Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
“I have to go,” he said abruptly.
“Understood. Lake will be there in two hours.” Xavier hung up.
They were both silent until Lonnie took a ragged-sounding breath. “He was in my classroom today?” he asked, whispering.
Callan nodded. “Appeared and disappeared too fast for me to do anything.”
“Do you think he noticed you?”
“No doubt. Was right behind me.”
“If he can just show up anywhere he wants, how do we fight that?” He hugged his arms across his chest. “I’m really scared, Callan. And you must be worried, too, since you asked for another bodyguard. What can Finn do that you can’t?”
“He’s a jinn. Can sense a warper’s magic before he shows up.” Callan reached out to pull Lonnie’s arm toward him and threaded their hands together. “But another is coming. Lake is one just like the wizard after you. He’s even better.” He leaned toward Lonnie. “But I will still protect you. I won’t let him get to you.”
“I didn’t even see him. You said he was inside the classroom, and I saw nothing.” Lonnie shivered.
“Was crouched behind me, but only there for a couple of seconds.” Callan lifted Lonnie’s hand and kissed his fingers. “You’re cold. Let’s go inside.”
Once in the house, Lonnie dropped his briefcase and keys onto the small table by the door.
“We need your laptop,” Callan said as he cleared a spot on the coffee table.
“Why?”
“Could be someone on the message boards you use.”
Lonnie frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. But I’ve never met any of them, so why would one fixate on me? Doesn’t make any sense.” He got out his laptop and set it on the table before booting it up. “Though… There is one person who seems more invested in me finding collectibles than the others. He sends me private messages all the time.”
“Let me see.”
Lonnie logged into the site and pulled up his private message thread. Callan read through them and found nothing that gave away any obsession—other than the guy’s interest in helping Lonnie find what he was looking for. But the hairs on his body were standing on end and he felt they were onto something. “Can you tell where he’s from?”
“I wouldn’t know how. I’m not that proficient on a computer to tell you the truth.”
“Then we take this computer into my work.” Callan stood. “People there know computers. Let’s go.”
He pulled out his phone to let Xavier know Lake could meet them at the office.
Chapter Twenty
Lonnie
Walking into Protective Solutions felt like starring in one of his fantasy anime episodes. Lonnie tried to keep a straight face, but seeing so many different beings gathered in one place was a full-on assault on his mind. The offices themselves were nice—darker because night was settling in, but he could tell they were bright during the day because of the floor to ceiling windows gracing the outside wall. And there were still so many employees there despite the late hour.
An absolutely stunning blond man with huge white wings approached them first.
“Callan! Good to see you. It’s been a while.” He clasped Callan’s back, his handsome face wreathed in smiles. He had the sort of good looks that made Lonnie think of Hollywood. A sort of strong, next-door type. He was tall, though not as tall as Callan, and had broad shoulders barely contained in a tight black T-shirt. His biceps bulged. But it was the wings that Lonnie couldn’t look away from. They fanned out behind him, standing a good foot above his head, and they were so beautiful and feathery.
He got the feeling this was an angel.
An absolute real live angel.
One who turned a wickedly flirtatious grin his way.
“And who is this beautiful thing?”
Callan grunted and tugged Lonnie under his arm. “Not available, Emory.”
Blond eyebrows went up. “I can see that. Good on you, Callan.” Emory suddenly let out a deep laugh. “Has Nathanial seen him? Because he reminds me of every guy I’ve ever seen him with.”
“Nathanial knows Lonnie is mine.”
Lonnie shivered at those possessive words, his chest warming because they sure as hell sounded permanent. He put his arm around Callan’s waist and squeezed, loving the way Callan’s arm tightened around his shoulders.
“We’re here to see Xavier,” Callan said. “You go sniff around someone else.”
Emory laughed again and Lonnie got the feeling this angel was a little on the darker side. And what was it about preternaturals calling him pretty and beautiful? He was the third to say it, which boggled Lonnie’s mind.
The angel nodded his head toward an open doorway. “He’s in the tech room, waiting for you. Nice to meet you, Lonnie. If you ever get tired of this grumpy de—er, man, give me a call.”
How Emory had missed Lonnie staring at his wings, he didn’t know, but he somehow had. To everyone in this room, he was just a human who saw whatever their glamours showed. None knew he could see horns, wings, and more. His gaze caught on someone even bigger than Callan, a huge beefy bald man who had to be over seven feet tall. He had horns that arced away from his head on either side. As they drew closer to him, Lonnie saw that he was reading a thick book, and when he glanced up, he had oddly attractive features, even down to the two tiny tusks jutting out from underneath his full, lower lip. Bright green eyes looked shrewdly at him as his head tilted to the side. Those long, black eyelashes should be illegal. He wouldn’t be considered classically handsome, but like Callan, his face was appealing to Lonnie. He smiled and it held a hint of shyness. Lonnie looked at the dark green horns again and the man’s eyes narrowed.