Darkness Devours (Dark Angels 3)

“It was done sometime today.”

I blinked. “They definitely knew we were going after Logan.”

“Yes.”

He said it flatly, with no emotion in his voice or his expression, but nevertheless, my hackles rose. “If you name Lucian as a possible suspect, I’ll—” What? What threat could I possibly make to someone like him?

“Whoever is behind the stealing of the key has been one step ahead of us for a while. Lucian is a suspect, whether you wish to acknowledge it or not.” He held up a hand, cutting off the angry reply that was on my lips. “But there are other options. Jak knew we were going after Logan. As did your accountant.”

I snorted. “It could hardly be Jak, since he knows nothing about reapers, and Mike only knew I wanted the tickets to get a reporter friend in. Neither of them is a very likely suspect.”

“I agree.”

Which left us with Lucian. He didn’t say the words, but they hung between us all the same.

“I haven’t talked to him since I ordered him out of the apartment, Azriel.”

“But he has formed a telepathic link with you. He may never need to talk to you again.”

And that, if his tone was anything to go by, would be an extremely welcome event. “Only trouble is,” I retorted, “it’s a link that’s become somewhat faulty.”

He studied me for a moment. Logan was still and silent behind him, and I briefly wondered if he would have any memory of what we were saying.

“No, he will not,” Azriel said, then added, “Why is the link faulty? The connection between an Aedh and his lover usually only becomes stronger over the course of their brief time together, not weaker.”

“I don’t know why it’s faulty,” I snapped back. “But apparently he can only read me during sex. I haven’t had sex with him for over twenty-four hours.”

“But you want to.”

“Of course I fucking want to. He’s a fantastic lover.”

“You should not—”

“Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing when it comes to my love life, Azriel!” I exploded. “Because no matter what happens between us, we both know you’ll be gone once the keys are found and this mess is all sorted out. You’ll never be anything more than a blip—pleasurable or otherwise—on the radar of my life.”

He didn’t say anything to that. I guess there was nothing he actually could say. It was the truth, pure and basic.

He turned around and touched Logan’s forehead. The older man blinked several times, then swung around to face me.

“—come in here,” he said, his voice hinting at anger.

I blinked, then realized he was finishing the sentence he’d started when we first walked in. “Oh, sorry,” I said hastily. “Wrong bathroom.”

I unlocked the door and left. Azriel was two steps behind me.

“Now what?” I lightly rubbed my arms—there was a decided chill coming from his direction.

“Now we see what happens when he leaves.”

I half frowned, then remembered Ilianna’s warning. “Why would anyone go to the trouble of tampering with his mind if they were intending to kill him tonight?”

He shrugged. “Why would anyone fuck a man she does not entirely trust?”

For a moment, I could only stare at him. Then the anger rose, so swift and sharp I had to dig my nails into my clenched fists to resist the urge to smack him.

“Because,” I all but hissed, “despite all that is sane, I find myself wanting you.”

And with that, I stalked away from him. He didn’t follow. He didn’t need to. He was connected to my chi and he could find me whenever he wanted.