Praise for Blind Salvage(5)

I shrugged, did my best not to let him see my mind working. “Not my issue. I’m going home. And for the record, I don’t know what the seventh veil is either.” And that was the truth; whatever the veil fully encompassed, I didn’t know.

Liam slid into the passenger seat next to the cabbie.

Agent Valley took his hand off the door. “We think someone is trying to bring Orion through, to our side, and with everything I’ve heard about how very bad this demon is, I would think you wouldn’t want that.”

How the hell did he know all this? He’d gone from all but begging me to help him and his Arcane Arts division, to now knowing shit about the supernatural that we didn’t? The only answer was that he’d found someone to help him, someone who knew the supernatural. Maybe a Reader like Giselle that was my guess. Not that it mattered. If he got the information he wanted and didn’t need us, all the better.

I glared at him. “Guilt trips aside, who the hell would want a demon on our side of the veil, you moron? Find somebody else to do your dirty work. I find kids; I don’t go after demons. I don’t have what it takes to be some fucking superwoman.”

Liam gave the cabbie a nod and the driver turned over the key.

Nothing, the engine didn’t even sputter once. Fuck me sideways, it looked like Monday had struck again. I looked over Pamela’s head at Liam. “Too many of us.”

He gave a quick nod, and then opened the door. “Alex and I will meet you there.”

In other words, he would shift, and the two boys would run all the way to the point out in the bush where the cabbie would drop us off.

Pamela slid closer to me. “Will we have to wait for them?”

I snorted. “Not likely, they’ll probably beat us there, going as the crow flies.”

Liam and Alex disappeared around the side of the house. Agent Valley followed them, close on their heels. Shit. Liam would have to just deal with his boss without me.

“Ma’am, are you ready to go now?”

“Yes.”

I slammed the door shut and leaned back in my seat. The cabbie had no problem with the engine this time, and he maneuvered around Agent Valley’s black sedan.

Not a word was said, not one word. But my gut was rolling. Without a doubt, this news about Orion was bad … very, very bad. But I was being honest with Agent Valley. Demons were not my forte. Just look at what had happened when I’d tangled with the last one—a minor demon, on the scale of things. I’d almost died, and in the process, had nearly caused an apocalyptic winter. I was nobody’s hero.



Liam strode toward the back of the house, Alex tight on his heels.

“Running, Boss?” Alex panted eagerly, his ears flicking up and down several times.

“Yes.” Liam didn’t want to get in any sort of a discussion with the more submissive werewolf. While Liam liked him well enough, his wolf wanted very badly to remind Alex that he was still a submissive. Not that Alex stepped out of line very often, but there were little things.

Like Alex eating before him and Rylee were done. Or knocking into their legs, or pissing on the shrubbery around Jack’s mansion as if it was his territory. And the wolf in him was already on edge from dealing with Will and his pussy cat attitude. Will’s desire for Rylee was obvious, both in his actions and his scent, and it sent Liam’s wolf into a rage he could barely contain. All of that together set the wolf in him off something fierce and made him want to pin the goofy werewolf to the ground and force him to submit. The logical side of his brain knew that was ridiculous; Alex was zero threat to his leadership or his relationship with Rylee. But the other side … .

“Liam. We aren’t done yet.” Agent Valley called to him, bringing Liam’s feet to a standstill. Even with the wolf in him, there were too many years of obeying his superiors to just turn it off completely. Besides, he owed Agent Valley a moment of his time, if nothing else.

Even his wolf understood that.

“Agent Valley, there isn’t anything I can do to help change her mind, so don’t bother asking.” Liam placed his hands on his hips, his back still to his former boss.

Agent Valley caught up to him, out of breath, his face flushed pink even with the cool mist that floated down on them. Liam took a breath in, scenting the air around them. Agent Valley didn’t smell like he’d been hanging out with humans. There was something else clinging to him, a faint hint of rot, though … .

“O’Shea, I don’t think anyone could change her mind once she’s set on a course; Adamson is stubborn as a rock. That’s what my mother would say.” Agent Valley walked along beside him.