Page 88 of Grave Beginnings

He scooped a giant heap of super spicy salsa onto a chip and ate it, looking thoughtful. “Variance is like that sometimes. There are facts, of course. Like that shifters change shape and part of it is biological, altering our bodies in ways that make many consider us not human, but part of it is magical too. An Amar leopard usually weighs only about a hundred pounds. I’m twice that, mymass the same in both forms, but that isn’t true for all shifters. Wade’s bear is much larger than his human form, though he’s not a small guy.”

“Ivan is much smaller,” I said, thinking about that.

“Scientifically, we don’t have all the answers,” Angel said, balling up his napkin. “Theory is that some of the shifters gain or lose mass to the space between, an ether concept. But we don’t have a way to prove that yet. Other variances have similar issues. Many find their variance stronger over the Veil. Some find it easy to record using scientific methods, others are purely speculation.”

“Like mine?” I asked, picking at the last taco in my bowl.

“Yes, though since Bobby was able to create a scan for the handprints you saw that’s a scientific marker we can share.”

“And yet, we’ve been unable to replicate it with the other things I see.”

“But does that mean it’s only a feeling, or that we simply haven’t found a way to record it yet?” Angel asked. I offered him my last taco and he accepted. “That’s why I want you to document everything. We have teams that study our notes to see if anything overlaps, or if some new comment will trigger a revelation. Bobby used that information to recalibrate a thermal camera to see those handprints. Maybe he hasn’t found the right setting or equipment yet, but if you don’t tell us what to look for, how can we try?”

“That’s a good point,” I said, and slid my laptop over to make more notes as he ate.

“Do you need sugar?” He asked after a few minutes, and my brain immediately went to kisses instead of food, face heating. He laughed. “That kind of sugar is okay, too.”

“Jerk,” I muttered. “No, I’m fine.”

He gathered the remains of our paper bowls and cups. “Still want me to take you back to your car?” There was a bit of hope in his voice, as if he preferred driving me around.

“I really want to be able to get Ivan if he needs me. I can’t be terrified of crossing the Veil forever, right?”

“It’s healthy to be a little afraid of it.”

“But I can’t let that keep me from taking care of Ivan if he needs me. He’s just a kid.”

“I was already in the war at his age,” Angel said quietly.

I stared at him, horrified by that thought and all he’d told me about seeing other shifters pulled through their shift and used as cannon fodder. “I hate that you went through that.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“But probably doesn’t always feel that way, right?”

He let out a long breath and nodded. “We all have baggage.”

“I hope I can protect Ivan from experiencing some of it.” If I wasn’t already too late.

Angel certainly seemed more put together than most men I’d ever known. Age, experience, or both? He got up to throw away the trash and waited at my side. “Ready to go get your car?”

I closed the computer and shoved it in my bag. “Yeah.” Would he want to go on a real date sometime? Maybe we needed to schedule something outside of work time. The overlap bothered me, only because I wasn’t certain how the Sergeant would take it, and I knew the team hesitated. How was it possible to know a guy less than a week and feel drawn to him like some supernatural magnet was snapping our souls together?

“Maybe we can schedule a date for this weekend?” I tried to be neutral. Was dating okay? Did he even really want that, or just a fling? Technically, he’d invited me to dinner at his place, but was that because he wanted to hide our relationship? “Out somewhere?”

“Sure. What do you have in mind?” Angel asked as we returned to the car.

“There’s that plushie arcade,” I said, instantly regretting the idea. It was meant for kids and girls, but I sort of loved the huntof claw games and retrieving prizes. “Or we could go bowling or something.” I hated bowling.

“You don’t strike me as the bowling type. Borrowing shoes and all that. I can’t really handle the smells, but if you really want that, I’d deal. I’d prefer the arcade,” Angel said as he steered us toward my place to pick up my car. “Have you been there yet? I’ve seen video, and it looks wild.”

Heat filled my face. “Nikki and I have been a few times since it opened.”

“Oh? Do you have a giant stack of plushies hidden in your apartment somewhere?”

I did.

He glanced my way, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “You do.”