Sara had to know that if Eve was pissed at Alec, the best way to pay him back in kind was to hookup with Reed.
“What do you want, Sara?” Eve wondered aloud, her fingers digging into lip of the console. “What do you stand to gain?”
Hell hath no fury—
Her eyes widened, her mind jumping to the conversation she’d had with Mariel.
“Are you ready to go, Ms. Hollis?”
Turning her attention to the door, she found Ishamel standing there.
“What are you to Raguel Gadara?” she asked, straightening.
His gray brows rose. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re his lieutenant, right? His right-hand man?”
“Something like that.”,
Eve nodded. “Is it just a job to you, or do you genuinely care about him?”
There was a slight hesitation, then, “Raguel is a friend to me.”
“Is. Present tense.” She stopped in front of him. “You think he’s alive, too?”
He gave a brief nod.
“Do you have access to everything? Can you authorize investigations?”
“What do you want, Ms. Hollis?”
She caught his arm and directed him toward the door. “Call me Eve, please. And don’t shift us downstairs. Makes me dizzy. Let’s do things the mortal way, if you don’t mind.”
Again, the terse nod of his head.
“Now,” she continued, “I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but I want Gadara back, too.”
They moved out to the hallway and turned toward the elevators.
“And how do you plan to get him back. . . Eve?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
Ishamel stared at her intensely the entire length of the descent to the lobby level. Despite her determination, it still made her squirm. He had the eyes of a shark. Dark and dead.
They exited to the circular driveway. Idling near the center fountain, the requisite limousine waited. At least it was requisite for Ishamel. Eve was more interested in Reed’s Lamborghini, which he’d arrogantly left parked directly in front of the entrance. The convertible was a silver beauty, as sleek and dangerous as its owner. She pictured him driving over from his meeting with the demons at Downtown Disney and her jaw clenched. Instead of shifting from location to location, he’d used the car for effect. Maybe as a way to humanize himself, to seem at ease and unconcerned when meeting with a king of Hell. Bravado was a necessary tool of the trade when dealing with demons.
She glanced at the valet booth and pointed to the Lamborghini. “Do you have the keys for this?”
One of the three valets nodded but looked wary. Ishamel snapped his fingers and the valet kicked into gear, ducking inside the booth to pull keys off one of the many hooks on the wall. He ran over to them and Eve held out her hand.
“Thanks.”, she said when he dropped the key ring into her palm.
She pulled open the passenger door for Ishamel before running around to the driver’s side. Sliding behind the wheel, she adjusted the seat forward, then gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
“Wish I hadn’t left my sunglasses at home.”, she murmured, half afraid to borrow Reed’s car without permission. He might find it amusing, or he might be furious.
Ishamel held his hand out and she found her sunglasses clasped between his fingers. With a wry smile, she accepted them. It sure would be handy to be able to shift anywhere and back in the blink of an eye. She pushed the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. It roared to life, then purred deliciously.
“Seat belt,” she said, while securing her own.
Then they were off, gliding around the center fountain and exiting onto Harbor Boulevard. The police station was on the same street just a few miles down. Eve told herself that Reed shouldn’t get too pissy, since she was just taking a straight shot up the road.
“What do you need from me?” Ishamel asked. “Can you. . .“ She hesitated, then glanced over at him. “Would you be open to spying on an archangel? Do you have people who’d be capable and willing to do it?”
“Cain?”
She sucked in a deep breath and hoped that she wasn’t screwing herself royally. “Sarakiel.”
“Ah. . .“ In the periphery of her vision, she saw his fingertips drum silently on the seat. “And you need this information for use in retrieving Raguel? Are you certain you don’t have personal considerations?”
“You don’t have to tell me what you find,” she said. “Just look into it and if something strikes you as off, deal with it as you see fit.”
“An odd request,” he murmured.
“Trust me, if you