Shit, I’d zoned out and missed what we’re talking about. Sorting through the most probable questions, I decide on the obvious—“How did we kill the demons?”
I steeple my fingers together. “I took care of the man and woman first. After a fight with my whip, Duncan used his blue balls of power, I rolled and put him on his back, then he oozed this strange, clear liquid. Finally, I took his head.”
Everyone stares at me with wide eyes, like I’m Medusa incarnate. “What?”
A blush creeps across Aaden’s cheeks in contrast to his porcelain skin. Zee doubles over laughing, holding his stomach. He takes every opportunity to make fun at my expense—of course, I reciprocate. We have a love-hate relationship. Granted, it’s at least seventy percent hate on any given day, but it fluctuates depending on how much he’s annoyed me.
“What?” I repeat. Clearly, I didn’t answer the actual question.
“I asked how… never mind.” Uncle Charlie shakes his head.
His sunset aura brightens with emotion, and my own strengthens in response to my growing embarrassment. I start mentally singing “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.” Childish, I know.
Duncan snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Locks, pay attention.”
I glower at him. Catching my expression, Aaden lets out a low whistle, his floppy charcoal hair obscuring his eyes.
I sing, “Big Willie style’s all in it, gettin’ jiggy wit it!” at the top of my mental voice.
Duncan, who is gulping his water, chokes and sprays it over the table, landing some on Zee. Perfect.
I pat Duncan on the back, mouthing, “One, one,” to Zee, indicating today’s score. He scowls, and his gaze promises retribution. I wiggle my fingers and smirk. “Bring it on.”
Uncle Charlie clears his throat, gaining our full attention.
“Whilst Aaden was collecting intel for this operation, he discovered links to a much larger issue.” He slides each of us a file. “Archan Reinheart is the CEO of Reinheart and Hunter. He and his partner, Michael Hunter, own the largest legal company in the US. They provide every kind of legal service available, from criminal to contract law. They’re expensive, and with good reason—their success rate is higher than any other competing company. This was your mark’s employer.”
I open the file, revealing a typical executive photo. However, Archan Reinheart is anything but typical. He exudes strength, confidence, and a dark, dangerous sensuality. His dark blond hair is tied back to show penetrating hazel eyes, verging on gold. He has sun-kissed skin and full lips. I imagine undoing his hair, letting it fall around his face, then running my hands through the strands while placing soft kisses along his jaw…
Agh! Concentrate, Natia. Grabbing another Whopper, I nibble the outside. What can I say? Eating helps me focus.
Returning my gaze to the photo, I skim over his oval face with its square jawline then notice the suit, which does nothing to hide his sculpted body. Unwittingly mesmerized, I jump when Joan kicks me under the table, her ice blue eyes sparkling. Duncan glances at me. Checking my mental shields, I find the tiniest crack. He’s a tough trainer.
Perhaps Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” isn’t the most appropriate song to be singing right now. He raises an eyebrow, and I stare him down. Well, I try, but blink first. I tilt my head, deliberating if he’s a snake or a fish, given they don’t blink at all.
Uncle Charlie continues, “Reinheart has been a silent CEO for the last ten years. About eight months ago, he became active in the company. His return ties in with the disappearances in the area.” He pauses, indicating the report of the recent spike of disappearances in Seattle.
Six men and women of varying ages, ethnic backgrounds, and social status have disappeared in the last seven months, the only link being they’d all been in contact with Reinheart and Hunter at some point. I think back to the fight. “Eric mentioned his powerful master. Could that be Reinheart?”
Uncle Charlie frowns. “Who’s Eric?”
“The demon, his name was Eric.”
Zee shakes his head. “You made friends with a demon? Only you, Natia.”
“It would be one more friend than you have,” I deadpan.
Uncle Charlie ignores us. “We need to infiltrate his inner circle and get close enough to find out if he’s involved with the disappearances. But our primary objective is to find out what he is.” We all stare at Uncle Charlie. “Our plant determined he’s not human, but she can’t identify what he is. She no longer has access to his inner circle, so we’ve pulled her out.”
Surprised, I blink. “Who’s our plant?”
“Lauren,” Aaden responds.
I gaze down the table at him. “I thought she was on sabbatical leave?” Astonished I didn’t know this, I turn back to Uncle Charlie. “How long?”
He schools his features. “Two months.”
“She gained some access, but it was confined to… social occasions,” Aaden explains.
I tense. “Define ‘social occasions.’”
When Aaden doesn’t answer, I whip my head to Uncle Charlie. He looks away. “She was his escort,” he eventually says.
My jaw drops open. “You’re joking.”
Aaden raises his palms. “Not like that. She just escorted him to functions.”
I turn back to Uncle Charlie. “And you believe that’s where it ended?”
He nods once.
Chewing my lip and continuing my rendition of Def Leppard to lock down my emotions, I roll my head to ease the knots in my neck and shoulders then gulp half my bottle of water, wiping my lips on the back of my hand. “So what’s the plan?”
Aaden and Uncle Charlie share a look and switch their focus to me. I immediately get an uneasy feeling. Aaden explains, “Your grandfather is merging with a company on the East Coast. He’s employed Reinheart and Hunter to oversee the negotiations. You’ll be one of Waterford Industries’ representatives here in Seattle. Your grandfather will oversee the East Coast. You’re expected to attend major meetings, negotiations, and any social events pertaining to the merger.”
Like I said, a small but well-funded department of my grandfather’s company provides the SIP with many of its weapons and invests heavily in weapons research on our behalf. So he knows about the SIP and what we do.
I stare at my uncle. “You can’t be serious. I know nothing about mergers or legal stuff. I was an arts student, about as far away from business as you can get.” He adopts a patient expression, preparing to indulge me in my rant. “Send Aaden or Joan—they’re excellent strategists and will be able to keep up with the legal lingo!”
Aaden gives me a reassuring smile and pushes his dark hair back behind his ears. “Don’t worry, I’m coming as your advisor. I won’t let you make a fool of yourself. Well, not too much, anyway.”
“You’re the only one who can read his aura, Natia. We need to know definitively what he is, and you can sense his power signature—further clues to his origins. Duncan will be on hand if needed, and Zee’s coming as your personal bodyguard,” Uncle Charlie adds. Zee meets my eyes with identical horror. Appears he wasn’t in on the plan either. Zee opens his mouth to argue, but Uncle Charlie puts his hand up, his classic signal for it’s a done deal, don’t bother arguing. Zee huffs in defeat.