His expression closed up again. "In a sense, yes."
I sighed in frustration. Getting any sort of information out of him was like squeezing blood from a stone, but it was far worse when it came to questions about his life as a reaper.
Before I could say anything else, my phone rang, the sound sharp in the brief silence. The ringtone told me it was Hunter.
I briefly considered not answering it, but that wasn't likely to do much. The bitch would just track me down and confront me in person. At least if she was on the other end of the phone, she didn't have access to my thoughts.
"The reason I didn't ring with an update," I said without preamble, "is because there isn't a whole lot to tell you. The Rakshasa sensed our presence in that room and made a run for it. Azriel wasn't able to track it back to its lair."
"That is extremely unfortunate given that the deadline clock is counting down." Hunter's voice was cool. "I do not wish to lose a good resource, Risa, so I suggest you do your utmost to catch this thing."
I snorted softly. If she considered me a good resource, then her other resources obviously sucked big-time. My mother I was not.
"Trust me—I have no intention of getting dead just yet, but we do have a problem. I can't stand guard in the viewing room tonight. The Rakshasa knows we are waiting for it now, so it'll be overly cautious. We need to try something else."
"Such as?"
I hesitated, thinking fast—not an easy task at the moment. "There are cameras installed in the ghosts' feeding room, so would I be wrong in thinking there are some who get off on watching others feed and kill?"
"Yes." She paused. "The camera feed goes down to several side rooms in the main bar."
"What sort of side rooms?"
"The sort you find in werewolf bars," she said, her voice dry. "The kind that allows participants privacy if they prefer."
The image of a blood whore–addicted vampire jerking off while he watched another feed and kill made my stomach flip-flop, and I was suddenly glad I'd just about finished the lasagna. "Surely we could snag one of those to use."
"Only if your reaper remains ready to fight. Marshall cannot remain with you for that long, and it is only his presence by your side that gets you through the bar safely."