The Curse Keepers Collection (17 page)

“Not exactly to which question?”

“Both.”

He grinned and moved closer. “You’re telling me that you’re not fucking Dailey?”

I flinched. “That’s a rude way to put it.”

“Ellie, Collin only fucks women. He never gets into a relationship with them, and he sure as hell never loves them. So why is he so protective of you?”

None of what Marino said surprised me, but his bluntness caught me off guard. “I told you. It’s a family thing. He feels obligated.”

Marino shook his head. “The only person Collin Dailey feels obligated to is Collin Dailey. If he’s not fucking you, and he’s keeping you with him, then you must have something he considers valuable.”

While that was true, I was sure Marino would never guess what Collin really wanted, and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

“One minute,” Collin shouted through the door.

Marino turned his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. “Fascinating.” Excitement filled his eyes.

My breath hung in my throat. “What?”

“The man outside that door is not behaving like the man I know. Why?”

“I have no idea. He’s only helping me sell my candlesticks.”

He laughed. “You’re a liar. A good one, but Collin gives you away. If he wants you so badly, that makes you incredibly desirable.” He reached his hand to my cheek and slid it down to my throat.

I took a step backward. “You think he loves me?”

He laughed again. “Hell no. I told you Collin doesn’t love women. He’s only capable of loving himself, but you have something that he’ll risk his own life for, and that, my darling, is intriguing. I want to know what it is.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dropping his hand, he studied me again. “I think you do. This is about the Ricardo deal, isn’t it?”

My eyes widened in surprise. What was he talking about?

Marino’s grin spread across his face. “I knew it.”

The door burst open and Collin filled the doorway. “Time’s up. Let’s go, Ellie.”

I turned around, and Marino moved next to me, blocking my path with his arm. “I want her. I’ll pay you for her.”

“
Excuse me
?” I said.

Collin’s face paled. “She’s not for sale.”

“Five thousand.”

“I said she’s not for sale.”

“You can’t do that!” I shouted, indignant. “You can’t sell people!” But I knew that it could be done. Human trafficking was all too real. Who the hell was Collin mixed up with?

Both men ignored me, caught in their own standoff.

Marino plastered a smile on his face and held out his hands. “I’ll forgive your debt on that rat trap you call a boat.”

Collin’s expression weakened.

Marino grinned. “And I’ll throw in ten thousand.”

Collin paused. “What about my map?”

My eyes bulged in disbelief. “What the
hell
are you doing, Collin?”

Marino waved a hand. “Fine, you can have the map too.”

I’m going to vomit.
Nausea swept over me, and I couldn’t move. Collin was considering Marino’s offer. He was going to sell me.

“Why do you want her so much?” Collin asked.

“Because
you
do.”

Collin looked at the wall, his face expressionless. “She gave you her two minutes. We had a deal and we’ve met our end. You’re a son of a bitch, Marino, but at least you’re known for being a man of your word. Are you going to change that now?
Over her
?” He said the last words with contempt. “I can assure you that she’s not worth it. She’s one of the worst fucks I’ve ever had, and you and I both know I’ve had more than I can count.”

Marino turned to me, lowering his voice. “Every word of protest only makes me want her more.” He lifted the back of his hand to my cheek and I smacked it away. He chuckled. “But you’re right. I am a man of my word.”

Collin kept his gaze on Marino, his chin lifted. “Ellie, let’s go.”

I stepped toward him, lightheaded and shaky, but I forced myself to keep it together and clenched my hands into fists at my sides.

Marino sat in his chair, grunting as he landed. “This isn’t over, Collin. We’ll visit this again.”

“And she’ll be history by then.”

“Then bring her to me when you’re done, and perhaps we’ll forget all of this ugliness.”

I moved into the storage room, and Collin fell in step behind me, leaning into my ear. “Keep going and don’t stop until you get out the front door. Here.” He put a set of keys in my hand. “You need to go.”

Whipping my head around, my mouth dropped open. “Where are
you
going?”

“I’ve got something to take care of.”

I stopped, but Collin stood behind me and pushed me to the door. “What? The map you were going to sell me for?”

“We don’t have time for this, Ellie. Will you just do what I ask?”

“No.”

Collin opened the door to the parking lot and dragged me outside. “
For God’s sake, Ellie
.”

I jerked out of his grasp. “One of the worst fucks you’ve ever had?
Are you kidding me
?” I knew standing there yelling at him was stupid. Dangerous even. I needed to get the hell out of there. But anger gave me power and fear made me helpless, so I was hanging onto my anger.

His face reddened. “Get in the truck.”

“No.”

The veins on his neck and temple throbbed. Collin looked like he was about to have a stroke. “
I swear to God, Ellie
, I will tie you up and gag you if you don’t get in the truck
right now
.”

He was serious. He would really do it.

When he saw the hesitation on my face, he pushed me toward the driver’s door.

I shouted in frustration and pounded my hand on the door panel.

He shoved me inside, climbed in next to me, then wrenched the keys from my grip and drove a block away, pulling into the parking lot of a car wash. “Drive two blocks south, then three blocks east to the Buxton Police Department. Park out front and wait for me. You’ll be safe. Marino wouldn’t dare touch you there.”

