Page 113 of Soul Sucker

Drew studied Vadim, the force of his magic pushing against Vadim’s in the equivalent of a psychic handshake. Whatever Spencer felt made him retreat.

“Mr. Morosov, is it not?”

“That’s correct.”

“The ‘expert’ from Russia?”

“If that’s what you want to call me.”

“Isn’t that why you were brought on the case?” Drew’s quick smile was meant to intimidate. “Unfortunately, your expertise seems to have added nothing so far.”

Vadim didn’t bother to answer that and continued to look calmly at the man. Feehan shifted uncomfortably in his chair and made no effort to intervene. Vadim remembered his wasn’t the only career on the line.

“We’ve all done our best, Mr. Spencer,” Ella said. “No one on this team enjoys seeing empaths die.”

“That’s very brave of you to say, Ms. Walsh. Personally, if I were you, I think I’d feel let down.”

Vadim tensed as Ella stared at Spencer. “I’ve been let down by way too many people to know when that isn’t the case. My colleagues have behaved impeccably.”

“But your life is in danger.”

She shrugged. “It’s going to end soon anyway.”

“Only if you don’t take an OCOS mate.”

“That’s hardly relevant, is it?” Ella replied. Vadim wanted to grin at her. “As Morosov said, this particular killer is proving hard to catch.”

Spencer steepled his fingers and studied Ella through them. “There is one way we might catch this deviant.”

“Let me guess.” Ella folded her arms and sat back in her chair. “You want to use me as bait because, hey, I’m not taking an OCOS mate, so I must have a death wish anyway, right?”

“That’s not quite what I intended to say, Ms. Walsh, but it is close enough. Would you be willing to offer yourself up as ‘bait’?”

“Ms. Walsh, Mr. Spencer, we’ve already tried that, and you know what happened.” Vadim paused. “We ended up with two more dead empaths.”

Spencer glared at Vadim. “Seeing as your superiors considered you were at fault in both of those deaths, Mr. Morosov, I suggest you keep out of this.”

“I was not found guilty of those accusations, Mr. Spencer.”

“That’s because you were never charged.” Spencer locked gazes with Vadim. “And why was that, I wonder? It might suggest that you have undue influence in high places, which scarcely speaks well for your integrity.” Everyone in the room was staring at Vadim with various degrees of consternation. He almost flinched when Ella squeezed his knee under the table.

“You’re out of order, Mr. Spencer. Morosov doesn’t need to do this shit job, but he does it anyway, and I’d trust him in a heartbeat.”

The “so fuck off” that ended that sentence remained unsaid, but somehow reverberated in the air like a challenge.

“I’ll think about what you have suggested and discuss it with my team and come to a decision.” Ella smiled. “After all, as you said, the choice is mine.”

She rose to her feet and nodded at everyone around the table except Spencer.

“Shall we adjourn to the bar on the other side of the street and decide what to do?”

Everyone rose with her, even Feehan, leaving Spencer sitting by himself at the table.

* * *

Despite her brave words,Ella was trembling when she finally managed to escape to her office. She’d promised to meet everyone in the bar in fifteen minutes and she intended to honor that promise. But she’d needed a moment alone. Spencer’s combative attitude toward Vadim had infuriated her and she’d felt a weird need to protect him. Not that he needed it, but she simply couldn’t allow him to be treated like that in front of the rest of the team. They were all at fault, not just him.

There was an internal mail envelope in her tray and needing something to do, she opened it. A photo slid out and she studied it carefully. The printed writing saidIncoming Empath Freshman Class,2003. There was nothing else in the envelope. Ella returned her attention to the picture. She picked herself out quite easily. She hadn’t changed much—still the same baby face and bad dress sense…

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