Season of the Witch (Claws Clause 2)
hasn’t even been leaked to the news yet… but it’s true. We found the poor girl this morning.” He paused, and Colt was wondering what else Diaz could say to make this worse when he hardened his jaw and added roughly, “She had purple eyes.”
A witch.
Colt clenched his hands into fists at his side, hiding the claws he couldn’t keep back. The points buried deep into the fleshy part of his palm. He barely noticed the pain as the implications of Diaz’s announcement hit home.
“I’ve never heard of a Nightwalker going after a witch. They’re not usually easy prey.”
Unless, of course, it was a witch who refused to cast spells or mess with magic.
Like Shea.
Forget the claws. As his gaze iced over, Colt’s canines punched out. “I don’t need Wright. I’ll take care of the corpse on my own.”
Diaz held up his hand. It was only after he did that Colt realized that the detective had been resting his palm against the butt of his gun. “Can’t let you do that. Without one of my guys, you’d just be a vigilante. If you got caught, it’s Cage time.”
Colt was smart enough not to scoff at the if. The Ants were having trouble with a Nightwalker. It was so bad that they were actually coming to a Para for help.
He’d never get caught.
“Fine,” he barked. “I’ll do it. But you better warn Wright. My brother isn’t in the Cage anymore. He can’t hold that over my head. I’ll only be civilized for as long as he is.”
“I’ll pass on the message.”
“Do that.” Colt leaned back against his closed door, hanging onto his temper, waiting to see if Diaz had anything else to add. When the cop didn’t, he asked “So what happens now? Do I get a deputy badge or something?”
Now that Colt had stopped snarling, the tinge of unease from earlier was finally seeping out of Diaz’s mild scent.
“I’m gonna buzz Wright, tell him to meet you here tomorrow at the start of his shift. Unless you’d like to head out to the VIFPD in the morning?”
Fat chance. With Maddox finally free from those Para-proof silver bars, there wasn’t a single thing on earth that would get Colt to go to the Cage willingly.
“Send him here.”
“Sure.” Diaz reached into his back pocket, pulled out a memo pad. Putting pen to paper, he asked, “Can I have your actual address? I want to be able to send the corporal to the right place.”
Colt snorted. “I wouldn’t worry about him getting lost. That guy already knows where I live.”
Diaz raised his eyebrows, his dark eyes curious, but he didn’t ask again. He just put the memo pad away.
When he nodded, ready to turn and walk away, Colt stopped him. It was one thing for Wright to already know how to find him. The bastard cop had tracked Evangeline down to Colt’s place after their run-in with Cilla and Colt was sure he could find the place again blindfolded if he had to.
But if Detective Diaz needed to ask him for it—
“Hey. How did you find me if you didn’t know my address?”
For the first time, the cop’s lips curved enough that maybe Colt could call it a smile. “It was easy.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. See, when I pulled up to the Bumptown, I started talking to some of the residents. I asked them who they most liked to see take on a rogue Nightwalker, even if they might lose. Then I asked them who they’d pick out of the neighborhood to have their back. Most of them said Colton Wolfe.”
Colt nodded, rubbing his hand through his short hair as he decided whether he should be proud or pissed. In the end, he lowered his arm. Shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“Then I paid a ghost drifting by ten bucks to point out your house. Don’t know what the spook needs with cash, but he led me right to you.”
“A… a ghost, huh?”
“I know. Strange, right? You don’t normally see them out and about in daylight, but this one was pretty old, so pretty strong, I guess. He looked like he stepped right out of an old-time gangster movie with that hat and accent of his. You know who I’m talking about? He knew how to find you.”