I breathed through my mouth, trying to still the flip-flopping of my stomach. I needed to seriously cut that out. “Oh yeah?”
“A gentleman. Very influential, I can tell. He seems important.” Smokey puffed up. “He asked me to watch over you and inform him if you are ever in any danger. He gave me his card.” Smokey patted his pocket. “But I’ll burn it if you want me to. Like I said, my loyalty is to you. Not to him.”
I smiled to myself and glanced away to hide my pleasure. Darius didn’t need Smokey’s help—he had a horde of people who could do the job better. Darius had approached Smokey for me. He knew that, even though it was strictly forbidden to bring non-essential humans into the fold, I threw a bone to ol’ Smokey now and again where it concerned the supernatural. Clearly he had spotted Smokey watching over my house and, knowing his importance to me, decided to make the old man’s night.
“You might as well,” I said, not able to stop the smile bleeding through my expression. “Just in case the house falls down and I get trapped under a beam, or something.”
Smokey nodded and patted his pocket again. “That’s what I was thinking. It’s probably good to have backup in case something comes around you can’t handle.” His expression crumpled again; his thoughts had definitely shifted to thataswang.
“Okay. I’m going to head in. Thanks for your help.” I thought about patting him, then thought better of it. He was still oozing creepy, after all. There had to be a reason for that.
I let myself into my house. Fresh flowers greeted me from a vase by the door. The living room light was on, and sitting in the couch, reading one of the books he hated but couldn’t stop reading, was none other than Darius.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Hi,” I said, suddenly out of breath.
He closed the book and stood. “Wretched book. Wretched series. I don’t know why I keep picking it up.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, dropping my keys into the bowl.
He put the book back and surveyed me. “I wanted to see you. Also, I have something for you that I wanted to deliver in person.” An air of menace crowded the room. “How was your date?”
“It wasn’t a date. And it ended early.”
He glanced at the clock.
“I had a few other things to do in town.”
He nodded, analyzing me for a moment. “You are stunning, Reagan. Your effulgence steals the breath from my lungs.”
I exhaled with a smile. The man was too suave for his own good. Knowing what three-syllable word to say in times like this was his superpower.
“Want something to drink?” I asked.
“A cognac. Shall I get it?”
“Well, since you offered, I don’t mind if you do.” I lowered onto the comfortable couch.
His lips tweaked into a grin and he zipped into the kitchen. No time later he was back, handing me a glass of wine and sitting down with a snifter.
“First.” Darius reached to the side and picked up a large, thick binder. He handed it over. “For you.”
I scowled at it, because that was what I did when I saw something that resembled schoolwork, and opened it. A picture of a warehouse amid empty fields and a parking lot greeted me. Turning the pages, I saw a lot of documents that looked confusing.
“Uh-huh.” I closed the binder. “And what’s this?”
“Your new warehouse. You need someplace out of the way to practice. It has ample space and is removed from the next property. It should work.”
I felt my eyes widen as I opened it again. “Mine?”
“Of course. Your name is on the deed. Your false name, of course. We can sell it to your various identities as we need to create them. But it is yours. You will also need a car. I nearly bought one, but know that your neighborhood has particular idiosyncrasies.”
Basically, he thought it would get stolen. “Thanks, but I can buy a car.”
“Choose whichever one you would like and inform Mr. LaRay. He’ll take care of the paperwork.”
“I can buy my own car, is what I meant.”
