They needed to work up an area where Boyle was known to frequent, places where they could patrol in hopes of finding him. That was their only hope of locating the demon. After all, they couldn’t wait around for Mira to get another lucky break, although the powerful air witch was on constant surveillance for any other hint of Boyle.

He and Isabelle sat with the engine running while Isabelle sent her magick through the water in the building, right into Boyle’s apartment. All she needed to tap into the water in a building was close proximity and a little dampness between herself and her target. Fortunately, it had recently rained.

“There’s no one there that I can feel,” she said finally. “Either the place is empty, or he’s masking somehow. But I don’t think he’s masking because I can’t sense any sort of barrier anywhere.”

“He likely feels he has nothing to fear from us, so no barrier.”

She snorted. “We’re gnats to him.”

He shut off the engine. “Okay, let’s go in while we can.”

Isabelle opened her door. He put a hand on her leg to stop her and she turned to glare at him. “No, you’re not getting all macho and protective on me, Thomas.”

He sighed. “We need to make sure we do this carefully. That’s all.”

“We will. We’ll do it like we discussed.”

“First sign of trouble and I want you out of there, Isabelle. Understand?”

She stared at him for a long moment, then leaned in and kissed him. He had to stop himself from threading his fingers through her hair and crushing his mouth to hers. A groan rose in his throat from the pure pleasure of the taste of her, but he stifled it. He settled for the swipe of her lips on his and the light brush of her tongue into his mouth. Right now pushing for more was not a smart move.

Isabelle broke the kiss and set her forehead to his. Her sigh bathed his lips in her warm, sweet breath. “Maybe I like it a little bit when you’re macho and protective.” And then she was gone, striding toward the door of the building.

Thomas had to hurry to keep up.

The building was located in a swanky part of Chicago, but Thomas was glad to find the absence of a doorman or any added security in the sterile, polished lobby.

Isabelle called the elevator, and they traveled up to the fifth floor. When they reached Boyle’s place, Thomas set his ear to the door, just to double-check for sounds within, while Isabelle did one last check via the water through the condo.