Black Wings, Gray Skies (Black Hat Bureau 4)

First things first, I texted my old pal Marty and told him to rouse the other agents sitting on their thumbs at the hotel we ditched. They needed to work with the Kellies to get between this incident and the human press. He was, as always, super helpful and a joy to converse with. Not at all a jaded has-been too lazy to do his job without me threatening to shove my sneaker so far up his butt that he choked on my shoelaces.

Then I sent a plea for assistance to the Officers Vandenburgh.

“I can check things out.”

Whirling toward Clay, I pegged the tiny voice emanating from his pocket with a glare. “No.”

“I can fly in, fly out, and no one will see me.”

“You’re not going alone.” I slashed a hand through the air. “The killer could still be in there.”

The kidnapper targeted kids. Not fae kids, as she had been, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Until we knew if this killer and our kidnapper were one and the same, I was clipping her wings.

Huffing her annoyance, she put on her headset then slouched into Clay’s pocket to pout.

“You’re the aquatic daemon.” Clay mimed the dog paddle. “Show us how it’s done.”

Had the cannons been functional, I might have aimed one at his head then lit the fuse.

Arms falling to his side, he read murder on my face and fought not to laugh. “Too soon?”

“I’ll go.” Asa shed his jacket and passed it to me. “I’ll need cover.”

"What kind of…” I watched his nimble fingers work his shirt buttons, “…cover?”

“The kind that will conceal a full moon on the rise.” Clay snickered at my unhinged jaw. “Can you arrange for a lunar eclipse?”

Concealment spells were tricky bits of magic that required flexibility to warp a person until they blended in with their surroundings, but I knew Asa. The shape of him. The feel of him. The fine details I cataloged when he wasn’t looking. I could manage cover to and from the water, with Colby’s help.

“Yes.” I shut my eyes against temptation. “Give me five.”

A slow exhale gave me the focus to reach through the familiar bond. Palming my wand, I gestured Asa to come to me. A tap on his shoulder wrapped a thick blanket of misdirection around him that would shield him from prying eyes but allow me to watch.

Us.

I meant us.

For his protection.

Totally a safety precaution.

His shirt hit me in the face, startling my eyes open, and I worried I might have to use it as a napkin as saliva pooled in my mouth.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?”

As he held my stare, he smoothed a thumb over the button of his pants. “Do you have a better one?”

About to tell him that, yes, I had several, I squawked when Clay slapped a hand over my mouth.

“Do not answer that, Dollface.” Clay puffed out his cheeks. “Or I’ll be the next one to barf.”

A hard glower convinced Clay to remove his hand before I removed it for him, which he would not enjoy.

“You’re strangling my shirt.” Asa tugged down his zipper. “What did it ever do to you?”

“The shirt was hogging the view,” I said in a breathy voice like a lovesick fool. “You are so beautiful.”