This morning, I’d informed Mason he needed to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. He hadn’t needed an explanation. He’d just laughed and said no problem. What I hadn’t told him was that I planned to move back into the guesthouse and he was moving to my room in the main house. I figured it was as close as Beth and I could get to privacy for the foreseeable future.
I had also called the French restaurant I knew Beth liked and ordered a three-course meal to be delivered this evening. I’d enlisted Sara’s help, and she had run out to buy a cheesecake from a bakery she and Beth loved. Beth hadn’t gotten to eat the piece of cake I’d bought her the other night, and I wanted to make it up to her.
The desk phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. Nikolas answered it then put it on speaker.
“Go ahead, David,” Nikolas said.
“We think we found him,” David said in a rush. “Or at least his current identity.”
Nikolas and I sat up straight, sharing a look that was part disbelief and part hope.
David continued. “Charles Prescott turned up in New York City in the eighties under the new name Jonathan Wells. We just found this an hour ago, and Kelvan is still digging, but we have photos.”
“Photos?” I asked.
This was the biggest lead we’d had since we’d discovered there was a Lilin at work here. With a name and a photo, we could probably track him down in a few days or less, depending on how well he’d covered his tracks here.
“Actually, it’s photos from a big society gala Jonathan Wells attended,” David explained. “Kelvan’s not positive, but he thinks the Lilin is in them. One second. I’m sending them now.”
Nikolas opened his laptop and turned it so the two of us could see the screen. It took a minute for David’s email to arrive, and I held my breath as Nikolas clicked on the attachments.
The first photo showed a group of men and women in black and white evening wear. They were talking and seemed unaware that someone was taking their picture.
I scanned the male faces, even though I didn’t expect to recognize the Lilin. He’d be careful to keep his distance from us when he knew we were hunting him. But we could have Dax run facial recognition on every male in the photos and see what came up.
“See that man standing by the fountain in the second photo?” David said.
I studied the two men closest to the fountain. They were tall and handsome like all Incubi, but there was nothing to distinguish them from every other male in the photos.
“The blond man?” I asked.
“The dark-haired one. We think he’s your Lilin.”
“Great work,” Nikolas said as he forwarded the email to the head of security at Westhorne. “Can you find out if Jonathan Wells has property in Los Angeles?”
“Already on it. I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.”
David hung up with a promise to call with an update in a few hours. I continued to stare at the man David had singled out as if I’d suddenly see something new to identify him.
“I’m going to send these to Celine,” Nikolas said, opening a new email. “I think she’s going to that charity event tonight.”
“Good idea.”
Celine, after she’d calmed down from her run-in with Beth, had informed us she’d come at the request of the Council. Unlike most of us who avoided human social events, Celine loved them, and she rubbed elbows with the social elite all over the world. It had taken her less than half a day to insert herself into the Los Angeles social sphere and get invites to all the big parties.
Lilin were wealthy, and the likeliest place to see one in public was at a party or event thrown by someone equally rich. That’s where Celine came in. Lilin had no distinctive physical characteristics, but she could look for suspicious behavior or try to match a face to a photo.
Much to Nikolas’s and my relief, Celine had informed us she was staying in a suite at the Beverly Wilshire. I would have gladly given up my room to her, but sleeping arrangements were the least of our worries. Sara disliked Celine from their past encounters at Westhorne, and Beth hadn’t exactly made a new friend by punching Celine before they’d even been introduced.
Although, I had to admit seeing Beth’s little jealous rage had been a major turn-on. And kissing her after had left me wanting more. If just making out with her could affect me that way –
“Chris?”
I looked at Nikolas, who wasn’t trying to hide his grin.
“Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I said we have a call with Tristan in ten minutes. Are you going to be up for that?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Yes.”
He rested his elbows on the desk. “It gets easier. Your Mori will settle down once you complete the bond, and you won’t be quite so…”
“Distracted?”
He chuckled. “I was going to say obsessed.”
“God, I am.” I scrubbed my face with my hands. “Okay, I promise to focus on work and not think about Beth for the next hour.”
He smirked. “Good luck with that.”
Beth
“You’re texting him again?”
I stuck my phone in my pocket and met Mason’s amused gaze.
“Just letting him know we’re done shopping. We are, right?”
He held up the shopping bag that held the birthday present he’d picked out for his mother. She loved glass blown art, and we’d spent the last hour looking through the glass displays in the cute little shop he’d found in Long Beach.
“Got a hot date or something?” he teased as we left the shop and headed for the rear parking lot where we’d left our bikes.
“Maybe.”
My body grew warm as it did every time I thought about being alone with Chris. Since our make out session yesterday, all I could think about was his promise that we would make love soon. He hadn’t said exactly when that would be, but something told me it was tonight. My insides quivered every time I tried to imagine what it would be like. Soon, I wouldn’t have to imagine it anymore.
We reached our bikes, and I couldn’t resist checking my phone one more time before I donned my helmet. Mason snickered, and I turned to glare at him.
“Mason,” I cried when I saw the four Incubi sneaking up on him.
Mason spun as the nearest Incubus swung his fist, and Mason’s head snapped back under the force of the blow. He went down, and a second Incubus kicked him hard in the ribs.
“Stop,” I screamed.
I fumbled in my coat pocket for the Taser Chris had given me. I had it in my hand when one of the Incubi came for me. Before he could grab me, I struck, shocking him twice.
A fist glanced off my cheek, and I staggered backward into someone. Terror gripped me when an arm came around my neck and tightened, cutting off my air. Blood roared in my ears and blackness crowded the edges of my vision as I fought to stay conscious.
My body started to go limp from lack of oxygen. The Taser slipped from my fingers and clattered against the pavement. And then I felt nothing.
Chapter 20
Beth
My body felt like someone had used it for a punching bag. There were so many aches I was afraid to open my eyes and see what I looked like. Chris was never going to let me go on another job with him after this one. How had I not seen that Incubus sneaking up on the SUV?
I forced my heavy eyes open and stared at a pale gray ceiling. Wait, that didn’t look right.
“Chris,” I croaked and winced as pain shot through my face. But it was only half as bad as the raw burning in my throat.
I swallowed, and a coughing fit hit me. Rolling to my side, I tried to catch my breath.
I stared in confusion at the white dresser against the far wall, which was covered in gray and white striped wallpaper and looked nothing like the wall in my bedroom.
My eyes moved from the dresser to a silk upholstered chair I’d never seen before. Was I in a bedroom in the main house? Why would they put me here?
“Chris?” I called hoarsely again. “Mason?”
A chill went through me when I said Mason’s name. Something was very wrong, but I was too disoriented to figure it out.
I sat up, closing my eyes against a wave of nausea. It passed, and I was able to open my eyes and survey my surroundings.