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I grinned as I climbed in and started the car. “So that coffee you acquired from McDonald’s for me not so long ago was merely borrowed? Am I supposed to regurgitate it at some point and give it back?”
“Now,” he said, his expression severe but amusement dancing in his eyes, “you are just being silly.”
“Totally.” I checked for traffic, pulled out of the parking spot, then handed him the tracker. “You can direct me.”
“A situation I should probably enjoy, given it is the only time you are likely to take direction from me without some form of argument.”
My amusement grew. “I don’t argue all the time.”
“No,” he agreed. “Just ninety-eight percent of the time. Mike is on the move and is several blocks ahead of us.”
I swung onto Smith Street but kept just below the speed limit. With the tracker in place and working, there was no need to get too close. We drove through Collingwood, then made our way onto Hoddle Street, but didn’t—as I’d half expected—head toward Mike’s office. Instead, he continued on, driving over the Yarra River and onto Punt Road.
“You know,” I said into the silence, “I have no idea where Mike actually lives.”
Azriel glanced at me. “Why not? Has he not been in your life since you were born?”
“Yes, but I don’t believe he’s ever mentioned his home address, and I can’t remember Mom ever going there. I mean, she may have, but it certainly seemed that he came to our place more than the other way around.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Did you not think it strange that he would never mention his living arrangements, given his intimacy with your mother?”
“Now that I think about it, yes. At the time, no. I mean, I didn’t even realize he and Mom were intimate until after she’d died.” And if anything was strange, then it was that. I mean, no child really wants to think about her parents having sex, but Mom had been a werewolf—even if a lab-designed one—and she had a werewolf’s sexual nature and outlook. She’d certainly never hidden the existence of other partners during my childhood, so why would she hide the fact she’d been in a long-term relationship with Mike?
She wouldn’t, I thought with a chill.
And maybe that meant their relationship hadn’t been sexual. Maybe it had been nothing more than an avenue of access—to me, to keep an eye on me.
After all, Lucian had obviously known of my creation before he’d been cast back in time by the Raziq, because it certainly hadn’t been luck that his path had crossed mine. He’d also obviously known that my father had created the keys in such a way that only he, or one of his blood, could find them. So why wouldn’t he have placed someone in my life—someone outwardly ordinary—to keep an eye on me? Especially if that someone was well practiced in magic—or, at least, had easy access to someone who was?
It was only when my father had come back into my life that Lucian had enacted his own plans, starting with my mother’s murder. He’d believed that without her presence, without her advice, I would be infinitely more vulnerable, and therefore more accepting of his advances. And he’d been right, up until the moment when I’d finally realized there was a lot more going on than just sexual attraction.
Of course, once I’d killed Lucian, I’d cut Lauren’s access to me—and therefore the key search. And that could certainly explain Mike’s attempts to become a bigger part of my life since Mom’s death. As my accountant and investment adviser, his contact with me was limited to business meetings. But as a friend of my mother’s—a friend who’d supposedly promised her that he’d keep an eye on me—he certainly had more of a chance of doing that.
I briefly scrubbed a hand across my eyes and swore softly. Azriel wrapped his fingers around mine and squeezed gently. “Do not feel bad. The Aedh had centuries to plot. It is not really surprising that we are still unraveling the threads of his treachery.”
“Yeah, but if I’d listened to you a bit sooner—”
“We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and move on.”
“Something that’s more easily said than done,” I commented. Especially when the past involved the two deaths that should never have happened—although one of them certainly wasn’t either Lucian’s or Lauren’s fault.
“Hunter’s turn will come,” Azriel said.
I glanced at him. “You can’t be sure of that. Hell, even the fates aren’t sure of that, from what you’ve said.”
“True.” He half shrugged. “But there’s also karma. And if you’ve been thinking the fates are a bitch, then you’ve obviously never met karma.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re saying that like karma is a living thing.”
“She is as real as the fates, and has very nasty tendencies if you do the wrong thing by her.” He paused. “He’s turned right onto Pasley Street North. It’s two streets up from our current location.”
I slowed as I neared the street, and waited for a gap in the oncoming traffic so I could turn. A massive park dominated one side of the street, while on the other, pretty Victorian terraces rubbed shoulders with more modern houses and ugly apartment buildings. The Mercedes had stopped just beyond a bend in the road, and there was no one in it. I slowly cruised past and peered at the house it was parked in front of. It was one of the two-story Victorian terraces, a beautiful white building complete with an original-looking wrought-iron balustrade lining the upper balcony. It was the sort of house that would be worth a fortune, especially in a location like this. Mike was just disappearing inside the front door.
I parked farther up the road, switched off the car, then twisted around to look back at the house. “Can you sense anyone else in there?”
Azriel shook his head. “There is a barrier around the house.”
“We seem to be coming up against a few of those lately,” I muttered. “It’s damn frustrating.”
