"Of course."Deke rubbed a hand down his face. His life had just gotten more complicated. "And it was just a coincidence Whitney was there to see the body drop?""Not a coincidence—an unfortunate happening. Might even have been a warning to her.""Why her?" he asked. The buck sauntered off, as if Deke were inconsequential. Deke walked the perimeter, checking for breaks in the wires, or trip wires that had been violated. He found none. "I don't know," Tex replied, "but there are no coincidences.""True. I haven't figured out yet how she fits into all this.""She does; we just don't know how yet. I'll do some more digging. Her father owns the newspaper she works for."Something niggled at Deke's brain. That was important. "Dig more on him.""Oh?""Nothing I can tell you with any certainty, but my gut is saying it has to do with her father." Deke leaned against a tree, suddenly tired. He'd wanted to live out the rest of his life quietly. That option had left when the body had dropped off

"What the heck was that for?" Whitney asked."That alarm was the perimeter being breached. Someone must have gotten the cell signal.""I thought you said this was a secure line.""I guess the bad guys have up-to-date technology, too. Get your jacket on. We have to go.""Go where?""Back to the city. That way, no one can easily intercept the signal. There are too many of them." She hurried as Deke waited by the door. When she was ready, he went out ahead of her. He looked all around them. "Come on." He grabbed her hand—which was good, since she couldn't see past the light coming from the front window. He took long strides, and then they were in the woods. Her feet moved faster than she thought they could."Why aren't we taking the truck?" she asked."Because they've seen it." He didn't stop—not even when she yanked on his arm."I need to catch my breath," she said."No time, princess."The moniker chafed at her. She was no princess. "No need for insults. I'm just out of shape.""That co

Whitney listened to the chatter around her as they all ate the food Deke cooked. He was a wizard in the kitchen. Her thoughts were all over the place, but they all seemed to come back to him. Twice during the meal, she caught him staring at her. She'd clearly interrupted a meeting, and they hadn't continued the subject at hand until everyone finished eating. Were they keeping something from her? Her reporter instincts were bruised, but she'd bet there was something they weren't saying in front of her. "So, where do we stand?" she asked as they cleared the plates.Deke settled in a chair. "I cooked. You can all clean."Whitney would have gotten up, but the kitchen was already crowded. Besides, she wanted to be the one asking questions. Her gaze turned to Deke. He wasn't making eye contact with her suddenly. Was he lying? Hmm. So far, Deke had been upfront with her. That meant the situation was getting bigger. She could ask them, or she could investigate. If she just got a hold of a com

"Just… not my thing."Donal snorted. "We're gargoyles, dude. It's almost as good as sex to let your wings loose and fly.""It's only ever gotten me in trouble.""I'm sure if I bought you a drink sometime, you'd tell me the story," Donal said."Might need more than one drink to tell that one.""I'm betting it involved a woman.""You'd win that bet." Deke paced in the kitchen, knowing time wasn't on their side. They also didn't know who the enemy was. If they did, he'd know for sure where to look for Whitney. Damn her for being so headstrong. It might have gotten her killed. She needed a man to protect her.Oh, no. He'd never wanted to protect anyone before in his life. This was bad. Maybe he should step out of this situation while he still could."Wait," Donal said. "Tex is going to send you an article from Whitney's newspaper.""What about?""You'll see.""Do I need to read it now? We need to find Whitney.""You'll understand. I'll meet you at the top of the newspaper building." Donal

"Aye, because you've been denying it. I can find my fairy without doing that, but that's because I've never denied that part of me before."Deke eyed Donal for a moment. What was he supposed to think? Since he knew he was a gargoyle, and he knew there were fairies and goblins, he guessed he had to believe it."We don't have much time," Donal urged him. "We're walking into a trap as it is, Deke. If you don't connect with Whitney, you can't defeat her father. Only your powers together can take him out."Deke rubbed a hand down his face. He'd thought he'd put combat behind him. He hadn't ever wanted to take up against a human again—then again, Benton Lewis wasn't a human. "So, Lewis is a goblin?""Aye, Deke, and he's holding his own daughter hostage to get to us. He thinks we don't know he's a goblin, but Aileen scoped out this building. She confirmed he is.""How will I know what to do?"Donal smiled at him. "You'll know. You'll figure it out because Whitney's safety is paramount to you.