Dark Lies (Magic Side: Wolf Bound 3)

38

Savannah

Despite my churning thoughts, I passed out on the ride back to Magic Side.

The day had taken every ounce of strength and energy I had. That, and my mom also gave me sleep-anywhere genes, and the car was about as good a place as any to catch a little shut-eye.

I vaguely remembered Jaxson carrying me up to his penthouse when I woke the next morning at twenty past eleven in his bed once again.

I had to get my own apartment, or at least my own sheets. Waking up to his scent each morning was not conducive to clear thinking, and I needed to keep my head on straight. As much as it irritated me, my aunt was right. It is extremely dangerous to be with him.

That was, if I wanted to make my own fate and not get enraptured by our goddamned mate bond.

Jaxson was waiting for me when I emerged. “Sleep well?”

Nuh-uh. This wasn’t going to be a precedent. I put my hands on my hips. “We’re not together. I need to get my own place and stop waking up in your bed.”

“And yet, here you are again. I wonder how that keeps happening?” With an infuriating smirk hovering at the corner of his mouth, Jaxson handed me a cup of coffee. “Ready to hunt down a vampire?”

I gratefully took a sip as hope blossomed in my chest. “We’ve got a lead?”

The get-my-own-place conversation could wait.

Jaxson grunted. “Well, I contacted Neve Cross and Damian Malek. They say they can help, and we can head to their place as soon as you’re ready.”

Excitement thrummed in my chest. I’d met Neve and Amal the day we went to Bentham to question the Ripper. She’d then saved our asses in Forks. Though we didn’t know each other well, part of me had hoped we’d see each other again. I cocked my head. “I didn’t know Neve had a partner. Why does Malek sound familiar?”

“He’s the one who gave us the tip on where to find the Viper. That, and you might have seen Malek Tower in the Circuit.”

Oh, right. That. It was a black spire that dominated the landscape of downtown Magic Side like a dark lightning bolt shooting toward the sky.

I set my coffee down as the hair on my neck stood on end. I’d heard rumors about him. “Isn’t he…”

“A fallen angel? Yes. That, and a crime lord.”

Fantastic. A fallen angel crime lord. What would he demand for helping us? Our own fingers?

“Why him?” I asked nervously. And why would Neve, who was a detective at the Order, be working with a dangerous crime lord?

Jaxson shrugged and set down his own coffee. “He made his fortune running bounty hunters and recovering property—at least, recovering is what he calls it—among other things. He’s also a Seeker. Between him and Neve, we should be able to track the damn thing down.”

I scoffed. “She works for the Order. Do you think you can convince her to work with him?”

Jaxson gave me a sly smile. “Oh, they’re together.”

My eyes widened. Talk about a conflict of interest.

I quickly pulled together a patchwork outfit from the pile of old clothes Sam had left me. At least my hair was back to normal. It had taken a couple of showers to wash Sam’s potion out completely.

Jaxson drove us north in his spare truck, a well-loved beater, arguing that there was no time to grab my car from Eclipse and that I didn’t know the way to Malek’s place.

I was certain he did it just to rub my nerves the wrong way.

After about thirty minutes, we were cruising through an upscale neighborhood on the northern tip of Magic Side. “Welcome to the Breakers,” Jaxson said.

Giant houses lined the glistening lakeshore. While Laurel’s house was larger and more ornate than anywhere else I’d lived, the Breakers made the Indies look like a slum.

We turned down a long drive and pulled up in front of a two-story house with massive windows looking out over the water. Apparently, crime did pay.

The tail end of the morning breeze caught my hair as I slid out of Jaxson’s ride. We were parked next to a glistening black Porsche, which contrasted with Jaxson’s old blue pickup in every way imaginable.

The truck was like Jaxson. Rugged and powerful. Reliable. Ready to take on whatever you threw at it and give it hell.

I wondered what my Gran Fury said about me.

Watch out, other drivers,Wolfie quipped.

Shut up, you.

How about “Hell on wheels”? Or “Doesn’t brake for werewolves”?

I ignored the continued suggestions from my wolf as we headed up the driveway. Beyond the tree-lined yard, the skyrises of Chicago and the outline of Bentham flickered in the hazy distance across the waters of Lake Michigan.

A butler opened the front door and let us in the bright and modern house—not the dark and tortured abode of a fallen angel, as I’d expected. Paintings and unusual artwork hung on the walls, suggesting a life of exotic adventures in long-forgotten places.

Yet there was an unmistakable precision to everything.

The butler led us into a palatial kitchen that was so perfect, it made me miss the warm confines of the LaSalles’ and the endless boxes of Froot Loops shoved in the cupboards.

Neve was sitting at the counter, sipping a coffee from a tiny glass. Her dark red hair seemed to float in the breeze, though the air was still. I inadvertently touched my own hair.

She stood immediately and gave me a hug. “I hear your adversary just refuses to die.”

I hugged her back. “Well, it’s more that dying doesn’t seem to be a problem for him. Thanks again for helping me kill him last time.”

A man entered the room, immediately drawing my eyes. His signature bombarded my senses with the scent of windswept forests and the sound of crashing waves.

I hadn’t known what to expect from a fallen angel, but Damian Malek was so handsome, it was almost painful—a tall man with piercing green eyes and perfect dark hair.

He extended his hand to Jaxson. “Jaxson, it’s good to see you again.”

The fallen angel turned to me and smiled broadly, making my pulse quicken. “And you must be Savannah. My name is Damian. Neve has told me a lot about you. It’s great to finally make your acquaintance.”

Holydamn. This man was gorgeous, and judging by his signature, extremely powerful and dangerous. Still, he paled in comparison to Jaxson in my eyes. Where Damian held a sophisticated grace about him, Jaxson was rugged and all beast—a study in contrasts like the two vehicles parked out front.

I know which one you want to ride.