Damien nodded thoughtfully. “A definite Shem feeding pattern. Get them to practically bleed fear, then—”
“Go in for the kill.” Dante’s expression was fierce, protective.
They all shared a look. The kind of Shem who would prolong their meal was the kind they hated hunting most. The bastards were sneaky fucks who left behind very little evidence of their presence.
“Dismissed.” Gabriel turned his back to stare once more out the windows.
Seth followed Dante and Damien out of the house and shivered. It was cold out on the front lawn compared to the warmth of the commander’s home. “Is it me, or does Gabriel have a bug up his ass?”
Dante chuckled. “He’s worried about Rafe. No one’s been able to find him.”
“Not that he’d admit it. He’ll just chew up our asses until he reaches our necks instead.” Damien shook his head and climbed into his car. “I’m off to work, kiddies. Have a good day.”
“Stay safe, my brother.” Dante banged on Damien’s roof twice, laughing when Damien shot him the finger.
Seth shook his head and ignored their antics. He shivered, his wings ruffling around him. “Time to fly.” He was going to keep watch on Abby whether she liked it or not.
“Keep your mouth closed this time,” Dante shouted. “Remember that gnat swarm?”
“Fuck you so very much.” Seth stretched his wings, prepared to take off.
“So not my type, pretty boy.” Dante snickered as Seth flipped him off with his wing. “Later, my brother.”
“Stay safe, my brother.” Seth shook his head, but couldn’t stop his smile. Being around his brothers always made him feel better.
He lifted his arms to the sky, shuddering with joy. He loved flying under his own power. His form shimmered in the early afternoon air and was soon invisible to mortal eyes. He could fly without anyone seeing him, keep an eye on Abby without her freaking out or finding out too soon what he was.
He prayed as he took off that she would accept him, wings and all. It wasn’t every day a woman was asked to love a half-angel.
* * *
Abby and Nancy walked through the black, red and gold interior of the Golden Lotus. They were running late, as usual. She hoped the girls hadn’t eaten without them. She was starving. Breakfast seemed a long time ago, at least according to her rumbling stomach.
“Nancy, Abby, over here.” They waved to Sam and sat down at the table, smiling when they were told the other women had already ordered for them but asked the waitress to delay until Nancy and Abby arrived. General chitchat filled the air while they waited for their food to be brought around.
Once it was delivered, the women turned to the really hot topic of the day: Seth.
“Who was that absolute hunk who dropped you off this morning?” Grace pulled the moo goo gai pan closer and slurped a baby ear of corn into her mouth. “I’ve seen him around before, but I don’t remember meeting him.” Her long black hair was held back by a sparkly, jeweled clip at the top of her head, keeping it out of her dark eyes. Grace Akita was so dainty, Abby was always afraid she’d blow away in a good, strong wind.
“He looked yummy.” Sam toyed with her pork and mushrooms. She’d been waiting outside the shop for her weekly manicure when Abby and Seth arrived, and Abby bet her spacey, brilliant friend had seen the kiss.
Nancy put down her vanilla Coke and grinned. “Careful, Abby, or Diana will steal him right out from under you. He’s just the type she usually goes for.”
Worse, Diana could have been Fiona’s sister. She was tall and blonde, with cool blue eyes. She caught the attention of many men in the salon. “Good point.”
“Who looked yummy?” Beth asked, peering around in confusion. “You know guys aren’t allowed to have secrets without me.”
“Abby’s new boyfriend.” Nancy ignored Abby’s red face, waggling her eyebrows at them. She popped a piece of sweet-and-sour chicken in her mouth, licking delicately at the corner of her mouth to get a stray drop of sauce.
“Abby’s got a new boyfriend?” Sam squealed. She pushed her plate out of the way and propped her chin in her hand. “Do tell.”
“You finally got it on with Mr. Right?” Beth pushed her glasses up her nose with an impatient gesture and a wicked grin.
“Will you all stop? You’re worse than Trish.” Abby hid her head in her hands, torn between the desire to laugh and the desire to choke her friends to death.
