Witch Hunt(55)

“What happened? Was it an incubus?”
Ann frowned. “No, it was a guy dressed like you.” I was dressed for work—so, black suit, white shirt, black tie. OPA standard. Probably Eduardo.
“Do you know where he took her, Ann?”
“He said something about a pit when he dragged her out of here,” Ann said. “That’s all I know.”
“Wait. A pit, or The Pit?”
“Dunno.” She wiped her blood off the dagger with her forefinger, then rubbed it on the shaft of the scepter. I couldn’t help but recoil. The blood was…vanishing. Like the scepter was drinking it up. Any urge I’d had to protect this girl was suddenly gone. Isobel was right. Ann didn’t need to be saved by anyone—definitely not my responsibility.
“Do you need me to take you to a hospital?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“We’ll be fine,” Ann said.
We? Hadn’t she said that she was alone? I backed away from her, eyeing the darkening streets outside the shattered windows. I needed to get out before the Needles realized I was there—and before the worse demons came out to play.
I left Ann alone in the darkness.






 
    Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure,   Magic
    
 


 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The Olive Pit should have been open at six o’clock in the evening, but its neon sign was turned off and the windows were dark. I sat across the street in the Charger for a good long minute, arguing silently with myself over how I should approach it: Go in alone, or call for backup?
Procedure said that I should call for help. We were expected to work with a certain level of autonomy—probably more than the real FBI were—but when it came to situations potentially involving firearms, we were supposed to get union     support. If a witch cast a spell at me, I could cancel it out with my own magic, but magic didn’t do much against bullets. And Eduardo would definitely be armed.
But I didn’t know whom to call anymore. Suzy had been arrested for a murder she couldn’t have committed by the company we worked for. Eduardo and Joey were definitely bad guys. And Fritz—who knew about Fritz? He had contributed to Suzy’s arrest, too.
I sent a text message to one of the only phone numbers I had memorized then got out of the car.
The windows were unlit, but the curtains were open, so I peered inside. There was a light on in the kitchen, but everything else was turned off.
Silhouettes moved in front of the illuminated doorway. I counted them.
Five distinct men. I could tell them apart by their heights and clothing. And those were just the ones I could see.
I sat against the side of the building as I considered my odds, hiding out of sight from the men inside. Handling a single witch was easy. That was what I did best. Stalking them, figuring out their patterns, slipping a sleeping potion into their coffee. No confrontation necessary.
But five guys—I didn’t know where to begin.
“You really think this is time for a drink?”
I whirled. Domingo stood in the mouth of the alley. He wore another comfortable sweatsuit and carried a brown paper bag.
“You got here fast,” I said.
“I saw on the news that Agent Takeuchi is going to trial for the waitress’s murder, so I figured you were declared innocent. I was already on my way to bring you dinner at your apartment. Up for celebratory junk food?” He tipped the bag and the smell of cheeseburgers wafted through the air.
I hadn’t been hungry until that moment. I snagged his sleeve, pulled him down to the ground with me, tore into the bag. “We’ve got a problem,” I said around a mouthful of burger. “There are at least five men inside this building and they’re holding Isobel captive.”
Domingo tensed. “So you texted me?”
“I can’t handle it alone.”
“Call in backup! You’re with the FBI!”
I swallowed down one of the burgers. “Actually, I’m not. I work for a secret government department called the Office of Preternatural Affairs. We handle witches gone bad and demons and stuff. I don’t know if I can trust anyone with the OPA now. All I know is I can trust you.”
He made the time out symbol with his hands. “You shitting me?”
“What? Abuelita’s a witch, we’re witches. Are demons that weird?”
“No, I knew about demons. I mean this Office of Whatever the Fuck.”
“You knew about demons?”
“Do you think you’re the only one Ofelia talks to? Yes, I know about demons. But I thought that secret government stuff was some tinfoil hat bullshit.”