He turned toward her, that muscle ticking in his jaw again.
Damn, he’s sexy…
“Do I even want to know how you did that?” he asked. The sharp edge had returned to his voice, but his eyes held a spark of mischief, a keen appreciation for scheming she knew they shared.
“It wasn’t easy. As much as I tried to paint the picture of mycompletedissatisfaction with my current predicament, the demon knows I’m Redthorne property, so—”
“Not Redthorne property.Myproperty.” His eyes blazed bright in the moonlight. “There’s no sharing involved.”
Jaci swallowed hard.Good to know…
“Either way, I knew I couldn’t offer myself up as bait. No demon would risk double-crossing you. Not after what happened to Kostya and Mikhail.”
Gabriel’s eyes turned cold again, his body tensing, fists clenched at his sides. “Only thedimmestbulb in the hellspawn bunch would—”
“I know.” She placed a hand against his chest, fingertips brushing the bare skin exposed by the half-open shirt. Beneath her palm, his heart thudded, hard and fast. “I told him I had a friend looking for work.Notthe kind requiring an apron and a nose for wine.”
“Dark magic,” Gabriel confirmed, and she nodded.
“They meet every other Saturday at Shimmer. It’s an exclusive witch and mage club out on Montauk. Ocean view, killer food and drinks, ritual rooms, the whole nine.”
“You’ve been?”
Jaci almost laughed. “Sure, Prince. I turn down invitations to fancy parties and exclusive clubs on the regular.”
Her father had been there, though. Back before he fell for her mother’s demonic tricks and landed in hell. He worked there as a young mage, a private server for the ritual rooms. Later, when he grew more fully into his own power, he was a member. He’d told Jaci about it so many times, she almost felt like shehadbeen there.
“Excellent work, Jacinda.” Gabriel reached for his phone. “I’ll get my best guys on it, and—”
She grabbed his arm, stopping him from hitting the call button. “No. No guys.”
“But—”
“My so-called friend is a witch. A woman. Assuming the demon is as slippery and loose-lipped as I imagine, he’ll leak word to someone, and eventually, it’ll get back to Renault and these so-called Keepers of the Dark Flame that a witch is going to show up and crash their party, looking for work. It has to be me.”
“But the demon knows what you look like. Knows you’re my—”
“That’s what glamor magic is for, my sweet prince.”
“Let me guess. Another of your specialties?”
“A girl has to be prepared for anything.”
“Something tells me you always are.”
“Remember that, Prince.” Jaci grinned.
After a long pause, Gabriel finally sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket. “Fine. But you’re not going in alone.”
“Oh, really? You’ve got some magical friends up your sleeve? You think Isabelle is up for some nefarious spy games? Of course, she reports to your brother, and I’m not sure Dorian would be on board with this, so…”
Gabriel continued to glare at her, those eyes flashing with mischief once more.
And then it arrived, slow but sure—the infamous smirk.
“Wait… you?” Jaci laughed. “A brooding vampire sneaking into a mage club? Aroyalvampire, besides? Are you insane? Everyone will recognize you and our cover will be blown to bits.”
“That, my sweet witch,” he whispered, the look in his eyes so devastating it made her want to peel off every stupid layer of clothing and fling herself repeatedly in the direction of his dick, “is what glamour magic is for.”
