Time Spell (18 page)

“Open it. We already know who it’s from,” I urged him as he broke the envelope’s seal.

Dear Ivy and Jack,

Welcome to beautiful Las Vegas. I could not be more thrilled you have decided to join me and comply with my requests. Rest, drink up, I’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Inside the basket was an oversized bottle of champagne, a box of chocolates, a decadent display of cheeses and crackers, a jar of caviar, a tin of roasted oysters, and two fluted champagne glasses.

If it were not for the evil-tainted note attached to the devil’s gift, I probably would have broken into the basket, starting with the chocolate. I rested my hand on my stomach as it started to growl.

“Ok, we do need food, but we’re not eating any of this. Agreed?” I asked.

Jack nodded, tossed the note into the basket, and we headed to the foyer. “Let’s eat in the restaurant downstairs, and we can work on our next strategy.”

After delivering our plates and topping off our water glasses, Darren, our inattentive waiter, hid near the waiter’s station and fingered through his night’s tips. My eyes danced back and forth, scanning the restaurant entrance.

“Ivy, I don’t think this is the best place to talk. You’re obviously distracted by the people here and the service really isn’t that great.” Jack pushed the cubed sweet potatoes around under his half-eaten steak and waited for me to acquiesce, before he turned to hunt down Darren.

“Sorry, I just can’t help but think that everyone who comes through the door might be the Proxy. Somehow, if I can focus enough, I’ll know who it is, and we can end this nightmare.” It didn’t matter that I knew the Proxy wasn’t going to reveal himself in front of all the Starlight guests. I was in the middle of a tense situation, and I felt a little less rational than usual.

“I know, but this is no way to have dinner. I know you don’t do your best thinking when you’re stressed. Let’s go back to the room, get out the charts, and get back to work. We can order some room service.” He tossed a $50 bill on the table and put his napkin in the chair.

He was right. I was never able to write or edit with a deadline hanging over my head. It stifled my creativity and blocked any chance I had of adding even one tiny word to a page.

I glanced at him. “Ok, that’s a better plan than me giving every poor Oklahoma tourist in here the evil eye.” I giggled and thought I saw a faint smile form on Jack’s face. I ditched my plate of salad greens and grilled chicken, and grabbed my bag.

We left the constant sounds of the casino slot machines and the shrill screams of jackpot winners and rode twenty floors to the penthouse. The former Chadsworth residence was still and quiet. Holding a chilled glass of vodka and whatever mixer was in the bar, I stood in front of the windows and peered into the Las Vegas night. The weight of tomorrow was bearing down on my soul. How did I end up here? How did I let the
Time Spell
endanger so many people?

I sighed and thought about Finn back home, watching my parents, trying to play it cool with Ian, and probably dodging a million questions at work from my inquisitive brother. Luckily for Finn, being cool was his natural state. Years of trying to hold on to him had taught me how cool he could be when necessary. And now Jack—for the past two years, I had imagined every scenario of us spending time together and getting closer, but never did those dreams include being lured into the evil web of a Proxy.

I could feel Jack’s stare needling my neck. Before turning around, I resolved to channel my inner Scarlett for charm, my inner Buffy for bad-ass-ness, and my inner Samantha for the best witchy can-do attitude. I was going to need the best of all three if I was going to make it through the next few days. I was solely responsible for this situation, and I had to be the one to make things right.

I painted on a smile and faced Jack. “All right, let’s get to work! Didn’t you say you were going to call room service for us? I’ll take the biggest chocolate dessert on the menu.” I pulled out the chart again and planted myself on the couch.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.” I could feel the energy in the suite transforming as Jack ordered our big dessert buffet with a smile. “Yeah, that’s right. A large double chocolate decadence and a vanilla cheesecake with raspberries. Make that extra raspberries.” He shoved the room service menu back in the drawer. “They said twenty minutes. If it’s ok with you, I thought I’d go ahead and jump in the shower before they get here. I need to wake up. I think a shower might help. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and it’s already midnight on the East Coast.”

“Oh yeah, good idea. I’ll keep working on the chart.”

I focused on the legal pad and pretended to jot down a few words. The thought of Jack undressing and stepping into a steamy stream of water only a few feet away was more than enough to distract me from my earlier state of rising despair.

He turned the shower nozzle and I heard the trickling water.
Ok, Ivy, think about something other than a naked, wet Jack on the other side of the door.
I reached for the stereo remote and flipped through the satellite channels on the radio. Funny, Prince’s
Diamonds and Pearls
blared through the speakers. I hummed a few lines and sipped on my vodka concoction. I hit the up arrow again, and Rihanna’s voice filled the suite with
Diamonds
.
Last chance
, I thought, and I hit the scan button and The Beatles started singing
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
. Now I knew the universe was trying to tell me something. I leaned in a little closer to the speaker while the song played out, and I scribbled down the names of all three songs and some of the lyrics on the paper. I mumbled the Beatles’ lyrics. Why hadn’t I thought about this earlier?

“Jack. Jack.” I raced to the hall bathroom and pounded on the door. “Jack, I think I might know something about the diamonds.”

He cracked the door, and a whoosh of steam funneled into the hallway. Jack peeked around the corner with a tight grip on the door handle. Water rolled down his chest and arms. It dripped from his dark brown hair. He securely wrapped a towel around his waist and tucked the corner near his hipbone. My eyes were stuck on repeat, tracing his toned and muscular chest down to the slight shadows of his ab muscles.

“I, um…was just going to tell you…” I started wishing for Holly’s memory spell so I could erase my stammering from his mind.

“What’s up?” He waited while I tried to form a coherent sentence.

