Page 84 of Marked
The noise persists, making my vision blur. “Say that again?”
“Magick user.” Horan coughs slightly, and Caine echoes him in the background. “The place is torched, Cap. There is nothing left, and even the demon can’t get past the flames.”
I swear. “We got anything to go on?”
“A few old booklets for–”
The humming in my ears reaches deafening. Groaning, I clamp my hands to my ears, eyes fluttering as it slices and tears at my skull.
An explosive blast rips through the dark, sending me back on my ass in one of the gravel ruts. My cell flies out as my head slams into the jagged rocks with force. Sage fills the air in a grey plume of smoke, and I peer through the disorientating haze at an SUV completely engulfed in midnight-purple flames.
I scramble to my feet, diving for the back door and our lead just inside.
Another shock wave slides me back. The car smolders and contorts as I watch, unable to get closer. But there is no movement now. Nothing but the fire’s dance.
My ears ring softly. Movement darts out of the corner of my eye, and my gun raises.
T tears around the inferno, hands up as his eyes glow with his beast. “Cap?” His lips move but no sound reaches me.
“Ruin? Gods-damn it!” Gage echoes him as the noise returns in a burst.
Sirens wail in the distance, and the crackle and hiss of the SUV says my only lead is now toastedandfried.
Gage and T speed to a stop beside me, arms shielding their faces from the heat. Gage’s emerald eyes are livid, back lit in a flame that could rival even the one behind him. His hands clasp my arms, pushing me back, farther away from the blast zone.
Tanner scoops up my phone. “Magick blast.” He listens for a moment. “Yeah. He’s fine ... Ish.”
I shake my head and push from Gage’s hold to grab at the damn phone. “I need good news right now, Horan. Tell me you got good news.”
“There were a few charred booklets for that shifter ballet across town in the garage. But that’s all that is left.”
My teeth grind. Of all the leads we could get, dance interpretation was not high on my list. “And I doubt our now dead lead was a fan of the fine arts.”
Gage clamps a hand over my arm, holding pressure. And I glance down to find my blood trailing over my dirty skin in rivulets. The gash it pours from is damn near wide enough for me to lay my finger in.
How the fuck am I going to hide this from Lilah?
I growl, low and long. “Get on the horn and see what kind of ETA Lock Lake has on Interpol’s fucking photos,” I say, pacing slightly at the edge of the gravel lot as Gage continues mothering me. “As soon as they have something, take them down to the theater. If any of the ushers or staff have seen this cat on a regular basis, he may make a return trip.”
Tanner looks up at that, his eyes silver in the low light. “You thinking stake-out, Cap?”
My fangs drop as I smile. “Now, T. You know subtlety has never been my strong suit.”
Chapter 37
Lilah
“Do what?” My voice echoes in the colony house.
Raina holds out her hands. “They are all fine.” Her voice is gentle. “A little smoke inhalation, Caine has a broken arm, and Ruin got a small cut, but– Lilah? Where are you going?”
I stalk up the steps and to the thick ass doors. The ones so much easier to open at night. She trails me as I head down the stairs to the front foyer. And the exit.
“Lilah? You can’t go after them.” I just growl. “They’re coming back here to patch up, re-arm, and head back out!” she calls.
I stop walking. “He’s coming back here?”
Her bright blonde hair appears out of my peripheral. “Yes, honey. Gage wants to check Caine’s arm for himself. The colony house is the safest place for them to do that.”
