Dead After Dark (Companion #6.5)(85)

“You don’t know what you’re hunting.”

“Yes, I do. A man with information.”

A man? Trey wanted to shake her. Ekkbar was not a man, nor did he possess any human qualities like compassion. He would do more than hurt Sasha for hunting him. He would steal her soul. But she wouldn’t believe Trey if he told her.

“You aren’t trained to deal with these . . . situations.”

“You have no idea what I am or am not trained for. I excelled at Tae Kwon Do, for your information.”

“I just—”

“Good night, Trey.” Sasha flipped off his coat and tossed it at him, then turned and climbed the stone steps without a look back. She stuck a key into the ornate brass lock, opened the leaded-glass door, and disappeared inside the dark house.

He had his work cut out for him if he was going to find Ekkbar before she did and keep her safe as well.



Sasha held her breath until she got inside her home, then slumped next to the door away from the oval glass center. Cool plaster touching her back did nothing to ease the heat firing through her body and roaming across her skin.

That was close. If Trey hadn’t annoyed her at the last minute, she might have embarrassed herself by asking for a kiss . . . or just taking one. She leaned around and peeked at him walking away. His coat was slung over broad shoulders that seemed to droop.

Did he regret breaking up? Was he wishing she wanted to see him again? She did.

He paused under the streetlight on the corner, the amber beam of light outlining six-foot-three of pure sensuous male she missed seeing next to her when she woke up. Maybe he was considering coming back and pulling her into his arms to ask for a second chance and . . . he strolled off.

She swung back around. I’m pathetic. When was she going to truly accept that he was gone and not coming back?

Damn him for blowing her search tonight.

Damn him for questioning her ability.

And damn Trey’s lopsided smile and his searing green eyes for still sending her heart into fits. She wished he’d kept his coat on. The last thing she needed filling her head before bed was the clean male scent she remembered vividly from the days of wearing his discarded T-shirts after hours of making love. How could he just pop in tonight and start chatting like nothing had ever happened between them? Like he hadn’t spent nineteen incredible months with her, then just walked away two days before she turned twenty-one without offering anything that would help her make sense of his actions.

Actually, he had suggested, “You’ll find someone better.”

She’d tried. Boy, had she tried and tried and tried to fill the gaping hole he’d left in her life and her heart. But just because she still wanted to jump his bones didn’t mean he could dance back into her life and start giving her orders.

Leave it to a man to screw up a simple plan.

Sasha straightened up and patted herself mentally for showing a strong front. Who was Trey to question her abilities and act as if she couldn’t take care of herself. As if she hadn’t been doing a damn good job for the past nine years.

Striding up to an Empire classical table in the foyer where three Ping-Pong sized balls of aqua glass sat in the center of the light brown marble, she passed her hand over the smooth surface. The globes flew into the air. She flipped her hand palm up a few inches beneath them, then wiggled her fingers. The floating orbs glowed and spun in circular patterns—her personal version of stress-relief.

Trey thought she wasn’t cut out for PI work, huh? Well, he was wrong. She had more than a few tricks up her sleeve. Sasha waved her free hand, kinetically locking the front door and turning off the outside lights. She then headed for the kitchen where a light spilled from the open doorway.

“Where were you tonight?” Her sister, Rowan, sat at their butcher block table with a mug of tea that smelled like Rowan’s personal blend of raspberry and mint.

“At the Black Fairy looking for Ekkbar.” Sasha gently lowered her glass balls to the tabletop. She plopped down, hooking a handful of hair behind her ear.

“You shouldn’t have gone searching for Ekkbar without me.” Rowan leaned back gracefully, looking like any other attractive mid-thirties woman in the historic neighborhood. Except her sister’s face exposed a fragility Sasha had never seen before.

“You’re in no condition to help me. I’d be more worried about something happening to you.” Sasha took in Rowan’s gaunt cheeks and shadowed eyes. Her sister was losing the battle.

“Your powers aren’t stable yet,” Rowan said in that older sister tone reminiscent of when she’d told Sasha she was too young for makeup at nine years old.

“I’ve been practicing. In fact, I think I’m pretty solid, getting better every day.”

“Really?” Rowan smiled indulgently. “Then why were all the clocks off downstairs this morning?”

What? Sasha thought back to last night. Could she have misdirected her power when she’d been too tired to physically walk through the house to turn off lights? The all-knowing hike of Rowan’s eyebrow confirmed she was busted. Well, hell.

“Must have screwed up something,” Sasha admitted, thankful nothing worse had happened.

“You can’t just wave your hand, sweetie. You have to focus your thoughts. That’s why Ek—er, that’s what I’ve been trying to teach you.”