She was just grateful that Andi wasn’t there. Not that Andi wouldn’t hear the rumors soon enough. The gossip tended to fly thick and fast in this group, even when they weren’t all together, like now.
Half of her friends were working, but Grace owned the occult bookshop, Meditations, two doors down from Mane Frame, and almost always made time to meet them for lunch. Sam was currently unemployed thanks to some bastard who’d accused her of stealing. Pfft. As if. Sam might be flighty, but she was loyal to a fault, and had all the honor of a knight in shining armor. Beth wasn’t working on a case and had been able to join them, but the others had such weird schedules that it was catch-as-catch-can when their monthly lunch date came up.
Abby still figured she’d get a phone call or two at some point that night, long after she should have been asleep. Andi, for instance, kept the same hours as her boss, Piotr Romanov, and that was a man known to ring in the dawn. Andrea Hancock was a hell of a personal assistant. Luckily Mr. Romanov knew it. He paid her friend a crazy salary, and Andi earned every penny of it.
Quinn was off somewhere doing her Indiana Jones impersonation. At least, that’s what she always said. Those Discovery Channel shows depicted something a hell of a lot more boring, but Quinn always came home dusty, bruised and extremely happy, so no one called her on it.
Last, and probably loudest, Kaley was currently in some play that was making her crazy. Whoever thought casting the exuberant, over-the-top Kaley as a misty-eyed Snow White was insane, but Kaley was determined to make it work. So even though the play wasn’t yet being performed, Kaley was practicing her ass off day and night in between rehearsals and costume fittings.
“At least one of us is getting some.” Beth winked at Abby over her glasses.
“It was just a kiss. Sheesh.” Abby laughed as the women booed and hissed. She took another bite of her pork lo mein before answering. “I’m staying temporarily with Seth because someone broke into my town house this weekend.”
Pandemonium broke out at the table. The two most frequent questions thrown at her were “Are you all right? Were you hurt?” and “His name is Seth? What else can you tell us, hmm?”
With many interruptions, she filled them in on what had happened. She neglected the kisses, however, until Sam reminded them all. “Didn’t I see him kissing you goodbye this morning?”
Abby blushed, and pandemonium broke out again among the girls.
“Is he a good kisser?” Sam sighed, her chin on her hand, her gaze going dreamy. “It sounds sooo romantic.”
“Can’t the girl eat her lunch in peace?” Beth pushed her glasses up, her expression disgusted. “I for one want to know about the break-in. Who’d pull a sick stunt like that?” Beth was a private investigator, and from the looks of things, she was dying to sink her teeth into Abby’s case. She leaned forward, her gaze equal parts troubled and assessing. “You think it has something to do with Doug?”
Even Sam quieted down, her gaze turning sharp as that brilliant intellect turned to the real problem at hand. “If it’s Doug, that’s bad. Very bad.” She bit her lip. “What can we do to help?”
Abby smiled at sweet Sam, but before she could reply, Grace piped up. “Of course it has something to do with Doug, but...not, somehow.”
“If Grace had a vision, that’s really bad.” Sam brought out her tablet PC and began tapping at it furiously. “I’m going to do some research into home security systems and send you links.”
“Thanks, hon.”
Sam waved it off, her gaze glued to her tablet.
&
nbsp; All of them knew Grace didn’t run Meditations as a hobby. She had some sort of freaky sight that even the pragmatic Beth had to acknowledge was scarily accurate. In fact, Beth was watching Grace like a particularly interesting specimen, a sure sign the PI was on the hunt. “What do you think is going on, then?”
“I’m not sure. I wish I could tell you more, but Doug is definitely tied into this somehow.” Grace gave Abby a sympathetic shrug. “You know my visions aren’t always clear.”
“It’s okay, Grace.” She shivered. “It’s kind of scary to think Doug is free, though.”
“Yes, I know, but here comes the hero, riding to the heroine’s rescue.” Sam sighed, obviously lost in the fantasy as she placed the tablet back into her purse. She’d barely touched her lunch. She was rail thin, and her usually intelligent hazel eyes were unfocused.
