An immense groundswell of energy channeled into the blank space he’d created and without understanding it, he knew precisely what to do with the force, sending it around the house, giving part of it away only to find that even more streamed in.

Dropping his arm, he stepped back—

Jim went statue. The shimmer in his blood was on the door . . . and spreading in all directions in waves, covering the panels and the jambs and moving onto the brick. Upward and out to the sides it surged, gaining ground, taking over.

Sealing the house up.

“Not bad for a first try,” he muttered, getting ready to go around to the front.

As he turned, he paused. The two angels were looking at him as if he were a stranger.

“What.” He glanced over his shoulder. The shimmery red wave was still spreading, going up and over the roofline. “Sure as shit looks like it worked.”

Eddie cleared his throat. “Ah, yeah. You could say that.”

“To the front—”

“Not necessary,” Eddie said. “You’ve covered the house.”

As Adrian muttered something under his breath and shook his head, Jim thought, What the hell?

“You two look like someone pissed on your boots. You want to tell me the problem.” Pause. Cue response . . . which didn’t come. “Fine. Whatever.”

“We should go now,” Eddie said as he put his knife back in the pack. “With the spell in place, we’re not a value-add. She’s got beads on all of us.”

“How?”

The two angels looked at each other. Ad was the one who answered. “We’ve all been with her. If you know what I mean.”

Jim narrowed his eyes on Eddie, but the angel just busied himelf with his damn luggage.

Well, what do you know. Devina got around.

Putting the thought out of his mind, Jim walked through the garden’s back gate and went around to the front entrance. After making note of the number and street, he took to the air in spite of an impulse to stay put.

He was satisfied with his little sealant spell, however—plus Dog had been back at the hotel for quite a while, and Jim needed to take him out. Maybe he’d get them both a pizza. . . .

While Adrian and Eddie no doubt enjoyed a different kind of pie.

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 16

As Isaac was having his second omelet—and wondering how in the hell he was going to get through the night—Grier went to get his room ready. When they were both finished, she took him up to what was clearly the men’s guest bedroom suite: The walls and drapes were done in navy blue and chocolate brown and there were leather chairs and a lot of leather-bound books.

He felt like a total intruder.