of wasting time with Mr. Wrong.
Alec couldn’t give her the life she craved, and if he was honest, he would admit that he might never be capable of giving it to her. He was a killer, a murderer. Everyone had a talent, and ending lives was his. He’d never be the nine-to-five family man Eve wanted and deserved.
“I have enough on my plate at the moment,” she said hoarsely. “I don’t know when you’re leaving, what I’m doing, where this mark is taking me, or how the hell I’m going to get my life back.”
Alec smiled, the hunter in him relishing the chase.
She wriggled away from him. “I don’t need any more complications. Now answer the question: what are you to me?”
“Every field-assigned Mark has a mentor. The training is thorough, but nothing can replace hands-on experience. Mentors guide new Marks in the transition from the classroom to the streets.”
“Sounds organized. Training. Mentoring.”
“It is. Very much so.”
Eve nodded. “Okay. So now I know how to kill a Nix. How can I expect him to try and kill me? The normal ways? Does he have special gifts I should be concerned about?”
“They can kill with a kiss. Their lips seal to yours and they flood your lungs with water, drowning you. They can leech moisture from you, dehydrating you to death. But that takes time. You’d have to be immobilized. And they kill the old-fashioned ways, too.”
“So my best option is the commonsense one—keep my distance.”
“Definitely. With any luck, your body will acclimate quickly to the mark and you’ll soon be able to smell him coming.”
“I caught a whiff of him earlier.” Her nose wrinkled. “A bit of residual odor on the outside of the vase.”
Alec scrubbed a hand over his face. “Usually Marks start out smelling everything, then they learn to control their senses enough to focus on the little things. You’re working in reverse. How the hell can you smell something so minor so quickly?”
Eve yawned. “Like I know. That’s one too many questions for me today. I’m hitting the sack. I’m beat.”
“Want some company?”
The corner of her mouth tilted up and his blood heated. “Not tonight, I have a mother in the house.”
“Good point. Tomorrow we’ll head out and find your little stone friend.”
“Yipee” she said dryly. “Can’t wait.”
She walked away with a saucy wave.
CHAPTER 10
This is a bit out of the way for you, isn’t it?” Alec asked, as Eve pulled into the parking lot of St. Mary’s church.
“I drive when I need to think.” Her gaze drifted over the roof of the building before she turned her attention to finding a spot.
“Busy congregation,” he noted.
It seemed odd to Eve to have Alec in the car with her. For years, she’d pictured him on his motorcycle. He seemed at home astride it, a part of it, a virile man and his steel horse. But when he’d offered to drive she’d swiftly declined. She needed a clear head to absorb the surfeit of information he was imparting to her. There was no way she’d be able to think with his hips between her thighs and her arms wrapped around him.
“I guess so,” she replied in response to his observation.
Eve put her car in park, pulled the key from the ignition, and undid her seat belt. Unsure of how their “hunt” would progress, she’d dressed in well-worn jeans, Vans, and a button-up, short-sleeved top. “Ready?”
He looked at her with a soft gleam in his eye. “Why didn’t you just ask me what you wanted to know?”
“You were asleep.”
Alec snorted. “That’s a cop-out.”
“What’s the matter with wanting to read it with my own eyes?”
“It’s hearsay. A lot of it is more fable than literal truth.”
“And you’re going to give me an unbiased play-by-play?”
In answer, he smiled and opened the passenger door. She remained seated as he alighted, her gaze riveted to his ass and long legs. He, too, wore jeans. His feet were encased in steel-toed Doc Martens and his torso was covered in a dark blue T-shirt. She was astonished by how normal he looked, when he was anything but.
She got out of the car before he could get the door for her. “Now what?”
“We case the church.” Alec slipped on his sunglasses. “Then we spread out slowly on foot until we find where he lives.”
“I thought churches were sacred.”
“Stick with me, kid,” he drawled. “You’ll learn something new every day.”
“Nothing I want to know,” she muttered, slamming the door shut and pocketing her keys.
They weaved through the rows