“Sorry. Just thinking.”
“About Zayne?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t told him about my plans to go to the Crone, but decided against it. That was something better left not being shared until tomorrow. I had a feeling he would either try to talk me out of it or invite himself along.
Dez was silent for a moment. “Nicolai didn’t want me to call you in on this.”
“What?” I looked over at him.
“With everything going on with Zayne, he’s concerned you’ll be distracted.”
Me? Distracted? I almost laughed. “First off, I’m always distracted. I’m in a constant state of distraction.” I held up two fingers. “Secondly, I’ll admit it. Zayne is a priority. Right or wrong, I don’t care. But dealing with the Harbinger is still my duty. This is what I’ve been...bred for.” My lip curled. Bred? That sounded terrible. “This is what I’ve been training for. If something is going down with anything that has to do with the Harbinger, I need to be in on it. I can separate what’s going on with Zayne and with the Harbinger, and finally...” I stared at my three raised fingers and then lowered my hand. “I don’t have a finally. I just have one and two.”
Dez grinned. “I know, but he’s worried that this could be a trap. A way Gabriel is going to try to lure you out.”
“It could be,” I said, and Dez glanced over me. “I don’t know if he believes that the Wardens would bring me in or not. Maybe he does, but it’s not like he doesn’t know where I live. Imps and another demon showed up last night.”
“What? And you’re just now bringing this up?”
My eyes widened as Dez hit the brakes. A smaller red car had zipped out in front of him. “It’s not a big deal. I took care of them.”
“Not a big deal? You’re not safe there if Gabriel knows where you’re staying.”
“Gabriel has probably always known where I’ve been staying, and for whatever reason he sent his minions after me last night,” I pointed out.
“You can stay with us—”
“And put you in danger? Your wife and children? Is that what you’re suggesting?” I watched his jaw harden. “Because what’s stopping him from finding me there? I’m not willing to risk that. I don’t think you are, either.”
He was quiet as he guided the SUV down the tree-lined hill. “You shouldn’t be there by yourself.”
“I’m not. I have Peanut.”
Dez looked over at me.
“He’s a ghost,” I stated with another shrug.
“I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“There’s nothing to say.” I tapped my foot on the floor of the car. “I appreciate your concern. Even Nicolai’s. But I’m fine where I am and if that changes—” it quite possibly could “—I’ll let you all know.”
“I get why you don’t want to leave the apartment.”
“You do?” I arched a brow.
“You don’t want to leave in case Zayne comes back. You want to be there.”
I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut as I stared at the dark blue of the sky. Pressure clamped down on my chest. I didn’t want to put anyone else at risk, and I knew there could come a time that I would have to leave the apartment, but Dez was also right. I wanted to be there in case Zayne somehow snapped out of this without my intervention. I wanted to be there in case he came looking for me.
Even if it wasn’t to snuggle.
If Dez knew that Zayne had already been at the apartment—the roof of the apartment, to be exact—he’d probably hog-tie me and stash me away.
And I knew I was being irrational. I knew I should pack my ass up and hunker down, but when did I ever do the rational, sane thing? Never. I started nibbling on my thumbnail. But maybe by this time tomorrow night I’d have a way to neutralize Zayne so I could bring him back.
Or set him free.
“You need to be careful, Trinity,” Dez started.
“I am.” Kind of. Weight settled on my shoulders as the high school came into view. One marked police vehicle sat outside, beside another black, unmarked car.
Never did I think I’d be so happy to see a haunted high school.
Dez pulled in behind the unmarked vehicle. Killing the engine, he turned to me, and instinct told me he was gearing up for some kind of deep talk.
“Look! Cop lady!” I unhooked my seat belt and threw open the door. I all but fell out of the SUV.
Cop Lady was standing outside the unmarked sedan, speaking into her phone. Whether it was my shout or extraordinary exit/fall from the vehicle that gained her attention, the tall Black woman turned toward me.
I gave her a rather jaunty wave. “Did you call the Ghostbusters? If so, we’re here.”
She slowly lowered the phone and turned to Dez.