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I flicked my ear, switching the com-link fully on, then said, "I'm here, Jack. No need to shout."
"No need to shout? We've damn well been trying to contact you for the last fifteen minutes."
I rubbed a hand across gritty eyes, then glanced at my watch. It was nearly three. I'd been out for a good half hour. "Why have you been trying to contact me?"
"Because according to the tracker you've been stationary for forty minutes, and given that you're never still for that long, Sal figured something was wrong."
"Sal was right." She'd taken over as Jack's chief assistant when I'd reluctantly become a guardian two years ago. She was damn good at her job and had saved the lives of a couple of guardians through her quick response to signs of trouble. It was good to know she had my back as well, despite our somewhat antagonistic relationship.
"What happened?" Jack asked.
"Long story, but I was basically knocked out."
"Who by? And what happened to the zombie?"
I pushed up onto my feet. The warehouse walls seemed to spin around me and I had to grab at the railing to keep upright. The sensation abated quickly enough, but it left a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"The zombie is defunct. Eaten by hellhounds. There was a witch controlling it, but she took the form of a crow and flew off."
"So that's why there's never any evidence of a second party at the murder scenes. We were looking on the ground rather than up higher."
"Yeah. I didn't get much of a look at her, but I'd recognize her voice if I heard it again."
He grunted. It wasn't a happy sounding grunt, either. "So what happened?"
"Kye Murphy."
"Who's he?"
"A gun for hire. Our paths crossed a year ago, when he was playing bodyguard to the son of our pack's alpha."
"The one you and Rhoan beat up?"
Surprise ran through me, and it took me a moment to reluctantly admit, "Maybe."
He laughed. "Don't sound so shocked. There isn't much that goes on in this place that I don't know about."
Something I'd better remember in the future if I was planning any other little side excursions on Directorate time. I walked left along the railing until I found the tiny excuse for a ladder, then slowly-carefully-began to climb down. When my feet finally hit the concrete, some of the tension that had been riding me eased. I might be able to fly, but my fear of heights had never entirely vanished. I doubted it ever would.
"Look, Cole and his team are just about there-"
"You sent Cole after me?" I couldn't help the surprise in my voice. "Why send a cleanup team rather than a guardian?"
"They were the closest to your position, and Cole and his men can fight, trust me on that." His voice was dry. "He might as well check the zombie remains while he's there. At least we can confirm whether our killer was raised or not."
"There's not much more than blood here, boss. I'm afraid the hellhounds ate nearly everything else."
"What, even the bones and skull?"
"Yep." I walked toward the swing doors. "Was my being stationary the only reason you were trying to contact me?"
Even as I asked the question, I had my fingers crossed for the correct answer. After my near miss with Kye, I really needed to get home to my vampire.
"No. There's a disturbance at a house I want you to investigate, but it can wait until the morning. I'll send you the address."
Relief swam through me. Morning might almost be here, but at least I could catch a few hours alone with Quinn before I had to leave again. That'd be enough to take the edge off the hunger. "What's so special about this disturbance that we're investigating it?"
"He's an old friend of mine."
