Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels 1)

He shrugged. “Their master could be here. I have met no other full Aedh as yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”

“So if these Razan are coming after me,” I said, my breath hitching a little as his fingers caressed the inside of my thigh, “then it’s because their master has ordered them to?”

“They never do anything without their master’s consent,” he agreed, his expression distracted as his fingers brushed the junction between my legs.

“Is there any way you could perhaps trace them back to their master?”

He shrugged. “It’s possible. As I said, I have met no other full Aedh as yet, but there are ways and means of finding them. If you give me their descriptions, I’ll try to find who owns them. No promises of success, though.”

“But you’ve more chance of succeeding than I do. And I really need to know who these people are, because they keep—”

He moved with lightning speed, straddling my body and kissing me fiercely.

“Darling girl,” he said, after a long and glorious kiss, “you talk entirely too much.”

“But I need answers,” I said, resisting his attempts to lay me back on the lush green grass that carpeted the jungle room. “And I’m going to be late for work.”

“Oh, you’re going to be very late,” he murmured, and kissed me again.

The fight in me quickly fled, as did all thoughts of work.

And he was right. I was very late for work.

The place was packed by the time I got there. Thursday nights were always busy, with wolves getting into party mode and gearing up for a weekend of fun and games at the nearby clubs. After dumping my stuff in the upstairs locker room, I began pitching in, going wherever I was needed, be it helping to serve at the bar, clearing tables, or carting food out to patrons.

The time slipped by quickly and, before I knew it, it was after midnight. As the girls on the next shift came in, I tugged off my apron and headed into the kitchen. Tao was scraping the grill clean, getting it ready for the next chef.

He looked up as I entered, his eyes tired but his smile wide. “That was a great night.”

“Yeah. I think you made Mrs. Lisborne’s week by giving her that peck on the cheek. It was all she could talk about for the next half hour.”

He chuckled softly. “And next week, she’ll bring in more of her friends to show off her pet chef.”

I grinned, even though she probably would do just that. The old dear had a crush a mile high on our brown wolf—and if she’d been any younger, she would have made a serious play for him. “I’ve got to go to my meeting. If I’m not back—or don’t ring—by three, come looking for me.”

The laughter faded from his expression. “Where is the meeting happening?”

“Sandpiper’s Inn, Charles Street, Seddon. I was warned to come alone, so don’t even think of following me. We need answers, Tao, and this may be the best way of getting them.”

“If it is your father who left the message, and not the idiots who have been hassling you …”

I didn’t answer that, simply because there was no answer. The reality was, it could be a trap. There was no saying that the notes and the Dušan had come from the same person, even if the packaging was similar.

“Did you manage to find out who delivered the packages?”

He screwed up his nose. “Yes and no. The same man delivered the parcel and the letter, but we checked the name listed on his ID tag with the company, and they’ve never heard of him. Stane’s using his image to run a license check through the Vic Roads computers and see if he can grab a match. But again, it could take a while.”

I sighed. “No surprise there. It seems to be the pattern with this case.”

“Yeah.” He hesitated. “Ilianna said to be careful. She reckons the shit surrounding us is on the rise, and it’ll splatter all over you if you’re not extra cautious.”

I laughed softly. She did have a wonderful way with words. “Did she manage to get hold of her mom?”

“Dinner is arranged for tomorrow night. Carwyn is on the menu.” He grinned. “She’s forwarded a copy of the writing in the Dušan’s book, and has asked her mom if it’s possible to translate it.”

I hoped it could be, because I really needed to know what it said. Not that I didn’t trust Azriel; it was just that I had a suspicion he wasn’t telling me everything. About the book, about the Dušan, and about this whole situation.

I glanced at the clock and sighed again. “I’d better go, or else I’ll be late.” I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “See you at three.”