I slipped the paper into my pocket. “What about the medallion? Who has that?”
Abraham frowned, then shrugged. “I don’t know.” He looked at Regge, who shook his head and scowled at Julian.
“I was busy dying, remember? When I woke up, I didn’t spend a lot of time searching around for things. It must still be in the hotel if none of you picked it up.” Julian’s gruff voice sounded as tired as I felt.
Abraham sighed. “Probably not the sort of thing to be just lying around. I’ll have the guys keep an eye out for it. Everyone be careful. Regge’s been there before, but I’m giving Julian my phone if there’s a question. Hunter, you okay to back up Regge on this?” His brown eyes flashed their fiery amber glint, but I knew it was concern, not anger.
“Sure.” I nodded, avoiding Regge’s gaze.
Pery slid off the barstool. “I’ll get the car. Skylar will meet us there.”
My gaze slid to Regge. Dressed in his work outfit of white shirt, black pants, and black Vans, he’d added a gray zipped hoodie. On the stool next to him was a small backpack. He noticed me looking. “Hunter, can we talk?”
No. I didn’t want to talk, because it would hurt. Whatever Regge had to say it would hurt, and I’d had enough pain for a good long while. He sucked in a deep breath, waiting.
I clenched my fists at my sides. Mostly to avoid straightening the hoodie slouching off his shoulder. “We should just get this done.” I moved past him.
“Take care!” Julian blurted out, looking surprised that he’d said it. “Sorry, Nigel says be careful.”
The outburst broke the awkward tension. I relaxed as we headed out to where Pery waited. I drove. He rode shotgun. Regge’s silence in the back seat was brooding and loud. I concentrated on getting us there in one piece.
The code got us into the parking garage, and I parked in a guest space. Skylar, dressed in skintight jeans, long boots and a bulky sweater, was waiting for us. About the same height as Pery, she had darker skin than his, lighter eyes—an unnerving gray. Tucking a strand of highlighted hair behind her ear, she smiled and fell into step with us. We took the stairs to the main lobby, ducking behind a freestanding wall near the elevators. Right here, we were out of sight of the security desk and the two burly guys standing next to it. Pery fidgeted beside us.
“The lifts need a key card.” Regge frowned. “Eskridge gave us half the information, great.”
“You think this is a trap?” Pery’s tone pitched high with tension.
“No.” Somehow I trusted Julian. “The guy’s been through it. He probably just forgot. Pery, we need a distraction, can you…?”
Pery gave me a feral smile and sauntered away.
Regge grumbled. “Julian’s flat is on the sixteenth floor. Don’t tell me we’re walking.” His lowered octave gave me shivers. I remembered that tone. The breath against my neck, his body pressed against mine.
My nails creased my palm. “Okay, I won’t tell you.” I headed for the stairwell door.
With an outlay of breath, he grabbed me, jerking both of us out of sight. The stairwell door opened, and two men emerged, moving toward the lobby. Regge’s body covered mine, pushing me against the wall. And he smelled good. So good it took me a minute before I could protest. He moved away, following the men.
I watched as he whipped a baseball cap out of his hoodie pocket, pulled it low over his head, and jogged toward the men. He jostled one and called out an apology as he hurried by to disappear around the corner. I lost sight of them in the jungle of leafy decor and couches in the lobby. Then I heard them chatting with the security guard.
A short whistle had me turning to find Regge at the elevator, a grin on his face and a stolen key card in his hand. Oh yeah, pickpocket in his past life. That’s why we needed him. We rode up to Julian’s floor, game faces on. My phone vibrated with a text.
“Pery says coast is clear.”
Julian’s place was around a corner from the elevator. We stopped in front of the numbered door I’d seen in my vision the night we met him. Regge punched in the code. The door unlocked with a whirring click. “He uses the same code as the parking garage? That’s not smart.”
“Let’s just get in and find what we need.” I pushed Regge gently into the foyer. “Wow. Fancy.” The place was sleek, modern, and spare. White leather in the living room, black marble in the kitchen, a couple of large abstract paintings. I approached a long credenza and slid a panel aside to reveal an impressive vinyl collection. Mostly jazz. “He’s going to miss these.”
“Yeah. The guy knows how to live.” Regge moved through, checking the bedroom. The bathroom. “Okay, we’re clear.”
“How is it that you’ve been here again?”
“Abraham and I came to retrieve the necromancer. Julian had taken him.”
“You mean me?”
Regge looked at me, regret in his expression. “No. No, you were safe back at my flat. But Julian had the necromancer’s body. We needed it so…”
“So he could return to his own body. Right.” I sighed. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” After a few seconds of silence from Regge, I waved my hand. “Never mind. Let’s get on with it.” I put some space between us.
