He finished before me; how, I didn’t know. I kept looking for Cassius to get back to me, but he never did. I was hoping it was because he was dealing with our bosses to open a case against Mygi and nothing more serious, like the possibility I wasn’t going to get help at all. The moment I was finished and tried to put my plate down on my desk, Raphael snatched it and carried the dishes out. I sighed again, staring out the open door. It was time to get some real idea of what he could do, but part of me just wanted to drop the whole thing.
He has no connection to The Board, and he doesn’t know anything beyond what they did to him. He needs witness protection or something, not me.
My fangs ached, pulsing as I thought about sending him to someone else. It was like they vehemently protested the idea of sending him away.
Never mind. I’ll keep him around until I’m willing to deal with that. Fuck, that could be decades. He’s an asshole, and I’m a bitch. That’s a can of worms I really don’t want to open.
As if the gods were laughing at me, my phone started to ring before I could leave it on the desk and get away. I checked the caller ID and hissed in annoyance before answering.
“Yes, Adhar?” I asked. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’ve been alive for three thousand years. In that time, I have never met someone as good at avoiding things as you are.” His thick Indian accent reminded me too much of home. I preferred the other nagas never called. I liked to keep as much distance as possible.
“I should have never texted you,” I mumbled. “What do you want?”
“Should I begin preparing a ritual?”
“Absolutely not,” I snapped. “Are you fucking mad? Do you think I’m excited?”
“He’s compatible,” Adhar reminded me.
“Like I don’t fucking know that.” Realizing I didn’t need Raphael hearing, I closed my office door, then locked it. “There’s a reason I didn’t get back to you. I’m in the middle of a shit show with Sinclair. I’ve got Cassius coming into town to hopefully start a full investigation into a company that could very well hire someone good enough to kill me and my charge. On top of it all, they’re trying to capture him. I don’t have time for rituals and biting and shit, Adhar; I don’t want to do it.”
“You’re the last female of the nagas, Kaliya. We need—”
“Don’t fucking say that to me like I don’t know it. I was there the night my mother died, along with the rest of my damn family. I remember running for a year before you found me and told me how your sister was murdered only a few weeks later. We lost all three breeding females within four months. I was a child with a whole lot of fucked-up burdens on my shoulders afterward. You never need to remind me what I am.”
“I know you understand—”
“Breeding compatibility doesn’t mean I’m required to breed with him,” I snarled into the phone. “My mother was compatible with two people and was able to choose which one she wanted to mate with for life. I think I can reserve the right to say this one might not be right for me. On top of that? I don’t want kids. Four nagas have human mates, and one of them is pregnant. They can save the fucking species by breeding. I’m going to do it by killing the bastards who are determined to see us wiped out. I’m not going to hide and fuck like the rest of you have been trying and failing to do. First, I need to survive my fucking job and don’t need you riding my ass.” I hung up and slammed my phone down. Stomping out of the office, I stormed past Raphael in the living room.
“Let’s go,” I ordered. “We’re going to find out what you can do.”
“Okay…” He followed behind me, trying to keep up.
I walked off my back porch into the desert, not bothering with shoes. I heard the distinct rattle of a perturbed snake and hissed at it.
“Watch out. We don’t know if venom, poisons, or toxins can kill you.”
“They can’t,” he said. “They hurt and work, but my body heals faster than they can do damage.”
That made me stumble and misstep on a rock, nearly meeting the