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himself into thinking he was better than he was an hour ago? What sucker actually believed in miracles?
    The Burned Man took advantage of Xavier’s weakness andbroke through the barricades, screaming:
Do what you were fucking born to do!
    A great shudder wracked Xavier’s body and he stumbled back, sending the bar stool into the wall. He hadn’t touched his magic in years, and now this one woman had him stretching for it twice in one day. Maybe if he made himself invisible…
    Cat reached for him.
    He danced away from her touch. “I’m okay.”
    Ryan was looking at him. So were a few other customers.
    Stop running. Turn and fight.
    “Nine o’clock?” he mumbled to her, snatching his coat from where it had fallen to the floor. “Outside the Gold Rush?”
    Cat nodded and said, “All right,” but he could see the doubt playing across her face.
    He didn’t give her a chance to say anything more. He swung around her, shoving his arms into his coat sleeves as he headed for the door. He didn’t zip the coat though, and when he burst outside the slam of zero-degree air froze his skin. He needed that.
    As he stomped down Groundcherry, his raging hard-on told him the bag in his basement was about to get ripped from its chain.
    If she didn’t show up tomorrow, nothing gained, nothing lost. He’d go back to being who he’d always been.

SIX
    Michael’s double was taking a meeting with one of the directors of a Croatian documentary. Rumor had it a bidding war over distribution was about to start, and he wanted in, if only to say that his studio won.
    His main body stood in the garage of the rented house, staring into the ever-present ash and murk inside the fire elemental’s cage. She’d finally fallen asleep and lay cloaked in smoke on her side, black hair swirling over her outstretched arm. Her body was insane. All hard muscle and not a fold of fat.
    Sean had drilled holes along the top edge of the box to let out more of the smoke and, in the event she decided to speak, they’d actually hear her.
    Michael’s phone rang and he whipped it from his pocket. “Why haven’t you called until now? And why aren’t you here?”
    “Didn’t Sean give you the message?” came Lea’s pleasant voice. “I’m out hunting.”
    “For another water elemental.”
    “That’s right.”
    He heard the faint clicks of snaps, the rustle of fabric, as she dressed.
    “Jesus.” He shook his head, but couldn’t keep the smile from creeping on to his face. “I can’t believe you found another one.”
    “Well, I did. I’ll bring her to you in a few days. There are some things I still need to hammer out.”
    “It’s a woman?” His mind spun. “Do you know what this could mean? That I have more than one water elemental? A man
and
a woman? I could create more.” Lea said nothing, andhe started to pace. “Make sure the new one’s not violent. Nice and trained, like Jase and Robert.”
    She made a sound like she was insulted. “Don’t worry. It’ll be taken care of.”
    “Yeah, well, the present you left on my doorstep is quite the handful.”
    The woman in the cage shifted, rolling half onto her back. She had great tits.
    “You like her?” Lea’s voice lightened. “I thought you might.”
    “If you call her ‘fiery’ I’ll hang up on you.”
    She laughed. He’d always liked her laugh—innocent but with an edge. The few times they’d fucked she’d laughed a lot. No seriousness or overblown emotion to the act, just lots and lots of hot fun. Even though Lea wasn’t the prettiest woman, she was definitely worthy, by his standards. So far, she’d lured, captured, and blackmailed into his service four humans with secret powers.
    For many years Michael had thought that finding Sean would have been enough to show up Raymond. Then he’d met Lea, who’d revealed there was more magic out there that she could help him harness.
    Which he’d realized he could then throw in Raymond’s face.
    “The fire elemental’s the