Jaci Burton: Taken by Sin

“That could be thousands of people,” Trace said.

“Yes,” Michael said. “So we’re going to have to rely on psychic signatures. Perhaps, Shay, you can help us in that regard.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Shay said, sliding her hand in Nic’s.

“We’ll all do what we can,” Nic said.

“Good. Because this isn’t going to be easy. Dalton isn’t an amateur. He knows what he’s doing and he can hide from us well, if that’s his intent. It’s taken us two weeks to get this far, and he could be anywhere by now.”

“Do you really think he’s taken up with the Sons of Darkness?” Shay asked.

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know him as well as the rest of you do, but people change. Or can be changed, even against their will.”

“You believe Isabelle did something to him.”

Michael shifted his gaze to Angelique, Isabelle’s sister. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Angelique lifted her chin.

“Don’t let this get personal, Angelique. We need you to stay focused, because you can be our biggest help of all. I need you to concentrate on Isabelle, see if you can tune in to her.”

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying? There’s been nothing. I’ve felt no connection to her since that night in Sicily.”

Tears glistened in Angelique’s eyes. Michael knew she had been through a lot with Isabelle. Seeing her sister take that step into darkness had been devastating for her. Ryder slung his arm around Angelique’s shoulders. At least she had Ryder to comfort her. To lose someone you loved to evil like that …

He didn’t even want to think about it. He had no family anymore, made no friends, formed no attachments for this very reason.

“Keep trying,” Michael said. “Let me know if you pick up anything.”

Angelique nodded.

“As far as the rest of you, I have assignments. See me individually and we’ll get started. We don’t have any time to waste. It’s imperative we find Dalton and Isabelle.”

“What do we do when we find them?”

Mandy leaned her hip against Michael’s desk. She’d purposely waited until last, until it was just the two of them in the ops room. He didn’t even bother to glance up from his carefully organized paperwork to look at her. So she took her time to scan the oh-so-neat piles on his desk. Everything in its place, not a spec of dust to mar the dark surface.

A part of her wanted to lean over and sweep everything off his desk, to muss it up a little. To muss him up a little, to mar that air of haughty remoteness he seemed to carry around with him.

The thought of it shocked her. Why did she even care? Michael was a pain in the ass. Cold, so different from Lou.

Her stomach twinged, just as it did every time she thought of their former leader. She missed Lou, missed his counsel, his warmth, the way he would brush his hand across her hair, or utter a soft word or two to comfort her whenever things got too rough.

Now she was alone. Oh, sure, she had the other hunters, people she thought of as her family, but it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same. Lou had been there for her since she was a kid and had been thrust into this world of the Realm of Light, in shock, orphaned and fully aware that demons existed. Lou had had no choice but to sort of … adopt her. And she’d grown to love this life, to love the man who was like a father to her, who had taken her under his wing and taught her everything she knew.

Until she had to turn her laser on him. Destroying the people you love wasn’t part of the deal. Weren’t they on the side of the good guys?

Now she was stuck with this man. So cold, so remote, so unfeeling …

She glared down at Michael, who still hadn’t answered her question, his head down while he scanned his precious paperwork.

“Michael.”

He lifted his head. “Oh. Sorry. I was absorbing these charts and I didn’t hear you.”

Yeah, she’d like him to absorb some charts, all right. Right up the-

“What was your question, Mandy?”

“What happens when we find Dalton and Isabelle?”

He leaned back, frowned. “I can’t answer that question without knowing all the parameters.”

Parameters. Whatever. “Do you really not know, or has the Realm already decided what to do and you’re just choosing not to tell me?”

“Why do you think I’m hiding something from you?”

Because I don’t trust you. She shrugged.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen when we find them. It depends on their state.”

“You mean it depends on what state Isabelle is in.”

“Yes.”

She still didn’t believe him. Dalton had betrayed the Realm. She knew the deal. The Realm had already decided what to do about Dalton and Isabelle.

“I won’t kill another member of the Realm, Michael.” Dalton was family, just like Lou had been. She wasn’t going there again. “And don’t think anyone else will, either.”

“I think you might surprise yourself with your capabilities, given certain situations.”

She rolled her eyes. He talked like one of the Realm’s freakin’ scientists, all full of himself. “I think you might be surprised by how many of us won’t be willing to do the Realm’s dirty work.”

He steepled his fingers, studied her. She hated that. It made her feel like a lab rat under a microscope.

“Do you really believe the Realm wants to kill Dalton?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then maybe you are in the wrong line of work, Mandy Sit down.”

“I’d prefer to stand.”

“You’d prefer to be contrary.”

“Pot, meet kettle.” This was getting them nowhere. “Do you have an assignment for me or not?”

“Considering your current emotional state, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“For the love of God, Michael, give me a break. I can still do my job.” She needed to work, needed to do something-kill something-demons, preferably. Anything other than sit around and do nothing but think about Lou, revisit the night of his death over and over again in her mind. It was making her crazy. Inactivity never sat well with her. She wasn’t a thinker, preferring to leave that in the hands of the upper echelon of the Realm. She was a doer.

He studied her with that dark, unfathomable gaze of his that made her feel like she was being assessed, graded-only in secret. She crossed her arms, tapped her foot, quickly losing patience.

“Mandy”

“Michael.”

“Losing your cool with me and throwing off attitude isn’t going to win you points.”

“I wasn’t aware I was trying to score points with you. I want to be given an assignment, to be treated the same as you treat every other member of this team. For some reason you have a problem doing that.”

“Maybe it’s because you have a problem acting like a member of my team.”

Emphasis on my , she noticed. Why did Michael have to be assigned as their new Keeper, anyway? She thought he was based in Italy. Now they were stuck with him and she had issues with that. Big issues.

“I’ve always been a team player. Ask anyone.” And why was she bothering selling herself to him, anyway?

“I’m worried about you.”

She snorted. “Don’t be. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”

“Lou’s been taking care of you.”

His voice went low, quiet and soothing like Lou used to do when he wanted her to pay attention. “You can’t take his place. Don’t even try.”

“That’s not my intent. Lou and I manage differently.”

“So I noticed.”

“You want to work for me or do you want me to assign you to a different team?”

He would do that, too. Rip her away from the rest of the team-the rest of her family. Asshole. “I’ll work for you. Never said I wouldn’t. Haven’t I been standing here waiting for an assignment?”