“We need to discuss the fact that you considered selling me.”

He stopped again and cocked his head. “You seriously can’t think I considered selling you to Marino.”

I glared. “It sure looked like it to me when you were bargaining with him.”

“Are you really that stupid? I need you. As much as it pains me to admit.”

“Then I’m not leaving. I’m going with you, Collin.”

“The hell you are.”

I was more scared than I’d ever been in my life, even more so than last night, and the last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere near that horrible man’s business. But I also knew I couldn’t be alone. I was sticking with Collin whether he liked it or not. “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll just follow you.”

He pounded his fist into the steering wheel. “Son of a bitch. You are the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever met.”

“I’ve made two of your top lists. Yay, me. I’m going.”

“I’m not saving your ass next time.”

“Yeah, I love you too. Let’s go.”

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

Collin left the truck parked in the car wash parking lot. We hiked across a field toward a warehouse, the weeds scratching my legs. Wearing my lucky skirt meant I wasn’t dressed for this, but at least I’d worn my Vans instead of sandals. “What is this map anyway?”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Is it curse related?”

“Yes.”

“Then I get to worry about it. What is it?”

He cursed under his breath. “A map that shows important locations. The portal to the spirit world. The sites where there were temples erected to the gods. The gods might be hiding there while they get stronger.”

“You don’t think I need to know about that?” I sighed in exasperation. “And you got pissed at me for pawning my cup.”

His body tensed, and his fists balled at his side. “The key difference is that I didn’t pawn the map. Marino stole it from my brother.”

“You have a brother? Younger?”

He stopped and looked down at me in exasperation. “Would I be the Curse Keeper if he were older?” Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “
Please
tell me that you know the answer to that.”

I plastered on a fake smile and recited, “The oldest child becomes the Keeper once they turn eighteen.” I glared at him. “I learned that when I was four years old.”

“Is that
all
you learned?”

“No.” I didn’t want to discuss my Keeper knowledge, or lack of it, at the moment. “If you weren’t going to sell me, why did you pretend to go along with Marino and bargain with him?”

He groaned and resumed his trek across the field. “Ellie, I only played along because I wanted to know if he still had my map. How many times have I told you that I need you? You’re no good to me if you’re stuck with Marino or dead.”

“That has got to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Sarcasm dripped from my words.

“Besides, we never would have been in that position if you’d done what I said and kept your mouth shut.”

“Marino wasn’t going to deal with you.”

“He would have come around.” But his tone told me he knew it was a lie.

“Why haven’t you gotten the map before now?”

“I thought he’d sold it. I never expected him to admit that he had it. My hope was that he’d tell me who he’d sold it to.”

“Why would Marino want to buy me?” The possible answer to my question made me queasy.

“Not what you think. I was stupid to bring you here and even more stupid to show my hand to Marino. He knows I don’t give a fuck about women so for me to show the slightest bit of interest in you set alarms off in his head. I’m sure he thinks you have some key information that makes you so valuable to me that I don’t want you out of my sight. He assumes that means money, and lots of it. Marino sees big fat dollar signs, and he thinks you hold the key to getting it.”

Collin’s answer appeased me. Sort of. “So is that what you do? Steal things and sell them to Marino?”

Collin grinned with a shrug.

“If he thinks you’re going to use me to steal something and then turn around and sell it to him, then why would he want me? Why not just wait for you to bring it to him?”

“To cut out the middleman, Ellie. Any time you can eliminate the middleman, you do it.”

I didn’t like the way he used the word
eliminate
. “He asked if I knew about the Ricardo deal.”

“
Fuck
. It was those goddamn candlesticks.” Collin sucked in several deep breaths and shook his head. “There’s nothing to be done about it now.”

We stopped at a six-foot privacy fence and squatted next to it, Collin peeking through a crack between the boards.

“Is this a good idea?” I asked, pressing my face to the cedar plank. The wood was so old and rough I’d be lucky to not get splinters.

“Theft is always a
bad idea
, Ellie,” Collin said with a mocking tone.

“I meant stealing the map right after you confronted Marino, in broad daylight.”

“No. If he expects me to try to get it, it would be tonight. Not during the day. No one would be that crazy.” He turned to me and smiled a mischievous grin. He thought this was fun. Collin Dailey was one of those freaky, thrill-seeking idiots. He noticed the expression on my face and raised his eyebrows playfully. “Not too late to back out. You can wait right here for me.”

I was tempted. Marino scared the shit out of me, and I didn’t want to go anywhere near him or anything that belonged to him. But I didn’t trust Collin. He kept things from me—like the map—and I needed information so I wouldn’t be so dependent on him. If he found the map, who was to say he wouldn’t hide it and tell me he hadn’t? Like it or not, I was stuck with him. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

His smile broadened, and I swore that there was something in his eyes that looked like a challenge. I hoped I was imagining things.

He pulled his backpack off his shoulder and set it on the ground between us, removing a pair of gloves. “Don’t touch anything. Marino won’t call the police, but he might look for our prints.” He looked up. “You don’t have a criminal record do you?”