Black Wings, Gray Skies (Black Hat Bureau 4)

Suddenly, the ceiling held the mysteries of the universe, and he was a devout student of its glory.

“You Googled them.”

“I did.”

“Then you know.”

“I do.”

“I’m an idiot.” He pinched his fingers together. “I was this close to investing in a pyramid scheme, Rue.”

As much as I loved Clay, he was vain. (Mostly about his hair.) That made him ripe for scamming by pretty faces with flattering words. The wannabe witches played into that vanity, thinking they could con him to buy their branded skincare or whatever they were hawking in bulk. Maybe sell extras to his friends, for a profit. As if he needed the money. Or the product. He had been molded, carved, every detail was exactly as his creator imagined. And though he never saw himself as such, I thought he was perfect as is.

It made me want to show them what a real witch could do.

But that was the old me.

The new me would simply flip Colby’s switch to annihilate and watch her topple their enterprise via bad reviews that exposed their shady practices. As much as she adored Clay, I wouldn’t have to work hard to convince her this quest was a worthy one.

“I don’t follow.” Asa checked on his partner in the rearview mirror. “What do nonexistent pores have to do with a MLM scheme?”

“I thought the women were interested in me.” His shoulders drooped as he leaned back. “They were only interested in my money.”

They must have been at Fort Sumter that day to scout for marks and picked Clay out of the batch.

“You let me think you were out there having some kind of wild sex party when you were listening to a sales pitch.” I thinned my lips. “Why lie about that?”

“I didn’t lie, exactly.” His gaze drifted back down to mine. “I just let you believe I still had it.”

“It?”I understood after I spoke the word and held up a hand. “Never mind.”

“It’s been a long time for me, and after we ran into my ex, it got me thinking.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I went to the beach for the free show, which is definitely not mentioned in the brochure, but when I kept my pants firmly in the zipped position, that’s when Glinda pulled out the story about the body to hook me.”

Oh, I was sure he was into it plenty. But he would have never unzipped for a bunch of strangers.

People could be cruel, humans more than most, and he wouldn’t have exposed himself to ridicule.

“Wait.” I scrunched up my face. “Why would she randomly volunteer that specific information?”

Big conversational leap from moon worship to murder.

“I might have told the ladies I was a special agent with the FBI to get us a ride back to Charleston.”

That line worked on a certain subset of people, and he had been dressed for the part when they met.

Sadly, that lent more credence to Glinda’s story. Pity. I was hoping for a reason to question her.

With my foot on her windpipe.

“I don’t see why you’re so put out.” I shoved his knee. “You’re not the only one not getting any.”

A choked noise reminded me Asa was listening in. Perhaps I shouldn’t have chosen this as my feel-good argument to boost Clay’s self-esteem. Too late. I was in it now. Might as well follow through.

“You’re in a relationship.” Clay pointed at Asa. “Sex is right there, if you want it.”

“You don’t have to be in a relationship to have sex. You must have told me that a million times.”

“And you didn’t listen,” he reminded me. “I would say you were waiting for an emotional attachment—”