Free Blood Sacrifice by Maria Lima Page B

other than a tangled knot of words written in a mélange of languages, one of which was dead even to its own people. Most Sidhe spoke modern-day Welsh these days, at least the Sidhe I’d known.
    “Soon as we get settled, Keira. I’ll try Gigi again,” Tucker said as he hauled our bags from the back of my Land Rover.
    “She’s not home yet,” I said. “I called while you were getting gas. Aunt Jane told me Gigi wasn’t expected back until tomorrow or the next day at earliest.”
    “She certainly took off in a hurry,” Tucker said. “I’m not giving up on her answering her messages, though. She does check her cell phone. She’s the clan chief.”
    “A clan chief who pronounces she needs to handle something, isn’t specific, then takes off without so much as a ‘hey, I’ll be in touch,’” I retorted. “Granted, after finding out about the official Truce, she probably figured we’d be fine for a few weeks.” We should be, though frankly, her leaving like this was a bit odd. Her message to me delivered via text had been curt:
Off for a bit. Don’t worry. Will be in touch soonest.
“Do you think she’s—”
    “She’s fine, Keira,” Tucker said. “I’m sure she’s gone to do her own version of research as she said. To help us out.”
    “I kind of expected she’d send her minions,” I replied. “Not that she’d go haring off herself.”
    “This is research that will affect her now one-and-only heir. I doubt she’d entrust this to her minions. Besides, she never goes anywhere without her Protectors.”
    He was right. All I could do now was wait and work with Adam, Tucker, and Niko to help decipher the bones of the Challenge. I was sure Gigi would let us know as soon as she found something relevant.
    As I stepped closer to the disgusting building, I felt a shimmer of energy sliding just below normal sensory feel. “Warded? By a Kelly?” No mistaking that energy. Someone in my family had set pretty heavy-duty protection around this miserable dump. So heavy-duty, in fact, they’d even been hidden from me until I’d actually stepped into it.
    “Gigi.”
    “Oh, really?” I answered as my great-great-granny’s signature made itself known. “Did she come here, then?” Not that I expected it, but yeah, she could’ve made it via one of her other private jets. Three or so hour flight from the enclave directly to the private terminal at San Antonio Airport or even to Stinson Field? That wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. After Adam and Niko had left last night, Tucker and I packed, made sure all the vampires got off safely. After a flying visit and breakfast at Bea’s Place—thank goodness she opened at six—we’d driven here. Bea hadn’t like the idea of us leaving, but understood. I’d promised her I’d call once we got settled.
    “I doubt she’s here,” Tucker said. “Gigi set these up some time ago. It’s a—”
    “Bolt hole. I get it. She created a bolt hole.” Of course she did.
    Tucker nodded. “No group in its right mind wouldleave itself without a place to escape to. It’s on the list of Kelly properties.”
    “The list I’ve not yet read?” I asked with a heavy dose of sarcasm. One more thing I hadn’t yet done in my heirly duties. I’d come back home from three months training in British Columbia to discover a series of hate crimes against a newly arrived werewolf pack—one of whom had knocked up my best friend, Bea. I’d barely had time to get fitted for my dress for the Reception and to learn the basic protocols, much less do the boring business reading. Adam had promised to go over it all with me—our holdings in Texas, in various parts of the Southwest states. The Kelly clan reached far, across the globe, in fact, and our small portion of property was centered here. A test, no doubt, to see if we could co-rule peacefully and carry out the Kelly agenda—whatever the hell that was. I still had plenty of time to learn. Gigi didn’t plan on stepping