An Ill Wind Read online

  But Cassandra knew better, and she wasn’t sure whether Tony truly “got it” after all. She’d only known him for a few days and so didn’t pretend to be aware of every nuance, every shift in his tone and expression, but something about the brittle note in his voice seemed to indicate that he really didn’t want to acknowledge what Consuelo was telling him, that she was only uncovering truths he’d spent a long time trying to ignore.

  She also realized that she was hearing some deeply personal stuff, and that it probably would have been better for her to wait out in the reception area on one of the chairs there. However, getting up and leaving now would only create a distraction, and Consuelo had already warned her to remain quiet.

  “You will not live the future you thought would be yours,” she said. Now her tone was almost singsong, her eyes half closed, as if she wasn’t really looking at the lines on Tony’s palm anymore, but instead listening to voices only she could hear.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, the question delivered far more brusquely than Cassandra would have expected from him. If asked, she would have said there didn’t seem to be anything that could ruffle Tony, but right now it looked as if the Navarro seer was doing a pretty good job of getting under his skin.

  “Only what I just told you…that the image of what your future will be is not what this world has in store for you.” Consuelo’s eyes opened then, piercing and dark under the black liner she wore. “And if you try to ignore this warning — if you try to ignore the plans fate has for you — then you will bring harm not just on yourself, but on those around you.”

  Once again, a cold finger seemed to trace its way down Cassandra’s spine. This was not the sort of thing either one of them really needed to be hearing right now. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that Consuelo wouldn’t much appreciate being interrupted. About all they could do was sit tight and hope this interview would be over soon.

  Tony’s jaw tightened, but he only nodded and didn’t speak.

  The seer looked past him, right at Cassandra. “The thing that has drawn you here…it has already set you on a dark path you cannot escape.”

  “I didn’t have any plans to escape it,” she replied, forgetting that she was supposed to remain silent. Then again, Consuelo had addressed her directly. Was she supposed to just sit there and say nothing when the seer was talking about her future?

  “No,” Consuelo said, and she sounded almost amused. “You have never been one to shy away from the difficulties fate has set in your way. That is good…you will need your strength.”

  “Anything else?” Tony asked, sounding downright testy.

  Now the seer sat upright in her chair and her eyes opened all the way. They snapped with dark fire, all the dreaminess she’d displayed a moment earlier gone as if it had never been there in the first place. “There is always more,” she said crisply. “However, it doesn’t sound as though you want to hear it. The session is over.”

  “Seriously?” he began, but Cassandra got up from her chair and went over to him, laid her hand on his arm.

  “We’ve probably taken up enough of Consuelo’s time already,” she said. Glancing over at the Navarro witch, she added, “How much do we owe you?”

  “Oh, the reading is free,” Consuelo replied. “I have no need of your money.”

  No, she probably didn’t. There were always differences in how the clans operated, but the one constant seemed to be that all witch families had a healthy cash reserve, probably from using their talents to subtly influence their investments as necessary. Cassandra saw no reason why things would be any different for the Navarros.

  “Then thank you,” she said. “We’ll just be on our way.”

  A tug on Tony’s arm, and he stood up. His smile reasserted itself, although she got the feeling he used the expression as a mask to hide what he was really feeling. “Yeah, thanks,” he said. “That was…educational.”

  “Only if you take the time to try to truly understand what I was telling you,” Consuelo responded.

  Before he could make a reply that might start an inter-clan incident, Cassandra pulled him away from the inner room, then on through the beaded curtains and out the door. The street outside felt horribly bright after the dim interior of Consuelo’s shop, and Cassandra quickly stuck her free hand in her purse so she could pull out her sunglasses.

  “Do you want to call a cab?” she asked in an undertone as they began to walk away from the storefront.

  “No,” Tony replied at once. “We can walk. It’s probably better.”

  What exactly he meant by that cryptic comment, Cassandra wasn’t sure. However, she was happy to walk next to him as they headed back to the hotel, although he was moving quickly and she had to exert a little extra effort to keep up with his long strides.

  Because of their speed, they got back to the hotel in less than ten minutes. By that time, it was a little after five; more time had passed than she’d thought.

  When they got in the elevator, Tony leaned forward and pushed the button for the roof, rather than the floor where their suite was located. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he sent her another of his devilish smiles.

  “What?” he said. “It’s past five. Perfect time for drinks on the rooftop.”

  “Sure,” Cassandra replied, guessing that there probably wasn’t much use in arguing with him. He seemed easygoing enough, but a stubborn streak lurked under the ready grins and devil-may-care attitude. Besides, she had said earlier that she’d be fine with getting drinks after they’d conducted their business for the day. Well, that business was concluded, so there wasn’t any real reason to delay.

  No reason except getting plowed in Tijuana probably isn’t the smartest thing to do, she thought. Not that she had any intention of getting plowed, or anywhere close to it. She couldn’t control Tony, but she could do her best to keep watch over her own actions.

  As she followed him out of the elevator, however, she couldn’t help wondering whether that would be enough.

