Blaéz smirked but merely said, “I’ve been keeping an eye on this situation with the human authorities. They’re conducting an investigation into the disappearance of those humans from earlier in the year. The female needs to bewatched.”
Michael slowly nodded. His brows slanted in a frown as he scratched his whiskered jaw. “If this situation grows too dangerous, it will soon bring notice to us. The Celestial Realm won’t be pleased.” He glanced at Dagan. “Find her and keep an eye onher.”
Dagan’s fingers tightened on his cigar case. Damn the Celt and his idioticsuggestions.
“Why would those snobby assholes be interested in what goes on with our lowly investigation?” Týr asked, Bob forgotten on his lap. With a rumble of displeasure, the cat hopped off and waddledindoors.
A heavy sigh barreled out of the archangel. “Because even though Zarias was the leader of the Watchers, there were some amongst his band of angels who wielded immensely dangerous powers. The M.O. of these killings bears a striking resemblance to Zarias’ second in command, Laius. When the female’s calm, you’ll probably get a false reading. It’s best to have her in a contained place to becertain.”
Calm?Dagan frowned. Hell, she’d been furious when she punched him in theface.
Psychic? A mere whisper ofit.
Akiller?
Hardly.
* * *
Shae pulledon her black boots and laced them, her gaze on the folded piece of paper on the bed. She should be excited about this, right? One step closer to finding hermother.
Except she couldn’t get her mind to focus because of this sense of unsettling disquiet she felt. It had plagued her last night and the entire day while she holed up in the developing studio downtown, as if she should remember something. But the memories continued to eludeher.
She rubbed her temples. Harvey had met her in the alley, and he’d put her through the wringer, testing her fighting skills.Thatshe recalled. He’d given her the demon’s name, but something had disturbed him, and he’d bolted out of there, saying something about being in trouble. And then she stopped at the club. So, what was shemissing?
Ugh. She huffed out an annoyed breath at hitting a blank, sending the strands of hair dipping into her eyes intodisarray.
Her cell rang. She grabbed it from her nightstand. Harvey. “Hey, youokay?”
“I’m good. Sorry I had to bail last night. I just wanted to avoid someone who’d kill me without a second thought if he sawme.”
Her stomach dipped in anxiety. “Who—why?”
A heavy sigh coasted down the line. “Because I got in the way of his job. I had to rescue my idiotic kin, who took to joining a group of blood-demons. He was caught with them while they fed from humans. My kin hadn’t done anything, but regardless, he would have died. There’s no reasoning with those cold Guardianbastards.”
She wiped at her damp brow with the back of her hand, her temperature rising again. “I’m happy you’re safe but don’t ever scare me like that again. Harvey, let me call you back. We can meet up to summon the demon, ‘kay?”
“Sure,later.”
Dropping her cell on the bed, she rose. The room tilted. Dammit, she sat down again. With shaky hands, she snatched the frosty, plastic bottle with the glucose solution from the bedside table, unscrewed the top, and swallowed some of the concentrated mixture. Having to deal with sudden dips in her blood sugar was bothersome ashell.
Sweat beaded on her brow, her mind buzzed, and her heart pounded too fast. She drank more of her ice-cold liquid and inhaled deeply, trying to calm down… Finally, the heat eased a little, as did thehum.
Shae collected the things she needed: cell phone, the folded paper, some cash from the bedside, along with a roll of Dextrose candies, and pushed them into her jacket pocket. Covered for her evening, she headed out, skirting the marble podium in the corridor with the priceless Ming vase, and ran down thestairs.
Uncle Lem had gone on an overnight business trip to Chicago, but he’d be home soon, and she needed to leave before he coaxed her into staying and having dinner. He was the one person she couldn’t say no to. But she had a demon to summon, and it was nearly tenp.m.
In the kitchen, she grabbed a slice of toasted brown bread with cheese and ham from the microwave. As she ate, she dumped the dishes into the dishwasher with her free hand, switched on the machine, then shoved the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth. Still chewing, she hurried into the living room, determined to be gone before Lem cameback.
The study door opposite the living room opened. “Shae?”
Aw, crap. She swallowed her food, slapped on a smile, and pivoted. “Uncle Lem, you’re homeearly.”
“Yes.” His sea-blue gaze twinkled. “I got in a little while ago and came straight here to pick up some papers for the office. I have a late-night conferencecall.”
In his mid-forties, average height, with short, light brown hair and angular features, Leamas Hale was one of those men who looked good in anything he wore. But he favored suits, and it flattered his leanframe.
She’d known him since she was a little girl. He’d been her father’s best friend. After her dad had died several years ago, he’d been there for both her and her mom. But just thinking of her father, and pain burroweddeeper.
