Page 36 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

His eyes narrow. “You’re serious.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

For once in his miserable existence, my brother seems to understand when he’s pushed me too far. He taps the screen a few times and holds it up.

“Deleted.”

“From everything.”

“Lucien.”

“Everything.”

He sighs, taps through a few more screens, then tosses the phone toward me. I catch it and check for myself before throwing it back at his chest.

“You go into his home again, and we’re gonna have a problem.”

Stefan catches his phone and slips it into his pocket. “You were on his roof.”

“I didn’t enter his fucking bedroom. The difference shouldn’t need explaining.”

Stefan studies me for a moment before his usual smirk slowly returns. “Oh, this is much worse than I thought.”

“What does Dorman want?”

Stefan’s expression tells me he knows he’s won something, but at least he has enough survival instincts not to keep poking at Sparkle. He straightens his jacket and moves away from the couch.

“We have a situation that requires your expertise.”

I drop back into my chair and wake my computer. Maybe if I start working, he’ll take the hint and disappear.

“Someone skipped out on a soul contract.”

My fingers stop over the keyboard.

“Dorman can’t find him.”

“Sounds like Dorman’s problem.”

“Three others have tried. Nothing.” Stefan starts pacing along the edge of my desk. “No trail. No magical signature. No scent. No portals anyone can trace. He disappeared.”

“Good for him.”

“He owes a soul.”

I lean back and cross my arms. “I don’t deal in souls.”

Stefan sighs. “Yes, yes. We all remember your moral crisis.”

“It wasn’t a fucking moral crisis.” I glare at him. “I didn’t want to spend eternity dragging people back to the demon realm because someone else decided they were property.”

“They signed contracts.”

“And I decided I didn’t want to be part of collecting them.”

It’s been more than forty years since I tracked anyone for the demon realm. Forty years since I walked away from the job everyone expected me to keep doing because I was good at it. Too fucking good. I found people who didn’t want to be found. Demons. Supes. Humans. It didn’t matter how far they ran or what magic they used to hide themselves. Give me enough of a trail and I’d find them.

For a long time, I liked being the best. Then I started asking what happened to the people after I brought them back, and I didn’t like the answers. So I quit.