Page 50 of Mortal Heart

He glanced at the clock. “I like to hit a target early. It’s almost six now. The clinic opens at seven thirty. The director is probably in her office by eight. That gives us two hours to come up with a viable plan.”

“Yeah, but I doubt we can just waltz in there and demand to see the executive director.”

“Posing as patients might get us in the door, but we wouldn’t have much freedom to roam about the place.”

“Yeah, I vote against that, just from a practical standpoint.” She hummed under her breath. “We need in with credentials. Something that lets us meet McMahon without arousing anyone’s suspicion, including hers.Andwe need a way to confirm she’s the demon without her knowing we know until we’re ready to show our hand.”

She had no way to know he was a walking demon detector. Their encounter with the flying minor demons at Nyx had confirmed that he’d retained enough of his angelic nature to sense the presence of infernal creatures. If he masked his own signature power, a demon shouldn’t be able to detect what he was. Arkady was pure human. If she dressed more casually and acted the part, she could pass as nonthreatening—for a little while, anyway.

“I have something that will identify our target,” he said.

“A spell?”

“More or less.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t look pleased at his evasiveness. “You gonna let me in on that plan, Ronan? Or are you going to make me get it out of you the hard way?” She perked up. “Oh,pleasesay you want to do it the hard way.”

He had to grin at her eagerness. “Iwasgoing to tell you, but when you put it that way, I think I’d rather make you work for it.”

“Bastard.” But she was smiling. “Fine, keep your damn secret. I’ll get it out of you, one way or the other.”

He sipped his coffee and considered their options. With so little time for preparation, their plan needed to be simple. Everything he thought of was too complicated. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only person thinking about the problem.

“I’ve got an idea,” Arkady announced suddenly. “It’s boring as shit, so you’re probably going to hate it, and franklyIhate it because it’s so dull, but I think it’ll get us into McMahon’s office. That’s really all that counts, right?”

He made a rolling gesture. “I am all ears, Miss Woodall.”

She described her idea. He rubbed his bristly chin and thought. “You are correct: it is incredibly boring,” he said finally. “But it’s absolutely a perfect plan. Well done.”

“Thank you.” She sighed. “Zero points on the fun meter, but between Bella’s and Nyx we already racked up enough points for originality tonight, right? Not everything we do has to be a fireworks show.”

She appeared so thoroughly dejected by the banality of their plan that he had to set his jaw to keep from laughing. Much as an incubus was physically incapable of posing as a subordinate, Arkady Woodall chafed mightily at any ruse that didn’t involve major drama.

“Indeed it does not,” he said very seriously. Her shoulders slumped more. Maybe she’d hoped he’d suggest a more exciting plan. He hid his smile and set his mug in the sink. “We should get ready. Unless you’re too tired to go into the lion’s den one more time.”

In reply, she pulled a knife from her boot and threw it past him into the living room. The blade whizzed by his ear, missing him by about an inch, and ended up dead center of the target hanging on the wall opposite the couch.

“I’ll take that to mean you’re good to go,” he said.

She grabbed his ass and kissed him. With her lips against his, she murmured, “Baby, I’m good to go.”

14

ARKADY

Dr. Dana McMahonwas only too happy to welcome them into her office.

“Joining the Regional Chamber of Commerce would have immediate benefits for your clinic,” Arkady said with a smile so bright that it hurt her face. “The economic development is the obvious benefit, but the Chamber also offers marketing and creative services, member-to-member discounts on a variety of products and services, a directory listing on the Chamber website, six to ten networking events per year, the opportunity to sponsor high-profile local events, and of course a plaque and window stickers celebrating your affiliation with us.” She took a brochure from her briefcase and pushed it across McMahon’s desk. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

The brochure, like the idea for their ruse, had come from a recent visit to Looking Glass Investigations by an actual representative of the Chamber, who’d given Alice and Arkady the hard sell on the organization after dropping into their office earlier in the week. They’d heard the rep out and promised to consider joining. Arkady had taken the Chamber materials home to read.

She and Ronan had studied the Chamber website and printed materials, donned business casual clothes, and presented themselves and their homemade credentials to the clinic receptionist at precisely eight that morning. Fifteen minutes later, Dr. McMahon came out to the waiting area to greet them personally and escorted them to her office. Boring or not, the ruse had worked even better than they’d hoped. She made a mental note to keep it in mind for future use.

While Arkady gave McMahon the spiel she’d practiced at home, Ronan had stayed quiet. Whatever spell he was using to confirm McMahon was a demon, it seemed to take a lot of his energy and attention. It was her job to hold McMahon’s focus while he did his thing.

Arkady kept talking to the doctor and waited for some signal from Ronan. “As you can see, all those great benefits are just the beginning. We also host weekly and monthly gatherings and seminars, connect business leaders to various advocacy groups, and sponsor ribbon-cutting events for new and existing businesses who are opening or expanding their facilities. I’d list everything we do, but we’d be here all day.” She laughed. “I’m sure you’re very busy, so those are just the top reasons to join.”

McMahon put on a pair of reading glasses and picked up the brochure. “Your enthusiasm is certainly catching, Ms. Whitman.” She peered at Arkady over her glasses. “You make it seem like an easy choice.”

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