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He shot me a look, then pulled a chair up, straddling it backward. “A construction worker claimed he saw a figure ablaze but not burning up.”
“Location?” Riker’s question cut through the room with the precision of a silver bullet.
“Abandoned lot,” Niko replied, his blue eyes glinting with a mix of excitement and caution.
“Guess we’re having ourselves a little stakeout.” I stood, stretching out the kinks in my spine. A night of surveillance wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but if it meant catching a fire-breathing bad guy, I was all in.
“Need us for this one?” Elijah asked.
“I don’t think so. You and Helen can head home—I’ll call if we run into trouble.”
“Sounds good,” Helen said, taking Elijah’s hand and dragging him toward the door as if she feared I might change my mind.
“Let’s gear up then,” Riker said once they were gone, unzipping his weapons bag.
“So,” I said. “What’s the plan? Roast marshmallows until our fiery friend shows up?”
“Something like that.” Riker handed me a compact crossbow. “Except swap marshmallows for these.” He indicated the bolts.
“Nice,” I approved, slipping a few into my belt.
“Don’t forget this.” From a velvet-lined box, he produced a charm, glowing faintly with protective magic.
“Always the gentleman,” I said, clipping it around my neck. The warmth from the charm seeped into my skin, a comforting contrast to the chill of apprehension.
“Ready?” Niko’s voice held an edge, a reminder that what we were about to face was no laughing matter.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, forcing a grin. “Let’s go catch ourselves an ifrit.”
We piled into Riker’s pickup, the engine’s roar a promise of action. As we drove toward the site, the city lights blurred into streaks of gold and red, painting a picture of normalcy that felt like a joke.
“Remember, watch each other’s backs,” Riker instructed, his focus never leaving the road. “If this thing is half as dangerous as the legends say, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“Got it, boss,” I said, though the title didn’t quite fit. Riker might have been teaching me the ropes, but tonight, we were partners in every sense of the word.
“Here’s hoping our big bad djinni doesn’t give us the slip,” Niko added, his tone somber.
“Or set our tails on fire,” I said, unwilling to let the gravity of the situation smother my spirit. “Either way,” I continued, meeting their gazes in turn, “we’re ending this pyrotechnic parade.”
And with a pocketful of sarcasm, and a truckload of weaponry, we arrived at the construction site, ready to confront whatever awaited us in the shadows.
CHAPTER 5
The skeletal beams of the construction site thrust into the twilight sky. It was the kind of place that made you check over your shoulder twice, just to make sure the shadows weren’t creeping up on you with fangs bared.
“Riker,” I whispered, squinting at the hulking figure surveying the half-built labyrinth of concrete and steel. “You going to play hide and seek with the boogeyman or what?”
“Setting up watch,” Riker grumbled back, his eyes scanning the terrain with the precision of a hawk. With a nod more fitting for a military operation than our supernatural stakeout, he split off without another word. His silhouette blended into the darkness, as if he were part ghost himself.
Left in the sudden silence, I felt the familiar weight of anticipation settle over me. Hunting the things that went bump in the night wasn’t exactly a cakewalk, but it beat sitting behind a desk. Or dealing with my ex, the vampire. Now that had been a real pain in the neck. Literally.
“Looks like it’s just you and me,” Niko said, his voice low and smooth as he stepped closer. I turned to face him, and damn it all if those piercing blue eyes didn’t send heat arcing through me.
“Seems so,” I replied, trying for nonchalant and probably landing somewhere between awkward and intrigued. “Any sign of our fire djinni yet?”
“Nothing.” Niko’s gaze was locked onto mine, and there was a heat there that had nothing to do with our quarry. “But I’m feeling something else.”
“Is it the urge to run screaming? Because sometimes I get that on these gigs.”
