Aethan turned to glare out the kitchen window. Blaéz couldn’t blame the warrior for his anger. Had it been Darci in that kind of situation, Blaéz knew he’d probably be as bad…maybe worse.
His aggression surrounding him like a cloud, Aethan said, “I’m taking Echo away for a short while.”
After a moment, Michael nodded. “Where?”
Aethan shrugged. “New Orleans—”
“—is crowded,” Michael reminded him. “Hardly a place to recuperate with it also being a supernatural hotspot. Our place in Scotland or the cabin in the Drakensberg would be better. Quieter.”
Aethan said nothing, probably considering Michael’s suggestion.
Dagan strode into the kitchen. Long warrior braids flowed like ebony whips down his back, his yellow eyes sparking in irritation. “Another body. Killer’s gone off radar again. No psychic vibe. Nothing.”
That surprised Blaéz considering the Sumerian had an uncanny knack of sensing hidden abilities without having to touch a person.
“That makes it two dead bodies,” Michael said. “Usually not our problem, except for the way the deaths occurred.”
“How?” Týr asked. “Hacked to pieces? Blown to smithereens and turned to ash, like the Celt here does?”
“No.” Michael glanced at Dagan. “You want to take this?”
The warrior’s citrine gaze hardened. A tic worked his jaw at the direct order. Guess his days of long silences were at an end.
“No guns or human method of killing,” Dagan said, hands tucked in his back pockets. Tone flat, he dealt out the details. “Death toll is actually three. Humans. The first two had their brains imploded, but skull remained intact. Tonight’s had the same style death, except his bones had been turned to liquid, too. No bruises, or drinking of some corrosive liquid, nothing touched the male on the outside. Tried tracking for the killer’s psychic vibration but it vanished midtown.”
That would be why Dagan had been a no-show at the rift battle earlier.
“We have a supernatural killer on the loose, then?” Blaéz asked.
“If only it were that simple.” Michael pulled off his shades, tossed them on the table and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. Wherever he’d been, the archangel sure looked like he could use some serious crib time.
“Humans leave behind a sliver of their energy, rage, resentment—whatever motivated them to kill, but at this death scene—nothing. We have to double our efforts in tracking whoever or whatever’s responsible.”
A stirring started low in Blaéz’s belly. The door opened and Darci walked inside. He straightened from the counter he’d been leaning against as everything inside him flowed awake, like the lands soaking up the rain after a long drought. He wanted to walk across and just hold her.
“Oh…” She faltered a step when she saw them. Her gaze met his. Hurt and betrayal flickered briefly in those sunflower depths before she looked away. He felt like shit for being the one responsible for putting it there.
Warily, she swiped back her hair from her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—”
“It’s okay.” Michael waved her inside. “We’re almost done.”
She gave Michael a little smile, one that Blaéz utterly disliked, especially when she walked right past him and around the island counter into the kitchen. The short, gray jean-style skirt she wore revealed miles of sexy, tanned legs. Her light-pink sleeveless top stretched over full breasts he was dying to taste—hell, he wanted to lick every inch of her again.
Blaéz couldn’t stop staring as she pulled out apple juice from the fridge, poured some into a glass then took a sip. Hedori entered from the side door near the pantry that led to his quarters. He said something. She smiled.
She looked so pretty. And too damn chummy with the butler.
“How’s the new job going, Dars?” At Týr’s easy use of her shortened name, Blaéz’s blood went into a slow boil, possessiveness crushing his chest.
“It’s wonderful, beats stacking shelves most of the time.”
Týr laughed.
Her smile faded. “There are a few things I’d like for the library. I made a list, but I’m not sure who to give it to…”
“Hedori,” Blaéz said. He had enough of her ignoring him. She glanced his way, expression cool. He added, “And for anything else you might need in the future.”
She nodded, then set her glass down on the counter and headed for the door.
