Page 51 of Property of Crypt Keeper

“No,” I replied.

Zeus barked a laugh.

Boomslang looked deeply unimpressed.

Knowing this wasn’t going to be fun, I sighed. “She’s helping.”

That made everyone go still. Even Katalina looked mildly surprised I’d said it out loud.

Mako’s brow lifted slowly. “You trust her?”

“No,” I honestly replied.

Katalina smirked faintly, and I wanted to swat her cute little ass.

“But she knows more than we do,” I continued. “And whatever’s happening with Zara connects back to people she’s crossed paths with.”

Boomslang’s expression sharpened instantly. “Church,” he grimly ordered.

“What about her?” Mako asked as he stared a hole through Katalina.

Because I noticed everything, I saw the way Lyra’s hand tightened around his waist, either in warning or as a subtle grounding effort.

You could’ve heard a pin drop ten miles away as everyone seemed to hold their breath. Outsiders were never allowed in the chapel. It was sacred and for members only.

“She comes too,” Boomslang practically growled as he stalked to his office. “Thirty minutes. No one better be late.”

An hour later, the entire table was covered in maps, files, photographs, and enough caffeine to kill a human. Hack had gone over all of his findings with everyone, and needless to say, my brothers were shocked.

Katalina sat beside me, posture deceptively relaxed, while every pair of eyes in the room constantly strayed her way. You could practically smell the distrust. She ignored it beautifully.

“I don’t know much,” she murmured for what was probably the fifth time.

Boomslang leaned back in his chair. “How about if you tell us what you do know.”

Katalina exhaled slowly.

“I overheard Rafael talking once,” she admitted. “Years ago. Him and another demon.”

“Who exactly is Rafael?” I asked, because she’d never really said. Was he her lover? That thought sent fury racing through my veins the way fire would lick along a trail of dry forest kindling.

“He was my trainer. My mentor. My handler, if you will,” she explained, but I wasn’t exactly satisfied with that, and a low rumbling growl followed.

“Talking about?” Hack pressed, shooting me a look that told me to get my shit together.

“Experiments,” she elaborated. “Breeding. Genetics. Seeing what supernatural species could interbreed.”

Zeus frowned immediately. “That’s impossible.”

“Yes,” Katalina replied. “That’s what everyone believed.”

Believed.

Past tense. I didn’t miss it.

“I also started noticing rumors,” she continued. “Missing supernaturals. Strange disappearances. But it wasn’t my focus.”

“You thought it was bullshit,” Bronx chimed in.