Kael stepped forward, and Gideon raised his hands. “It doesn’t matter how they escaped. I want them back.”
Kael shook his head. It seemed he didn’t like the way Gideon was handling things. If Kirin ran into trouble, he would call Kael.
Arrow handed him a folder with the information they’d printed out for him. Kirin knew he wouldn’t get any more out of Gideon. He stood and walked back down the plain hallway. It seemed strange with no one in the warehouse. As he exited the room, his mind was still wrapped around the question of how a young girl and a psychic had escaped. He didn’t want to take the case, but he knew if he passed on it, one of the other mercenaries would pick it up and not ask questions. His brother’s words still wormed around in his mind. Yesterday, he would have hunted down the woman and the girl and not thought twice about it. Now he had this bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He stuffed the paperwork into the bike’s saddlebag. Then he hopped on, pulled on his gloves, and drove to his thinking spot on the top of the cliff overlooking the city. Sometimes he’d go there to relax, and other times, he’d strip down and spread his wings. From up there, Haven Springs looked beautiful, serene, and safe.
He parked the bike, pulled out the paperwork, and started to read through it. It wasn’t easy to read the information on the girl—someone had blacked out a majority of the things he needed to know. The little girl had no noted abilities, yet she’d somehow managed to escape council custody. The woman had only psychic abilities, and… they’d left together. Something wasn’t right. Someone was lying.
Kirin shook his head. He’d worked for Gideon for more than a hundred years. If Gideon had done something wrong, Kirin would have figured it out by now. And since the females had run, his money was on them being the ones who had done something illegal. And since Gideon was paying double, Kirin’s motivation was at an all-time high. Factoring in the birthday party he had to attend the next day, this had to be a rush job. He would collect the woman and the girl and let Gideon worry about the punishment. Kirin wouldn’t miss his brother’s birthday because of this.
He tried to figure out where to look. He had the address of the woman’s apartment and the little girl’s home. Though both were long shots, that was what he had to go on. Maybe he’d pick up a scent, and it would help him in his quest. As he started the bike, he groaned. He’d forgotten to pick up his pay from the last job. That was a mistake, but he’d remedy it the next day when he cashed in on this one.
The woman’s apartment was on the way to the girl’s. Kirin pointed his bike in that direction. Twenty minutes later, he was parked in front of an apartment in the middle of Haven Springs. Kirin didn’t come into town often. The town was fifty percent supernatural, and the humans didn’t know who lived among them, but almost everyone knew everyone.
Kirin didn’t bother knocking on the door. He used the card in his pocket to push the lock back. When he entered the woman’s house, her vanilla scent assaulted him. His dragon perked at the smell and wanted to find the woman it belonged to. Kirin wanted the same thing for a separate reason—he planned for a nice payout.
The color pink was everywhere. The couch, blankets, and even the walls were in shades of pink. Kirin walked through the living room and a small kitchen that looked like she never used it. The door down the hall was closed. He twisted the handle and opened it to find another room that looked like pink had thrown up in it. He didn’t know how someone could buy so much of one color.
But when he scanned the room, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the framed photo on the dresser. It showed a small cabin in the background, with the woman he was looking for and an older woman standing in front. The younger woman’s head was thrown back as she laughed.
Kirin walked into the closet, looking for a sign that she had come here after running. All he saw were mounds of high heels. Kirin didn’t understand someone who would spend all her money on shoes. Now, gold—that was a good investment. His dragon agreed with him.
Kirin walked back through the apartment, disappointed that his first stop hadn’t given him more information. When he left the apartment, an older lady was standing in the hallway, her gray hair pulled into a bun. A pair of sunglasses covered her eyes.
“What are you doing in Talia’s apartment?” she asked.
“I was checking on the place for her.”
The older lady cocked her head. “What are you?”
Kirin quickly put his sunglasses on. He had taken them off when he entered the apartment. This case had his dragon close to the surface, making his eyes glow bright gold. “I’m just a friend of Talia’s.”
She shook her finger in his direction. “I know you aren’t her friend. And when she leaves, I look after her house. Now, what are you, and what have you done to my Talia?”
He walked over to the elderly lady. “I work for someone who’s looking for her. If Talia comes back, call me.”
“Ha. I will tell her to run. I’ve told her to stop working for the council for years. I tell you, that Gideon is bad news.”
It wasn’t normal to speak about the supernatural world in public. Kirin scanned the surrounding area before answering. “Please call.”
The old lady removed her sunglasses, and her eyes glowed purple. “Gold won’t keep you warm at night.” Before Kirin could ask her another question, she disappeared—one second she was standing in front of him, and the next, she was nowhere to be seen. Kirin didn’t have time to figure out what she was. He needed to find Talia.
When Kirin walked outside, a figure in a dark robe was standing next to his bike. Kirin couldn’t hold back the groan. The man wore the same robe as the warlock he’d fought the previous day.
Kirin walked toward the warlock, pulling his power from his dragon. “You want to explain why you’re touching my bike?”
When the warlock looked at him, Kirin was stunned for a second. The man looked identical to the one he’d just gone after. But that couldn’t be true. Kia had told him that the council sentenced that warlock to death the night before.
The warlock pulled his hand from the bike. “I’m looking for my brother.”
“Sorry, that’s not his bike—it’s mine.”
The warlock stepped in his direction. “I know it’s not my brother’s bike. But it was the last image he portrayed. Now, tell me where my brother is.”
Kirin let out a sigh. “You need to contact Gideon about your brother.”
Kirin glanced around the parking lot, making sure no humans were near. The warlock looked close to using his magic. Kirin really didn’t want to fill out any paperwork for a fight with a warlock in an open parking lot.
“You are a mercenary.” It wasn’t a question as much as a statement.
“My job was to bring him in.”
The warlock crossed his arms. “Did Gideon give you a reason?”
“No.”
The man rolled his eyes. “Leave it to a mercenary to not ask questions and bring his charge in.”
Why does everyone suddenly want me to analyze every case I take?
“So everyone keeps saying. If I hear anything, I will let you know.”
“On your way to bring another innocent person in?”