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She threw herself back, breaking the connection, then sat facing him, her breathing ragged and her heart pounding as if she’d run a marathon. “I’m sorry. I—I wasn’t thinking.”
For a moment he said nothing. Then the corner of his mouth lifted. “Perhaps not,” he said. “Or perhaps you were thinking with your heart.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
“Someone who works at the Slaughtered Goat might know where Caris is,” Luke said to Bael Slater. “Any lead, I want you following it.”
“No problem.” The huge vampire leaned back, the small chair creaking under the strain. They were in a small bar near the Division 6 offices where Luke had gone after Sara had returned to work with the team. “Division’s got nothing, huh?”
“They don’t have shit,” Luke said, taking a sip of Glenfiddich. “I’m going back to the crime scenes. Try to pick up another scent.”
“Didn’t Division already tug on that line?”
“The vamps on the team are at least four centuries younger than me,” Luke said. “Their senses aren’t as well honed.”
“Long shot,” Slater said.
“At this point, even the long shots are worth following.”
His friend stood. “I’ll be in touch.” Luke started to stand, but was startled by the sharp ring of his phone. He snatched it quickly from the pocket of his duster, hoping to see Tasha’s name on the caller ID. Instead, the phone identified the caller as TQ.
“What have you learned?” he asked without preamble. Luke had called the jinn after he’d parted from Sara, demanding satisfaction for Tariq’s botched assignment that first night.
“Still Scotch, Luke?” Tariq asked, as Luke lifted his glass. “Still single malt?”
Luke hid his small smile behind the glass as his eyes searched the room. He should have expected the wily creature to be nearby.
He didn’t find the jinn, but his blood pounded hot when he saw a lithe woman with cropped dark hair and feline eyes. Caris. He stood, upsetting the table in his haste, but a second later she was gone.
She’d either transformed into mist and left, or his eyes were playing tricks on him. He forced down a wave of discontent and concentrated on finding Tariq, ultimately locating him by the back door.
“Tell me what you know,” Luke demanded as he approached.
“That depends. Will this do us square?”
“What does your conscience say, Tariq? It was you who wronged me. Does this balance the scales?”
“It does.”
Luke stayed silent, remembering that cold night in Munich many centuries before.
“Dammit, Lucius, it does.”
It did not, Luke thought. But that point could be raised at a later date. “Tell me.”
“Then we’re square?”
“I did not say that.”
“Fucking-A. Fine. Got me under your goddamn thumb for the rest of my natural life.”
“The countermeasures, my friend. Tell me what you know of the detention device and its countermeasures.”
“They’ll fry your ass if you get free of them,” Tariq said.
“I don’t recall saying that was my purpose. I’m a lover of knowledge, Tariq. Knowledge for knowledge’s sake.”
“Fuck,” Tariq said. “It’s your ass. Whatever. It’s a fail-safe system.”