  12

  His margarita was excellent, and yet even the healthy amount of alcohol it contained wasn’t quite enough to prevent Consuelo Navarro’s words from swirling around in his brain.

  Although one could say you’ve never allowed yourself to be truly alone, at the same time that is all you have been.

  Words he wanted to laugh at. Alone? Tony Castillo, party animal? The guy who never passed up an excuse to hang out and have fun, drink, dance…that Tony?

  Right.

  Except…the seer had been correct on one level. He made sure he was always busy, always occupied, but somewhere lurking in the back of all that frenetic energy had been the realization that he really had nothing in his life of any importance. Oh, sure, there was his family, but he was one of them; they sort of had to love him. His magical gift seemed impressive on the surface, but it wasn’t all that useful. He’d never been touched by any deep emotion, never felt a strong attachment to anything, except maybe making sure that he kept his life as busy as possible so he would never have any reason to stop and examine it.

  Across the table, Cassandra was watching him, green-gilt eyes speculative, but she remained quiet, only sat there and sipped her mango margarita while the setting sun glinted in her red hair and turned it to pure copper.

  She really was beautiful. And more than just beautiful — strong and smart and resourceful. Consuelo Navarro had said as much. Cassandra was definitely not the sort of person to back down from a challenge.

  Too bad he couldn’t say the same thing for himself. All right, he’d gone with Rafe and Miranda and Louisa’s husband Oscar to face down Simon Escobar, but he hadn’t been given much of an opportunity to say no. Besides, he’d known that Miranda, by far the strongest of all of them, would take the brunt of the dark warlock’s magic. Pretty much all he had to do was stay out of the way and duck when necessary. All right, he’d used his control of the wind to incapacitate a few minor demons, but it wasn’t as though he’d been t
he one whose magic had decided that particular battle.

  “How’s your margarita?” he asked, knowing how stupid that sounded. Still, the two of them couldn’t sit there and not say anything to each other.

  “Really good,” Cassandra said. For a moment, she was silent, swirling the straw around in the oversized glass. Then she looked at him, gaze direct. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  More silence. He could almost sense her disappointment coming toward him in palpable waves, and he hated that. He didn’t want to disappoint her. He wanted her to think he was tough and brave and capable…all the things he was pretty sure he wasn’t.

  “I think she was annoyed with us for coming into her clan’s territory without permission,” Cassandra commented, apparently deciding to ignore his remark that he didn’t want to talk about what had happened earlier that afternoon. “I have a feeling that’s why she was so rough on you.”

  “Hmm.”

  She released a huff of a breath and almost but didn’t quite roll her eyes. “Aren’t you a little old to be pouting?”

  Tony shot her a narrow-eyed look. “I am not pouting.”

  “Sure looks like it from over here.”

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Where did you want to have dinner?” he asked, feeling desperate. The question was a total red herring, but he really needed to get her off his back for a while.

  Her mouth opened and he worried that she was going to sling another sideways comment in his direction, but then he saw her shoulders lift the tiniest fraction, as if she was telling herself that she needed to cut him some slack. “I don’t know. There are a ton of places to choose from, obviously. You like seafood?”

  “Sometimes,” he said cautiously. While he loved some fresh-caught trout, he didn’t make a habit of seeking out seafood.

  “It’s super-popular here,” she said. “Probably because Baja is all about the ocean. Lobster tacos? Crab enchiladas?”

  That actually did sound really good. “Let’s do that. You can pick the restaurant.”

  “I already have a few lined up. Just say the word.”

  It was kind of early to have dinner, but they still needed to finish their drinks here and get wherever they were going. At least if they were eating, Cassandra probably wouldn’t have as many opportunities to give him the third degree.

  “When we’re done with our margaritas.”

  She nodded, then swiveled her chair so she could look past the rooftop pool and into downtown Tijuana, now all hazy and golden with the last of the afternoon light. Everywhere around them, people were laughing and chatting and drinking — or eating; the bar also offered a variety of appetizers — and Tony wished he could be as lighthearted as everyone else seemed to be. He’d been that way once, or at least pretended to be.

  Maybe all these laughing civilians were hiding their own secrets.

  Probably, but at least none of them had to contend with stolen grimoires and evil witch clans hidden somewhere in the jungles of El Salvador.

  He and Cassandra finished their drinks and left, since their order was being charged to their room. When they got in the elevator, she said, “Can we stop at the room? I want to change into something else to go out to dinner.”

  “Sure,” he replied. If nothing else, the brief detour would let them use up a little more time.

  When they got to the room, she took one of the bags from her shopping trip with her and disappeared into the bathroom. Since Tony had no idea how long she was going to take, he walked over to the window and watched as the lights of the city began to come on, glowing in the dusk. It was beautiful here, he thought, in a way that felt very different from Santa Fe, even though they’d both been settled by the Spanish and had their cultures mix with those of the indigenous people who were the first inhabitants of the area. He liked the energy of the town, and he liked the way it had been a balmy seventy-nine degrees today rather than the chilly low fifties they’d left behind in northern New Mexico.

