Agent Milton, but Iâve little doubt Iâll soon wish I was. What do you want?â
âYour house in Seattle.â
âDare I ask why?â
âDrifter needs it.â
Ethan stepped nearer the desk, uncertain how well the speaker would pick up his voice. âIâm going in after Legion.â
âMcCabe,â Colin said. âLilith told you about Milliken?â
âYes. How is the doctor?â
âOnce sheâs stable, Iâll find her a position at Ramsdell. Savi thinks sheâll recuperate faster if sheâs busy.â Colin paused. âDonât bring me any more turned against their will. Saviâs not resting easy.â
No, Ethan imagined she wasnât. Seeing a man cut down might have given anyone nightmares, and he supposed that was one of the benefits of not having to sleep. âI donât aim to.â
There was a long sigh, and a sound that Ethan thought might have been a swipe of fingers through hair. âVery well, McCabe. But Iâll not be pleased if you bring in a bloody herd of cows and let them chew on the furnishings.â
Lilith raised her gaze to Ethanâs. âCome now, Colin,â she murmured. âDrifterâs taste in women isnât that bad.â
âI daresay his taste is nonexistent. Donât use your Gift, McCabe. Iâm sending the access codes to Lilith. Savi prepared a few surprises for unauthorized entrants, and the system looks for discrepancies.â
âHe warned you, so he must like you,â Lilith mused a moment after the vampire had disconnected. âDid you call him beautiful?â
A wry smile pulled at Ethanâs mouth. âI believe I said something of that nature when I met him.â Encountering the vampire for the first time had been a bit like being Enthralled; struck by the impossible perfection of Colinâs features, Ethan hadnât managed his tongue well.
The effect had eventually faded, and it was easy to find it amusing nowâat the time, his involuntary response had infuriated him.
âThatâs nothing.â Jake stood up, retrieved his CD from the player. âI tried to kiss him.â
Lilith pursed her lips, her eyes alight with interest. âI donât suppose youâd reenact it with Drifter?â
They left her office on her sigh of disappointment, but Ethanâs good humor fled when he felt the hesitation in Jakeâs psychic scent, then the younger Guardianâs quick blocks.
Ethan stopped in the middle of the hallway, turned. âSpit it out.â
Jakeâs jaw clenched briefly and regret darkened his face. âI found the data you requested.â
Ethanâs gaze fell to the paper that appeared in his hand. He swallowed past the sudden chokehold on his throat and read the header as he unfolded it. âArizona State Library?â
âIn their microfiche. There wasnât much. Just this short mention, from a Wilmont newsletter dated August 1886.â
The month after he and Caleb had ridden into Eden. Ethan frowned, shook his head. âWilmont? Thatâs east of Tucson. I told him to head west.â
âThatâs why it took me so long to find it. I was looking in the wrong direction.â
Jake was correct; there wasnât much. Just a single line: Caleb McCabe, murder and thievery. Hanged.
Ethan vanished the paper before it crumpled in his fist. The goddamned fool. He should have gone west.
CHAPTER 4
âSo, you remind me about lunch, but itâs you who forgetsâJesus, Charlie!â Jane abandoned her superior tone when she finally opened the door wide enough to see her. âGet in here. Did you put ice on it down at the gym? Did you forget to duck or forget to weave?â
âNeither.â Charlie self-consciously lifted her hand to her face. A dark bruise flared from cheekbone to jaw. âI ran into a wall.â
Jane rolled her eyes, grabbed Charlieâs hand, and pulled
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