Page 28 of Bound
Chapter 10
Gage
Club Oracle is about as clean as an out of the way truck stop bathroom.
No. That would be an insult to other truck stop bathrooms.
Despite the less than appealing state of things, the club is rife with sporadic pulses of energy. Shifter, vamp, demon.
And Fae.
I concentrate the electrometer over every section of the long, leather booth, but by the time I reach the end, I still don’t know who or what was strong enough to take them.
Thumbing the device off and dropping it into my case, I scowl.
A pair of jean-clad legs appear out of my peripheral. “I’m sure the bench didn’t do anything to you,” Tanner drawls.
I flip him the bird.
His chuckle is strained. “Nothing?”
Sighing, I pull at my face. “Fae energy signature,” I admit. “A strong one. But nothing else that fucking tells me who snagged them.”
“Then what if they weren’t taken?”
That makes me look at him. “What do you mean?”
“You know the Fae better than anyone. Would they have left on their own?”
I cross my arms. “You mean desert?”
His shrug is mild. “Hear me out. We have no traces of a vehicle, no ransom demands, true? It’s been over twelve hours since they disappeared. Where’s the fucking communication?” I stare at him. “I smelled them, Gage, in that fucking suite. They’re powerful. Not your usual level, but pretty gods-damn close. Who would have the strength to just take them?”
Not as powerful as …
My brows knit.
The fact he can smell power levels is not something I knew shifters could do. But T is an alpha, and his own power level is ridiculous.
“What do you mean my usual level?” I ask.
His silver eyes glint in the low lights as he struggles to word it. “Your magick is weaker today. The scent isn’t as strong.”
“And you can smell that?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“How sure are you that I’m stronger than the other Lords?”
He rocks back and gives me an odd once over. “Pretty fucking sure.”
Something like unease filters through me. “Yesterday, when we were at the suite, was there anyone there that rivaled my power?”
His jaw flexes as he mulls that over. “No … No. I don’t think so.”
My mind whirs, confusion and that same prickle of awareness ghosting up and down my spine until my gut turns.
I push past him.
