“About whether they’ll realize I’m a spy and change the plans you presumably overheard?”

He went quiet.

“My wrist?” I whispered.

He slackened his grip, and rubbed the spot with his thumb, then pulled me into the darkest section of the closet. I lifted onto my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, but still had to tug his shoulder to get him to bend.

“Can I ask why we’re in here when the exit was twenty feet away?”

“I didn’t want to exit.”

“Then why call me—?” The answer hit. “You son-of-a-bitch.”

I slipped my arm from his grasp. His hand went around my waist before I could step away.

I continued. “You want them separated, looking for me, don’t you? I’m not in danger. You just wanted to sound the alarm—and use the excuse to blow my cover so we can leave Miami.”

“I wanted them out of that room so I can get something in it. And, yes, I want you out of Miami.”

“You told me I was in danger, and I trusted you.”

A moment of uncomfortable silence, then, “They have plans in that room. Blueprints—”

“Which you could have gotten without blowing my cover.”

At a sound from outside the room we both went silent. It was Guy and Rodriguez. They’d found Tony. I heard Guy phone Max and tell him Tony had been knocked out. He wanted Max to meet Rodriguez at the front door, then go after me while he tended to Tony.

Rodriguez helped Guy carry Tony away, still unconscious. Once we were sure they were gone, we slipped from the closet.

I followed Karl. I tried to focus on the task, but my nerves were frayed from almost two hours of watching Bianca die.

Why did I insist on trusting a man everyone warned couldn’t be trusted? Maybe I did enjoy the chaos of my own suffering, and I was just too deluded to see it.

“Hope? I need you to stand guard here. Are you going to be able to do that?”

“Of course I can.” I snapped the words, then rubbed my face. “Sorry. Yes, I’m fine and I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. Karl’s gaze darkened and I could feel chaos strumming from him. Anger? Frustration?

Impatience? Impossible to tell.

He said, “We’re getting you out of here. As soon as I’m done.”

“I don’t need—” I bit off the sharp words and managed a softer, “I’m fine, Karl. Really. Just go.”

His look said he expected me to collapse from chaos overdose the moment he turned his back.

“Go,” I said between my teeth. “I’m fine.”

He left. I rubbed my arms, struggling to stay alert. Fight the fatigue. Experience it, learn from it, then push it aside.

“We need to move now,” a voice said. “Go to the warehouse, get the equipment and strike.”

I was ready to bolt, my tired brain misidentifying the sound as something I was hearing with my ears, not my mind. When I realized otherwise, I closed my eyes and concentrated.

“But if they took Faith after they knocked me out—” Tony’s voice.

“All the more reason to move.” Guy.

“I tried calling her—”

“Her phone switches straight to voice mail. Whoever took her must have it and turned it off.”

Where were they? I couldn’t tell. No, wait, if I couldn’t hear them with my ears, then they weren’t that close.

I took out my panic button, just in case.

“Are you up for it?” Guy asked. “How’s the head?”

“Pounding like a son-of-a-bitch, but those Tylenols should kick in soon. I’m not backing out, if that’s what you’re asking. Those bastards have three of our guys, and we’re getting them back. I’d love to know what attacked me, though. What’s that strong? Werewolf?”

“The Cabals don’t hire werewolves.”

The voice faded. I hurried to the end of the hall, hoping to pick them up again, but either they were too far away or the chaos had faded from the exchange. I ran back and found Karl shuffling through a filing cabinet.

“They’re leaving,” I said. “Did you find what you wanted?”

He smacked the drawer shut in response.

“They must have taken it,” I said. “I’m going to follow them. If you want to keep looking—”

He strode past me and waved for me to fall in behind him. As much as I longed to lead, I couldn’t argue with the logic of putting the guy with superhuman hearing and strength in front.

Guy and Tony—and presumably Max and Rodriguez—were gone. That meant Karl had to track them by scent. Easy enough inside. Once outside, though, even if he’d been comfortable sniffing the ground, he couldn’t do it without attracting a lot of attention. So it was slow going. When the sidewalk branched, he had to stoop and tie his shoe to figure out which way they’d gone. Finally, the trail ended…in the delivery lane where Guy usually parked.

He paced, stopping every few steps to sniff the ground, as if hoping he was mistaken about the obvious answer.

Finally he straightened and said, “Gone.”

“From what I heard they’re going after their target now. You saw blueprints. Office? Private residence?”

“A couple of office floor plans, plus one or two that could have been homes. It was too far to see.” He took out his cell phone. “Lucas might recognize them, if they’re Cabal.”

LUCAS: 7

WE PICKED UP PAIGE on the way to Ortega’s house, so we could head out to dinner right after…and because her witch spells might come in handy. Troy’s partner, Griffin, had gone home, leaving Troy as my father’s bodyguard for the night, as usual. We also brought two security guards.

Paige and my father chatted on the ride—casual conversation, unrelated to the task. My father raised me to see witches as simply another supernatural race, one with which we have an unfortunate history. Yet, our Cabal, like the others, has only one token witch employee and when business partners mock witches, he’d never defend the race.

He will come to Paige’s defense, though. Whatever problem a business contact might have with a Cortez marrying a witch, he’d best not voice it within my father’s hearing. That’s more about defending Paige as the wife of his son, but I’m grateful for it.