Beth glared at her in disgust. “Does this look like something out of one of those romance novels you read all the time? This is real life, damn it.” She turned back to Abby with obvious concern. “What precautions are you taking?”
“I’m not allowed to ever be alone. Seth’s picking me up tonight at six and I’m staying with him, in my own room,” she yelled over Sam’s fist-pumping cry of “Booyah!” “The cops are still trying to figure out what’s going on. So far it’s just one incident, and without any more to go on, there’s not much they can do. Bill’s checking into it, but until something else happens, we’re stuck.”
“But Seth’s taking it seriously, right?” Beth asked, pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes.
Abby sighed. “Yes. He is taking it seriously. He’s going to escort me to and from work.”
“You need to contact us, any of us, if you need something. You hear me?” Beth could make even fried dumplings look like a lethal weapon as she stabbed at Abby with her chopsticks. “I know you, Abby. You’re going to try and run from this, and you can’t run from someone like Doug.”
“But if I stand my ground, he could hurt someone.” Just like he’d hurt her family. The thought of Doug doing anything to Sam or Beth or, God forbid, Seth was like a knife in her gut.
“And if you don’t, you could find yourself alone and dead.” Beth took hold of her hand. “Trust me. You and Bill both know Seth, and I trust Bill. He’d never let anyone like Doug near you ever again, so if he’s willing to let Seth live with you, then you need to trust his instincts. Okay? Because right now yours are going to be messed up, down and sideways.”
“And I’ve seen the way he watches you.” Nancy’s brows rose as she smirked. “You could have picked someone a lot worse to curl your hair.” She laughed as Beth rolled her eyes.
“Seriously. Ignore these idiots. If you need something, you call me, got it?” Beth poked Nancy in the side. “All Curly will do is buy you condoms, and Sam would buy you a plane ticket.” It didn’t help their cases when both women nodded. “So don’t run unless Seth tells you to, and then for God’s sake take him with you.”
Abby grimaced. “Abu Dhabi is pretty this time of year.”
“Idiot.” Everyone laughed, the tension easing as Beth bopped her on the head.
“We worry about you, yeah?” Sam smiled sweetly.
“Worry about yourself, Sam. Any job prospects yet?” Beth leaned back. Her gaze was still sharp, but it was obvious she was making an effort to change the subject.
Abby was grateful. For just an hour, she wanted the subject of Doug to be off limits. And Beth was just the woman to deliver, as she kept the conversation centered around everything but Abby.
But at the end of the meal, Abby couldn’t stop shivering. Grace hadn’t stopped staring at her through the rest of the meal, and her expression had been...unnerving.
Afraid.
And if Grace was afraid, then Abby was in bigger trouble than she thought.
* * *
Six o’clock rolled around, and Seth made sure he was right on time. The brief time he’d had to fly back to his car and drive to the salon had been hell, not knowing if she was safe or not. But there she was, smiling and laughing with her coworkers and her customer, leaving Seth to study everyone in peace. Abby smiled and waved when she saw him, but otherwise ignored him. He smiled and nodded back, and opened his briefcase.
Something was off in the salon. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the lingering whiff of evil was strong, the faintest hint of Shem tickling his senses. He had the urge to pick Abby up and cart her off, whether she agreed or not. He studied her coworkers and pulled out the file Damien had printed for him. He studied each woman and read up on her as he went. They were a potential source of trouble, so Seth needed to know all of them, if only by sight.
None of them were in the Archives, that much he knew. Still, better to be safe than sorry, so he pulled up the first picture on his tablet PC.
He smiled as he saw who was at the top of the list. Nancy Braddock, the owner, was a sprightly redhead. Her curls danced around her face in an untamed riot. Her bright green eyes shone and her movements were energetic. She laughed loudly and talked freely with her customers and employees. If she wore makeup, it was with so light a touch that Seth couldn’t detect it. She reminded him of a dryad out of a fairy story, but there was strength within her he doubted few could detect. If he had to leave Abby alone with a human, Nancy was the one he’d pick.
