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Declan arched a brow and answered. “He went to see a couple contacts he has in the area. Some voodoo woman in the Quarter. He hasn’t returned yet. No worries. He’ll hook up with us later.”
She nodded and looked at Ransome. “So what did you learn?”
The werewolf glanced at the teen.
“It’s okay,” Ana prodded, “we’ve no secrets from Kaden. This is his life we’re talking about.”
“All right.” Ransome nodded. “I called in a few favors, did some checking on my own, and have two possibilities. One is a guy named Al Deboer. He lives in Jefferson parish and has definite ties to the underworld. The other is Francesca DuRoche. She’s a two-bit fortune cookie who has a place near Jackson Square.”
“You got a feeling one way or another on these two?” Declan asked as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and tossed one to the wolf.
“I checked out Al’s place earlier today. From what I can tell the guy’s not been home for at least two to three days. I fed the asshole’s cat for him.” Ransome looked disgusted. “Dumb fuck.”
“How can you be sure?” Ana asked, curious.
Ransome smiled and tapped his nose. “It’s all here, baby. His scent was old, stale.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Plus”—he winked—“the newspaper on his table was dated three days ago. Lead story was about a horse race in Florida that took place yesterday. I’m thinking old Al is a betting man.”
Ana poured herself a glass of blood and forced herself to sip slowly. It was hard. Her hunger was beyond a regular thirst and it was difficult to act normal. Jesus, but she needed Declan to move away from her.
“So we find the girl.” Declan drained the last of his beer and tossed the bottle under the sink.
“The sooner the better
,” Ransome added.
“I agree,” Ana interjected. “Samael knows by now the ghouls weren’t able to do his dirty work. He’ll be coming after Kaden. Hell, we can already feel his presence.”
“All right.” Ransome looked at Declan. “She has a shop near Jackson Square and lives above it.”
“Well, let’s go.” Kaden’s chair scraped along the worn linoleum as he pushed it back and stood.
“I don’t think so.” Declan took a step forward and crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to stay put.”
“No way.” Kaden shook his head. “I’m not staying in this dump while you go out and have all the fun.”
Declan’s features darkened. The energy in the room sifted and churned. It slid across Ana’s skin and settled around them all. Declan wasn’t fooling around.
“This isn’t up for discussion. You’ll stay.” He glanced at Ransome. “Your boys still outside?”
The wolf nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got two patrols on duty.”
“Double it.”
Ransome pulled out his cell.
Declan moved away. “Read a book or something. I don’t care what you do, but if I find you anywhere other than in this house, I will kick your ass. Got it?”
Kaden remained stone-faced but was quiet.
“It’s for your own good.” Though Ana didn’t like the thought of being away from the teen, there was no way in hell he was going out in the field. The safest place was her mansion.
“All right then. Hate to break up the drama but it’s nearly six and the sun is setting.” Ransome looked at Ana. “We’re good to go, right?”
Ana set her now-empty glass on the counter and nodded. “Let’s do this.” Kaden turned his back to her as she walked by, and she sighed softly. Teenagers.
She grabbed a form-fitting leather jacket from the coatrack in the corner of the foyer. Not because she needed it but because it projected a certain image she liked. Kick-ass, determined, and dangerous.
She was well aware of Declan a few feet behind, though the space between them felt as large as the Rio Grande. They’d never had an easy time, she and the sorcerer. Friction had always been a part of the equation.
