Freaking starving, she was happily surprised when Luke appeared with two bags of fast food. She nearly threw herself at him. “Oh my God, I love you.”
He chuckled. “I figured you earned it after all that running.”
She fell into step beside him, eagerly prying open the bag. All her happiness faded, and her voice became shrill. “You got me a Happy Meal?” Simply unacceptable. This girl had an appetite, and a Happy Meal wasn’t going to cut it.
He hooted with laughter. Several people stopped to look at them, and she wanted to punch him. He opened his bag for her. “Hey, I got you a Big Mac, too.”
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Food is not a joking matter. How many times do I have to tell you that?” She snatched the carton from him. “I love you, Mr. Big Mac. I’d marry you if you’d promise me an endless supply. Do you think I’d get an endless supply if I dated Ronald McDonald? The clown makeup scares the shit out of me, but it would be worth it.”
“Maybe if you gave him head.”
Her cheeks flushed, but she forced those other thoughts away. She tipped her head to the side, staring at the wonderful creation. “Doable.”
Luke made at face at her. “You’re bizarre.”
“But you love me,” she reminded him around a mouthful of burger. Lily attacked her food with the same ferocity she displayed in her battles. And apparently other things. She ate the Big Mac, the cheeseburger, and the fries within three minutes. It wasn’t her best time, but given the fact she was walking, it was pretty good.
“How many kills tonight?” Luke asked as he grabbed her empty bag and rolled it into a ball. He tossed it on the ground, along with his.
“Luke!” She bent down, picking up the discarded bags.
“What?” he asked innocently.
She pinned him with look that said he knew better, then tossed the bags into a nearby trash bin. She decided she could count the one Julian had ripped the head off. Luke wouldn’t know the difference. “Six.”
“I got eight, slacker.”
Lily pushed him out into the busy road. He narrowly missed getting hit by a taxi. The driver blew its horn at him, and he flipped him off.
“I had to chase one through seven districts. That should account for two more at least.” She knew she was whining, but oh well.
He pushed her in front of some street thug. Something in the way she smiled at the teenager warned him not to have a problem with it. “The night is still young. Maybe you can catch up to me, but probably not,” Luke taunted.
“Douche,” she muttered.
“Tool,” he tossed back. “All right, check you later.”
“Hey, hold on a second,” she called out. “I found Micah in Nathaniel’s office. I think he was snooping.”
Luke frowned. “Why would he be doing that?”
She gave him a duh look. “Someone is betraying us.”
“So you think it’s him?” Luke’s frown deepened. “Shit, Lily. I don’t know. Micah is good a guy.”
“Whoever is betraying us is a damn good actor, right? If not, they would have slipped up.”
He stepped back as a young woman walked between them. She was a tall, pretty brunette. In her tight jeans and colorful blouse, she was a head turner. Luke did a double take. “Damn.”
The girl turned, flashing a smile at him. Of course she would. Lily rolled her eyes. Most women would pay good money to get that kind of attention from him. With his chiseled features and broad body, he turned a few heads himself.
“Um, pay attention to the important thing at hand,” she reminded him drily.
Luke tore his gaze from the brunette. “What?”
She sighed. “Someone is betraying us, blah blah blah.”
“I’ll mention it to Nate and see what he thinks.” Luke glanced behind him. “Good catch, by the way. I’m kind of proud of you.” He lightly chucked her on the chin with one meaty fist. “I gotta go. Be careful.”
“Peace out, home skillet.”
He rolled his eyes at her and disappeared down an alley. She headed toward the Washington Nationals stadium. She was sure to run into some deadheads, minions, or general bad folk on the way.
By the end of the night she’d gotten three more. Luke got four and the girl. He felt like sharing that, and in great detail. He was such a douche. As she headed back to the Sanctuary, her cell rang. She fished the thing out. It was Danyal. Sighing, she answered, “Yep?”
“I got that info for you.”
“Oh great.” She perked up. “Lay it on me.”
“Whatever suspicion you had, you’re on to something,” Danyal told her. “I don’t see how the coroner missed this. She had several cuts on her fingers and hands. There was also bilateral bruising around the wrists that occurred before death.”
“Self-defense wounds,” she stated as she dropped from the roof of the General Accounting building onto its lower ledge.
“Either the coroner was an idiot or he was paid off,” he said. “I don’t think Michael’s mom killed herself. I’ve never seen a suicide with that many hesitation marks, especially ones on the fingers.”
Unease formed little balls of ice in her belly. “So she didn’t kill herself?”
“Hold on.” He radioed in a command. “Sorry. No. My professional instincts tell me no.”
“Damn.” That was really weird.
“What made you check into this?”
“I saw some pictures of his mom,” she admitted. “You know how all our moms were, right?”
There was a silence. Then he answered, “Coldhearted and soulless.”
“Exactly,” she responded. “Except in every single picture of his mom, she was smiling. I mean, really smiling. I don’t know. It just struck me as odd.”
“I really don’t know what this could mean. If Michael’s mom was murdered, then were the Fallen behind it?”
Lily wished she could ask Danyal about Michael not showing up in the Book, but she wasn’t supposed to know that. “And why would they kill his mom?” she finished for him.
“You should bring this to Nate. You never know. It could be a coincidence, or it could mean something.”
Lily nodded and then frowned at herself. Not like he can see you nod, idiot. “Yeah, I will.” She pushed on the lobby doors. “Thanks, Danyal. Be safe out there.”
“Same to you,” he responded.
Once inside, she went in search of Nathaniel but wasn’t able to find him. She headed back to her room, digging out the file on Michael again. Scanning through it a second time, she still didn’t find anything that stood out to her.
Sitting down on the bed, she tried to piece together the connection between Michael’s mother’s death and the fact that his name never showed in the Book. Luke would probably tell her there was no connection at all, but she couldn’t shake the feeling there was, and she was missing it somehow.
Chapter Seventeen
Nathaniel stared down at the Contract on his desk. “Interesting,” he murmured.
Is that all he would say to finding out Micah was snooping around his office? Disappointed, Lily’s shoulders slumped. “I figured you’d be more intrigued with the news.”
He arched a brow at her. “Intrigued is not a word I would use, Lily. Disappointed and angry are better-suited words. I have known Micah for decades. To suspect someone like him is not something I can take lightly.”
She tucked a leg under her. “It has to be someone in the circle,” she pointed out. “Those are the only ones who know where the Book is.”
Nathaniel tapped his fingers. “I will talk with him. See what information I can get. I’ll admit I hope your suspicions are incorrect.”
“If they are, then it only means it’s someone else you trust. No matter what happens, it isn’t going to be pretty.” She bit her lip, rubbing her palms over her knees. “Is that Michael’s Contract?”