Page 123 of Stone Cold Touch

I pouted. Dammit, I’d always wanted to say that. “Well, that’s not nearly as entertaining as the exorcisms I’ve seen on TV.”

He gave me a look as he stepped aside to let me climb in. Just as he went to close the door, Dez came out the compound door, heading for one of the SUVs.

His gaze moved from Zayne to me. “She’s going with you to the house?”

“Yeah.” He leaned against the open door, eyeballing the older Warden. “You got a problem with that?”

Dez held up his hands. “Didn’t say I did. Just be careful.” He glanced at me and the look said he wanted to pull me out of the car and toss me over his shoulder. “She’s a...”

A scowl pulled at my lips. “A demon?”

“No.” Dez’s brows rose. “I was going to go with ‘a girl,’ one who is young and doesn’t need to get hurt.”

“Oh.” I felt like a bitch. “Thanks for pointing that out.”

Zayne closed my door before I could say anything else. As he crossed paths with Dez, he said, “You know I won’t let anything happen to her.”

He nodded. “Still. Just be careful.”

As Dez disappeared into the further recesses of the garage, I looked over at Zayne as he got behind the wheel. “Guess what?”

“What?” The engine purred to life.

“I’m a girl.”

His lips curled up. “Shut up.”

I giggled.

Zayne backed out of the garage as he asked if I’d heard from Stacey or Sam yet. Stacey had called me earlier and the conversation had been a little bit awkward, but all in all, it had been normal. Except that I’d told her what I was really doing tonight for the first time ever. There was something freeing in not lying about my extracurricular activates.

The drive into Alexandria, to the town house of the recently departed, didn’t take long. Traffic was minimal and we were relieved to find inconspicuous parking in the back.

Zayne picking a lock was surprisingly hot.

I wasn’t sure what it said about me that I got turned on by his confidence as he worked the pick until we heard the click of a lock being thrown.

“That’s a handy skill.”

He grinned as he straightened. “It’s either that or break it. Figured a gentler touch worked best.”

Roth would’ve broken it and been gleeful doing so. There were no two guys more different than them.

Quietly easing the door open, we waited to make sure an alarm wasn’t triggered. When silence met us, we stepped into the darkened foyer. The house was full of shadows. Only a small end-table lamp was lit in the front room. Floorboards creaked as we moved farther in.

Zayne hefted the canvas bag over his shoulder, eyeing the paintings adorning the green walls. As we walked into the dining room, a small shadow zoomed out from underneath the table.

It was a gray cat.

Instead of pulling a stranger-danger dash and run, it curled around Zayne’s legs and then mine. Bambi stirred in interest as I leaned down and scratched the cat’s ears. Silently, I issued the snake a stern warning not to even think about eating it.

I wondered if the kitty belonged to the woman or the fiancé. Or was it both of theirs? The thought of that made me sad.

The house was tomb quiet as we entered the kitchen. A bowl of kitty chow was near the stove, along with a full dish of water.

“Everything seems normal,” he said, turning to me. “You feel anything?”

I shook my head.

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