Read Online mission magic 01 - the incubus job by Diana Pharaoh Francis - Free Book Online Page B

said.
    “I had a job to do. Anyhow, would you rather I had?” I asked, arching my brows.
    His mouth twisted. “Honestly? There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do to get you to walk through the doors.”
    “And yet you did nothing to get me here.” It bothered me. Sure, I’d walked out without a word, but if he cared for me so much, why hadn’t he at least picked up the phone?
    “You made your choice. I was giving you the space you wanted.”
    “Very chivalrous of you.”
    He looked as if he wanted to punch something.
    “Has the girl ghost told you anything more?” He asked, changing the subject.
    “Tabitha.”
    He looked confused.
    I sighed, folding my arms. “Her name is Tabitha.”
    “It would be useful to know what else she can tell us.”
    I shrugged. “She doesn’t talk to me. Never has.”
    “You can make her talk.” It sounded more like a question than an actual suggestion.
    I shook my head. “Not unless my health is at stake.”
    His eyes narrowed. I could almost see him trying to fit pieces of the puzzle together. I was the puzzle. “Like in the lobby.”
    “Like that.”
    “What if she knows something and not telling you is a threat to your life?” Again, he sounded curious rather than accusing.
    “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Hopefully she wouldn’t let me walk into that kind of trouble without a warning.”
    I felt her flutter around me and push tight against me, almost like a hug. A thin wave of warmth ran over my skin. A ghost hug. Maybe a promise.
    “Can I talk to her?”
    Surprise made my mouth fall open, and Law gave me a knife-edged smile.
    “Maybe I’m not the man you thought I was.”
    Maybe not.
    “You can try.”
    “Let’s see the murder scene first. That might encourage her.”
    Law put his finger on the lockpad across from the bottom of the stairs, and an oversized door slid wide. He went through first, looking up and down the corridor before he stepped out. I followed. I fed more magic into my shields as the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I could feel the agony and fear of the incubus’s death lingering. Foreboding closed around my throat. This one was bad—really bad.
    A thought struck me and I stumbled. Oh, dear lord! I hoped to hell he couldn’t become a ghost. The last thing I needed was an incubus to join my little tribe.
    Law caught my arm to steady me then let me go. He had the predatory look he got when he was on the job—focused and deadly. I needed to get my head there.
    Taking a breath, I forced myself to stop thinking about me and Law. I concentrated on my senses. It was quiet in this corridor. I thought we were underground in the basement, though I wasn’t sure. I could hear the muted throb of machinery running, and I felt the shuffling softness of the air conditioning across my skin. The carpet was thick green with a wide maroon border. Simple and luxurious at the same time.
    Something was off. I couldn’t place it right away, but I slowed, trying to trace what I was sensing. Then I realized. It was the faintest whiff of death and magic. Law glanced at me to be sure I was catching it. He’d been here already, so this was nothing new to him.
    At the end of the corridor, we went through a set of polished steel doors. The stench was strong here, and my group of ghosts condensed, one by one winking out as they returned to me. I felt Tabitha trembling.
    We went down a flight of steps and through another set of doors into a wide space. Law flicked a switch on the wall, and I squinted at the sudden brilliance.
    The expanse was like a giant hotel room, only it had a variety of beds in odd sizes, shapes, and heights. The ceiling was at least two stories high. All the furniture was grouped in little enclaves around the walls, and again, all of it was weirdly sized and shaped. The smell was almost overpowering here. It wasn’t just smell, I realized; it was tangible fear and a sickening sort of ecstasy. The feeling slicked over my skin