  Cassandra emerged from the bathroom, and Tony had to keep himself from staring. While they were shopping, he hadn’t paid much attention to what she was buying, since he figured that was her business. Now, though, he could tell she must have put on one of her new purchases, a pale green sleeveless top that clung to her curves without being too revealing, the low V-neckline accented with embroidery in shades of cream and peach and soft brown. Dangling earrings of silver and coral now hung from her ears, and he thought she’d deepened her makeup somehow, although he couldn’t have pointed out the precise changes she’d made.

  Altogether, she looked even more beautiful than she had earlier that day, more sultry and alluring. He honestly didn’t know whether she’d done that on purpose to make herself more attractive to him, or whether she’d decided she needed more of a nighttime look and his increased lust was only a byproduct of her efforts.

  “I like your earrings,” he said, hoping the compliment sounded harmless enough.

  Cassandra touched her fingers to one of the intricate silver and coral drops. “Thanks. I’d been wanting some for a long time, and I knew I was never going to find a deal like this one again.” She went to the closet and got out her brown leather jacket, then slung it over one arm. “Ready?”

  “Are we walking?”

  “No. We’ll need to get a cab. But it’s not too far.”

  Right then, he really didn’t care how far it was. A long cab ride would only take up more time, something they had plenty of.

  She already had her phone out, was using one of her apps to call a self-driving cab to come pick them up at the hotel’s entrance. Apparently, they weren’t the only people heading out for an early dinner, because there was another couple standing near the curb, phones out, doing basically the same thing he and Cassandra were.

  The other couple’s cab came first, but a second one followed within a minute or so. Once the two of them had gotten in the back seat and closed the door, Cassandra said, “Misión San Javier 10643,” and the cab immediately sped off.

  Tony hadn’t been in Tijuana long enough to get much of a sense of the city and its layout, so he had no idea where they were going. Not that it mattered; the cab would get them there without any fuss. However, when they pulled up in front of what looked like an office building, he turned and sent an inquiring glance in Cassandra’s direction.

  “You’re sure we’re in the right place?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “The restaurant’s on the second floor. Don’t ask me why it’s in an office building. I’ll bet the views are awesome, though.”

  Which they were. By that point, the sunset had mellowed to the faintest of pink glows, outlining the downtown area’s tall buildings. The restaurant itself was as sleek and modern as their hotel, and obviously popular. However, they were still whisked away to a secluded table with a few minutes of their arrival, handed menus, and promised that their waiter would be along shortly.

  “You do know how to find them,” Tony said approvingly as he allowed himself another glance at their surroundings. On top of all her other sterling qualities, it was pretty obvious that Cassandra had very good taste.

  She shrugged. “I can read the online listings, same as anyone else. It’s not too hard to filter out the noise.”

  “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”

  That comment earned him a smile. “Maybe.”

  For a few minutes, they were silent, poring over their menus. There was a lot of seafood offered, but plenty of other fare if you wanted a steak or pork tacos or something along those lines. However, he decided to go with the fresh local tuna, and asked Cassandra if she wanted to share a plate of oysters as an appetizer…not really expecting her to say yes.

  To his surprise, she nodded and said, “Sure. I’ve always wanted to try some.”

  “And a glass of white wine to go with that course, before we get a bottle for the rest of it.”

&nb
sp; That suggestion made her raise her eyebrows, but she didn’t demur, only said, “Okay. It’s early enough that we’ll have plenty of time to burn it off before we go to sleep, right?”

  He supposed so, although he’d gone to bed slightly intoxicated more than once and had never suffered for it. Besides, he was starting to feel more relaxed, a feeling that only increased after they placed their orders and the waiter brought over the wine they’d requested.

  He lifted his glass. “Let’s drink to continued success.”

  “Sounds good.” Cassandra clinked her wine glass against his, then took a sip. “I think it’s all going to be fine.”

  “You do?” Tony asked, a little surprised by this show of sunny optimism.

  “I do. Just a feeling.”

  His personal suspicion was that she just might be acting falsely cheerful in order to make him feel better, but he wasn’t about to argue. A little misplaced optimism now and then never hurt anyone.

  At least, he hoped it wouldn’t.

  The oysters came, and she was fairly game about eating them, although afterward she confessed that she probably wouldn’t repeat the experience any time soon.

  “But at least now I know,” she told him. “Better to have tried and not liked them than always wonder what they’re like.”

  Tony supposed she had a point there. “You don’t like mysteries?”

  “Not really.” She drank some of her Chenin blanc. “Or that is, mysteries are fun if you can figure them out. I’m not a big fan of unanswered questions.”

  “You sound like a cop’s daughter.”

  She grinned. “I am a cop’s daughter.”

  True, but she was also so much more. He could only hope that she found him even a quarter as interesting as he found her.

  Dinner was excellent, as was the bottle of local wine they drank with it. By the time they were done, even he was feeling just the slightest bit elevated, which he liked. The tipsiness washed away some of the sting the Navarro seer’s words had inflicted on him, and he was starting to feel more like himself, bolder, ready for the next distraction, the next party.