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“To Belgium, isn’t it?”
I felt the color drain from my face. I scooted my chair back out of reflex—whether to flee or fight yet, I didn’t know. “How do you know that? I know you can’t read me. Are you working for him?”
“For whom?” he asked. If Noah was pretending not to know who The Destroyer was then he was one hell of an actor.
“Answer my question.”
“I’ve already told you I work for the FBI. And no, I can’t read you, but your brother doesn’t have the ability to keep me out.”
I felt the lie roll off his tongue with a rush of warm breath. Something he’d just said wasn’t the whole truth, but I wasn’t sure which part. “You’ve never even met my brother. How can you possibly know his thoughts?”
“It’s foolish, Rena, don’t you think, to believe there aren’t others out there who have a multitude of abilities just like you and your family? And it’s ignorance to think there couldn’t be other species living in hiding or trying to blend in just as you and your family do.”
The sickly sweet scent of fear crept over my skin and clung to it like rancid honey. I knew there were other Realms out there, but as far as I knew the Drakán were the only ones inhabiting the Earth. If what he said was true then we might have a whole other battle on our hands.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
Our food was delivered quickly and quietly, and our server scurried away. She’d have to be an idiot not to feel the undercurrents of violence at our table. My food sat in front of me, but I’d found I’d lost my appetite.
He gave me a look of what could almost be pity. “Believe it or not, Rena, I’m not here to hurt you. I’d like to help you. And I think you might be able to help me. Though we’re approaching this from two different sides, we ultimately have the same goal.”
“I don’t like working with anyone. Just ask my assistant.”
“You might not have a choice this once. There’s always someone higher up on the food chain we have to answer to. I know that just as well as you do. If not better.”
Boy, wasn’t that the truth. I thought of Alasdair and of what my future held for me. My prospects were pretty bleak. And where did Noah fit in?
“Let’s assume I could use your help,” I said. “What are you going to contribute?”
“Two hunters are always better than one. And I’m a good hunter.” He lowered his shields enough for me to see exactly what he wanted me to see. Violence lurked beneath his handsome exterior, and the thrill of the hunt and the pleasure it brought him rode on the crashing waves of death.
He rebuilt his shields quickly, and I hunched over the table, gasping for air. The need for flesh and blood was strong, and I had to close my eyes and focus with every power I had to keep the rush of fluttering heartbeats from the innocents around us from overpowering me.
Noah gave me a knowing look, and I realized he had hold of my hand once again, rubbing circles with his thumb over my tender flesh. I hated myself for wanting a man who seemed to know my secrets while I still knew nothing about him. Dragon lust was a powerful emotion. Almost as strong as the power of flesh and blood.
“I can also keep the FBI off our trails until these bastards are caught,” he said as an afterthought.
“I don’t even know what you really are. Why should I trust you enough to let you help me?” If he noticed that I’d said he’d be helping me instead of the other way around, he chose not to mention it.
“You’ve got good instincts,” he said. “What does your gut tell you?”
I took a moment to look at him. Really look at him. Yes, he was handsome. As handsome as any man I’d ever seen, and in our race there wasn’t a shortage of handsome men to choose from. Noah gave off pheromones that every woman in the near vicinity could pick up on. It didn’t matter what age they were. They all watched him with hunger in their eyes.
He moved with a gracefulness that belied his size. Most large men didn’t move like big dangerous cats. He was a predator, but there was something about him that was genuine. He obviously believed in justice, whether it came by human laws or his own sense of right and wrong, I didn’t know. But I knew that like always recognized like, and I got the sense that Noah and I were very much alike in the ways that counted. This was more comforting to me than any of his other qualities.
“I need time to think about this,” I finally said. “I’m leaving tomorrow to get some answers. I’ll contact you if I need help.”
“Oh, you’ll need help all right. I’m sure of it. Even you think you’re going there to die.”
“Stay out of my brother’s head. Our lives are personal, and if I for one second believe you’re a threat to my family, I’ll kill you, no matter how much you intrigue me.”
“You can certainly try.” He got out his wallet and laid a bunch of bills on the table.
The tension between us was thick, and I was in tune to his every movement, just as I knew he was in tune with mine. My senses slowed and sharpened. The colors were brighter. The smell of danger, and to a lesser extent, want, was more potent. There had always been a fine line for me between danger and desire, and the dragon in me wanted so badly to conquer the male that dared to challenge me. But my human blood kept things more rational.
I felt my magic rise along my skin, tingling along my scalp and down my arms. I closed my eyes and called the power that brought my visions, searching for something that could give me hope for my future. A glimpse of what might become of me with the threat of The Destroyer hanging over my head. But for the first time in five hundred years, there was absolutely nothing to see. Just blackness. All of a sudden, it was just too much. Everything was too much.
I pushed back from the table and didn’t care that I tipped the chair over, or that others were staring. I just had to get out. To breathe. I grabbed my coat from the rack but didn’t put it on as I slammed out into the cold. It had started to sleet, and the white flecks of ice were bright against the blackness of the night. I ignored the icy wetness that pricked at my cheeks and trudged toward the car.
