“That’s good. So, we’re going to check it out tonight?” I could feel Zayne’s gaze on me as I munched on my bacon.
“Yeah, but I also got some more news.” He waited until I glanced up at him. “Gideon was able to track down the car that Bael was seen in. It linked back to a car service that deals only in government officials and diplomats. He reached out to the driver and, through some convincing, was able to get a list of who was being driven that day. It was only one person.”
“Let me guess. Senator Josh Fisher?”
“Yep.” Picking up a strip of bacon, he pointed it at me. “So, we had our suspicions before, but we definitely know now that Senator Fisher and Bael are connected.”
Hope sparked. “God. I know I shouldn’t be happy to hear this, but it’s—”
“It’s a clear lead. A connection.”
I nodded, letting out a shaky breath. “Tonight could be—” I cut myself off before I let hope carry me away.
Zayne caught on, though. “You could find Misha tonight. Or maybe we find information on where Misha is.” He pushed off the island. “It’s okay to have hope.”
“Is it really?” I wiped my hands off on the paper towel that had magically ended up in front of me. “Because what if we find nothing?”
“We might.” He came around the island, and I tensed as he stopped beside me, angling his body in between the other stool and me. He was so close that I could feel the warmth rolling off him. “But it doesn’t hurt to have hope that it will work out in the end.”
I thought that maybe too much hoping led to nothing but hurting, but I kept that to myself as I lowered my gaze. I ended up staring at his chest. He was wearing a gray cotton shirt that didn’t have a single splatter of grease on it. I had to think that took serious bacon-frying skills.
I drew in a deep, slow breath and caught the faint scent of winter mint. I swallowed. “Thank you for breakfast. I...I would say that one of the days I’d return the favor, but I don’t think you’d like that.”
“Why?”
“I can’t even boil eggs.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“Oh, no, it is. Once I tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich and got the bread and cheese stuck to the pan,” I told him, toying with the napkin. “And then I almost burned down Thierry’s house, because I was convinced that I could make fried chicken. I’m a disaster in the kitchen.”
“I can teach you how to make grilled cheese,” he said, and my gaze flicked to his. There was a warmth in his eyes that I wanted to fall into. “How about we try that tomorrow for lunch?”
My stupid, stupid heart skipped a happy little beat, and if my heart was right in front of me, I would’ve punched it. I stared down at my hands. “I don’t know.”
Zayne picked up a piece of my hair and tugged gently. “Learning how to make grilled cheese will change your life.”
Against my will and better judgment, my gaze lifted to his.
“Just say yes, Trin.”
I should say no, but because I was a grade-A glutton for punishment, I nodded.
Zayne smiled then, and it felt like a reward, which made me want to punch him now. That smile faded, though, as he drew his fingers down the length of my damp hair. “You locked the door last night.”
I stilled.
Zayne let go of my hair. “I...I wish you hadn’t.”
Air lodged in my throat.
“But it was probably a smart idea.”
Zayne had tried to come to me last night. Either because he couldn’t sleep or because maybe he’d heard me waking up over and over.
But he still had tried to come to me after everything, and I didn’t know what to think about that other than Zayne was most likely right.
It was probably a good thing I had locked that door.
Exhaling slowly, I pulled my gaze from the heavy thicket of elms. Dusk had fallen and we were on our way to Senator Fisher’s house, just outside of Bethesda.
We’d already passed several homes so large that even I could see them, but for the last mile or so, all I’d seen was trees.
Zayne’s phone rang, and he reached for it from where it sat on his thigh. “It’s Roth,” he told me, and then answered. “What’s up?”
I watched him and saw that a muscle flickered along his jaw, probably in response to something Roth said.
“Sure thing. See you in a few minutes.” Disconnecting the call, he placed the phone into the slot along the door. “We’re going to pull over here and walk the rest. Roth and Layla are almost here.”
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Zayne parked just off the old gravel road. The trees hid the car from anyone on the road, and when I climbed out, I was immediately grateful that my shirt was loose as humidity smacked me in the face.
Zayne came around the front of the Impala, joining me. “We head west, through the woods, Gideon told me, and we should come to a gate. Roth and Layla will meet us there.”
I nodded, feeling the weight of the daggers attached to my hips as I stepped off the gravel and skidded down the little embankment. I scanned the trees. With dusk quickly turning into night, this wasn’t going to be exactly fun.
“Are you good?” Zayne asked, a few steps ahead of me.
I started to say yes, because I didn’t want to be a hindrance, but I couldn’t see crap in front of me and the terrain was completely unfamiliar. “I...I don’t—I can’t see a lot.”
Up ahead, Zayne stopped and turned to me. A second later, he was right beside me. Without saying a word, he took my hand, and I flushed. “It’s, like, rocky—the ground. Plus, there’s a lot of fallen trees and branches.”
“Okay,” I whispered, a little embarrassed and a little grateful. “Normally it’s not this hard. Back home, I can run the woods like nothing, because I’m familiar with the landscape. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize.” He squeezed my hand. “It’s no big deal.”
“You have to hold my hand,” I pointed out as he led me around something large on the ground—a rock or branch.
“I don’t have to. I want to.” He caught a low hanging branch, holding it out of the way as we dipped under it. “And remember, I told you I would be your seeing-eye gargoyle whenever you needed me.”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “Well, you’re doing a really good job at it now.”
“Oh, I plan on excelling at it.”
I pressed my lips together, unsure how to take his light, teasing tone. I decided I could stress about it later, because Zayne’s steps slowed.
We were at the fence.
Slipping my hand free, I stared up at the lit cement pillars and the closed gate. I took a deep breath, tasting the fresh air that mingled with the crisp winter mint of Zayne, and—
“It’s weird,” I said.
“What?” Zayne angled his body toward mine.
“I don’t feel any demons. The only time I haven’t felt demons was when we were at your clan’s compound...and here.” I looked up at the gate. “I guess I was expecting to feel them here.”
“That’s got to be a lot to deal with in a city like DC, constantly feeling them.”
“I’m getting used to the varying degrees.” Lifting a hand, I dragged my palm over my forehead. “But if the senator is hooked up with Bael, wouldn’t there be demons here?”
“That doesn’t mean anything, really,” he replied, and I glanced over at him. A long moment passed as everything around us slipped farther into shadows. “Trin, I—”
I felt them then.
So did Zayne.
A hot breath along the back of my neck, and sudden heaviness in the air around us. We both turned to the gate just as a form appeared out of the shadows, on the other side of the gate.
“Roth,” Zayne said, stepping forward.
The demon prince stopped, and I squinted, seeing someone else behind him. I was guessing that was Layla. “We scoped out the house first. Appears no one is home.”
“Crap,” I muttered.
“Not bad news,” Layla spoke up. “We can get in and look around, see if we find anything.”
She had a point.
“And the senator will probably be home at some point tonight,” Zayne said, and I nodded. “Well, let’s get to some breaking and entering.” Placing his hands on the center of the gate, he twisted. Metal grinded and then gave way. The gate parted, swinging open. He stepped aside. “After you.”
“Show-off,” I murmured.
He chuckled. “What? You can’t do that?”
“I’m strong.” I nodded in Roth and Layla’s general direction. “But not that strong.”
“There was an alarm on the house, but we disarmed it before we came out here,” Layla said, and I wondered how that was accomplished without alerting the alarm company. I figured that was due to Roth. “We haven’t gone in yet.”
“Okay,” I said as we walked up the thankfully flat surface of the driveway.
Zayne fell in step beside me as Layla said, “Did you guys look into this senator? We did today, and he’s probably the last person you’d think would be involved in anything demonic.”