Page 90 of Paramour of Sin
“Meeting with Azrael.” Gleason ran a hand over his tired face, his dark circles worse today than yesterday. He’d clearly not slept at all. “He’s getting ready to ascend, so she’s taking over the final requirements for Dark Provenance.”
Lord Zebulon nodded, understanding. “What did you find?”
Gleason cleared his throat. “New members of Dark Provenance are often surveilled for a while, mostly for their protection but also as a security measure.” He reached out and tapped a button on the holographic screen. A new window opened, and he slid his finger to the right, pulling up a series of videos and photos. “This is everything we have on Creek.”
I gasped. “Creek? What did Creek do?”
Gleason shot me an unreadable look, then chose a video from the list. The video widened until it took up the entire screen, big enough for us to see the footage. “He’s been spending some time with demons, which could be case related, or… maybe something else.”
I immediately recognized the glass topped bar and surrounding decor. It was a popular place downtown, right on the water. A warehouse converted into a combination pool bar and nightclub. Not one of my regular haunts, but I’d been there a time or two on special nights out.
Creek appeared in the crowd, the smoke and low lighting almost giving him an ominous glow. Except he held a beer in one hand and had a smile on his face as he leaned into a pretty, petite brunette. A flirtatious vibe settled between them, one my succubus soul instantly recognized.
Lord Zebulon moved closer to the screen and pointed at the girl. “Her name’s Jinx. She’s a Portal Dweller I recently admitted into my territory. That’s hardly damning. She’s just having fun.”
Gleason grunted in one of his patented caveman sounds of agreement, then closed out the video, choosing a second one.
Lord Zebulon cursed.
I scooted to the edge of my seat, goosebumps prickling on my arms.
Ragus. Lord Zebulon’s trusted second-in-command. He and Creek stood in a dark corner of the club, conversing. Their heads were ducked low together, and while Creek’s expression was unusually serious, neither of them gave anything away.
Why would Ragus be hanging out with a Nephilim?
Zane returned with two mugs in his hands, then whistled at the image on the screen as he set the cups down on the coffee table. “I didn’t realize they were friends.”
“Neither did I,” Lord Zebulon returned, his irritation palpable.
But I ignored it in favor of something else on the screen. A series of stills.
Gleason said something, which had the Demonic Lord answering in an angry tone. I didn’t really hear them, my curiosity piqued by a flash of something in the bottom corner.
Is that…?
I stood and stepped closer to the projection, then used my fingers to drag up the image that had caught my eye. It was a side view from the video of Jinx and Creek flirting. The club was packed, and there were people all around them, but one face stood out in the dim image. A side profile right along the edge of the picture, almost out of frame.
The face was familiar. But between the smoky atmosphere and low lighting, I couldn’t place the guy.
While Gleason, Lord Zebulon, and Zane continued to discuss Ragus, I scrolled through the sidebar, looking for a better angle of the scene. The club had cameras everywhere, so I knew there had to be more than one view. I made it through all the stills from the first angle, and a second, then fast forwarded a little in time before I found exactly what I needed—a full frontal view of the guy with the side profile.
“Trevor,” I breathed.
All three men stopped speaking and glanced at me as if they’d forgotten I was even in the room. Zane and the Demonic Lord both looked at me with matching expressions of confusion.
“Trevor?” Lord Zebulon repeated, arching a brow.
“Yeah, the accountant from the other night.” I put two fingers on the screen and turned the image, widening it over the video of Ragus.Technology in this era is much better than it used to be. “See. Creek is talking to him in this video.” It took place about an hour after he spoke to Ragus, at least according to the timestamp at the top of the screen.
I pressed play and watched as the two men laughed, their friendship clear in the way Trevor slapped Creek on the back before they parted ways.
Lord Zebulon studied my face for a moment, then leaned in to look at the photo. “You mean Taylor Smith?”
I nibbled my lip and shook my head. “I swear he called himself Trevor. But whatever his name is, that’s the accountant from the other night.” I paused the image and pointed at him, just in case I wasn’t being clear. “How would Creek know him?”
Gleason studied the frozen image, his brow furrowing. “That’s not the guy from the other night, Gwen. That’s a Nephilim.”
“What?” I asked, confused. I blew up the image and re-evaluated my claim. Then I slowly shook my head. “No, no, that’s definitely the guy from the other night. The accountant.”
