A shock of spirit slashed through Jack, and he startled, his eyes going wide. Kieran was using my magic to shock some sense into him, to keep him from unraveling.

“What’s done is done,” Kieran said, leaving no room for emotion. “You can still help us. If you stay in this world, you can help us find her, starting by giving us details about this woman.”

Jack’s nose crinkled. “Do I have to put on one of those rotten corpses?” His expression cleared, as though he’d just realized his insubordination. “Sorry, sir. A lot’s happened in the space of…” He shook his head. “How long has it been since…”

“Ages and no time at all,” I said, fatigue making my mind fuzzy. “Come on, let’s go write down all the details you remember.”

Kieran

Kieran stared down at Jack’s still form while Lexi took Jack’s statement downstairs. His brother in arms lay with his hands at his sides, his face pale and his neck ruined. He might’ve come back from his first wounds, but no way would he have survived getting his throat slit without a magical healer to quickly stitch him back up.

Kieran blew out a breath and directed his gaze out the window.

No, not Jack’s still form. Jack’s body. The body that Jack had stepped out of.

Lexi had looked at it before they’d brought it up. She’d said all the prongs had crumbled away. The cat holding the deceased Spirit Walker had apparently told her Jack’s body was too far gone to hold a spirit now.

The situation was a mind-fuck. Kieran wrestled with the knowledge that Jack was physically dead—and yet he’d just spoken with him.

How the hell could you cope losing someone…without actually losing them?

A tear worked down Kieran’s cheek, and he let it. He was glad he hadn’t possessed this ability before his mother had moved across the veil. He didn’t know how he could’ve handled that. How Lexi handled any of this. Even now, exhausted, terrified for Daisy, probably eager to sit by Mordecai’s side, she was working through Jack’s account of events with a level head and a sympathetic ear. She was putting her own issues aside to help a removed spirit cope with the transition. Yes, she was getting valuable information, but it had to be hard for her. And she made it seem easy.

Kieran put his hand on Jack’s cold fingers, trying not to flinch away from the chilled skin. Pain and emotion welled up as the door opened. He stood, schooling his expression. A man didn’t cry. His father had drilled that into him as long as he could remember. A man held back emotion.

Lexi stood in front of him, her lids heavy. Dawn peeked in the window, highlighting her still lovely face, the warm sympathy in her eyes.

The lid over his emotions wobbled. He reached for anger to well up and overshadow it, but then pushed it down again. He wouldn’t reach for anger with her. Not with her. Not given his family history and what his father had done to his mother. That way lay damnation.

“Hey,” she said, and soft comfort flowed through the soul link, warm and welcoming.

He clenched his teeth, not trusting his voice.

She nodded, as though to say she understood.

“It’s late.” Her eyes flicked to the window. “Or early, I guess. Mordecai is still in wolf form, but his pulse is strong. Boman and Thane are taking turns watching him. You know that Henry went to the office for a while—I heard him tell you while I was getting paper.” Her brow knotted. She was putting all her ducks in a row. Probably trying to organize the chaos. “Zorn and Bria have exhausted…” Tears filled her eyes and her fists clenched. Terror and sorrow pumped through the soul link.

He put his arms around her. She shook against him, giving in to her tears. He held back his own, knowing she needed strength.

“Daisy is gone. We aren’t going to find her tonight,” she went on through sobbing hiccups. “I have to sleep. Tomorrow I can…”

“Shhh.” Kieran rocked her. “We’ve grounded all private jets in the entire Bay Area, something only possible because she isn’t magical. She’s still on the books as a missing child. We’ve issued an amber alert for her and closed the magical borders. We’ve also alerted non-magical police officials and have video facial-recognition searches going for Daisy. Henry is working on identifying the woman, and soon we’ll have her info, too. They won’t get far. As soon as we can…process all this, we’ll get down to business and find them.”

She shook her head, her tears soaking through his shirt. “How can you sound so confident when I know you are breaking up inside?”

The lid wobbled. He needed to go for a swim and clear his head.

“Training.” He pulled away enough to softly tip her chin up, getting her to look up at him. Tears beaded in her long eyelashes. “They tried to kill Mordecai, but they took her. If they were going to kill her, they would’ve done it by now. They probably want to trade her for you. Have faith, baby. She’s already walked through hell and come out smoking. She’s not helpless. They are bound to underestimate the feral being they have in their midst, and when they do, she’ll react as she’s trained to do. As Zorn trained her to do. She’ll give us time.”

“I’ll trade for her in a heartbeat.”

He didn’t argue with her. It wouldn’t come to that. He’d make sure of it. He’d failed Jack, but he’d be damned if he would fail Daisy.