Nadia’s pulse kicked up.
In this context, the word didn’t mean three creatures standing apart, but three branches fused into one body.
Human. Archangel. Daemon.
It had to be!
Excitement thrummed through her body. Against all odds, she’d figured it out. Or she sure as hell hoped so, anyway.
“What have you found?” Sal lingered in the doorway, watching her closely.
Rarely did he enter the room, and if he did, he didn’t remain long. It was as if the space made him uneasy. Oddly, it was the only place she felt safe from his advances.
Shoving down her elation, she sent him a cool look.
“Nothing important,” she replied, unable to shake the feeling he was too invested in her discovery. She faked a disappointed sigh. “There should be more to these papers. I’m certain they belong to a larger collection.”
“Are you able to translate them?” His gaze was hyper-focused on the parchment, and his crafty expression triggered the remaining alarm bells in Nadia’s brain.
“Why the interest?” As casually as she could, she gathered everything and restored it to its case.
His lips curled into a sneer before he checked himself, and she would swear his pupils flared red. The overall effect was not only creepy but evil, and she couldn’t shake the sensation of impending danger. Maybe she should utilize Katie’s tech skills to delve deeper into Sal’s background.
“I’m your boss. I have board members to report to, and it’s crucial I know what you are working on,” he replied smoothly. Still, menace was present in his tone. “Mary is leaving. You need to man the main desk until closing,” he stated coldly.
“Where will you be?”
“Busy,” he snapped.
She wanted to argue “receptionist” wasn’t in her job description, but they had been at odds since the day Luc approached his car. If she didn’t extend an olive branch, she was in for a miserable future here.
“No problem, Sal.”
His gaze held hers a moment longer, as if testing her. With a dismissive sniff, he left.
And what did it say about her when she immediately assumed every male in her general vicinity was challenging her? Was she becoming a man-hater? Why this sense of building tension when no true confrontation was at hand? Perhaps it simply boiled down to her despising Sal because he was a fucking jerk.
With a sigh, she secured the case in the safe and shut off the lights before locking the door.
A glance at the wall clock told her there were only forty minutes left before closing.
Thank Christ!
With Laura categorizing books and returning them to their shelves, Nadia was left with little to do. Taking advantage of the lull, she jotted items on her grocery list. The bell on the door chimed, and a frisson of electricity crackled along her spine. The only person capable of causing that effect was Luc. Her head snapped up, and she greeted her visitor with a glowing smile.
Only it wasn’t who she expected.
The newcomer could double as a male supermodel. Casually styled hair the color of ripe wheat, skin golden as if he spent a lot of time outdoors, and eyes a rich lapis blue. His smile could be classified as lethal—disarming and charming. The expensive t-shirt molded to his torso as if it were made special for him, defining every muscle, with the material hugging his eight-pack abs like it never wanted to let go.
And she’d seen him before.
The lamp-post lurker.
“Hi.” His voice was warm and yummy, comparable to the first bite of a brownie straight from the oven. The scent of fresh-baked banana bread drifted to her, making her mouth water. It was difficult to discern whether the smell or the man’s looks were urging her to drool.
“Hi.” Grateful the word contained only a single syllable—hard to screw up—she simply stared, wondering what the fuck was wrong with her. This unnatural desire for every gorgeous male over the age of thirty was becoming embarrassing.
His grin widened, becoming open and engaging.
