“Shae?” Lem crossed to her, anxiety creasing his brow. “What isit?”
“Nothing.” Before he started with the questions, she asked the one thing guaranteed to stop them. “Did you findher?”
A tinge of pity flashed in his eyes. “She doesn’t want to be found, Shae. If she did, wouldn’t she have contactedyou?”
Despite hearing her own thoughts from Lem’s lips, pain still seeped into her. To be responsible for driving her own mother away, perhaps she deserved to be abandoned andalone.
“It doesn’t matter, I want her found. Then she can tell me to my face that she hates me instead of leaving you to do her dirty work—how could she?” she cried, unable to hide her bitterness. “Nineyears after Dad died,nowshe—” Shae pulled in a deep breath and turned away before he could reach for her. She didn’t want comfort, didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t haveyelled.”
“It’s all right.” He awkwardly patted her back. “You are her child, you’re distraught at her sudden departure from yourlife.”
A child? Harsh laughter escaped her. Right. One she could no longer stand to look at. There was nothing else to be said, was there? Her mother hated her for sending her father to hisdeath.
“Shae, your mother was quite distressed at what happened the night before sheleft.”
“What?” She spun around to him, feeling as if an iron fist squeezed her chest. “Mom left because of the accident?” And not because her father had been mugged and killed when he stopped to buy her icecream?
He nodded. “I didn’t want to tell you, but seeing you hurting this way… That evening your laptop exploded, with glass splintering everywhere”—his gaze settled on the scar on her face—“and she hit the wall across the room, it terrifiedher.”
“But she said…she said it wasn’t my fault.” A whisper of pain. “And I don’t have any new abilities, except for sensing Others. It was aglitch.”
“I know, child. However, before she left, that was what she told me. She couldn’t get over losing your father and then that... I’m sorry.” Lem’s lips twisted insympathy.
Swallowing hard, Shae slipped her hands into her jacket pocket, her fingers squashing the piece of paper with the demon’s name. No matter. She’d find her and hear for herself.Thenshe’d close that part of her life. “I have to go. I’ll see youlater.”
Instantly, Lem’s expression morphed into a stern one. “I don’t like you out on the streets alone,Shae.”
He made no bones about the fact he thought her career choicedangerous. Well, it was—not that she’d tell him. She didn’t want Lem worrying himself into an ulcer or worse, a heart attack. He was all she hadleft.
“I’m not working tonight, Uncle, I’m going to theclub.”
Nothing showed on his face, but she sensed his disapproval. Whatever his feelings were toward Ash, she was grateful he kept them to himself. She didn’t have many friends.Many? She stifled back a harsh laugh. It was just Ash and Harvey. After her father’s death, Lem had had her home-schooled, so friends weren’t apriority.
Shae left and made her way to the penthouse elevator. The moment the door closed, she inhaled deeply, squeezed her eyes shut, and struggled to center herself as the cage carried her down in death-defying speed from the eightieth floor. The moment the elevator opened, a little dazed, she stumbled out, reached for a candy in her pocket, and popped the thing into hermouth.
A little steadier, she cut through the elegant foyer with its marble pillars, smiled at the older doorman, and stepped out into the busy street. Harvey wasn’t on duty tonight. Who knew the part-time doorman of The Tower would become her best friend? She’d known him since she moved into the penthouse, when he’d befriended a lonely fifteen-year-old who’d just lost herfather.
Her gaze swept the street, searching for a cab. At the sight of a tall, familiar, fair-haired man standing a short distance from her, she hastily hid behind a group of people also waiting for ataxi.
Aza. Her uncle’s right-hand man and business partner was talking to a heavyset demon. A few of Lem’s business associates were Others, but he never invited anyone home. Except Aza. AFallen.
Sometimes, Shae wondered about her state of mind when she accepted his offer to search for her mother in exchange for a date. Sheesh, she’d been such an idiot and she realized the truth too late as the weeks passed and he didn’t find anything. He just wantedher.
Sure, he was good-looking, but something about him made her uneasy. After three months and a few dates, she’d rescinded the offer and took to avoiding him. Yeah, Harvey had called her crazy for agreeing to the Fallen’sdeal.
A taxi glided to a halt, and she hastily climbed in before Aza saw her. Inhaling a thankful breath, she settled back in her seat and scratched her left wrist. She pushed her silver bracelets aside and frowned at the redness covering the small tattoo there—an intricate series of knots with one side open. Ugh, she hoped she wasn’t getting a rash onit.
Her cell beeped with a text. She pulled it out of her jacket pocket.Ash.
You coming to the club,doll?
She bit her lip then typed back.On myway.
Great. See yousoon.
Ashton Stiles was not only her friend but also an amazing guitarist and the frontman for RockinHell. The demons living in this world probably got a kick out of the name. Harvey suredid.
A while later, Shae hurried down the alley toward the warehouse that had been converted to a nightclub. Stopping in front of the graffitied back entrance to Club Nocte, an unsettling awareness crawled through her, like she should recall something about thisplace.
