Sin's Gift (Veiled Alliance 1)

“You were lovers.”

If anyone else had said it, she’d have bristled, but she felt comfortable with him, as though sharing the visions and the incident in the alleyway had eased them right past “strangers” to something more intimate. Not quite friends, but maybe they really were fighting on the same team. “Yeah, still are—lovers, that is,” she muttered.

“Does he know?”

She caught his meaning instantly, only mildly surprised they seemed to be able to communicate in short-hand. “About what happened in the alley? No. I didn’t give him any details. Just said something weird happened to me.”

“I’d like to keep it that way, if we can.”

“I don’t like lying to him.”

“You play it whichever way you want. But he might not believe you. You already have a rep for not being wrapped too tight.”

Sin’s lips curved. “Maybe I’ll tell him about you.”

He snorted and kept his eyes on the road. “So, he’s seen Danny, too. Has to be rough. But like I said, not that unique. Now, your demon sightings—sensing their true nature—that’s a gift. I’ve been hunting them for years,” he said, sounding tired, “sifting through reports for clues that might lead me to them, looking for patterns to pinpoint the portals they’re using to travel back and forth between the worlds.”

She sat quietly, her heart racing. She truly wasn’t losing it. And someone needed her gift. “They really want me to act as a spotter?”

His long fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “It’d be dangerous, Sin. If those demons figure out you can see them, they’ll come after you.”

“Then you just have to make sure you take ’em down before they spread the word. How do you do that, anyway?”

“They’re vulnerable in their human skin. They take a body when they come over, so they can blend with the human population, but they can only shed it when they pass back into the Shadowlands.”

“They shed bodies…?”

“Your dead suspect.”

“Cause of death wasn’t so natural after all, huh?”

“If it’s any consolation, the guy was dead long before you chased the demon down that alley.”

Sin thought again about how she might tell Jake. He’d need to be convinced before she introduced him to the rest of the team.

At last they entered the park, passing people ambling toward the footpaths to find a place to sleep. A lanky figure entered the light cast by a streetlamp. She caught a glimpse of a faded fatigue jacket and wispy gray hair. “There,” she said, pointing down the path.

“Pull up to the curb,” Theo said. “Chappa, stay with the car.”

Sin was out of her door before the unit drew to a complete stop. She quickly opened Theo’s door, and together, they headed down the footpath.

“Stay behind me until we get close enough for you to positively ID him,” Theo said, his brows drawing into a menacing frown.

Sin glanced back at Jake who stood next the car, his expression so dark and thunderous she knew he probably wouldn’t heed Theo’s order for long. “So, if he’s the guy, what do we do then?” she asked, breaking into a trot beside Theo.

“We don’t do a damn thing.” Theo pulled his weapon from his holster and cupped the stock in his palm, holding it in front of him but pointed toward the ground. “You hang back. I’ll take care of it.”

“Fuck that,” she growled, pulling her own Glock.

Theo aimed a glare her way. “I mean it. This isn’t your battle.”

“Right,” she said, “I’m just the one who can find them.”

“What? You’re going to be stubborn?” Theo shook his head, and his features grew taut. “I never should have involved you. What the hell was I thinking?”

“That you’ve been looking for someone like me for a long, long time. Face it,” she said, getting a little winded as they headed deeper into the woods, “You need me.”

“You’re flying half-assed. You don’t really know what this is