“Of course not. It’s your investigation and he’s your coworker. I think you’re handling this case just fine, but when it comes down to it, you represent Lucas and Paige’s firm, and if they’re more comfortable thinking you’re doing legwork on a case for him...”

“This has nothing to do with Lucas and Paige. Adam doesn’t have any cases, so he’s going to hang out and help me.”

He nodded, slowly, still not convinced. “It’s your call. If you aren’t worried about Adam trying to take over—”

I cut him short with a laugh. “Believe me, he knows better than to try. He’s made it clear that this is totally my case, and he’s ready to follow orders.” I grinned. “And I’m ready to give them.”

“All right then. So where do we start?”

“I want to take another run at the commune. Adam’s coming along and you’re welcome to join us.”

“Mmm, they might feel under siege. You two go. I have work I can do here. We’ll meet up later and compare notes.”

ON THE DRIVE to the commune, I asked Adam about the conference and he kept me amused with anecdotes. He had plenty of those. Even picturing him in a roomful of academics was enough to get me smiling.

Adam’s stepfather is the most respected supernatural researcher in the country. When he withdrew from his council delegate role and prodded Adam into his place, no one expected Adam to take over the research part, too. In fact, for years, friends would buy him textbooks and journals and reading glasses as a standing joke.

When Adam decided to try filling the research role, too, I remember overhearing Paige and Lucas worrying that Adam was setting himself up for disappointment. Paige and Adam had been friends since childhood, and she knew how tough it was for him to sit still long enough to read a newspaper.

He’d had a few false starts. I’d helped him research things on the side, as he tried to prove himself to the council, getting frustrated when he couldn’t find what he needed. But eventually he did prove himself. He’d never be his stepfather, staying on the sidelines lost in his books. But he’d set his mind to it and he’d done it, and I admired him for that.

Speaking of admiration ...

We’d been inside the commune for less than five minutes before every girl there had checked out the new arrival. Adam isn’t drop-dead gorgeous. He’s cute, though. Seriously cute. Short, wavy dark blond hair. Perpetual tan. Athletic build. He looks like someone a girl could talk to, who’d flirt and make her laugh and look her in the eye while he’s doing it. In other words, he looks like exactly the kind of guy he is, and girls love it.