“No, it’s too localized, and not everyone I work with is a magic user or even a mage.”
Takoma urged Spencer out of the office, leading him back down to the first floor, where none of his vampires acknowledged the bite mark, but Wade did. The fledgling had finished his chips and had uncovered a bag of Alyona’s pastila that no one had told him he couldn’t eat. He was in the midst of chewing when he looked up, caught sight of Spencer, and promptly coughed out a mouthful of crumbs.
“Gross,” he protested, his face going through ten different expressions in the span of a few seconds. “Did you really go upstairs and let him maul your throat?”
“Not your business,” Spencer retorted, appearing pained by Wade’s outburst but not embarrassed.
Wade wrinkled his nose, gaze dropping to Spencer’s crotch. “Some business.”
Takoma smirked at the fledgling, amused at the way Wade narrowed his eyes and went to stand by Spencer. “You weren’t invited to Alyona’s kitchen.”
“None of your vampires stopped me.” Wade shoved another pastila into his mouth, chewing obnoxiously. “Tell me Spencer convinced you to talk to the god pack.”
“Within reason.”
Wade side-eyed Spencer and opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Spencer held up a finger in front of his face. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it. We’re taking Takoma to the god pack.”
“Uh, you have a pre-dawn raid to look forward to in the morning. I think you need to go home and sleep for that,” Wade said.
Fatima vocalized a chirp that had Spencer rolling his eyes. “It’s not a raid. It’s executing a search warrant, and I’ll be fine.”
“You’re useless to me if you aren’t at your best. One of mine will escort you home so you can sleep. They’ll leave you with Stasya’s number for contact during the day,” Takoma said.
“What? No!”
Takoma merely raised an eyebrow in the face of Spencer’s affronted look. “This isn’t open for discussion.”
It wasn’t, and he remained steadfast in that decision despite Spencer’s continued protest. Eventually, the fact that Wade seemed on board with the plan had Spencer finally giving up.
“Someone better let me know what’s been agreed to before I start work tomorrow,” Spencer said as Fatima all but herded him toward the front door.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call you,” Wade promised, pastilas all eaten and the plastic bag handed off to Haitao like he was a servant. Haitao looked like he wanted to bite Wade for the insult, but Wade’s teeth appeared sharper when he grinned at the vampire.
Masha led Spencer to one of the cars parked out front, with strict instructions from Takoma to stop nowhere along the way to the mage’s condo. Spencer looked back over his shoulder only once, a worried frown on his face. He needed sleep and a clear head for tomorrow because Takoma knew Adler wouldn’t appreciate the visit at all.
Wade stepped onto the porch to stand beside Takoma, eyes on his phone rather than the street as he texted rapidly. “You know, it won’t just be Patrick you’ll have to deal with if Spencer gets hurt by you.”
“Do you count yourself in that effort?” Takoma asked.
Wade looked up from his phone, the brown in his eyes gone, replaced by molten gold and black reptilian pupils, fiery red scales scattered up toward his temple. It was rare Takoma felt like prey, but he did just then, even if he didn’t let anyone see. “I like Spencer, and I’d steal Fatima from him if she’d let me. Given half the chance, I’d eat you to save him the grief I’m sure you’ll cause him, but Jono already said I couldn’t. So. Be nice, and you’ll never know what it’s like to be a midnight snack for me.”
Haitao let out a wordless hiss that had Takoma raising a hand, silently ordering the other vampire to stay where he was. As threats went, it was laughable if one didn’t know that the human body Wade stood on the porch in wasn’t his true form, just a favored one. “What did Mallory and Anil say?”
Wade blinked at him, eyes reverting back to brown and dragon scales fading back into tanned skin. “Neutral ground. They suggested the gardens around the Space Needle in an hour.”
“It’ll be closed by then.”
“Like I bet that’s ever stopped you before. Let’s go. Spencer isn’t the only one who needs to sleep tonight.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
The convoyof black SUVs and cargo vans drove silently through the Denny-Blaine neighborhood in the pre-dawn hour, where the only light came from streetlamps and headlights. Spencer’s eyes burned from lack of sleep, but at least he wasn’t the one driving. That was Levi’s job, the other agent still having a pinched look around his eyes from his time being possessed.
The search warrant had been issued with limited parameters, but it was enough to get them through the door, and that was all Spencer cared about. Spencer was there to ensure everyone’s souls remained safe. His presence would ultimately kill his cover as a human servant and reveal his ties to the SOA, but Maricela had decided that was worth giving it up if it kept agents alive and safe. Spencer couldn’t say he disagreed.
All of that meant he showed up in front of the property gate with an agency windbreaker on, smiling in the face of Bradley’s anger as Levi handed over the search warrant and demanded the Cascade Coven draw down their wards.
Bradley focused his fury on Spencer and not anyone else as the hunter snatched the warrant from Levi’s hand. “So you’re playing all sides, aren’t you?”
