Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
And Alaric had given him a goodnight kiss that had stayed with him into his dreams.
All of it felt rather surreal. He still couldn’t believe the elf was that interested in him, not when he’d mostly been a complete shit to him. But nobody could fake the kind of desire he’d felt in Alaric yesterday. Even now, the memory of their intimacy made his cheeks heat.
When his bagel was done, he took it along with a cup of coffee into the living room, only to see that the others had already arrived. Bain and Finn were seated on the couch, but his gaze immediately whipped toward the largest preternatural he’d ever seen. Massive horns jutted out from the being’s head, and his skin was a dusky gray color. Bulging muscles filled out a tight black T-shirt that matched the hair around those horns. He was unbelievably tall, at least six foot eight. Anger poured off him in waves, making Ezra take a step back.
“Callan may look frightening, but he won’t hurt you,” Alaric murmured from behind him.
“Looks pretty pissed.”
“He’s angry at life in general. It’s not you. He’s also one of the best protectors Xavier has and will watch over you with complete devotion. He’s a Cambion demon.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“Offspring between a demon and a human. Normally, they tend to work for criminals, but Callan is a good guy. Very. Don’t let his disgruntled expression get to you. Like I said, it’s just the way he is.”
Ezra looked at the other man in the room and drew in a sharp breath. Like Bain and Alaric, he was absolutely beautiful, with long black hair that fell around handsome features. He looked completely human, too. But he somehow felt like…more. Ezra got the feeling he was the most powerful preternatural in the room. This had to be Xavier, the owner of Protective Solutions.
Xavier came to him and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person, Ezra.”
Ezra hastily set his plate and mug down on a small table and took the—man’s?—hand. Nearly black eyes looked down at him, and Ezra got the feeling Xavier knew everything there was to know about him. Unnerved, he let go of his hand and didn’t even think about it when he stepped back into Alaric’s protective space.
Xavier’s lips twitched as he continued to stare for a few moments, then turned to walk a few steps away. He then faced the room. “It seems this particular job has meshed with another investigation we’ve been working on. First of all, the price on your head, Ezra, went up to four million.”
“Seriously?” Ezra butted in. “This has to be about the money I’m inheriting. It has to be my ex-husband then, since he’s been drawing out signing the divorce papers. He must want that money even though he already has more than he could ever spend.” He glanced back at Alaric. “Told you—real shit gibbon.”
Finn snorted.
“There’s more,” Xavier said. “I looked into your husband. I have before, and he’s always covered up his tracks well, but this time, he left one small detail he shouldn’t have. We hacked into his system and one lone entry in his schedule happened to intertwine with a group I’ve been following.” He held out his palm and a picture appeared in it. He showed the image to Finn then Alaric. “Look familiar?”
Alaric studied the picture and frowned. “He was in the warehouse when we fought the warper wizard.”
Ezra leaned over to look at the image. “That’s Brian, my ex. You’ve met him?” he asked Alaric.
“Your husband is the trafficker we’ve been after?”
“The…trafficker?” He could only think of one kind of trafficking that would have these preternaturals so upset, and his gut twisted into instant knots. Surely not. Brian was bad, and Ezra had known about the drugs and guns, but to hear that he also dealt in taking people and selling them? Nausea hit him, acid shooting up his throat, and he ran to the closest bathroom only to barely make it to the toilet. He threw up but because he hadn’t had a chance to eat, it was nothing but stinging bile.
Gentle hands cradled his head.
“I didn’t know,” he gasped out. “I didn’t know.”
“We know that, Ezra,” Alaric said softly. “Your husband would have done everything to keep you from finding out.”
“I should have turned him into the cops for what I did know, but if I’d known about this nothing would have kept me from having him arrested.” He closed his eyes and felt Alaric reach around him to flush the toilet. His cheeks burned with humiliation. “I’m sorry you had to see me throwing up.”
“It’s a natural response to what you heard. That is, if you have a good heart.” He turned Ezra’s face toward his and Ezra opened his eyes. “Kemper has some particularly strong wizards working for him. Well, one that I know of, since we killed one. But there could be more. How many men did he surround himself with other than Jake?”