Blood Spells

Okay, she thought, forcing herself away from the past, I was wrong about the harmless part.

Because her instincts told her that the man facing her now was dangerous in his own right. Either he’d changed, or he’d been playing her before.

What the hell was going on here? And why did it have to be that grab?

Doesn’t matter, she told herself. That part of her life was over. Not going back there. Shifting the small black carryall she had looped over one shoulder, she cleared the way to get at the .38 she had tucked at the small of her back. “I don’t do find-and-grabs anymore.”

Strike’s eyes didn’t waver. “All we need you to do is locate him. We’ll take care of the rest.”

She should turn him down. Hell, she shouldn’t have come out here in the first place. She was just starting to hit her stride back in Denver, and this crew had “questionable” written all over them, with too many things not lining up. But it was the questionability that had her sticking. She knew what it felt like to be lost. Now she tracked down the lost and reunited them with their friends and family . . . or if they were better off lost, she helped them stay that way permanently.

“Tell me about the target,” she said.

“It’s the same guy you bagged out from under me that day in the warehouse: Snake Mendez.”

He said something else, but she couldn’t hear him over the roaring that suddenly filled her head as her heartbeat revved. Mendez. Oh, Christ. She had to lock her knees to keep from sagging as it all tried to come rushing back—memories, pain, betrayal.

Keep breathing. She couldn’t go there again. Not now, when she was just starting to put her shit back together.

More, there were too many questions. How much did this guy know? Who was he working for?

Why the wedding charade?

Let Fallon handle that. You get your ass out of here. Clinging to her poker face, she retreated a step toward the doorway. “Mendez is dead.” She practically choked on the words. “Last year in Chicago.

The Varrio Warlocks got him.” Although his parole officer had sworn he’d been playing it straight, he had died as he had lived: trying to run the world one city block at a time. Got to get out of here.

“Wait.” Strike took a step in her direction. “Don’t go.”

“You don’t need me to find a dead man.” Another step back put her in the doorway.

“He’s alive.”

She froze, going cold and numb. “Bullshit.” The word was little more than a whisper, poker face or not. “The VWs claimed the kill.”

“They lied. Dez has been working with us in New Mex for the past year, but he took off on his own two days ago. We want you to track him down.”

“He . . .” She trailed off as the numbness grew teeth and bit in.

Dez. The nickname had been reserved for the inner circle. Which meant . . . Baby Jesus, she didn’t know what it meant, except that this guy had inside knowledge, and he—and his crew—reminded her of Dez. They were all big, gorgeous, glossy. They could almost be . . . Oh, shit. Related. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Suddenly her heart was trying to hammer its way out of her chest and she couldn’t catch her breath.

Those were just stories. Fairy tales. Not real. Never real.

Right?

Strike crossed the room, stopping an arm’s length away. “I’ve seen you work, and my PI says you’re still the best. I’ll pay all expenses and triple your normal rate, no bullshit, no questions. Just find him for us and report back.” He stuck out his hand. “Deal?”

She took his hand, but instead of shaking, she gave a yank so his sleeve rode up. On his inner wrist, he wore five glyph markings done in stark black. She stared at them as panic slashed through her—it was all too much.

Mendez wasn’t alive. The stories weren’t real.

And she shouldn’t have come.

She dropped his hand and backed up another step so she could see the mural of Chichen Itza in her peripheral vision. “I . . . can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

Then she did something she had done only a few other times in her life.

She turned and ran like hell.

Praise for the Nightkeepers Series

Blood Spells

“This series goes right to your heart! Jessica Andersen is a must read for me!”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward

Skykeepers

“An exciting, romantic, and imaginative tale, Skykeepers is guaranteed to keep readers entertained and turning the pages.”

—Romance Reviews Today

“Will knock you off your feet, keep you on the edge of your seat and totally captivated from beginning to end.”

—Romance Junkies

“A gripping story that pulled this reader right into her Final Prophecy series.”

—Romance Reader at Heart (top pick)

“The Final Prophecy is a well-written series that is as intricate as it is entertaining.”

—The Romance Readers Connection

“The world of the Nightkeepers is wonderful, and I love visiting it. It is intricate, magical, and absolutely fascinating. . . . Step inside the Nightkeeper world and prepare to be swept away!”

—Joyfully Reviewed

“If you’re looking for a book to read, one that has an intricate, inventive, and well-researched world with characters that are fully realized, might I suggest Skykeepers?”

—Romance Novel TV

Dawnkeepers

“Prophecy, passion, and powerful emotions— Dawnkeepers will keep you on the edge of your seat begging for more!”