I swore again and thrust a hand through my hair. “Don’t give me any of your shit, Radcliffe, because I’m really not in the mood. I’ve killed one of the twins; the other has burns over most of his body and a smashed kneecap. How about you putting some rats to good use, and hunt him down. He can’t have gotten far.”

But even as Radcliffe snapped his fingers and the rats disappeared, intuition whispered of chances missed.

The second brother had escaped us.

CHAPTER 13

“You want anything from the café?” I asked Rory, sticking my head around the door into his bedroom.

We’d both moved back home a week earlier, and though he still wasn’t able to return to work, I suspected it wouldn’t be much longer before he did. His skin glowed with renewed health and vitality, and he was getting through a full day now without having to nap.

“A coffee and a bagel would be good.” He glanced at his watch. “Aren’t you up a little early for a Saturday?”

“Tell that to my stomach. It’s the one grumbling so loud, I had no choice but to get up.” I might have outwardly recovered from the injuries I’d received during our semi-successful attempt to neutralize Rinaldo, but my body continued to demand calories and fire, suggesting it might take a while yet before I was fully back to normal. Especially since I dared not draw too much from Rory until he was back to full strength. “Besides, I’ve got that damn meeting with the inspector this morning.”

“You? Jackson’s not invited?”

“I’m sure he wants to be there, but he’s got strict orders to remain in bed and give his leg a full chance to heal.”

Rory snorted. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

“It will. I called in someone to make sure he did.”

“If it’s a female someone, you know how that’s going to end.”

“Makani is wise to his ways. Trust me, until he’s more mobile, he won’t get anywhere with her.”

“Makani? Why don’t I know this wonder woman?”

“She’s the air fae who gave us the SUV to use.”

“I think she and I need to meet.”

I snorted. “You must be feeling a whole lot better if you’re thinking about future seduction possibilities.”

“Oh, I am.” His grin flashed. “Do you know what the inspector wants?”

“Probably to berate me for incorrect use of the badges and for letting the other brother escape.”

“That was hardly your fault. You weren’t to know who he was.”

“I should have checked, Rory. I had him, and I let him go.”

“He couldn’t have crawled out of that stairwell without help. Not in the state he was in.”