Page 88 of Bitter Spirits

Angel clamped his mouth shut. Magic flared along his bindings, and the soul screamed. When the magic eased off, the remnants were hazier than before. “I don’t know.” Angel’s voice was sullen.

“Truth,” Isa intoned.

Locke and Zev exchanged a look, then Locke asked Isa, “Has he been scrubbed?”

She took a moment to answer. “No, he truly had no direct contact with the supplier. But he did tap into Carter’s phone and trace a series of calls to someplace called the Forge Foundation.”

Chapter 27

Isa

Isa took another sip of coffee from the mug cupped in her hands, appreciating the way it chased away the chill lingering in her veins. She hadn’t wanted to admit to Locke how close it had been with Cora, but he didn’t give her much choice during their ride over to Zev’s downtown office in Dueñas Park. He kept poking at her until she admitted that after Cora gorged herself on Carter’s magic and used his illusion ability to bait Angel, the wraith had garnered enough strength to keep Isa from reclaiming her body if Locke didn’t agree to let Angel die.

That had gone over like a lead balloon. Isa was fairly sure the only reason it hadn’t devolved into an argument was because she made a point of explaining her reasoning to the silently fuming Locke. First was that Angel’s Harvester magic fed off the reactions of others, which was why Locke had ended up on his knees and susceptible to Carter’s illusions. If Isa hadn’t given Cora control, Angel could have leveraged her worry and fear to add to what he’d already culled from Locke. Not to mention whatever feast Carter had provided. The more Angel fed, the more vulnerable Locke and Isa became. With Cora—who was basically bits and pieces of an angry soul—in the driver’s seat, there was nothing alive to create the emotional lock for Angel. Cora’s emotions were simply echoes of remembered feelings.

The Reaper, on the other hand, was all about death. That meant not only could Isa channel the soul’s bitter hunger for vengeance, but she also had other ways of getting the information they needed from Angel. When dealing with Cora, Isa had tapped into the woman’s memories in an effort to understand her connection to Angel and Carter. It hadn’t been easy. The wraith was already fracturing under its prolonged hunt for retribution, and whichever Memory mage had ransacked her mind when she was alive had left behind seriously twisted wreckage. The mage, through luck or skill, had managed to mask the supplier’s identity, but as Isa picked through the bits and pieces, she figured out that it wasn’t Angel who held the answers to Locke’s questions. Cora and Carter had been the middlemen, running product and messages between the shadowy supplier and Angel. It was Cora who first figured out that Angel was stealing from the Idyl Devils to shore up Streetwise Talent’s financials. She shared that tidbit with Carter, who started whispering in very specific ears. Grumbles grew to threats, and backed into a corner, Angel rolled the dice and lost.

Unfortunately, others had gotten caught in the fallout—like Kelly, Leo, Paisley, and the Holmes brothers. Not to mention Isa’s parents.

She winced. Somethings never change.

“You okay?”

She blinked and realized Locke was crouched in front of her, his hand around her knee. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. He raised his eyebrows, and she managed a faint smile. “I’m stiff and sore, but I’m okay. Promise.”

He rose and carefully took a seat next to her, stretching his arm out behind her.

She ran her gaze over him, taking in the slightly large T-shirt he’d borrowed from Zev, and thought about the nasty slice he’d taken on his side. “How about you? You good?”

She’d seen one of the cleanup crew slap a healing ward on Locke as they were taking away Carter and Angel, but she hadn’t had a chance to check him over herself.

“Better now. I have to take it easy for a day or so, but otherwise, I’m good to go.”

She set the coffee down and moved gently into his side, and he curled his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder as Zev talked to one of three screens situated on the glossy wood-grain top of his cool-as-shit desk. Zev had his earbuds activated, so all she caught was murmurs. Back at Angel’s, Zev had called in the Cordova crew to scour through Angel, Cora, and Carter’s known residences and businesses. Teams were still at it, but one had found a stash of the drug in question.

“Is he still talking to Emilio?” she asked.

“Yeah, they’re making arrangements to get it transported to the Family scientists. Hopefully, they can figure out some kind of treatment for Micah.”

“Anyone talk to Isaiah yet? Let him know what went down?”

“Nope. Emilio asked Mari to wait to share. Seems the kid’s hell-bent on making amends, and Emilio’s worried he’ll be first in line to play guinea pig.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “I doubt the doctors would go against the head of the Family if he told them to leave Isaiah out of it.”

Locke shot her a dry look. “You ever dealt with a scientist who thinks they have the answer to the unanswerable?”

She shook her head.

“Let’s just say you’d have a better chance at herding cats.”

She gave an amused huff and resettled against him. “Well, maybe you can distract Isaiah with Paisley.”

“I’ll leave that to Mari.” He wrapped a tendril of Isa’s hair around his finger, winding and unwinding it, which was comforting.

She drifted into a sleepy haze filled with images of her and Locke snuggled together in his bed. Maybe they could lock out the world just for a little while. That happy thought was interrupted by the rumble of Zev’s voice. She was blissfully content in Locke’s hold, and it took a moment for Zev’s words to penetrate.

When they did, she forced her eyelids open and tried to sit up, her pulse racing. “What happened with Kelly?”