Page 80 of Grave Beginnings
Angel sighed again, longer this time, and followed me. I hated that sigh. It wasn’t just annoyed, it was resigned. It burrowed into my chest, needling at my self-esteem.
“You can wait for me down in the car,” I offered, not wanting to drive a wedge between us.
“It’s fine,” Angel said.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not.”
“I may not have your nose, but I can interpret an annoyed sigh just fine. It’s my secondary superpower, right after seeing invisible,useless purple lines.” I stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to face him. “It’s okay if you don’t believe me.” That I was used to it went unsaid.
“That’s not it at all,” Angel said.
“Sure,” I muttered, swallowing down the ache in my throat and turning to find the line again. It wasn’t fair, really. We hadn’t even started dating—if that was ever going to happen—and already, he didn’t trust me. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Better to know now, before I let myself fall further.
“Jude,” Angel said, sounding exasperated. He grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him before I could pull away. “Let’s not do this.”
“You’re right. Let’s not.” I tugged against his grip, but his hand slid down, catching mine instead. His fingers intertwined with mine, warm and firm, keeping me in place.
“I didn’t sigh because I don’t trust you. I sighed because it’s hard to keep you safe if I’m the only one here watching your back. You’re used to being alone, I get that. But you aren’t anymore, and I want you to understand that backup is a good thing—not judgement, and not a weakness.”
I blinked, caught off guard. My chest tightened as I met his gaze, searching his warm brown eyes for any trace of a lie. “I’m not helpless,” I said softly, my voice cracking despite myself. “And we don’t even know if there’s anything really going on here.” I hesitated, adding in a whisper, “Other than me losing my mind. Besides, if I was going to lose it, I’d pick a more interesting delusion, like a talking cat. Not a glowing purple slug trail in a luxury high-rise. Who’s gonna clean that? Supernatural Mr. Clean?”
“You’re not going nuts. I smell ozone, remember? That’s a clear sign of something crossing the Veil. It’s faint, but unmistakable. And that’s exactly why I don’t want you running ahead without backup. Not after what happened the first time you crossed the Veil.” His grip on my hand tightened, as if he fought the urge to tug me in close. “Whatever you saw seemed drawn toyou, like a magnet. Because you’re SV? DV? We don’t know. But I’d rather not chance it. I should never have walked away from you in the bookstore.”
“I don’t blame you for that,” I said. “I’m an adult. I’ve dealt with plenty of crime scenes. I shouldn’t have followed it alone.”
“I’m happy you got away. But I wonder if it wastryingto lure you away. What about all this?” he asked, gesturing to the hallway around us, his eyes darkening. “What if this is another ploy to separate us?”
“Why?”
Angel tilted his head. “Why does anyone do anything?”
“The list of reasons is both long and short,” I said, having too many years of homicide under my belt. “Greed is usually the answer. What do I have that they would want? It’s not money.”
Angel’s gaze lingered on me, unreadable. “I can think of a few things. Mostly power. And I’d really like to ensure that whatever the fuck this is does not touch you.”
The words hung between us, heavy with something unspoken. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He was too much and everything I ever wanted all in one. I pulled my hand from his, turning back toward the hallway.
“We need to keep moving,” I said, unwilling to let myself get lost in those eyes. “Before the trail fades completely.” I hesitated, uncertain why this was important, but knowing it was. ThatinstinctI’d relied on my entire life flared. “There’s something there. I’m sorry,” I said, biting my lip as I apologized, though I knew there wasn’t a reason to. “I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling.”
Angel nodded. “Lead the way. Just don’t get too far ahead of me.”
I followed the faded purple, his presence at my back, near enough to steady me if I faltered, yet distant enough to let me cling to the illusion that I didn’t need him. Not yet. I couldn’t need him yet. I had to shake it off and focus on the case.
The sense of magic drew me forward, compelling and relentless, floor to floor. Though, by the time we reached the bottom of the building, it was little more than a sensation of something come and gone. Instinct? Or something else? How many times had I used instinct to break a case? More than I could count. Was it a sign I’d had an ability before I’d been marked?
The faded memory of the line snaked all the way down to the storage area. “Even fancy high-rises have creepy basements,” I grumbled as I walked along the locked cages of bikes and other random household goods. “It’s like the world’s most boring haunted house. Ooooh, a Peloton and some off-season holiday décor from the seventies… truly terrifying.” Part of the storage area overlapped through the parking garage, separated by a heavy wire door leading off to a long row of cubicles filled with boxes, bicycles, and other open storage. I stared at it, searching for any remnants of the magic that drew us down there, but finding none. My door code didn’t work on the main outer door, which meant I couldn’t get closer.
“Smell anything?” I asked Angel. Not that he was some sort of bloodhound, but it sucked to be chasing shadows and come up empty.
“No. Not even ozone anymore, just dust.” He wrinkled his nose. “Let me call the team and put them on the trail; Bobby’s scanner, Ezra asking questions—even Wade makes people more willing to talk. Plus, we can get access to the storage area. Bobby is great at disarming the norms.”
“Like, with his vampire power?”
Angel shook his head. “That would be illegal. No, he just projects harmless white guy and knows how to use it.” He looked me over. “Sort of like you.”
“I attribute that to being smaller than the average guy. And blond.”