Page 12 of A Touch of Crimson
“Damien’s flight is about to take off. He’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
Adrian knew everyone was moving as swiftly as possible, but that did little to temper his impatience. Phineas’s death demanded swift retaliation, but he needed detailed information to begin his hunt. Damien had been the first Sentinel on the scene, and he would have the surviving lycan in tow. They would be his starting point. “I have Shadoe.”
A pause. Then a whistle. “The timing is perfect. Gives us some leverage if Syre’s finally decided to go rogue.”
“Yes.” Adrian’s spine rippled with tension. As distasteful as it was to use Lindsay as a lure to gain access to Syre, there was no denying that she was the best means of manipulating her vampire father into a vulnerable position. “We’re in public now.”
“Should I tell Damien to report to your office in the morning?”
“I want to see him the minute he comes in. This is our primary focus until we find the one responsible.”
“Gotcha.”
“And the pilot? Do we know what happened there?”
“He was thrown off the roof just before we cleared the stairs. It’s all over the local news in Phoenix now.”
Shit. Adrian rolled his shoulders back. “Have HR send me his file; I want his family well taken care of. And get PR on damage control. His loved ones don’t need to be hounded by the media now.”
“I’m on it, Captain. Catch you in a bit.”
Goaded to get Lindsay back to Angels’ Point as soon as possible, he returned his attention to her and found her gone from the produce section. He approached the second lycan. “Why is she out of your sight?”
“Elijah’s with her.”
“Get the car and wait out front.”
The lycan nodded and left. Adrian walked the length of the front of the store, looking down each aisle for short golden curls and a svelte figure. He spotted Elijah standing at the back wall, a formidable sight with his wide stance and crossed arms. Lindsay wasn’t with him.
Closing the distance between them in less time than it took to blink, Adrian asked, “Where is she?”
“Bathroom. Where’s Trent?”
Adrian was struck again by the confidence and command with which the lycan carried himself, an innate self-assurance that had enabled Elijah to swan dive out of a plummeting helicopter despite his terror of heights. It was also responsible for drawing attention to him as a possible Alpha in the lycan ranks.
Deliberately testing him, Adrian replied with provocative disregard and vagueness. “Obeying orders.”
Elijah nodded curtly, hiding any adverse reaction he might have had to the non-answer. “There’s a demon in the store. One of the night clerks.”
“Not our problem.” North America was Raguel Gadara’s territory. It was the seven archangels’ responsibility to police demons. Adrian had been created solely to hunt renegade angels. Aside from Sammael—or Satan, as he’d become known to mortals—most demons were unworthy prey for a Sentinel.
“I think this one might be a concern. He was trailing the woman around the store.”
“Keep an eye on him. And escort Lindsay to me the moment she comes out.”
“You want me to watch her? What about you?”
Stopping when they were shoulder to shoulder, Adrian turned his head and met the lycan’s gaze. He knew Elijah wasn’t concerned about his well-being so much as curious about Lindsay’s importance. “I can manage on my own for a few minutes.”
He continued on, stopping in the Asian food section before rounding the endcap. He was halfway through the baking supplies aisle when Lindsay appeared at the end. Elijah was directly behind her.
“We have everything we need,” Adrian told her, “unless you have some requests.”
She paused midstep. Although her pose appeared casual and relaxed on the surface, he felt the razor-sharp tension in her. An inexplicable breeze ruffled the thickest blond curl draping over her brow.
He sensed the demon behind him before Lindsay spoke.
Her brown eyes turned as dark and hard as black onyx. “Back away from him, asshole.”
