Page 34 of Icarus and the Devil

Adam flicked his gaze to his concerned one. “Because I want him dead.”

“That can’t be the entire story.”

“It’s not.” Cormac dropped a file onto the table beside Robin’s phone. “Only file I have that’s thicker than yours,” he said to Icarus. “Vincent Cirillo has become a billionaire by enslaving other people’s magic.”

“What does that mean?” Icarus asked.

“That kid you saw me and Abigail rescue the other night?” Adam waited for Icarus’s nod, then continued. “He’d been kidnapped by Vincent’s crew and nearly drained dry.”

“Okay, but that’s not enslaving. That’s flat-out stealing.”

“He was a runaway,” Abigail said. “No one noticed him missing. Since I’d been inside, I knew he was stashed there and about to flame out.”

Icarus opened his mouth, no doubt to ask what that meant too, which Adam was not getting into today. He picked up where Abigail left off before Icarus could. “In other cases, Vincent offers ‘private security’ to paranormals, and before they know it, they’re doing his bidding. He takes their money, then uses their power to make more money.”

“Say someone wants a soul stolen,” Cormac explained, “and would pay handsomely for it. Vincent finds a soul eater or a psychopomp—like my kind—in need of protection, strikes a deal with them, then uses all that magic he’s stolen from nobodies to turn his client into his tool, to convince them to steal that soul for Vincent, who turns around and sells it to the highest bidder.”

“And the client can’t tell anyone because now they’re implicated too.” Icarus lowered his chin, features pinched in sympathy. “Just like a fucking dealer.”

“Only he’s dealing in magic,” Adam said.

Icarus jerked his head up, eyes wide. “Is that how he has a warlock in his thrall?”

Twin growls emanated from Robin and Jenn.

“Easy,” Adam said, appreciating the response, not appreciating the person it was directed at. Once Abigail moved into position on the armrest next to Jenn, positioned to pounce into referee mode as was often her role, Adam turned his attention back to Icarus, explaining, “Atlas has his own agenda.”

“To be even more powerful than his master,” Robin said.

“That’s not what it looked like to me,” Icarus said.

“He’s a warlock,” Adam said. “You can’t believe anything you see.” He expected Icarus to argue, but he backed off instead, contemplative and quiet.

Robin gave them more to think about. “He’s still not told Vincent whatyouare, assuming he’s figured it out. If he had, Vincent would be trying to take you, not kill you.”

“I still think we should take this to law enforcement,” Cormac said, then when they all looked his way with raised brows, added, “Officially. With Vincent’s operations escalating, there’s more incentive to do something.”

“There wasn’t incentive enough ten years ago?” Robin barked. “He had two cops and two feds on his ass, and he still got away with murder.”

Icarus rocketed back to attention beside Adam. “Wait! He’s been doing this for ten years?” Then split a glance between him and Cormac. “And you haven’t taken it to law enforcement yet officially?”

“We can’t trust them,” Adam said. “He’s got moles all in law enforcement.”

“Couldn’t trust them then, can’t now,” Robin said, then with a flick of his hand in Cormac’s direction, added, “Present company excluded.”

“What if I had a contact?” Icarus said, the last thing Adam expected. “Someone you could trust.”

Cormac scooted to the end of the chair. “How can you be sure?”

Icarus shrugged the single shoulder bared by his knit top. “He’s thirsty. And I have pics of his dick.”

Abigail’s hand on Jenn’s shoulder was the only thing that kept the coyote from leaping across the table. “Someone get him out of here before I rip his fucking throat out.”

Icarus grinned, a fang snagging his lip. “I’d like to see you try.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Cormac interrupted. “Not with a ten-million-dollar bounty on Adam’s head.”

A ten-million-dollar bounty and two leads. “What if we work both?” Adam said. “We continue to work our angle, Icarus works his. So long as one of them lands Vincent in jail, it’ll be a success.”

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