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Darien gave a cold smirk and shared a loaded glance with Malakai.

The Reaper’s eyes shone a sinister black as he drawled, “It won’t be a problem?”

Darien said, “You told me Nolan wants the weapons dealers in Angelthene done away with—wants Gaven done away with. I’m not his grunt who will go after every piece of scum he decides he wants to take down.” Even if he wanted to, it would be impossible. While he understood Nolan’s desire to take down the biggest fish involved, the fact remained that crumbling the entire Blood Staves operation would be a fool’s errand. Besides, that was what the MPU—not Darkslayers—was for, what they were paid to do, and it would be a battle they would likely fight forever. Locking Gaven and his men up would slow it down and give them time to breathe, without a doubt, but in the end it was one big goose chase, ongoing and ultimately futile.

“I know, I know,” Finn sighed. “You worry about Gaven, I’ll worry about Nolan.”

“You’d better.”

With a sharp nod that appeared to be the most thanks they would get, Finn headed for his vehicle. “Keep in touch.”

Malakai mimicked the detective in a squeaky voice, keeping his volume low enough that Finn couldn’t hear, as he and Darien walked back through the muddy lot.

They were almost back at his car when Malakai said, “How about instead we find this Nolan guy and snap his scrawny neck for thinking he can manipulate us like this?”

“I debated that myself, until Gaven got involved.”

“We could just kill his ass instead.” If only it were that easy.

“He knows where I live.”

Malakai stopped walking. “Shit, are you serious?”

“That’s why I’m doing this,” Darien admitted. He was still trying to figure out how it had happened. No one ever found out the location of Hell’s Gate unless Darien or one of the other Devils gave it to them. “And I’m not about to leave my house and run away like a coward. He’s going into Blackwater to rot, and I don’t care how many lives I have to end to put him there.”

They started walking to the car again, and they were about to get in when Malakai glanced over his shoulder to see Finn driving up the road, tires splashing through deep puddles that were practically ponds, the ground in Angelthene too perpetually dry to sop up the water. “You sure you trust him?”

“No. There aren’t many people I trust, but while he’s using me and my resources, I’m also using his.”

Malakai swung open his door. “Anything else you need from me? I’ve got a collection to make in...” He checked his phone. “One hour.”

Darien got in the car. “I need you to meet me at White Garden at four. Think you can manage that?”

“I’m sure I can.”

“And have a couple Reapers watch Gaven for me, will you?” He would rather trust the Reapers than ask Channary for assistance, at least not yet. And he wasn’t about to drag his Angel friends into this mess either, although Dominic and Conrad had already offered.

Malakai threw himself onto the passenger’s seat and shook his hood off. “Brodie and Macen…,” he decided under his breath as he pulled up a conversation thread on his phone. “They’re good at not getting caught.” He paused, thumb hovering over the screen. Black eyes snapped to Darien’s face. “Where can they find Gaven? He trackable?”

Darien shook his head as he started the car and drove up the road, mud splashing. “His aura’s always hidden.” Likely by an Avertera talisman, the rare piece of jewelry that was getting harder to find. He would need to buy a new one and give it to Dallas to pass along to Loren the next time the witch stayed the night. He didn’t trust her current one not to run out soon.

“Of course,” Malakai muttered.

“But he frequents the Devil’s Advocate.” Darien shoved his hood back. “Shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“Of course,” Malakai said again, this time with a callous chuckle.

Thoughts spun through Darien’s head as he drove Malakai back to where they’d left his truck. As the car crawled down thirty-fourth, he scanned the road for any indication that Finn’s so-called backup had been in the area, but there were no hints of them left behind, not even tire prints in the mud that ran along the shoulder of the road. Maybe the detective did trust them enough to have come here alone, but Darien couldn’t decide if that made the man brave or just plain fucking stupid.

—

As soon as Malakai was out of the car, throwing Darien the middle finger as he jumped up into the driver’ seat of his white truck—parked down the alley between Blood Bath and Queens of the Damned—Darien started thinking. He drove out of Oldtown and merged onto the highway that would take him up to Angelthene Boulevard.

Steering partly with his knee as he wove through six lanes of steady traffic, he reached into the back seat and grabbed his jacket. He threw it onto the passenger’s seat and found his phone in one of the pockets. He found Tanner on speed dial and hit CALL.

The hacker picked up on the third ring. “Sup?” The word was muffled and punctuated with chewing.

“What are you eating this time?”