She shuffled through them until she found one of Wetherton.
He was small, round and balding. Spud material, definitely.
And yet, there was something in his brown eyes that was not quite right. An odd sort of blankness that chilled her.
She threw the photo back down onto the desk. At least this assignment would save her some money, if nothing else.
And she could still use the days to continue her search for a home.
Although, as her real estate had said—and more than once—if she wasn't so damn fussy, she'd have something by now.
Someone knocked on the door. It opened before she could answer, revealing Gabriel.
"AD Stern. Fancy seeing you again so soon." She couldn't help the sarcastic note in her voice. The only time he'd ever bothered crowding into her closet was when he'd had some inane task for her to complete. But he wasn't her partner now, wasn't her boss, so why was he here?
He crossed his arms, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. His presence filled her small office in much the same manner as his frame did the doorway. With any other man, it might have felt threatening. With Gabriel, it felt cautious, almost aloof.
"Stephan told me about your new assignment."
There was a touch of concern in his rich voice. She raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And he hasn't told you everything."
Like that was something she hadn't guessed. "That's because he works on a need to know basis. Like someone else I know."
Annoyance flickered through his warm hazel eyes. "I've never let you walk into an assignment blind."
She snorted softly. "Yeah, because you've never given me an assignment. Only desk work."
He at least had the grace to look guilty, if only for a second or two. "Look, I just came down here to warn you, not to argue."
"Then warn and leave." Before she asked him to stay, simply to warm the empty coldness in her office. In her life.
"Fair enough." He hesitated slightly, studying her with a slight frown. "He omitted two major facts. One, we believe the source of the clone to be Hopeworth, and two, we think Sethanon may be linked to both Wetherton and Hopeworth."
And Stephan was using her to draw them out, she concluded.
She'd been right. The vampire set up to attack Wetherton wasn't the only patsy in this situation. "Why does he think my presence will affect Sethanon's actions?"
"Sethanon placed Kazdan in your life to keep watch over you both professionally and personally. He had the birth certificate Kazdan gave you in his possession. He seems to know more about your history than you, or me, or anyone else.
It implies long term interest."
Or long term responsibility. She rubbed her arms uneasily.
"Sethanon is little more than a name. How the hell am I supposed to draw him out when no one even knows what he looks like?"
"Stephan's hoping he might make an attempt to snatch you."
If he'd intended that, why not do so before now? He'd had ample enough opportunities, especially when Jack was her partner. Few people would have missed her back then—only Jack, and he'd been Sethanon's right-hand man.
"I doubt the man would be fool enough to try it himself."
"No. But the transmitter you're getting also acts as a tracker signal. Stephan hopes to trace you to Sethanon's headquarters, at the very least."
And then what? A quick raid in the hope of flushing out the upper echelons of his organization? Stephan was a fool if he thought it would be so easy. They were talking about someone who had successfully covered his tracks for years.
"How deep are Wetherton's ties to Hopeworth?"