Page 33 of Curse of Ancients

“According to this he did, and now you do. I’m going to move it to several different accounts I use that are untraceable, then we’ll transfer it to your account a little at a time.”

“I have several investment accounts you can transfer some of it to, plus I’d like to set up a trust fund for Juni.”

“That’s right. You work for Goldmeier Financial Group.”

“Worked. When Gemi instructed me to get a bodyguard, I resigned from the company since I had no idea what my future looked like.”

“What reason did you give?”

“That I had a family emergency that would take me out of the country for the foreseeable future.”

“How did they take it? I mean, you’ve been there quite a while.”

Bayu turned Carleigh’s chair and placed his hands on the arms, putting his face close to hers. “And you know this how?”

Carleigh smirked. “As soon as Grace told me your name, I began digging. Granted, I didn’t get very far once Harlow noticed you at the safehouse. Before then, I only had a name and a brief description to go by. Once she pointed you out on the monitor, I began panicking.”

“Why would you panic?”

Carleigh traced a fingertip down Bayu’s jaw. “Because I had found the final piece of my puzzle.”

The computer dinged, interrupting their sweet moment. Bayu pushed off the chair, and Carleigh turned to see what the alert was. Before she finished reading, Julian entered the room. “What is it?”

“A list of names.”

“May I drive?” Carleigh stood so her dad could sit down. His fingers were as nimble as ever flying over the keyboard. “The member names from the Council of Shen resulted in no hits, so I thought they might be coded. I ran a program that came up with all variations using the letters in all the names. It populated thousands, so I ran another program looking for only those who live or lived in Europe and Asia. It is sorted by those still alive and their ages. That narrowed it down to ninety-seven, but of those still alive, only twenty are older than Bayu.”

Bayu stepped forward and scanned the names. “It cannot be,” he whispered.

Carleigh gripped her mate’s wrist. “What’s wrong?”

Bayu pointed at the screen. “Hideki Sato is my grandfather.”

Chapter 13

Bayu stood motionless, waiting on Julian to bring up more information on the man with his grandfather’s name. Was this a coincidence, or had his grandfather known about the Nuhuala? Bayu had so many questions, but if this was his mother’s father, getting answers might be easier than Bayu thought.

“When was the last time you spoke to him?” Carleigh asked.

“I have never met him that I can recall. From what my mother told me, she met my father in Japan, then they moved to Anjailang Island and never visited her parents since it wasn’t safe.”

“This is interesting. Of the twenty listed, nine are roughly the same age, and they all live close to one another. Close being relative, as in they’re not spread out across the world.”

“And there are nine names in the journal.” Bayu vibrated with excitement. “Is there a phone number for him?”

“No. Nor is there one for any of the other eight, which is odd. Who doesn’t have a phone? And none have an online presence.”

“Excuse me,” Silas interrupted, with Tabitha and Major behind him. “Bayu, your phone was ringing.” Silas handed the burner to him.

“Thank you.” Bayu tapped the screen, but the number was listed as unknown, and there wasn’t a voice message. It rang again, and Bayu hesitated to answer it, but if it were Gemi… Bayu put it on speaker. “Hello? Hello?” No one spoke, and there was static on the other end. The phone vibrated in his hand, getting hot. Bayu dropped it, and Carleigh stomped the device until it was in tiny pieces.

“Are you okay?” Carleigh reached for his hand. “Why did you drop it?”

“I’m fine.” Bayu let her see he was unharmed. “The phone was heating up. That was odd, wasn’t it?”

“Definitely, and I think the mages are getting desperate. They didn’t find you at the safe house, and now they are coming at you in different, scary ways.”

Carleigh’s phone buzzed, and Bayu worried the Black Lotus had gotten her number somehow, but she said, “It’s a text from Harlow.” She tapped the screen. “Dad, bring up the feed for safehouse sixteen.”