Jack shoved me away. "I’ve never seen him like this, you gotta go."
"Him, who?"
Jack fell to the ground. Knocked out by that strange flashlight weapon. My uncle stood there over him.
25.Yikes
Chase
Lucas had texted me in the morning. I ignored him but couldn’t quite keep my thoughts from drifting towards him.
At least work kept me busy. It was all hands-on deck all the time. After Meritt and Stone left with a tactical team to hunt down their fugitive, the rest of us were here picking up the slack. I already wasted enough time arguing with Temple.
Frost was left in charge. He deserved the authority but loathed the actual responsibilities of being boss. Hell if I’d be the straw that broke the angel’s patience. Nobody even knew the extent of an angel’s powers or whether they had limits. Nobody wanted firsthand experience.
Temple was calling me. Asshole better have good reason for not being here five minutes ago. How long did it take to get a damn signature?
"What’s the holdup?” Nobody responded or said anything. “Hello? Hello, asshole?"
"Chase, there’s not much time.”Temple’s urgent whisper unsettled me.“Bolton was different when I arrived. I’ve never seen him this way before.”
“What, was he wearing a cheap suit?” If Temple was still at Bolton’s office, I’d swing by and pick him up. “Dude, what’s wrong? Did he take something?”
“No, he wasnervous.”
Ah. Yeah, I had to work to make Bolton sweat, so Temple simply showing up and triggering nervousness was annoying. I’d have been suspicious too, but why was Temple so agitated?
“I confronted him and—hold on, he’s coming back.”
"Here’s the bag.”Footsteps and a resigned Bolton were audible over the phone.“Getting the bills back will… take some more time."
"And you have no idea who’s responsible for this buyout?"
"Much as I wanted to find him, I couldn’t riskhimfindingme.We arranged everything through our, ah, mutual friends. He paid in cash immediately, like he just had it ready to go. The only time I saw him…"
"You have a description?"
“Yes. Fucking glowing eyes,”he filled in wryly with a hint of his usual superior attitude.“That’s all I saw.”
"When—at the gas station?"Temple realized.
"A 17thcentury wand I paid a small fortune for knows three spells, light switch, mute, and amplify. I followed him to the gas station and used amplify on the gas and spark, but fucking Slate Jr. grabbed him and then I saw my competition following me and I got the hell out of there."
"So why accept his offer now?"
“Showing off a party trick or an ancient scroll is fun, but the real supernatural world is too much.”
“And the money?”
"Please, it doesn’t cover all my costs. But with this bidding war, double dipping bullshit, and both Slates playing watchdog, the money is supposed to let me bow out and give me compensation for my risk of lying.”
Lying? The bastard brazenly lied since we met him, putting his word against Lucas’s and claiming they were involved in a legitimate arrangement. But he wasn’t just lying, he paid handsomely for well-crafted phony documents to back him up. What he didn’t like was going out on a limb his attorneys and money couldn’t protect him from if it went south. So what lie left him feeling exposed and ready to cooperate with Temple?
Shuffling and indistinct noises came from the other line, apparently they were finishing up their conversation. Temple surprised Bolton, Bolton admitted he lied and now… me and Temple were still on the phone.
I patched my phone through my car’s speakers, leaving my hands free as I drove too fast to Bolton’s office. A hard right on the wrong side of a red light didn’t slow me down too much though. I wished for lights and sirens like human law enforcement had.
"The first accident was part of this too," Temple said.
