Page 47 of Silver Claw

I patted my blade. “I may not have magic, but my blade does, and it has some defenses against his magic. Voss’s magic recoiled when it hit my blade. It hit Voss so hard he had to shift to his full wolf and fight without magic. It seemed to take away his ability to use his power. Temporary, most likely, but I know I can fight his magic.”

“He may be afraid to try it on you again,” Zach said.

“He’ll be planning to take your blade,” Sam told me. “He’ll do that before he takes you. And he’s going to draw it out, Kait.”

I nodded. “He came here looking for something different. He doesn’t care about the fact that we got rid of his ‘friend’ Adam Thorne and took his pack. Adam just brought us to his attention.”

“Yeah,” Zach said, going to stand at the window. “If Sam is right, nothing will matter to Voss more than you and the thrill of the chase. He’ll take his time and make it last.”

“He has to know we’re going to end his life,” I said. “Surely he realizes that.”

Sam shrugged. “It’s part of the excitement. He’s exhilarated right now. His mind is occupied by you and his new hunt. The risks. The payoff. Right now, this is all that matters to him.”

“And that makes him very dangerous,” I said. “I get it.” And I really did understand. I wasn’t sure why I understood, but I did. “I don’t think he’d mind dying.”

“He’s not afraid of death,” Zach agreed. “It’s life that scares him.”

“He’s batshit crazy,” Remy Simon said, padding into the room. He could be quiet as a cat when he wanted, and I hadn’t heard him coming into the outer office. “He’s a rabid animal, and while all his focus is on Kait, I’ll focus on how to bag myself a quick kill.” He grinned and dropped into one of the chairs in front of my desk. “Max caught me up.”

“It’s almost enough to make me miss fighting demons,” I muttered.

“Let’s track him down and get this done,” Remy said. “Why are we sitting in the office wasting time?”

“I have to meet with the council at midnight,” I said. “I can’t concentrate on Voss with that hanging over my head.”

“He’ll come to her,” Zach told him. “All we have to do is stick close. He’ll show.”

“And while we’re waiting,” I said, “I’m going to clean some houses. Might as well get some easy work done.”

Gracie hurried into the office, her arms full of takeout bags. Despite the fact that I’d eaten recently, my stomach woke up at the smell of hot, juicy meat.

“Burgers and fries,” Gracie said, as Zach went to help her with the bags. Then she spotted Remy, who looked like he was trying to disappear into his chair. “RemySimon,”she cried. She dumped the rest of the bags on my desk and ran to Remy. “Kiss my jaw.”

He recoiled and held up his hands to ward her off. “I don’t ‘kiss jaws.’”

“Come on,” she coaxed, leaning over him. “Hug my neck.”

“I don’t do that either. Kait? A little help?”

I laughed so hard I couldn’t speak. The boogeyman scared of a skinny little half-crazy country girl was the most hilarious thing I’d seen in a long time. Apparently, Gracie Dawn had fallen in love with the stone-cold killer when I wasn’t looking.

Finally, I controlled myself and urged her away from him. “Let him eat his lunch so he can work,” I told her. “I need you to call some clients and line me up five or six of them who can see me today.”

The only thing that could get her attention off Remy was doing her job.

“Have Max send the addresses to my phone,” I called as she ran out of the office.

Remy shook his head and grabbed a bag of burgers. “Lord a’mercy,” he said.

For a little while, the pall of my stolen magic, the council, and Gavin Voss was lifted as we laughed and ate and relaxed.

But finally, we finished eating, and the day and all its surprises waited. “Let’s go to work,” I said, gathering up all the trash.

Sam stood, cracking his fingers. “We’re right behind you.”

The four of us piled into my car, and I was halfway down the street when the mayor called. “Mayor Hedrick,” I answered, surprised. “It’s good to hear from you.”

“Kait,” he said, his voice booming. “It’s been a while. It’s about time we got together to talk about everything that’s going on in our wonderful city. And,” he added, after a just-barely-there hesitation, “with you. Amy and I would like to have you over for dinner sometime next week. Maybe Friday or Sunday, if either of those works with your schedule. If not, then give me a better time and we’ll make it work.”