couldn’t sleep, so I decided to follow up on a lead,” I defended myself, digging a deeper hole.
“What lead?” Rocco moved in closer.
I took out my phone and showed them the photo of the business card for Diamond Escorts. “It was on the woman’s body in Eagle’s Nest, New Mexico. It’s no secret vampires are doing these killings, but now we have proof that it’s Diamond. Why else would this card be with the body?”
Rocco dug around in his leather jacket, then pulled out a box of wooden matches. He shoved one into his mouth. “So you decided to visit the head of the AOV all by yourself?”
“The pentagram symbol on the card was an exact replica of one I had seen on Lilith. Same shimmer and everything. I wanted to get the location of Diamond Escorts and see if she was there.” I looked at Ezra, pleading for some compassion. “To see if Charlotte was with her.”
Ezra stared at me, frowning with major disappointment. I couldn’t blame him. Once again, I had gone off the playbook for my own selfish interest.
Rocco nudged my shoulder. “Look, I don’t know who you’re talking about, but it sounds like you got the confirmation we needed for the Scroll. Now we can officially go after Diamond. Right, boss?” Rocco looked at Ezra.
Julian waved his hands. “Hold up, dudes. Can we talk about this time continuum thing we got going on here? We have the power to stop time?”
“Only when other humans are present during a supernatural battle of this size. It’s to protect them from harm,” Ezra explained.
“Good to know,” Julian said, smiling.
“So, whaddya say, boss?” Rocco asked again.
“Yeah, go after him. And Fiona, your partners need you, so don’t run off doing your own thing. What did you learn about teamwork?”
I really loathed when Ezra used that patronizing tone with me, but I deserved it. “There is no ‘I’ in team,” I mumbled.
“See, you do listen.” Ezra smirked, then stepped away from us. “I’ll let headquarters know you’ve located the Scroll. Keep me posted.”
“What about them?” Rocco asked.
“Time will resume as soon as I leave.”
Ezra glimmered out and normal reality resumed. The three of us went to Pop’s Diner—Rocco’s favorite place—to get some lunch and discuss our plan to go after Lucius Diamond. Somehow I’d have to figure out how to get the address for the escort service before we wiped him out of existence.
eleven
The three of us gathered at Pop’s Diner. Rocco gobbled up a mustard-slathered pastrami on rye, while Julian inhaled a monster cheeseburger and I chugged down a cup of coffee between enormous bites of my turkey club. None of us said a word until our plates were clean.
Julian sat back in the booth, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “Dude, I was starving!”
“Who knew fighting vampire-bat-demons could be so strenuous?” I half-laughed, polishing off the last quarter of my turkey club.
I pecked at my fries, wanting to devour every last one of them, but my stomach was already stuffed from the sandwich. Julian reached over and grabbed a handful, shoveling them into his mouth like he hadn’t just eaten a pile of his own. Rocco waved over the waitress and ordered an entire apple pie. A la mode. The waitress was a middle-aged beauty with highlighted hair pulled up into a high bun. She looked like she might’ve been a former actress. When she poured some more coffee, I caught her giving Rocco a wink.
“What was that?” I teased, after she went to get the pie.
“Aw, me and Maddy go way back. She’s been feedin’ me for the last decade. Sweet lady.”
“Have you ever asked her out?” I pried, which Rocco didn’t like. Most men don’t like to discuss matters of the heart, but I wanted to know more about this hard-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside New York detective. I also wanted to know if the rest of my life would be spent fighting supernatural crime without a love interest to warm up against at night.
“Eh. Never
“What lead?” Rocco moved in closer.
I took out my phone and showed them the photo of the business card for Diamond Escorts. “It was on the woman’s body in Eagle’s Nest, New Mexico. It’s no secret vampires are doing these killings, but now we have proof that it’s Diamond. Why else would this card be with the body?”
Rocco dug around in his leather jacket, then pulled out a box of wooden matches. He shoved one into his mouth. “So you decided to visit the head of the AOV all by yourself?”
“The pentagram symbol on the card was an exact replica of one I had seen on Lilith. Same shimmer and everything. I wanted to get the location of Diamond Escorts and see if she was there.” I looked at Ezra, pleading for some compassion. “To see if Charlotte was with her.”
Ezra stared at me, frowning with major disappointment. I couldn’t blame him. Once again, I had gone off the playbook for my own selfish interest.
Rocco nudged my shoulder. “Look, I don’t know who you’re talking about, but it sounds like you got the confirmation we needed for the Scroll. Now we can officially go after Diamond. Right, boss?” Rocco looked at Ezra.
Julian waved his hands. “Hold up, dudes. Can we talk about this time continuum thing we got going on here? We have the power to stop time?”
“Only when other humans are present during a supernatural battle of this size. It’s to protect them from harm,” Ezra explained.
“Good to know,” Julian said, smiling.
“So, whaddya say, boss?” Rocco asked again.
“Yeah, go after him. And Fiona, your partners need you, so don’t run off doing your own thing. What did you learn about teamwork?”
I really loathed when Ezra used that patronizing tone with me, but I deserved it. “There is no ‘I’ in team,” I mumbled.
“See, you do listen.” Ezra smirked, then stepped away from us. “I’ll let headquarters know you’ve located the Scroll. Keep me posted.”
“What about them?” Rocco asked.
“Time will resume as soon as I leave.”
Ezra glimmered out and normal reality resumed. The three of us went to Pop’s Diner—Rocco’s favorite place—to get some lunch and discuss our plan to go after Lucius Diamond. Somehow I’d have to figure out how to get the address for the escort service before we wiped him out of existence.
eleven
The three of us gathered at Pop’s Diner. Rocco gobbled up a mustard-slathered pastrami on rye, while Julian inhaled a monster cheeseburger and I chugged down a cup of coffee between enormous bites of my turkey club. None of us said a word until our plates were clean.
Julian sat back in the booth, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “Dude, I was starving!”
“Who knew fighting vampire-bat-demons could be so strenuous?” I half-laughed, polishing off the last quarter of my turkey club.
I pecked at my fries, wanting to devour every last one of them, but my stomach was already stuffed from the sandwich. Julian reached over and grabbed a handful, shoveling them into his mouth like he hadn’t just eaten a pile of his own. Rocco waved over the waitress and ordered an entire apple pie. A la mode. The waitress was a middle-aged beauty with highlighted hair pulled up into a high bun. She looked like she might’ve been a former actress. When she poured some more coffee, I caught her giving Rocco a wink.
“What was that?” I teased, after she went to get the pie.
“Aw, me and Maddy go way back. She’s been feedin’ me for the last decade. Sweet lady.”
“Have you ever asked her out?” I pried, which Rocco didn’t like. Most men don’t like to discuss matters of the heart, but I wanted to know more about this hard-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside New York detective. I also wanted to know if the rest of my life would be spent fighting supernatural crime without a love interest to warm up against at night.
“Eh. Never
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