Page 5 of Flirting with Death

She hesitated at the doorway and shifted her expressive eyes to me. She would walk away if I didn't believe it or if the apology wasn't good enough. I nodded, and she sighed, her shoulders losing the tenseness that had spread into them.

"What else can you sense?" she asked. She strolled back over and leaned against the bar next to me.

"They are holding her in the dark. If she was in a place of light, I could find her. Melpomene can bring tragedy if they use her power. Whoever has her wants what she can do for them."

"And she is in this realm?" I asked.

"I've tracked her last known location to this area. She came to this club on one of her last nights."

"Then she will be on video. Maybe we can get some information from that," I said.

"Who would need her to bring tragedy?" Sam asked.

"It is not only tragedy to the people she is with. She can also create it for their opponents." Apollo paced, his hand tugging through his hair.

"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all," Sam said. She rolled her eyes as she looked over at me. I pulled out my phone and brought up my camera history.

"What date was she here?" I leveled Apollo with a questioning look.

"Three weeks ago," he replied.

That was just after the horde had started working together. Sam met my startled gaze with her own, she had the same thought. Was this connected?

CHAPTER 3

Raiden

We had hunted in comfortable silence until almost two in the morning, before she told me she had promised to meet Lex at the club. I walked her to Fantasia before I headed back to my warehouse. I felt lighter now. Sure, we weren't all the way better, and it was a long road, but it was a start.

The door of my home away from home hung open. It looked as if someone had busted it in. A puff of smoke flowed from my nose as I stepped inside, ready to take on the intruders. The large space was empty, still a mess from when I destroyed it. I tiptoed over to my bedroom, and they had moved not a single item. What burglars broke down your door and didn't touch a single thing? Even my treasure pile was untouched, as far as I could tell.

I pulled out my cell and clicked on Tyler's contact. The phone rang four times before Ty answered, sounding like he just woke up from a dead sleep.

"Yeah?" he croaked across the line.

"Someone broke into my safe house," I said. What if it was that mage? He obviously didn't trust that I would do what I promised. And I still wasn't sure I would, so his distrust was valid if it was him.

He sounded like he was rubbing his face. "And you decided I needed to know about it at—" he paused, "two thirty in the morning? Call the cops."

"I can't, you know that," I grumbled as I took in my treasure that probably had some stolen shit in it. My dragon was a fucking klepto.

"Then you'll need to wait until morning. I'll be over at nine." The line went silent between us, and I glanced at the phone. He'd hung up.

So much for best friends, call me when you need me. I tossed the phone onto my new couch as I surveyed everything again. Something niggled in the back of my mind, attempting to point out something was out of place. There was nothing, though. Ty was right. I couldn't do much tonight.

After getting the door at least closed, I crossed back over to the couch and sank into the soft surface. It wasn't long before my eyes forced themselves shut, and I was waking up to Ty scowling above me. I jumped back, pressing myself into the cushions, as the sunlight from the top windows made him look like some sort of avenging angel.

"Fuck, Ty." I ran my hand over my face and through my hair before I looked at him again. "You just scared the shit out of me."

He chuckled and sat across from me. "I told you nine."

I glanced over at the clock on the wall: nine-ten. "You're late."

"I had to break in. It took some time. Next time have your ringer on, so I don't think they murdered you because sleep was more important to me than you."

"Awe, you care." I grinned and gripped my chest.

"Shut up, fucker. Did you and my sister make up?"

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