Page 49 of Gods of Prey
She checks her watch. “We should go. Voss takes his break at four.”
I watch her gather her things—a small backpack, a taser, zip ties. “You’ve done this before.”
“Bash and I hunted a few members of the order last year,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’m not exactly an amateur.”
“I’m impressed,” I admit, pursing my lips.
I wish she realized what a compliment that is, coming from Death herself.
“Don’t be.” Her eyes harden. “They killed you. They tried to kill me. They deserve whatever’s coming to them.”
I follow her to the door, a strange warmth spreading through my spectral form. This is why I liked her from the beginning—her fierce loyalty, her unflinching determination.
“Let’s go catch a snake,” I say.
The parking garage beneath Westlake Tower is eerily quiet at this hour. Jovie moves with practiced stealth, staying in the camera blind spots I point out to her. We make our way to the lowest level, where the security office is tucked away in a corner.
“He’s inside,” I whisper, drifting through the wall to confirm. “Eating a sandwich. Back to the door.”
Jovie nods, pulling the taser from her pocket. “Can you create a distraction?”
I grin, floating back through the wall. I forgot how much fun Bash and I had with this stuff. “With pleasure.”
Being dead has its advantages. I focus my energy, materializing just enough to flicker the lights in the security office. Voss looks up, annoyed. When I push a stack of papers off his desk, he stands, muttering curses under his breath.
“Now,” I tell Jovie as he moves to retrieve the papers.
She slips in, silent as a shadow, and presses the taser to his back. “Don’t move,” she warns, her voice cold and steady. “Gregory Voss.”
He freezes for a second, then tries to turn. The taser crackles and he drops to the floor, body convulsing.
“Nicely done,” I say, materializing faintly so she can see me.
Jovie works quickly, binding his hands and feet with zip ties. “The camera feed?”
I drift to the monitors. “I’ll short out the system. It’ll look like a power surge.”
With a bit of concentration, I send a pulse of Death energy through the electrical system. The monitors flicker and die, and the emergency lights kick on.
“I doubt anyone is bothering to come check on him, but I’d say you have a few hours if they do.”
Jovie nods, already dragging Voss toward the service elevator. “That’s all we need.”
Together, we maneuver him into the elevator and down to the subbasement level that houses the building’s mechanical systems. It’s the perfect place—isolated, sound-proofed by the hum of massive air handlers, and accessible only with a key card that Jovie somehow procured.
“You really did plan this,” I say through a breath as she secures Voss to a pipe. The room has been meticulously arranged with a steel table and various weapons scattered around. Just how Bash likes it.
“Four weeks.” She checks his bindings. “I needed to be sure.”
Four weeks.Revel and I aren’t the only ones keeping secrets, it seems.
Voss begins to stir, moaning softly. Jovie steps back, pulling out her phone.
“Time to call Bash?” I ask.
She nods, but before she can dial, the door to the mechanical room swings open and we both freeze.
Revel stands in the doorway, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. “What the hell are you two doing?”
