I’d like some hard things right now.
That very Aniyah thought slipped through my mind, and I almost laughed out loud. Instead, I pressed a kiss under his jaw, squeezing my thighs together when I felt the small, involuntary groan rumble out of him.Focus, Nova. Boss work. Not mate work.
Even though mate work soundedwaybetter.
My wolf howled her agreement in the back of my mind, but my damn Desmond pride shoved everything else aside. I tapped his arm, and he let me go even though neither of us wanted that.
With the heat in my chest cooled, I faced the map again. The cave guy’s words replayed in my head.Lakeandbank.I’d assumed he meant the bank of a lake, which made perfect sense for someone running a hidden operation or a lab. Easy accessto water meant free power. A homemade hydro set-up wasn’t exactly rocket science.
I’d already sent teams to comb through every possible spot, but all of them had come back empty.
Which meant I was missing something. I needed a new angle. A different interpretation.
If he isn’t drawing power from water, then what the hell is he using?
I yanked out my phone and punched in Gil’s number. If my brother wanted to pretend his little pet techie wasmyIT guy, then fine—I’d use him like one.
As soon as the phone clicked over, I said, “Gil, it’s Nova.”
A crash echoed on the other end, metal hitting tile, a yelp, then the muffled scrape of someone scrambling to grab their phone. When he finally spoke, his voice wobbled. “Y-yes, Boss Rossey?”
“I need you to hack into the power company and check for any spikes. Anyone pulling more energy than usual, I need that information now.”
A breath, followed by a dry swallow I could practically hear. “Um… I—I don’t know?—”
“That’s the wrong answer, Gilly.” My jaw locked, every word sliding out like a warning. A familiar tingling pricked my fingertips, claws itching to break the surface and remind him what failure cost around here. “I’m calling back in ten minutes. I expect answers.”
I hung up and slammed the phone onto the table. A crack split the silence. I winced.Great. I broke another one!
“So, you don’t think he’s near a lake anymore?” Conrad asked.
My eyes drifted back to the shimmering map. “I’m not ruling it out. I’m just not betting everything on it. The only thing I know is that he needs power. A hydroelectric source makes the most sense, especially when you put it with ‘lake’ and ‘bank,’ but we’ve got nothing to show for it, so I’m widening the search.”
I tapped a button on the side of the table. The terrain dissolved, replaced by a holographic layout of the city. Another tap, and patches of red flared across the display.
“If they’re hiding in plain sight,” I said, pointing at the glowing sectors, “these are the areas my men patrol the most. Easy to blend in. Easy to disappear.”
I dropped into a chair, lacing my fingers together before I broke something else. “If they’re in the city, it’s a smaller crew. Easier movement. I’m betting he’s got a mage—probably an air mage—handling transport for the captured supes. Quiet. Efficient. Off my radar.”
Zeth stepped beside me and hit another switch. A constellation of green dots blinked to life. “Our properties,” he said. “You can eliminate those.”
Conrad leaned forward, studying the map like it had insulted him. “Underground,” he muttered. “If I wanted to keep something from you, that’s where I’d put it.” His chair scraped as he rose, arms folded as he paced. “And with an air mage, they could dig silently and filter debris right into the wind. You’d never see it.”
I nodded and fired off a message to my men.Sewer scans. Full sweep. Anything weird, notify me immediately.
“We’ll have a map of the underground system in twenty minutes.”
I’d barely set my phone back down when Gil’s name flashed across the screen. I hit the speaker and dropped my voice into something that left no room for hesitation.
“Talk.”
“U-um… s-so—” Gil’s voice trembled like it was trying to escape his throat. “I c-cross-referenced l-last year’s usage with th-this year’s, and there’s a… a pretty big jump at the c-city’s hydropower plant.”
Deslen turned from the window at the same time all three of us snapped our attention toward the map. My fingers flew across the controls, zooming in on the section he mentioned. The hydropower plant sat right on the outskirts of town, hugging our biggest lake.
My heart stuttered against my ribs, adrenaline humming through me. “What buildings are around it?” The question came out sharp, but the edge was pure anticipation.
Rapid, panicked taps sounded through the speaker. The room held its breath, every one of us leaning forward as if we could somehow will him to go faster.
