Deven freaked out nonetheless. He quickly took a first aid kit out of his pocket to start cleaning the wound.
“Okay, now it hurts,” Karissa hissed as the antiseptic hit.
“What the hell was that thing?” Deven asked as he worked. “How was he able to disappear like that? And why didn’t you stop him?”
“Don’t know. Don’t know. And I couldn’t,” she admitted before giving her brother a complete rundown on her fight with the man. “All I can say for sure is that he knows I’m a Paladin, and that he carries weapons very similar to mine. There’s also the fact that I’m damn lucky to be alive.”
That answer seemed to hit her brother hard, and he didn’t say anything for a little while as he put the first aid stuff back in its bag. “What are we going to do?”
“We need to find out who that guy is and how to stop him,” Karissa said, tugging her blouse back down, her mind already turning to how she could find answers to those questions. One particular solution immediately popped into her head, even though she didn’t like it.
“I’ll update Mom and Dad with everything you told me about this guy, but I’m not holding out much hope,” Deven said. “It’s not like they have many sources when it comes to supernaturals.”
“I might have an idea where I could get theinformation we’re after,” she said, wondering if she could really do this. “I don’t like it, but I don’t see any other option.”
Her brother looked at her curiously. “Okay, that sounds suitably mysterious. You want me to come with you?”
Karissa shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I think this is one I’m going to need to handle on my own.”
Chapter 8
Karissa was disappointed when she couldn’t find Hale at his apartment, but instead of waiting for him to come home, she got back in her car and headed for her hotel. She’d try again in the morning, and if that didn’t work, she’d go see him at the SWAT compound. Either way, she was done for the night and more than ready for bed.
She was so wrapped up in thoughts of the supernatural she’d fought less than an hour ago that she didn’t see Hale waiting for her outside her room until she was practically on top of him. His dark-blond hair was shorter than it had been in high school, and it looked like his nose had been broken badly at some point, but that certainly wasn’t the biggest change he’d gone through since she’d seen him last.
“Wow. You’re really tall,” she thought to herself only to realize a moment later that she’d actually said it out loud when Hale lifted a brow and gave her a questioning look. “How did you know I was staying here?” she asked quickly, deciding to act like that previous line hadn’t just come out of her mouth. “Are you stalking me or something?”
“This coming from the woman who showed up at my apartment this morning and then followed me to the police station.” Hale snorted. “But no, I’m not stalking you. We need to talk, and as a cop, it wasn’t that difficult for me to figure out which hotel you were staying at.”
The thought that Hale had been looking for her made her feel warm all over, even though she was irked he’d spotted her at the police station.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, quite proud at how casual the question sounded.
Hale didn’t say anything, his crystal-clear blue gaze focused on her midriff and the tear in her blouse that was completely covered by the bolero jacket. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he knew she’d gotten injured earlier.
“I thought maybe we could talk in your room,” Hale said, his gaze lingering for a bit longer on her jacket before he lifted it to meet hers. “Unless you really want to discuss your supernatural abilities out here in the hallway.”
Karissa had known this conversation would happen at some point. They were both hiding secrets, and the other one knew it. But that didn’t keep a knot of worry from developing in her stomach. Up until now, the only people who knew about her abilities were her family. That was all about to change.
“Yeah, I guess we should take this inside.”
Taking out her key card, she unlocked her door, then led the way into her suite.
“I’m going to change clothes,” she said. “The fridge is stocked if you want something to eat or drink.”
Not looking to see if he took her up on the offer, Karissa walked into the bedroom and shut the door, then quickly changed into the pajama pants and T-shirt she always slept in. It was more about making sure Hale didn’t catch a glimpse of the rip in her blouse than the desire to be more comfortable, although the PJs were definitely that. For some reason, she didn’t like the idea of coming across as weak or incapable in front of him.
“That is completely stupid,” Karissa whispered to herself as she paused at the door for a second to settle her nerves. “Why do I care what he thinks about me?”
She found Hale standing over by the living room’s small desk, looking at the file she had on Dominic Patterson, his son, and his company.
“Nosy much?” Karissa commented as she walked into the small kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a bottle of Powerade. The moment might call for something alcoholic, but it was late, and she was already dehydrated from the fight with that supernatural tonight. Since Hale hadn’t helped himself to her stash, she pulled out another bottle for him.
“Sorry,” he said, not looking sorry at all as heopened the sports drink. “But the file was lying open on your desk, and I couldn’t help but be curious.”
Her first instinct was to berate him for snooping in her stuff, but she curtailed the urge, remembering why she’d gone looking for Hale tonight in the first place. If she expected him to help her figure out what kind of supernatural the hit man was, she couldn’t start the conversation by yelling at him.
“Even if I really want to,” she murmured.