There was a light knock on the foyer door, and I left a dripping wet Jack in the doorway. I sprinted toward the room service valet with our cart of coffee and desserts.

“Ivy?”

Jack stood as I wheeled the cart into the center of the living room and unveiled our sweet treats. I poured two cups of coffee and sat one cup on the edge of the cart while I dumped cream and sugar into mine. Jack walked toward the cart, shaking another towel against his head to dry his hair. He wasn’t making this any easier for me.

“I was jotting down a few things and I realized we have completely missed the obvious.” I took a sip from the porcelain mug and tried to avoid eye contact with his ridiculously hot body.

“The obvious? What is it?”

“The diamonds. The real VonRue diamonds were never found. At least, when I did all of the research on Simone and Helen, I never found anything about them. The diamonds weren’t reported in the plane crash and nothing was ever written about Simone and the diamonds after her death. Aren’t diamonds marked somehow?”

He threw the extra towel on the couch and reached for the cup I had poured for him. “I think so. They have some kind of microscopic label on them.” He was obviously confident his towel tuck was going to hold as he used both hands to bring the cup to his lips. Secretly, I was hoping it would slip just a little.

“So if the diamonds had been found by one of the agencies investigating Helen’s plane crash or even Simone’s death, someone would have had the diamonds checked and they would have been identified as the VonRue diamonds. Everyone would have known then that the collection was mostly a fraud. That never happened since I’m the one who called and alerted the Dallas Museum of Art. I saw Helen with the diamonds hours before her plane crash. It seems unlikely she would have had time to do something with them in that amount of time. They should have been on the plane with her.” I waited for Jack to process my new hypotheses. “I think the Proxy knows Helen and Simone’s diamonds are out there somewhere, and they need me to find them for them.”

“But how are you going to do that? That’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. All of those events were forty-five years ago. There is no telling where the diamonds are now.” Jack still didn’t grasp what I was capable of doing.

“I can find the diamonds just like I found Helen and Holden. I’m going to
Time Spell
.” I felt a sudden sense of confidence that maybe I could stay a step ahead of this Proxy. I picked up Jack’s spare towel and threw it at him. “Are you going to get dressed? We’ve got a lot of work to do here.”

He grabbed the towel in the air before it made contact with his glistening body. “Oh yeah, be right back. Don’t eat my cheesecake.”

I sat on the floor, using the coffee table as my desk when Jack walked back in wearing jeans, no shoes, and a half-buttoned white shirt. That was definitely my new favorite look on him. “Did I miss any new revelations?”

“No, I’m just mapping out the
Time Spell
for tomorrow. I have to follow Helen from Simone’s suite to the airplane. It’s probably only about thirty minutes worth of time, but somewhere in that stretch I’ll know what happened to Helen’s half of the diamonds. I just wish I knew when the Proxy was going to get in touch with us tomorrow, but I can’t worry about it. I have to do the
Time Spell
in the morning. I think as long as I arrive at Simone’s suite by 10 a.m., I should be able to follow Helen.”

“So, you can just go back and watch the whole thing happen again?” He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Yes, I can go back as many times as I need to as long as I don’t reveal myself to anyone. Once I do that, I can’t go back to that time again. It sort of seals it off.” I drew out a rough map of the Diamond Towers and the Starlight. “That’s one of the reasons I stay hidden. It keeps me from interfering with history, but it also makes sure I never close the door to the past.”

“Have you ever wanted to, though? Have you ever revealed yourself?” He sat on the couch.

Sometimes I thought Jack would have made an excellent reporter instead of an editor. He always had so many questions for me. “Yes. All the time. But the bigger picture is much more important.”

“But why not reveal yourself now? You could go back to 1968 and confront Helen. Tell her you know she’s a Proxy. Barter your safety in exchange for saving her life and warn her about the plane crash.”

I wished everything was that easy. “I can’t do that. Do you have any idea what kind of effect it could have on history? Think of all of the people involved with the plane crash and everything that happened because of it. Something far worse might happen if I warn her. I can’t take that chance. I’m not trying to change history even if it means putting a stop to this Proxy.”

Jack seemed to accept my directive. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about all of the ramifications of changing one event. I get it. So, how can I help you? I want to do something tomorrow to help with your
Time Spell
.” He shoveled cheesecake onto his fork, looking at me intently.

The only person I had ever shared my
Time Spell
with was Finn. I thought back to the long weekend trip we took to Savannah. Finn had convinced me at the last minute to throw a bikini, some flip-flops, and a couple of tank tops in a bag and hit the road with him. He had already asked Holly to watch Cooper. He stood on the curb in front of my little cottage, grinning from ear to ear, while the engine of his car purred in anticipation for my answer. It didn’t take much for Finn to convince me to do anything.

The highway stretched for miles, but we didn’t care that we had a six-hour drive ahead of us. The trunk was packed with our two bags and a small cooler of wine. We argued over what radio stations to listen to while we dared each other to fess up in our “have you ever” game.

“Oh, come on, babe, you’ve never done a
Charm Spell
to get a date? Seriously?” He had one hand on the wheel and the other sneaking up my thigh. We had put three hours of southern roads behind us.

“Seriously. Why would I do that? Is that what you did with me the first night we met at the charity ball? Did you put me in a trance?” I smiled at him, but there was a slight pit in my stomach at the thought of Finn using magic on me to lure me up to the rooftop, especially since he already knew I was a witch.

Instead of answering, he winked, blasted the radio, and returned his hand, but to a little higher position. I couldn’t stay angry with him. I sang along with his terrible eighties rock song and leaned back with the wind rushing through my hair.