“You’ll need to attend a gathering tomorrow night. The applicant’s will all be there, including the one who may have placed the hex. I want you there in case you see something we don’t.”
Guess we were through talking about this subject.
I was glad I had a reason to duck out of his plans.
“Can’t. I have to meet with a source tomorrow.”
“Where?”
I saw no harm in telling him. “There’s a gala at the art museum. My source is meeting me there.”
The corner of his lips lifted in a partial smile. “I can’t imagine you at a gala.”
I shrugged. Neither could I to tell you the truth.
“Do you have a dress?”
I froze. Shit. How could I have forgotten about that? I knew without even having to check that there was nothing appropriate in my closet. Mostly my clothes consisted of jeans and gear suitable for riding a bike for hours on end. Nothing that could be worn to rub elbows with whoever was attending this thing.
My face must have shown some of my consternation because Liam gave a warm chuckle. I glared at him, still pissed about the unwarranted marking. Like I was property or something. I’d find a way to get this thing off. It might take me a minute, but there was a way. I just had to find it.
“As fun as this has been, I think it’s time for me to head home,” I said. It was pretty late. Dawn was only a couple hours off, and I still had to bike home.
Speaking of bike, I took a look in the back. No bike.
“I don’t suppose you’d take me back to Lou’s,” I asked.
“No.”
“You left my bike there.”
“How do you expect to go to a gala on a bike?”
Fair question. One he didn’t need the answer to.
“How do you expect me to get anything done if you leave my bike where it can get stolen?” I returned.
“The wolves won’t let anybody steal it,” Nathan said. “The ‘look away’ will keep any humans from seeing it and spooks won’t have any use for a bike, except maybe as decoration.”
“We’ll drop you off at your place and then Nathan can go retrieve the bike for you,” Liam said, forestalling the argument he could see brewing.
It would have to do.
I gave a nod. The car took a left turn. We weren’t that far from my apartment, confirming my belief that Liam had anticipated this ending all along.
I’d have to be more careful in my dealings with him from now on. He was a manipulative, sneaky bastard used to getting what he wanted. It meant I’d have to step twice as quickly if I had any hope of staying ahead of him.
Chapter Eleven
Home was exactly as I left it. I had only been gone a few hours, but it felt like days. Leaving my keys and messenger bag on the table, I headed for the book I’d been tricked into taking from the bookstore.
It didn’t have any relevant information on vampires in it, but maybe it had a section on demon taint and what exactly that meant.
The book had moved again. This time it was on the coffee table instead of in my bedroom where I had left it.
I flipped through the pages, reading some of the entries before passing over them. It took longer than expected to find something as the topics weren’t in alphabetical order, but finally I came across a section titled “Bargains with Daemons.”
I read further.
