Page 14 of Wake the Dream

Pausing long enough to grab his coffee but forgetting his coat, he managed to snag the folder with the information he had so far. Essentially zilch. Pembroke and the rest of his cronies snickered on Kieran’s way out the door.

Yes, savages, all of them. Useless to boot. Okay, maybe not useless, but they didn’t lend an air of respectability to the badges they wore. How they managed to stay employed he would never know.

Back in his car, the engine still warm, Kieran pulled out of his parking spot and drove back to the Fae’s house, the route imprinted in his head.

It looked different in the daylight, he decided. Less severe, more whimsical. The oak trees in the front yard had thick trunks and bare limbs. Ancient oaks, gnarled roots. A brick path led to the front door and the pristine white columns flanking the stoop. He would never have guessed Fae, judging by the house. Some elderly couple who planned to retire in Boca Raton once the grandkids were old enough, maybe. Pulling around in the circle drive for the second time in less than twelve hours, Kieran spared a moment to chug his lukewarm coffee. He’d need fortification in order to deal with—

His attention snapped when the door slammed closed and shook roosting birds from their perches. Illaria show-horsed down the walkway, stomping and making an awful clatter for someone so small. Today she wore a blood-red scarf wrapped around her slender neck, her luscious silvery hair tangled around her head in a messy bun. Tight black jeans emphasized the muscles of her legs, and the boots...God, the boots.

He struggled to get out of the car and intercept her, his mouth dry and his heart palpitating. “Where do you think you’re going?” he called out.

She ignored him, forcing him to run to catch her. Kieran grabbed her shoulders to get her to stop.

“I’m not happy with you,” she said, not making eye contact.

“Clearly, but why? Because I hung up on you this morning?” He could not stand her, Kieran decided on the spot, turning his face away to keep from staring. Even if her lovely eyes twinkled when he caught her smiling. Not at him, of course. Never at him.

And she smelled delicious. And she had a beautiful figure.

Illaria spun around, eyes wide and wild, those silver irises catching the morning light. “Because you are useless and I’m the one trying to do your job. You don’t care about my sister. You don’t care about this case, period, otherwise you would be out there trying to find her instead of hanging up on distraught people.”

He broke contact and ran his hands through his hair. “Look, Illaria—”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” she insisted, her chin rising. “I tried to make nice and ask for an update but you couldn’t be bothered. Now you’re here for, what? Whyareyou here?”

“Because I’m trying to get to the bottom of things and it goes much faster when I have your cooperation. I need more information about Yelena if I hope to make any connections regarding her whereabouts.”

“You’re going to have to put your nose to the ground. I’m heading out.”

He fell into step beside her, knowing full well he’d used up whatever tiny allotment of time she’d given him. “Where exactly are you heading?”

“To interrogate Yelena’s boyfriend.”

Kieran stumbled as he searched through his mental file, not remembering any mention of a relationship. That was a big piece of the puzzle, if Illaria told him the truth. Why hadn’t it been brought up before? “You’re going to have to give me more to go on. You never said she had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not exactly the type of person she should be associating with,” Illaria snapped. “The wordlosercomes to mind.”

Kieran snorted. “In a town like this, he has to be pretty bad.”

“He’s a jerk, okay? I told Yelena to stop seeing him. She never listens.”

“Like someone else I could mention.”

Her light eyes flashed at him. “You think you’re being cute, but you’re not.”

“And you’re withholding information on an active police case,” he ground out. “I could bring you in for questioning if I choose.”

“Seriously?” She raked a hand through her hair and instead of mussing the strands, as any other woman would have done, she created a windblown effect he found rather arousing. “You’re—”

He interrupted her by slapping a hand over her mouth. Okay, not a realslap, but with enough force to show her that he meant business. “We can help each other here, Illaria, because trust me, I want to find your sister. Your keeping important information from me doesn’t help. It hinders. Because odds are good the boyfriend is the culprit here.”

Her smile held little humor and even less goodwill. Kieran fought the urge to shake some sense into her. He’d never met a more infuriating woman, the more so for his inability to read her. It occurred to him that he’d relied so much on his gift that his regular observational skills were a bit rusty. He’d have to work on reading body language, too.

If he had to wager a guess on Illaria, he’d say seriously pissed. With a hint of annoyance and a splash of regret. But again, he was rusty on the body language.

With sudden insight that had nothing to do with his power, he took a step away from her when she looked ready to physically retaliate. “You can’t leave pertinent information out on a whim. I need to be able to follow the trail, which I can’t do unless you help me out.”

“Then I guess you’re coming with me to talk to the schmuck, aren’t you?” Her agreement sounded complacent enough to have him take a second step backward. Until he saw her eyes and the way his comment seemed to rake claws down her temper.

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