Page 20 of Dead Heat

“If they felt confident they could strike a deal without getting caught, they might decide it was worth a try, especially given The Corporation’s vast resources. The organization could offer just about anything, including protection.”

I sighed. “Not the answer I wanted to hear, but I appreciate your honesty.”

“Have you strengthened the ward yet?”

“Phaedra’s working on it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.”

“Maybe not, but Charleston threw together a wall and a moat in the early 1700s to defend its waterfront against an imminent Spanish invasion.”

“I’ve got those already,” I said, parking outside the gate. “As a matter of fact, I’m looking at them right now.” Sort of. It was dark now and nobody had switched on the outdoor lights.

“They won’t be enough, Lorelei. You need more. The Corporation could tunnel underneath them both and appear right at your front door if they really wanted to. Never mind the gate. Enchant your whole damn property, including the cemetery.”

“I relocated those spirits when I moved in.”

“The spirits, yes. What about their bodies? You said The Corporation has a necromancy department. Who knows what else they have at their disposal? We need to be two steps ahead of them, not three steps behind.”

Kane was usually the epitome of calm, cool, and collected, but the demon sounded ready to blow an artery. The more he pushed, the more my muscles tensed.

“If this is such an urgent matter, then maybe you shouldn’t have brought Alessandro to me for help. Any other reason to bite off my head today or does that about cover it?”

He paused. “I had no intention of…”

I cut him off. “The road to hell was paved with good intentions. You should know that better than anybody,Your Highness.”

“Lorelei…”

I hung up and stormed out of the truck, slamming the door behind me. I immediately turned back toward the ancient pickup. “Sorry, Gary. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.” I patted the door to make amends.

I stomped through the gate and across the bridge. “Threesteps behind,” I grumbled. “Enchant your whole damn property. With what magic?”

I was so caught up in my solo reenactment of the conversation that I marched straight past Ray to the front door.

“Everything okay, Lorelei?” he asked.

I spun around to face him. My inclination was to tell him everything was fine, but instead I blurted, “I had a little tiff with Kane on the drive home.”

“Lovers’ quarrel so soon?”

“It wasn’t that. He’s worried about The Corporation because he’s worried about me, and I made Mount Doom out of a hobbit hole.”

“Sounds dramatic. Did you apologize?”

“You think I should?”

He frowned. “You were raised by humans, right?”

“Not ones who knew how to say sorry.” Pops was many things, but quick to apologize was not one of them.

“It doesn’t need to be a big deal. Next time you see him, tell him you’re sorry for overreacting. Apologies are best given in person. Why did you overreact?”

“Because he acted like I’m floating around the moat eating bonbons while my house burned down around me. Meanwhile, I’ve agreed to solve the mystery of his bartender, which will take time and energy away from shoring up my defenses here, and he knows that.”

“Then maybe you didn’t overreact. Maybe you responded appropriately under the circumstances.”

My shoulders sagged. “Even so, I could’ve handled it better. Snapping at him and hanging up isn’t exactly a mature response.”

“It’s a high-pressure situation. You’re bound to snap every now and again. That’s called being human.”

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