Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(51)

“I guess so.”

Evalle paused and took in the confusion in his face. Where had Storm been in recent years not to know what she was talking about?

He stepped up beside her. “The city had to send in a crew to clean out the creek before a storm flooded the area. Since the stone has the power to affect its immediate environment, like using fast-growing hyacinths to lift it out of the creek and place it in sight of its next owner, Lucien thinks that’s a good sign it’ll be found in that area.”

Evalle scowled. “But Lucien and Adrianna didn’t see it?”

“They found plenty of rocks that looked like rocks. Nothing that matched the one Lucien saw the night Trey fought the Kujoo.”

“Has Trey taken a look?”

“Yep. He came straight here from the VIPER meeting and arrived as workers were unloading the backhoe. He watched the entire time they dumped rocks and mud on the bank, then stayed until Lucien and Adrianna showed up. Those two spent their shift walking the park, but … nada.”

“I feel for them. It really sucks when you have to look for something. The least the inconsiderate bastard could have done was have a miniature billboard with an arrow pointing down that said Ngak Stone Here.” She couldn’t help the sarcasm, but did everyone think the rock was going to jump into their hands?

Storm laughed, which surprised her. He had a nice laugh, one that warmed the air and brushed across her skin. Under different circumstances she might actually like working with him.

He added, “Lucien had Adrianna walk along the bank by herself hoping the stone would reveal itself to her, but no luck. Apparently she’s not the powerful female it wants.”

Evalle stopped and turned to search his face to see if he considered that as bad an idea as she did.

He lifted his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “I don’t know if I’d have done that, but I wasn’t assigned to work with her.”

Did she hear relief in his voice on that last part? She should leave well enough alone, but the need to know where she stood with everyone, even Storm, gnawed at her. “Can’t be any worse than working with an Alterant, can it?”

“I have no issue with witches. I’ve known some I now call friends and trust to watch my back in any situation, but not a Sterling witch. I told Sen up front that I had limitations when it came to working with any of his agents. I normally work alone.”

He hadn’t really answered her question about being partnered with an Alterant in particular. “So why did you agree to partner with me? Or is the truth that you’re not really here to be a partner?”

No answer.

And that made her sweat. She plodded along beside him, waiting for a response, but Storm still hadn’t said a word by the time she stepped on the paved road that ran across the upper end of the park. Within three long strides she passed through the streetlights along the drive and returned to the black abyss surrounding the rest of the park.

“Did you hear me, Storm?”

“Yes.”

“And?” She stopped walking.

He paused, then turned around slowly, taking a step toward her until they were only inches apart. Close enough to feel his soft breath ripple across her hair and forehead.

He raised his hand and extended a finger to touch her face.

She didn’t want to retreat and give up any ground to him, but neither did she want to allow a second man to eat up so much of her personal space tonight.

Indecision destroyed any chance to react.

His finger touched her hair, then traced around the curve of her ear. “Do you know you smell like mint and flowers?”

Her pulse ticked harder. Did he like the way she smelled?

She could understand the flowers, since she grew a few in her underground home, but she had no idea about the mint. “Not really. What’s the way I smell got to do with answering why you agreed to work with me?”

“I had no idea I’d ever agree to partner with you until I walked into the war room. Trust me, it shocked the hell out of me, too. The mint hit me first, but it was the floral smell that threw me. There you were, all decked out like a tough biker, yet you smelled like a delicate flower. When I sat down by you, those two scents hit me at once and I knew instantly what they meant.”

“What?” That whispered question had slipped past her lips without waiting for permission from her brain.

“Mint is refreshingly different and so strong that it’s overwhelming to many. Flowers may look fragile, and yet some, like the lotus that only thrives in mud, withstand the most brutal of environments to beautify a world that has tried its best to destroy them. They both suit you, and I knew that I could go against my grain and work with someone like you.”

His words seduced her with an ease she found frightening and unsettling. It felt as though he’d peered straight into her soul and laid bare her scars.

Storm thought she was different, fragile and determined.

He was wrong about fragile.

But he’d exposed something she refused to analyze about herself, and the last thing she wanted was for him to think he’d figured her out or had reached her in any way. Not this man who worked as Sen’s eyes and ears.

She stared at him blankly. “Wow, you’re one of those men who can read a bubble gum wrapper and see the decoding of the entire universe.” She leaned in closer, like she was imparting the world’s greatest secret. “But sometimes, it’s just a wrapper. I chew a lot of mint gum and must have brushed up against a flowering bush at some point. Simple explanations that have nothing to do with my personality or humanity … or lack thereof.”