Michael shoved the last of his things in his bag and turned to her. As tall as she was, Mandy normally towered over or stood eye to eye with many of the guys she worked with, other than Linc, an obscenely tall, hulking warrior who was her best friend and fellow hunter. But with Michael, she had to tilt her head back to look at his face. It was unusual and somewhat disconcerting.
Even more was Michael reaching out to sweep his thumb across her cheek. “You have dark circles under your eyes. You haven’t been sleeping well.”
She fought the shiver caused by the warmth of his touch, and took a step back, unused to affection from anyone she thought of as a … man. The other hunters were like brothers. Lou had been like a father. Michael was … she didn’t know what he was or how she felt about him. He gave her butterflies in her stomach and he pissed her off at the same time. He made her feel weird and she didn’t know what it all meant, so she decided to keep her radar up and her sarcasm high. “Are you monitoring my sleeping habits now?”
His lips curled. “No. I’m worried about your effectiveness if you don’t rest.”
“I’m plenty effective. Wanna try me?”
“I don’t want to pay the hotel for broken furniture, so no thanks. Not here.”
“Some other time, then. I’ll be happy to prove to you that, sleep or no sleep, I can still do my job.”
“It’s okay to grieve, Mandy to mourn Lou’s loss.”
“That’s not what you said before.”
“That’s not what I meant before.” He scratched his nose. “You can feel the pain of loss. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. If you bury it, it can affect you to the point where you shut down. The sooner you face it head-on and deal with it, the sooner you can move forward.”
“I mourned him. I’m done now. Are we ready to leave?” She picked up her bag.
Instead, he stood firm to the spot. “I know all about refusing to face your emotions.”
She arched a brow. “You have emotions?” She looked around either side of him. “Where? Show me where they’re hiding.”
Michael shook his head. “You’re killing me, Mandy.”
“Well, not yet, but given the right opportunity …”
He rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag. “Smart-ass. Let’s go.”
They headed out to the car, tossing their things into the trunk. They were on Dalton’s trail, tracking him from New York all the way south into Florida. Now they had a line on a car rented by a couple who matched Dalton’s and Isabelle’s descriptions. GPS on the vehicle indicated it had headed east into Georgia before being turned in, so that was their next destination.
“I need to stop at a bank before we head out,” Michael said.
Mandy buckled up and nodded.
Michael drove to the city and headed downtown. Traffic was heavy since it was the tail end of morning rush hour. He pulled into the parking lot of a large bank, choosing a space near the back.
“It shouldn’t take me long,” he said. “You want to come inside?”
She shook her head. “I’ll wait here.”
He nodded and got out. Mandy unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door, getting out to stretch her back muscles, knowing they were going to be driving for a while today and not wanting to sit any more than necessary. She leaned against the front of the SUV and surveyed the area. Her vantage point gave her a clear view of the sidewalk and street as well as the alley. She watched busy people walk by dressed in business suits, carrying briefcases, cutting across the street and through the alley. Tall buildings surrounded them, so high she couldn’t see the top floors. Everyone was in a hurry, juggling cups of coffee or talking on their cell phones.
It was a lifestyle completely foreign to her. For as long as she could remember she’d been with the demon hunters, moving from city to city, staying hidden. No place was home, yet every place was home, because the people she was with were family.
Lou had been her family. The only father she had known, since her own parents had been taken down by demons. She remembered that night so clearly, as if it had happened yesterday instead of ten years ago. The darkness, the shock at seeing the creatures. Her parents-what those monsters had done, killing her father and taking her mother away. The hunters had shown up, but it was too late. Mandy had hidden; otherwise, she was sure, she’d have been either killed or taken, too.
And in the darkness a hand had reached out for her, a comforting voice telling her she was safe now. She had grabbed on to that hand like a lifeline. That hand had been Lou’s.
She knew he’d had other options. He could have wiped her memories, left her somewhere-a shelter or orphanage or something. But instead he’d taken her in, cared for her, and eventually made her one of them. He had accepted her, hadn’t turned her away, had patiently answered all her questions honestly, had put up with her tantrums and her anger and her grief over the loss of her parents. He’d held her through the nightmares and had entrusted her with the Realm’s secrets. He’d made her into what she was now. She’d loved him fiercely, had held on to him like any child would to a parent.
And then he was gone. Just like her other parents.
Now she was alone again.
She was an adult now. It shouldn’t matter.
That it did annoyed her. Lou had always told her she was a marshmallow. She’d worked hard to prove him wrong.
The hot sting of tears clouded her vision. Oh, no. Not here, not now. She blinked them back and slid on her sunglasses, surveying the bustling crowds once again, forcing her mind to empty.
Watch the people. Think about their lives. Where are they going? What are they doing?
Her gaze wandered, scanning the crowd until it captured a tall, thin man darting into a darkened alleyway. With her special sunglasses on, her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness there, outlining him as he paused. What was he doing? Curious, she pushed off the car and moved toward the alley, staying in between the cars in the parking lot so he wouldn’t see her. She paused at the corner of the brick building, peered around, and saw the man. Nice-looking, mid-thirties with thick sandy blond hair and a dark blue business suit. He carried a briefcase. He just stood there, though, looking out toward the other side of the alley, watching people go by.
The guy darted behind a filthy Dumpster. What the hell did he do that for? Wouldn’t his suit get dirty? Mandy started into the alley, but stopped dead in her tracks when a mist began to form around the man, starting up from his feet.
Oh, shit. Mandy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This couldn’t be happening.
She crouched down behind a couple trash cans and watched.
The mist lifted up, surrounding the suited man. His eyes began to glow a pale blue. The mist covered him completely and he disappeared.
Fuck! She ran back to the SUV just as Michael came out of the bank, smiling.
He frowned when he saw her. “What’s wrong?”
“I just saw a demon.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
She motioned with her head. “Back there, in the alley.”
“What kind of demon?”
“Guy in a business suit. He crossed over from the street, slipped into the alley. Just stood there for a few, then ducked behind a Dumpster. Mist coated him, then he disappeared.”
Michael frowned, turned and looked over at the street. “It’s sunny over there.”
“Yes.”
“You know demons can’t handle sunlight.”
“Allegedly yes. But apparently this one could.”
“Are you sure of what you saw?”
She folded her arms over each other, irritation beginning to boil inside her. “Do you think I’m delusional?”
“No, of course not. But it could have been something else. Steam, for example.”