Bale relaxed behind the wheel as the conversation shifted from love to work. “Kingsley believes the demon must have possessed a human and gradually took shape inside him like a parasite. So his outward bio scans came back human, no sign of demonic activity.”
She recalled the way the demon’s human flesh had seemed to flake off during the fight on the ship, revealing scales underneath. Maybe Jones had started out as human on the police force. Nausea roiled in her stomach at the thought. Did he know something had invaded his mind and body? Had he been afraid?
She wondered if she could have helped him. Did he have any chance at surviving the evil once it penetrated his soul? “Is there any way to trace when or where the possession took place?”
Agent Bale shook his head slowly. “Not yet, but if anyone can find out, it’s King.” He tilted his head toward her car. “You should get home. Rest up and I’ll let you know when we find anything.”
“Thanks, sir.”
“David,” he said as she got out. “We’re going to be working together for a long time. You can call me David.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Okay, and you can call me Aura.”
She got out and popped the locks on her car. He waited for her to drive away before getting out of his car. He grew smaller in her rearview mirror until he was gone.
She let out a slow breath and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, eager to settle back into her rhythm, to find her footing again.
Maybe it had all been the mission.
The lines had blurred until she’d believed she was actually in love.
The drizzle turned into a soft rain as she made her way through the traffic, toward her condo just outside D.C. Maybe it was the silence, or the rain, but a tear rolled slowly down her cheek. She needed to find a reason to wake up every day, something to make eternity worthwhile. There was that word again. Char had said love made everything worthwhile.
What did she know about love?
She just needed something to focus on, to fill the time that Greyson had occupied.
It wouldn’t be an easy task. She’d never met anyone like him before. Yes, he frustrated her at times with his penchant for rushing into a situation without plotting out a workable plan first, but he also made her laugh, and he looked at her like…she mattered.
Not because of what she did or how good she was at her job.
He just enjoyed being with her.
And she loved being with him.
He gave her a new perspective to view the world around her.
By the time she got back to her condo, she’d mentally talked herself in circles. She took the elevator up to the fourth floor and walked the long hallway to her studio. She hadn’t been home in over two weeks.
She unlocked the dead bolt and stepped inside, turning on the lights and dropping her keys in the dish on the counter. The lights of the city twinkled outside her window, taunting her with bustling activity outside. She crossed the room and stared out. This was a different view than the one she’d had from the crow’s nest on the Sea Dog.
Grumbling at herself, she turned away from the window. She needed to get the pirate out of her head. A shower. Maybe that would help.
She went into her bedroom and turned on the light. The photos of her with her sister sat on the dresser, and her heart clenched. Her younger sister had lighter brown hair, and her facial features were a little bit smaller, but they shared the same smile. The resemblance was uncanny. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in a few years. Someday she’d have to break contact with everyone other than Department 13 for good. Once the world started to notice she wasn’t aging.
She pressed her lips together, unwilling to deal with any more emotions right now.
In the bathroom, she twisted the knob to start the shower and got undressed. A large scar marred her stomach, slightly lower than Greyson’s, but the same length. The curse had left its mark on both of them. She ran her finger along the smooth, raised skin as her eyes welled with tears.
What had she been thinking? She never should’ve taken a drink from that cup. She wasn’t equipped for eternity. Did she really think work would be enough?
It would have to be now. She’d hurt the one person who’d ever dared to love her.
She stepped into the hot shower and finally allowed the tears to flow.
For Greyson, for her family, and for the mortality she’d never realized she’d miss.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Greyson wiped the sweat from his brow and finished pounding the final nail into the crow’s nest at the top of the Sea Dog’s new mainmast.
Department 13 had transferred the agreed payment for their assistance with the Tyrfing, and Bale had included an extra $10,000 for repairs to the ship. Greyson had turned down two new personal security gigs so he could help Drake and Colton repair their beloved beauty over the past three weeks. He’d been eager for the hard labor, working himself until he was too tired to think about Aura.
It had been three weeks since she’d said good-bye, and her face still haunted his dreams. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to delete the damned photo from his cell phone, either. He did his best not to give her any of his waking hours. Each day, the pain in his heart dulled. Maybe one day she’d just be a memory. The thought hit his gut like a bitter pill.
She could have been so much more.
He sucked in a deep breath of fresh sea air and stared down the Savannah River, toward the open ocean. Colton hoped to sail the Sea Dog out later this week to test the new mast with full sails. Greyson welcomed the trip.
Since their voyage to Glasgow, the Sea Dog now carried unwanted memories of stolen kisses, of Aura’s face covered in gunpowder after firing the cannons. He needed some new adventures to blot out the ghost of what he’d lost.
He climbed over the railing of the crow’s nest and back down the ratlines. When he got about halfway down, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He stopped his progress and wrapped his leg in the lines as he dug his phone out. A text filled the screen. His pulse raced when he saw the name of the sender. Aura.
Target practice isn’t the same.
He stared at the text long enough that Colton shouted up from the deck. “You stuck up there, mate?”
“Fuck you!” Greyson replied. “I got a text.”
Below, Colton shook his head. “Ratlines are no place for a damned phone.”
Greyson smirked and studied the screen again. He hadn’t heard from her since the day she’d said good-bye and walked away without looking back. Why would she reach out now?
He should ignore it. Maybe she felt guilty or just wanted to see if he was still twisting in the wind. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and finished the climb down.