Page 53 of Wings of Destiny

I smacked him on the shoulder. “I don’t watch porn, you dick!”

Seth shouted from across the room, “I call bullshit, Rin. I see some of those novels you read. And the ones you’ve stolen off my bookshelves out here. Nice try.”

“I do not!” My ears were burning. I whipped my head around and stuck my tongue out at Seth. “And even if I did, they’re your books in the first place, you hypocrite.”

His eyes sparkled. “Which is why I knowexactlywhat’s in between those pages, Rin.”

I snapped my head back to Derik and my laptop, grumbling. “Whatever.” Sending all three of them into a fit of laughter.

I waved my hand at the screen. “What did you find out, Dickwad?”

“Captain Dickwad to you, missy.”

I looked at him confused as all hell, eyebrow arched, and my mouth hanging half opened. “Captain? Captain of what? S.S. Ass Hat?”

“Nope, Captain just makes me sound even more like a badass than I already am,” he claimed.

“You’re an idiot.”

“True, but the ladies love it.” Derik waggled his eyebrows.

“I’m sure. Now, for the love of God, Dick-for-Brains, what did you find?”

Derik sighed, propping his elbow on the counter, his chin seated in his palm. “Nothing good. They weren’t just isolated to the area around the plant like we originally thought. It seems the disappearances were scattered across the whole city. Over half of them were women. All single and living alone. The men that were taken follow the same profile. But that’s what we already knew from the police reports and our own.”

He scrolled down the page. “What we didn’t know was that all the disappearances were tipped off anonymously. The first and last call placed within fifteen minutes of each other. And after some more digging, the phone numbers that were used to call in, were all local landlines from around here. Not Riverside.”

“So what does that mean then?” I leaned forward, glancing, unsuccessfully, at the screen.

Freaking screen cover.

“It means that either the Demons have one hell of a phone number generator pinpointed here in town. Or they have some of their lackeys stationed out here. Watching and waiting for their orders.”

A shiver ran down my spine. My body tensed, my voice a whisper, “Which would explain why they found me here.” I gulped. If I’d been at my apartment, who knew how long it would’ve been before Seth and the others found me or what else would’ve happened.

“She tastes just as delicious as she looks.”

I snapped myself out of the downward spiral before it dragged me under.

Derik responded vacantly, “Yeah, but if that was the case, we still don’t know why they think you’re this damn ‘Key’ or why exactly they wantedyou.No offense, Erin.”

“None was taken til’ you added the ‘no offense’ part.” I deadpanned.

“Gotta cover my bases.” Derik shrugged.

“Uh huh.”

“But anyway, the connection there is still in the air.” He leaned back in the stool. He flipped a stray blonde curl that fell in front of his face and crossed his arms before swinging around to face Libby and Seth. “You guys got any ideas?”

Libby held up a finger, as she stuck her nose further into the papers her and Seth were digging through. We both cocked an eyebrow.

She shot up from the sofa and raced over to us. “Actually, yes!”

Seth strolled behind her, stopping next to my stool with his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. I stole a sideways glance; the fantasy I had earlier replayed in my mind. My eyes roamed, taking in the way his jeans sat perfectly on his hips, the material molded to his muscled thighs, waist band slightly dipping down from where his hands were pulling on the fabric, giving me a glimpse of the top of his boxers and the smallest patch of beautifully toned stomach.

Reel it in, Erin.

I sat a little straighter in my seat, placing my hands in my lap, folded over each other. “Let’s hear it.” I plastered on a smile, crossing my fingers it didn’t give away the dirty thoughts floating through my head.

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