.” Millie stopped in front of a shop window. “This is the place I was talking about. See anything you like? And be honest.”

Kiarra looked at the dresses in the window, and finally she nodded and pointed to an ankle-length dress

in dark red. A bit modest for Millie’s tastes, but it would do the job. As she herded Kiarra inside the store, she grinned to herself. Jaxton wouldn’t know what hit him.

Kiarra was lucky that her new dress went to mid-ankle. Despite the handwritten advice Neena had left

inside the duffel bag, Kiarra was unskilled at shaving and had more little cuts than she’d like to admit. The AMT had, for good reason, never handed out razors to its inhabitants.

The dark red dress had a high neckline that showed off her collarbones and hugged her upper body, but

flared out from the waist into a swaying skirt. The looseness made her feel a little less exposed and naked.

When Millie had walked out in a form-fitting, short dark-blue dress, Kiarra had wondered if she could ever

be so bold; she still felt self-conscious about wearing tight-fitting jeans.