Page 18 (2/2)

She heard the transfer of the handset "David said you got the artifact," Val said by way of greeting "Any probleht a man approached me on the streets of Alexandria He said you sent him"

"What? Josh was supposed to ot rid of hiured he was gone for good" She took a deep breath Val was going to hit the roof "But today he showed up at the catacombs… and it turns out he’s a demon"

Val inhaled sharply "You okay?"

"You know I a how much she should say If he knew Byzais cell within a day’s travel after her "But , Serena?" Val’s voice was low, controlled, and for the first tiis warrior he was

"My cloak was compromised," she admitted "I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry It’s repaired now, but it was down for a ti with her charet about the Aswan artifact"

"I’et off in Cairo and catch the first flight back"

She gazed out theat the harsh yet beautiful landscape, a raceful trees, and shook her head "I’m perfectly safe And Josh is with me"

"Josh? Why?"

"Val, come on He was a Guardian Who better for me to travel with?" She could practically hear the top of Val’s head blow off Ti up I’ll call you when I get the tablet"

"Wait--"

She severed the phone link bythe End button with her thumb Just to be safe, she turned off the phone co car

Nerves, from the tense conversation with Val and fro Josh, turned her sto at her fro about that devastating so all mushy inside She’d never been one for tattoos, but the swirling design on his face suited hies One pointed end kissed the very corner of hisher lips to his and following the tattoo until it ended at his fingertips

He stood--aardly, alht--and waited for her to sit before taking his own chair again He was already halfway through a glass of whiskey, and he’d ordered her one as well Very thoughtful

She downed it "I called Val"

"Did you tell hi of his drink, and as his throat muscles worked the liquor down, Serena realized for the first time that a man’s neck could be damned sexy Maybe she could have one of those dreaht, only this time, she could be the vampire

"Yes, I told him" She shot hirinout with me all on your own"

"Are you even aware of how cocky you are?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" He stroked his long fingers up and down the glass, and she suddenly wanted him to do the same to her After a moment, he pushed the whiskey at her "I think you need this more than I do What did Val say?"

"He wants o?"

"Heck no Val’s paranoid"

"Maybe he’s smart"

She rolled her eyes "Not you, too"

He leaned back in his chair, his sinfully toned body sprawled out as though he didn’t have a care in the world, but the way his alert gaze kept checking out their surroundings said otherwise She got the i car wouldn’t escape his notice

"So… what’s his story? Why does he act more like a father than a boss?"

She watched the liquor in the glass slosh around from the motion of the train "He was a friend of ed ist," she explained "I went to Yale, where he taught, but college turned out not to besick of school, ready to drop out, and he hired y foundation He offered me a place to stay at his mansion, and I would have been stupid to turn it down"

Josh’s eyes narrowed into slits "What’s the catch?"

"Catch?"

She could have sworn she heard a low snarl come from his side of the table before he spoke

"Nobod like yours a place to stay without wanting sohed "Trust me, he has no interest in me Not like that You said it yourself: He’s like a father"

"Why?" he repeated

She shrugged "I think it’s partly because we have a lot in co for hiis connections, and he was one of only a handful of people who knew the truth about her "And partly, it’s because he’s kind of felt obligated to watch out for le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>