by C. I. Black
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“And don’t tell me the mighty Gage is afraid of a woman with fairy wings.”
“They’re not fairy wings, she’s a pixie, and don’t let her hear you call them that.” He barked a quick laugh. “And don’t let Lachlin hear that, either. The members of the House of Fairy don’t have wings.”
“Maybe he does and I just haven’t seen completely past his glamour.”
“And maybe I’ve lied about you not having snake hair.”
She twisted around to face him, sending a twinge of pain through her shoulder. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Did I?” he asked, mock innocence in his voice.
“I do have snake hair?” She didn’t know why the idea bothered her so much, but just thinking about it gave her the creepy crawlies.
He flashed a playful smile. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“Yes, you would.” She already had proof of that.
“Honestly. There are things Kin don’t like to talk about. Call it a genetic disposition. But I wouldn’t lie to you, certainly not about your hair. I’m told women are touchy about that kind of thing.”
“You’re told? Let me guess, Lachlin told you?” She forced her tone light. He didn’t know she knew he’d lied, and until she learned the truth, he couldn’t find out.
“Actually, I told him,” Rika said from the open door. “So it’s at least a reliable source.”
“Good to know.” The need to force her tone eased.
“You know Hannah will be pissed off to find you out of bed.” Rika leaned against the doorframe.
“Everyone keeps telling me that,” Morgan said.
Gage held out his hand. “If I may.”
“All right. Fine.” She took his hand. Attraction quivered over her, testing her willpower. He helped her back to the bed, and somehow she managed not to pull him down with her and start making out.
Rika straightened from the doorway. “Hey, you haven’t opened your mail yet.”
“I’m getting to it.”
Rika picked up the envelopes from the dresser, set them on the bed, and offered a soft smile. “You know you’re not supposed to get beat up on every assignment.”
Morgan matched the smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I need to steal Gage. The High Council has some questions about the report you filed.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “I’m sure they do. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Sure.” A hint of mischief colored Rika’s tone and she skipped out of the room, her message clear. She guessed that Gage wanted what Morgan’s unruly hormones wanted: time alone with him and her bed, and the bed wasn’t a requirement.
“We need to talk about what happened with Trina,” Gage said.
“Everything would have been easier if you hadn’t taken my gun.”
“And then Eoin could have gotten you to blow your brains out instead of jumping off the balcony.”
“Except he didn’t make me do anything.”
Gage raised an eyebrow.
Heat burned across Morgan’s cheeks again. She would have had sex with Eoin on the patio if he’d asked. “Fine. I managed to break his charm before things became… dangerous.”
“You did. It seems you’ve a stronger will than the average human.”
“Gee, thanks. That might be because I’m only half human.”
“Yes, but with most of the Fae’s charm, it doesn’t matter how much or how little human there is. Even a great-grandparent is enough to make you susceptible. There are only a few rare humans with wills strong enough to resist, particularly considering the strength of Eoin’s charm.” He glanced at the bed by her feet, shifted, but didn’t sit. “But it shouldn’t surprise me that your mother would be in a relationship with a man with a strong will like that.”
“Is that why Lachlin could get into Trina’s head? She’s got a human relative?”
“No. Because she’s a Kin woman.” Gage straightened and crossed his arms, accentuating the muscles in his chest and biceps. “You should get some rest.”
“So Hannah doesn’t kill me.” Guess information time was over.
“She wouldn’t kill you. Put you in a coma until you’ve finished healing, however long that takes, but not kill you.”
“Good to know.”
He flashed her a wicked smile and left, closing the door behind him, capturing his scent in the room. Oh man, living with him was going to be a true test of her willpower. She eased back onto the pillows, but her cell phone rang, chirping the Hawaii Five-O theme song. Kate.
“Hey.”
“You sleeping?” Kate asked.
“If I was sleeping, would I have answered the phone?” A dull ache started in Morgan’s shoulder and she shifted. “I think the real question is, why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Heard back from Pete, my ex at the FBI.”
And because this was Kate, she’d want to share the moment she learned anything, good, bad, or insignificant. “What did he find out?”
“Yes, Gage and his team are officially FBI.”
“So pretty much what I’ve already found out.”
“Yes,” Kate said.
Morgan sighed and shifted again. Her foot hit the envelopes and knocked them off the bed. “All right, fine.” She reached for her mail, the large brown envelope from the marshal’s office and the smaller white ones for bills. Except one of the envelopes was too small for a bill. It was also too heavy to hold a piece of paper.
“Morgan.”
There was something inside, something hard. She ran her fingers over it. It felt like a key.
“Morgan?”
She flipped the envelope over. The address to her now-old apartment was handwritten and there was no return address on it.
“Earth to Morgan.”
She dragged her attention back to Kate. “What?”
“Jeez, did you fall asleep on me or something?”
“No, I—” Morgan opened the envelope and a small silver key with a sticky note folded around it slid out onto her palm. “I think someone sent me a message.”
“What kind of message?”
Morgan pulled off the sticky note and rolled the key between her fingers. “I’m not sure.”
“Good or bad?”
“I’m not sure of that, either.”
“Well, Pete said he’d dig around a bit more. Discreetly, of course. Hopefully we’ll have some answers soon.”
Morgan opened the note. Inside was written one word: answers.
They couldn’t come soon enough.
Thanks for reading The Medusa Files, Case 2: Written in Stone
I hope you enjoyed it!
For the latest news on upcoming releases, you can sign up for my new release e-mail list at http://www.ciblack.com.
Other Books by C. I. Black
THE DRAGON SPIRIT SERIES
Immortal Coil
THE MEDUSA FILES
Case 1: Written in Stone
Case 2: Heart of Stone
Case 3: Escaped From Stone
ABOUT C. I. BLACK
C.I. Black has always lived in a world of imagination. When she’s not daydreaming, she puts her flights of fancy down on paper writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance books.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
Other Books by C. I. Black
About the Author
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