Now it was my turn to look away. “Yeah. I followed some leads on Jerome this morning, and it was kind of . . . um, well, it’s not important. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience, and I didn’t find out anything anyway.” I glanced back in his direction, making sure I kept my eyes on his Blondie T-shirt and not his face. “I’ve got one more thing to check into, then I guess I can call it a day.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess.” He shifted uncomfortably, and that awkward tension that was so characteristic for us multiplied. I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. “So . . .” he began at last. “I know what you said before . . . but I still have to ask. Is there anything . . . anything I can do?”

The retort was on my lips, to tell him I didn’t need him, not anymore. But an image of Greg flashed into my mind, and I hated myself for the fear it invoked. I didn’t want to be a damsel in distress. I didn’t want to live in fear and need a man to watch over me. Greg’s weight and element of surprise had shown that self-defense wouldn’t always work. Sometimes it was hard to face danger alone. Carter’s words repeated in my head: Why do you need me when there are plenty of other candidates?

I blurted out my question before I had time to reconsider. “Would you go with me?”

It was hard to say which of us was more surprised by this. “On . . . your errand?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. But I mean, if you’ve got stuff to do . . .”

“I’ll go,” he said quickly. He held up his take-out bag. “Can I eat in your car?”

“You can eat right now,” I said. “Seeing as I don’t know where we’re going yet.”

Leaving Seth to eat at the table, I stepped outside to make a couple of phone calls. The first was to Dante. He answered, fortunately, but had no clue about what I needed.

“Someone who carves crystal?” he asked incredulously. “I don’t do fluffy New Age stuff.”

“Yeah. I found out more about demon summoning. Apparently there’s some kind of seal involved that only a master artisan can make.”

“I don’t know anyone like that,” he said. “As much as it pains me to admit a lack of knowledge about anything.”

“Well, I guess even you have limits.”

“You are so in trouble for that the next time I see you, succubus.”