Nothing about her pinged Seth’s personal radar, so he moved on to the next worker.
Next to Nancy was a woman named Lisa. Her blond hair was worn chin length and razor straight, and her light hazel eyes were serious. She smiled quietly at Nancy’s jokes, shaking her head at one particularly outrageous remark. The wedding ring on her finger sparkled in the light, and pictures of two cute blond children were taped to her mirror. No sense of trouble there, so Seth dismissed her.
Abby took up the third chair. Behind her, two other stations were occupied, but the sixth was empty.
One chair was held by a woman Seth would normally have asked out. Glancing at his notes, he saw that her name was Diana. She was a tall, cool blonde, breathtakingly beautiful in the classic sense. She had curves in all the right places and moved with a smooth grace that should have intrigued him. Her ice-blue eyes smiled in his direction more than once, and he thought he detected a glimmer of interest in them. Her voice was low and husky, her lips full and pouty, lusciously red, designed for a man to savor.
Her appearance didn’t move him. She alone pinged his trouble radar, but he didn’t know why. He didn’t sense anything supernatural about her. There was no way she could be Shemyaza. Very few Shem could hide from him, and Damien had already checked to see if any of Abby’s coworkers were listed in the Archives. There was no Diana Martin listed.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her.
Next to the ice princess was a small, brown-haired girl named Mercy. She had sweet brown eyes and long, dark brown hair bound up in a curled, bouncy ponytail. Her smile was her best feature, lighting up her face and making her more attractive than Diana by far. She had an air of innocence similar to Abby’s, intriguing him.
The sixth, empty, chair, according to Damien’s report, was usually occupied by a man named Judd. It was probably the same Judd that Finley had flipped out over. The man’s dossier was clean, but until Seth saw him, he wouldn’t know if Judd was the Shemyaza or not. He’d have to find out what Judd’s schedule was and make sure he stopped by when Judd was in the salon.
It was odd that he couldn’t quite place where the Shem stench was coming from. It was faint, nearly undetectable. Perhaps a customer, one who’d already come and gone? He was tempted to start searching, but that would be difficult. In his human form he’d be visible to everyone.
Sniffing every chair in the salon would definitely earn him that hug-me jacket.
The green miasma he normally associated with the Shem was there, hanging faintly in the air like a dissipating fog. Maybe the Shem hadn’t left? If the Shem was still here, then Abby was—
“So I br
oke up with Bradley.”
There was a chorus of aws at Nancy’s pronouncement, distracting Seth. He blinked, losing the vision of the fog and the faint sent of Shem.
“What happened?” Abby turned from her client for a moment, the concern on her face real.
“I found out he’d cheated on me.” Nancy shook her head. “Once a cheater, always a cheater. Needless to say, I kicked him the hell out.” Nancy kicked her foot out, making a clucking sound with her tongue. “Butt, meet boot.”
Mercy bit her lip. “I don’t know if you should have. I mean, was it a one-time thing or was it ongoing?” The other women looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Seriously. They say you should try and work things like that out.”
“There are some things that shouldn’t be. Everyone has a deal breaker in a relationship, and cheating just happens to be mine.”
Mercy sighed. “How did you find out he was cheating?”
Nancy made a face and reached for another piece of foil. “I got home early and he wasn’t expecting me.” She put some white gunk on the woman’s hair and wrapped it in the foil. “What’s worse? The bitch he was with had terrible highlights.”
All of the women laughed lightly except for Mercy. “That’s a shame, Nancy. You liked him a lot, and he made good money.”
Nancy pointed at the younger woman. “I make my own money, thank you very much. Money is no reason to hang on to a man you no longer respect.”
All the women nodded in agreement. Hell, Seth agreed with that wholeheartedly.
Diana took the styling cape off her client. “Trust me, honey. When you find the one, you’ll know.” She smiled secretly.
When she shot him another sultry glance from her icy-blue eyes, he shivered.
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