Page 8 of The Umbra King

He turned back to his door, cranked the key to open the knob, and disappeared. Rory released a long sigh of relief.

She swore as she hurried down the sidewalk. If she ran, it would draw attention, something she did not need more of.

When she rounded the corner, Jessie and the woman were nowhere to be seen, and panic clawed at her chest.

Forget being seen; she couldn’t let anything happen to that woman. Rory took off down the sidewalk, and once at the end, she stopped to catch her breath as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Just because she had extraordinary strength and speed did not mean she had endurance.

Righting herself, she looked at her navigation app and turned down an alley as a shortcut to Jessie’s apartment building. A red high heel in the middle of the side street had her skidding to a halt.

Her vision tunneled as she stared at the shiny shoe, knowing it hadn’t been there long.No, no, no, no, no,she chanted as she spun around and scanned her surroundings. Her eyes caught on a large dumpster not far away, and it was then she noticed drag marks from the lone shoe to the side of the black metal bin.

She dropped her bag to follow the drag line as dread collected in her chest, knowing what she would find. Using the rungs on the side of the dumpster, she hauled herself up and peeked over the side as the putrid smell of garbage assaulted her nose.

A sob escaped her when she saw the young woman’s lifeless body crumpled on top of the waste. Bruises marred her neck and mascara streaked her cheeks. Rory jumped down, no longer able to stand the sight of her failure, and after sending in an anonymous tip on a dead body to the local enforcer unit, she grabbed her backpack and ran to the address on Jessie’s mystic card.

That asshole would pay.

When she approachedthe address from the card, her stomach dropped. The apartment building was nice.Extremelynice. The area wasn’t upscale per se, but this building was.

Normally, Rory would give her victims a potion and lead them to the warehouse district, where no one would hear them scream. The potion she frequently bought from Fiona, anAlchemistin the underground market, made whoever breathed it in inebriated to the point of pliancy. They did whatever they were told and presented with a drunken demeanor.

There were cameras in buildings like this, and if she tried to drag an intoxicated man twice her size through the building, it would catch someone’s attention, especially since sometimes it made them loud drunkards.

She pulled her hood up and took out the bottle, held her breath as she wet a rag, and stuffed it in her pocket. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she read the list of apartments on the guide.

When she found what she was looking for, she took the stairs to the third floor. Once finding the correct door, she rang the bell and took a calming breath.

The door swung open, and Jessie stood on the other side with a look of surprise. The blackness of his soul almost knocked Rory to the ground, but she forced herself to ignore it.

She pushed her hood back and smiled widely. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but I memorized your address when I checked your mystic card.”

Jessie’s eyes tracked down Rory’s body, and his brows rose as he leaned on the door frame. “Why?”

She put on a show of shyness and bit her lip. “I wanted to ask you out, but that other woman interrupted.”

Jessie stared at her, and Rory held her breath. She would mow him over if she had to, but it would be easier if he willingly let her in. “I’m Rory, by the way.”

His mouth curved into a smile. “I’m Jessie. What a pleasant surprise. Come in.”

“Thanks,” Rory said, flashing her sexiest smile.

“Have a seat while I pour us a glass of wine,” he said as he pushed through a door across the room.

Rory perched on the side of a leather wing-backed chair and inspected her surroundings. The apartment was pristine, but where she expected it to be laid back like his appearance and demeanor, it was elegant.Strange.

Jessie appeared with two wine glasses and held one out. When he turned to take a seat, Rory noticed there was no mark behind his ear, and alarm bells blared in her mind.

That was never a good sign. Either he had it covered with makeup, which was illegal, or he’d procured a spell to keep it hidden. Also illegal.

He looked at her hungrily. “Tell me about yourself.” His eyes flitted to her wine glass, and Rory fought the instinct to dump it out. It was either poisoned or she was being paranoid.

She lifted the glass to her lips and let the liquid slosh against her mouth without allowing any to slip inside. Pretending to swallow, she lowered the glass and wiped away the remnants of the liquid with her fingers. “This is outstanding. Where did you get it?”

Jessie’s smug smile as he took a sip of his own wine did nothing to temper Rory’s suspicions. “A friend. If you will excuse me for a moment, I need to relieve myself.” He set down his glass and stood on long legs before exiting through another door.

Rory quickly switched their glasses and sat back, trying to stop her hands from shaking. When he returned, his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Rory. It was obvious he thought whatever was in the wine would have kicked in by now.

Jessie sat down, picked up his wine, and motioned for Rory to take another drink as he took a long swig of his own. “Drink up. We need to loosen up the tension in those shoulders.”

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