Page 29 of Priest

He started pacing again when his phone buzzed, and he didn’t bother looking at it when he picked up. “What?”

“Excuse me,” Jeremiah said, voice low.

“I’m in a shit mood. Don’t start with me.”

There was a heavy silence full of warning, letting Priest know Jeremiah had even less patience than normal. “We’re pulling up now, and we need to see you and Oliver both.”

Priest’s spine went stiff. “Tell me you found something.”

“We found something. We found a few somethings. Including evidence that Oliver might be right about his friend.”

Priest sat down hard enough to make his jaw click. Oliver was right? He’d already been on the verge of believing him, but if Oliver really was having premonitions, it confirmed what he was so damn sure of: he wasn’t human. Not entirely. He was mostly mortal, but there was something inside him—in hisessence—that Priest had only experienced feeding off some of the dancers at Azriel’s club.

It was more delicate though. And it was strong. There were only a few creatures with that kind of strength—the kind that grew when it was diluted instead of weakening.

“Priest,” Jeremiah barked.

“Yeah. Right. Um. Let yourselves in. I’ll go get Oliver.”

“Where is he?” Jeremiah demanded. In the background, a car door slammed. “You’re supposed to be watching him.”

“Step one, grab stick. Step two, remove from ass,” Priest told him. “He’s here. He’s just with Azriel right now.”

Jeremiah groaned. “I do not have the patience for that fucking Angel today.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think he’s interested in staying. I’ve invited him to lend a hand on cases a couple of times, and he claims that helping others gives him hives.”

“Of course it does. We’re at the door now.”

Priest hung up, then slowly made his way back to Oliver and Azriel, freezing in the doorway when he saw how close they were. But there was no lust in the air. He parted his lips and inhaled deeply to be sure, but all he could taste was shock and wariness. And maybe a little fear.

It showed all over Oliver’s face. Priest hated it. He wanted to grab Oliver away from Azriel and wrap him tightly so nothing bad could ever touch him again. He felt an irrational hatred toward the Angel for disrupting what little peace Oliver had managed to find during his recovery.

And yes, he supposed there was a little jealousy too. Azriel and Oliver had always been close, and although it wasn’t in Priest’s nature to feel like this, he couldn’t help it. It was new. It was different. Alien to the very core of his being, and he didn’t like it at all.

“I’m sure you two aren’t done, but I wanted to let you know that Jeremiah and Knight are here. And they have news.” He hoped everything he was feeling wasn’t obvious in his tone.

Oliver leapt away from Azriel, and Priest breathed a little easier. “About Poe?”

He didn’t know what answer to give, because yes, it was about the missing human, but he wasn’t sure it was good news. He answered him anyway. “Yes, Oliver. About Poe.”

Azriel stretched his arms above his head and climbed to his feet slowly. He moved like a cat, something Priest had always liked until this moment. He closed the distance between them, and his cool palm touched Priest’s cheek. “Relax. He’s all yours,” he murmured so softly Priest doubted Oliver could hear it. The Angel pulled back, then winked at him before turning a smile on Oliver. “This is my cue to leave. But you know where to find me, little brother.”

Little brother? What?—

Azriel rarely used his abilities to teleport, but one second, he was there, and the next, he was gone. Exactly like Oliver had done. There was a loaded moment before Oliver touched his arm, and all of the tension fled Priest’s body.

“Come on,” he said, pulling away, “they’re waiting for us in the living room.”

Priest could feel Oliver’s confusion and his worry when he followed him down the hall and into the brightly lit room, but it was laced with concern. Priest didn’t blame him. Jeremiah was sitting on the sofa with his ankle hooked over his knee, and Knight was at the window, eyes closed as he basked in the light streaming in through the filtering glass. Like all Vampires, his skin was highly sensitive to sunlight, turning most into night dwellers. With their jobs, Knight didn’t always have a choice in going out during the day and often suffered the consequences.

The mood in the room was somber, and Priest’s heart began to kick up because the last thing he wanted to hear was bad news.

“Sorry to interrupt. Where’s Azriel?” Jeremiah asked.

Oliver took a seat on the larger sofa, and Priest followed, drawn to him like a magnet. He kept a cushion of space between them, but all he could think about was having a moment to pull the man into his arms.

“He’s gone,” Priest said.

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