him keep talking, because then she didn’t have to speak, could nod at the appropriate intervals and act as if she was absorbing everything he had to say. The subject was an important one, and deserved her attention. She couldn’t seem to make herself focus, however. Her thoughts kept straying to Zahrias.
She would see him the next morning. That wasn’t so long from now. And then….
And then you’ll try to remember why the hell you’re here, she told herself grimly. Get a goddamn grip.
With a frown, she poured herself some more wine. Coming here was starting to seem like a very bad idea.
Chapter Four
By the time Zahrias showed up at the hotel to collect her, Julia thought she’d more or less gotten her thoughts together. She wouldn’t let herself thrill at the sound of his voice, or do anything but briefly note that he wore yet another of his open embroidered robes, even though the weather had clouded up and the air had a distinct bite to it as they exited the hotel lobby.
He probably doesn’t even notice, she thought. He’s a fire elemental, after all. He could probably stand bare-chested in a blizzard and not bat an eyelash.
And she promptly pushed that mental image as far from her thoughts as she could. Bad enough that his clothing revealed as much as it did. But to think of him with that robe gone, showing the heavy muscles in his chest and arms and shoulders….
She’d been right. Coming here was not a good idea at all.
Somehow she managed to keep it together as they went back to the U.S. Marshals’ building. Zahrias seemed to think that she would want to check in on Miles and Lindsay before sitting down with the other three guards, the ones who hadn’t been on duty when Margolis escaped. Julia went along with Zahrias’ wishes, even though her policy had always been to let Miles do more or less what he wanted and then wait for him — or, more often, Lindsay — to report on his findings.
The two of them looked cross and rumpled enough to have spent the night down in the bowels of the building, although Julia hoped that wasn’t the case. Lindsay was propped up against the wall, arms folded over her chest, while Miles had his iPad attached to the biometric scanner next to the door. The scowl he wore was fierce in the extreme.
“That good?” Julia asked.
Miles didn’t even look up at her. “No, it’s not good at all. I can’t find any evidence of tampering. No one has altered the programming of the scanner, and the door itself is also untouched.”
“All of which has to point to someone on the outside helping him,” Lindsay added. “And someone who’s got to be a djinn. There’s no human being in Santa Fe who could’ve gotten Margolis out of there without leaving any trace at all.”
That was a prospect Julia hadn’t really wanted to contemplate. Why on earth would one of Zahrias’ people want to let Margolis out? They knew that he’d tortured Jace, had outright killed Natila, one of their own. Julia sent a sideways glance at Zahrias, whose brows were drawn together, his dark eyes seeming to smolder in an echo of the flames that flickered in and out of existence around him.
“I cannot believe that,” he said at length, voice taut with pent-up anger. “My people’s hatred of Margolis runs deep. They will never forget what he did to Natila.”
A sudden thought came to Julia. Seeing the forbidding frown on Zahrias’ features, she almost held her tongue. But surely they’d need to explore every possibility…even the unpleasant ones. “What if — ” she began, then broke off, wondering if they’d all think she had gone too far.
“What if what?” Lindsay asked, pushing herself away from the wall.
Julia glanced at Zahrias. His frown was still in place, had etched itself deeper, if anything. But even that scowl couldn’t distort the symmetry of his features. She pulled in a breath and said, “What if one of the djinn here in Santa Fe did release him…so they could get
She would see him the next morning. That wasn’t so long from now. And then….
And then you’ll try to remember why the hell you’re here, she told herself grimly. Get a goddamn grip.
With a frown, she poured herself some more wine. Coming here was starting to seem like a very bad idea.
Chapter Four
By the time Zahrias showed up at the hotel to collect her, Julia thought she’d more or less gotten her thoughts together. She wouldn’t let herself thrill at the sound of his voice, or do anything but briefly note that he wore yet another of his open embroidered robes, even though the weather had clouded up and the air had a distinct bite to it as they exited the hotel lobby.
He probably doesn’t even notice, she thought. He’s a fire elemental, after all. He could probably stand bare-chested in a blizzard and not bat an eyelash.
And she promptly pushed that mental image as far from her thoughts as she could. Bad enough that his clothing revealed as much as it did. But to think of him with that robe gone, showing the heavy muscles in his chest and arms and shoulders….
She’d been right. Coming here was not a good idea at all.
Somehow she managed to keep it together as they went back to the U.S. Marshals’ building. Zahrias seemed to think that she would want to check in on Miles and Lindsay before sitting down with the other three guards, the ones who hadn’t been on duty when Margolis escaped. Julia went along with Zahrias’ wishes, even though her policy had always been to let Miles do more or less what he wanted and then wait for him — or, more often, Lindsay — to report on his findings.
The two of them looked cross and rumpled enough to have spent the night down in the bowels of the building, although Julia hoped that wasn’t the case. Lindsay was propped up against the wall, arms folded over her chest, while Miles had his iPad attached to the biometric scanner next to the door. The scowl he wore was fierce in the extreme.
“That good?” Julia asked.
Miles didn’t even look up at her. “No, it’s not good at all. I can’t find any evidence of tampering. No one has altered the programming of the scanner, and the door itself is also untouched.”
“All of which has to point to someone on the outside helping him,” Lindsay added. “And someone who’s got to be a djinn. There’s no human being in Santa Fe who could’ve gotten Margolis out of there without leaving any trace at all.”
That was a prospect Julia hadn’t really wanted to contemplate. Why on earth would one of Zahrias’ people want to let Margolis out? They knew that he’d tortured Jace, had outright killed Natila, one of their own. Julia sent a sideways glance at Zahrias, whose brows were drawn together, his dark eyes seeming to smolder in an echo of the flames that flickered in and out of existence around him.
“I cannot believe that,” he said at length, voice taut with pent-up anger. “My people’s hatred of Margolis runs deep. They will never forget what he did to Natila.”
A sudden thought came to Julia. Seeing the forbidding frown on Zahrias’ features, she almost held her tongue. But surely they’d need to explore every possibility…even the unpleasant ones. “What if — ” she began, then broke off, wondering if they’d all think she had gone too far.
“What if what?” Lindsay asked, pushing herself away from the wall.
Julia glanced at Zahrias. His frown was still in place, had etched itself deeper, if anything. But even that scowl couldn’t distort the symmetry of his features. She pulled in a breath and said, “What if one of the djinn here in Santa Fe did release him…so they could get
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