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“I’m more familiar with the Conservatory.” He glances around, then points to the slider. “I can use that.”
“As soon as you can safely move Pen, get everyone out of here. I’ll stall for as long as possible.” My gaze seeks Pen, and a lump forms in my throat. “If I get arrested, I expect someone to bail me out.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t let you rot.” Flint catches my eye. “She’s getting bright again.”
Reese squeezes my arm. “Be careful, and don’t get shot.”
Shoulders squaring, I pull the skull badge from my belt and stride toward the flashing lights, my voice raised. “This is Captain Gavin Sharpe! I’m here tracking a demonic creature! It looks like the corpse of a dog, with glowing red eyes, and it is still on the loose. I am unarmed and coming around the side of the house. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t shoot me!”
A beat of silence follows before a young-sounding man calls out. “We hear you, Captain Sharpe. Please keep your hands where we can see them!”
With a last look at the others, I step into the line of fire.
Flashlights shine into my face, and I squint at the two men who stand near the decorative bushes at the front walk. They wear black security-guard uniforms and carry batons, with tasers on their belts. Not the gun-toting officers I was expecting with all the flashing lights.
“I recognize him from the news,” the one not pointing the light at me. “He’s in charge of protecting us from the magical shit.”
I continue forward, waving my badge. “Have you seen any sign of the monster?”
“No, sir.” The flashlight drops to point at the ground, then sweeps along the bushes. “We were responding to reports of a possible breaking and entering, and someone said they heard shouts.”
“There’s a body in the pool.” I hook a thumb toward the backyard without lowering my arms. “I couldn’t identify the man, but I believe it’s the owner of this house. You need to wait for the Clearhelm Police to take control of the crime scene so it’s not further contaminated.”
The flashlight trembles, and I can practically hear the kid gulping from here.
“Keep your eyes on the shadows in case it returns, and let’s head quickly down to the gate to report what’s happened.” I motion them back to the patrol cars. “There’s safety in numbers.”
The flashlights swing wildly over the bushes as the security guards hot-foot it toward the open gate, leaving me without an escort.
Damn, do they even send these kids through training?
I drop my arms and return my badge to my belt.
The scene on the street is chaos, the flashing lights bringing neighbors out onto the sidewalk to see what’s happening. Savannah, Trent, and Marc sit on the curb, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Clearhelm Police officers swarm around, but none of them seem eager to go investigate. Probably because they recognize my people and know why they’d be here.
They sent the untrained patrolmen as their sacrificial lambs while protecting their own asses.
“Sharpe!”
My name cracks through the frenzy, and my spine stiffens as I turn to see Bailey stomping through his officers, his cold gaze locking with mine.
He sneers as he stops in front of me. “Why am I not surprised to find you at the center of this?”
“Because you know my people and I are tracking a serial-killing monster.” I pitch my voice to carry.
“We didn’t hire you to disturb our affluent citizens!” Anger turns his face red. “And we certainly didn’t give you permission to break into their homes!”
“You didn’t hire us at all, because we don’t work for corrupt politicians.” A cold slither of magic curls through my mind, and I resist the urge to fold the space around Bailey, to put him into a little pocket like I did with all those pallets.
He must see something in my gaze, because he pales and takes a step back before his eyes narrow. “I’ll have you and your people thrown in jail for disturbing the peace and invasion of private property.”
“We only entered after we heard a scream of distress. We had probable cause.” I gesture to the camera near the gate. “The security footage will verify our story.”
His hands move to his hips and he puffs out his chest. “You want us to believe you just happened to be in the neighborhood when the call for help went out?”
I feel a slight, inner tug, a signal from Flint that the coast is clear, and the fear melts away, leaving me lightheaded. Pen will be fine, and the others got away. Nothing else matters.
“Sharpe!” Bailey barks, hating that I’m ignoring him.
