Page 53 of Sins of the Heart
touch the piles of trash—bottles, cans, empty pizza
boxes—and an ancient, ragged recliner shoved in the
corner.
Rustling and scratching told him he wasn’t the only
live creature in the place, a suspicion that was proved
true when a rat scurried across the floor.
His cell phone vibrated. He pulled the lollipop out,
stared at it for a second and ignored the summons. The
old man could wait.
Or not.
62
SINS OF THE HEART
Dagan’s lips quirked in a bitter smile as intrusive
tendrils of dark power poked at the edges of his
thoughts. They had the subtlety of a hurricane, but no
more substance than fog. He brushed them aside with
ease. The time had long since passed that his father
could force his way into Dagan’s mind. He could only
gain entry now if Dagan let him. That wasn’t going to
happen anytime soon.
Seconds later, the squeak of metal hinges told him
that the spring-loaded board behind him had been
pulled open. A thud sounded as the new arrival climbed
through the window, then the board banged shut.
Dagan sighed, put the candy back in his mouth and
crunched it until it was gone. But he didn’t turn.
“Didn’t ask for anyone to watch my back, Alastor,”
he drawled.
He should have answered his father’s call. Maybe
then the old man wouldn’t have sent his brother to play
