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As I am not in the room, I cannot say precisely. I merely sense the vibrations of their souls.
Which isn’t much good given the room is packed. Our task would be easier if we knew who to keep an eye on. I downed my drink in several gulps and rose. I’ll take the long way to the bar and see what I can uncover.
If you wish. His tone suggested he didn’t think it was necessary, and I couldn’t help grinning all over again. My reaper might have accused me of being jealous over his flirting with other women on more than one occasion, but it really was beginning to sound like he was suffering from the same affliction. And I couldn’t help but be happy about that, if only because it suggested that I wasn’t imagining the caring I sometimes sensed in him.
Of course, taking the long way to the bar did mean walking past a lot of very merry men, many of whom seemed to think a female rump in close proximity really did need a pinch, if not a good fondle. It irked the hell out of me, but I kept my temper in check and a smile on my face and was rewarded by finding all four psychics. Two had parked themselves at the bar, one was sitting with a dark-haired woman near the front door, and the last one leaned casually against the wall opposite the bar, sipping his beer and idly surveying the crowd.
His gaze met mine briefly, and a frisson of recognition raced through me. Not because I knew him, but because I knew the type.
If he wasn’t Directorate, I’d eat my damn hat. If I’d been wearing a hat, that was.
At least his gaze slid past me and continued on. My inner devil was tempted to go over and chat him up, not only because he was one of the few half-decent-looking guys in the room, but because it would have been interesting to see if I could tease any information out of him.
But we were both here to catch a killer, and that sort of behavior wasn’t something either of us needed. Besides, it wasn’t like I needed another man in my life, however briefly I might flirt with the idea.
I made my way back to my table, but had barely sat down when Azriel said, She’s here.
Where?
Just entering the club via a rear door. He paused. She can sense me.
I swore softly and pushed up from the table so quickly that I half spilled my beer. Meaning she’s running again?
No. I retreated fast, and she remains.
I sighed in relief. Keep your distance, then. With the Directorate here, we can’t do anything until she picks out a victim and leaves with him.
The guardian will follow her, just as we plan to.
Yeah, but we can knock out his car or even him. Though it would undoubtedly be easier to do the former rather than the latter. He might be a shifter rather than a vampire, but he was still a guardian and therefore dangerous.
I sat back down and took a sip of beer. I had only half of it left, but I wasn’t going to walk over to the bar to get another one. Given our target had entered the building, it was better if I remained where I was.
After a few more minutes, a tall, thin man walked onto the stage and lightly tapped the microphone to get everyone’s attention. Unfortunately for him, just about everyone but me ignored him.
“I’m afraid tonight’s entertainment has been canceled. The lively Di Shard called in sick at the last moment, and we weren’t able to get a replacement.”
The news was greeted by general indifference, but it had me frowning. Azriel, has she left again or is she still here?
She’s there. I cannot pinpoint her location precisely because doing so means moving closer and increases the chances of her sensing me again.
So why the hell would the manager announce she was unavailable?
I cannot say.
Neither could I, and it was damn worrying. And it wasn’t like I needed anything else to worry about given the whole key situation and now Ilianna’s disappearance.
I searched for the four psychics again and spotted all but the guardian. I saw him a couple of seconds later as he jumped onto the stage and followed the manager into the back room. He was obviously intending to question the man—something I really would have liked to have done but now couldn’t. The guardian might not have recognized me, but he’d know I was wolf. The last thing I needed was him reporting a werewolf working for the vamp council questioning the manager. Rhoan could put two and two together as easily as the next man.
My gaze swept the room again, but I didn’t see anything that spiked the internal radar. Then a tall, somewhat slender woman pulled away from the deeper shadows to the left of the stage—in fact, it looked almost as if she was re-forming from them. And maybe she was.
She was tall, brown-haired, and had a faint red stripe running along her center part. She didn’t physically resemble either Shard or Summer—except for that stripe—but then, that was no surprise given she was able to take on different forms. And she would, because she knew she was being chased.
I wrapped my hands around my almost empty glass and tried not to be overly obvious about watching her. She looked around the room for several minutes; then her gaze centered on one of the shifters standing near the bar. She strolled toward him and trailed her fingers along the nape of his neck as she sat on the vacant barstool beside him. He jumped as if he’d just been stung, and maybe he had. She was a spider after all.
They began to chat and were soon as animated as old friends. She wasn’t overly obvious with her flirting, just went with encouraging smiles and the occasional casual touch. But the psychic energy radiating off her was strong enough that I could feel it from here—and it felt hungry.
I shivered. In the back of my mind, Amaya began humming, the soft sound filled with expectation. This one is not for you, I’m afraid.
