He gave me a side-eye. If he was embarrassed at his overreaction, he hid it well. “Are you always this violent?”

I scoffed. “You’re accusing me of being violent? I haven’t murdered anyone. I believe it was you who left three dead half-demons in the alleyway in the Shadow Zone.”

“So you saw them.”

“The jurats were feasting on them, kinda hard to miss.”

“They had it coming.”

“Did they, though?” While I was never one to back down from a fight, I did have morals. I didn’t go around killing people, even if they attacked me. The gods knew there’d been plenty of times when Tessa and I had been growing up that we’d been targeted by bullies at our school. Funny how the poor kids without parents, who were moved from home to home, were such an alluring target.

He just shrugged. “We can agree to disagree.”

“Did the job you went to after you left the Underbelly have anything to do with those half-demons?” Of course, he didn’t reply, so I continued. “You were asking them questions when they had you pinned to the wall. Something about a girl named”—I frowned, trying to recall—“Varga, was it? Oh, yeah. Katarina Varga.”

He crossed his arms. “Again. You have an adequate memory.”

“If that was an insult, I’m not offended.” I studied him, his expression unreadable and stoic. “I’m right, aren’t I? So what did you do? Go to that guy’s warehouse and rescue her?”

“I don’t talk about other jobs.”

I grinned. “I am right.”

Flames didn’t fill his eyes, but his gaze was weighted, and I once again got the feeling that his attention was focused entirely on me. It made me want to squirm, so I hastily looked away. “Do you want to see where Tessa was abducted?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Isn’t that why we’re here?”

I led him through the shop and didn’t bother turning any lights on. The streetlights from the lane outside danced through the windows, dipping the shop into pockets of shadows. I knew the shop like the back of my hand. I could have walked through it blindfolded. And considering the Fire Wolf prowled silently behind me, never once bumping into anything, I couldn’t help but wonder if the fire in his eyes also allowed him to see in the dark.

“Are you ever going to tell me what you are?” I pushed through the door to the back storeroom and flipped the light switch on. Back here, no streetlights or moonlight penetrated the solid walls, and even if he could see in the dark, I couldn’t. And I needed to show him where Tessa had been taken.

When the Fire Wolf didn’t answer, I turned around to see his carefully blank expression. He was assessing the area and ignoring me.

Right. The man is here to do business, Tala, not answer your curious questions.

Sobering the snarky side of me the Fire Wolf seemed to bring out, I waved toward the large doors. “She was taken in the back alleyway, at the loading dock.”

He stalked forward, his footsteps silent. When he reached the doors, he flung them open and hopped the three feet to the ground. He strode right to where Tessa’s sandal had lain.

“He took her here.”

My eyes widened and I joined him in the narrow street. “Yes. How did you know? Do you have psychic power—” I was about to add the word too, but then stopped myself.

He crouched down, ignoring me again—surprise, surprise—then lay his palm flat on the pavement. He closed his eyes, and once again, I wondered if he was picking up on magical footprints.

A second later, his eyes flashed open. “Tell me more about your sister.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I tried not to think about how long she’d been gone. “She’s my identical twin, so she looks just like me—same height, same light tan, same blond hair, and dark-blue eyes—but our personalities and magic are very different. She’s softer and loves attention, and she’s the star of our shop. Supernaturals come from all over the region to buy her spells and potions. She’s created magic most have never seen before.”

He angled his chin toward me. Moonlight poured into the alleyway, highlighting his rugged features and broad shoulders.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The dark angel was assessing me again.

“Your sister’s responsible for creating the products you sell? All of them?” When I nodded, he added, “And what do you contribute to the shop?”

“I do all of the ordering and inventory, and keep the books—basically, the managing. Tessa’s the face and personality of our store. I’m the bones and mechanics that run it behind the scenes.”

He continued to stare at me for so long I felt the urge to fidget. Finally, he broke eye contact and looked to where her sandal had lain.

“Do you know why anyone would want to take her?”

“No. She doesn’t have any enemies or crazy stalkers. At least, not that I know of, and I’m pretty sure she would have told me if she did.”

“Has there been a ransom note? Any strange calls to your cell?”

“No. None.” A moment of silence passed, and my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. “What do you sense? Can you feel anything?” His hand was still on the ground.

“Darkness, and something bigger. This wasn’t a simple spur of the moment abduction. It was planned.”

I bit my lip to stop my gasp. Planned? Someone had planned this?

I dragged my gaze back to his hand. It was still pressed to the pavement. So he felt Tessa’s abduction whereas I had seen it. He definitely had some form of psychic power. “Do you have any idea who took her?”

He stood with a grim expression. “Wire the other five thousand to my account within twenty-four hours. I’ll let you know when I find her, then I’ll expect the final ten.”

My eyes bugged out as he pulled the yellow crystal from his pocket. So not only was he staying tight-lipped about whatever he knew, but he was also leaving.

He began that circular motion in the air again. As before, no spell or incantation came from his lips. Magic grew in the air around him. Gods, he was powerful.

“I’m coming with you,” I said in a rush just as his portal formed.

His amber eyes met mine, the energy around him growing. “I work alone.”

“Not on this job, you don’t. Tessa’s my twin. We share a special connection. I’ll be able to feel her if we get close. I can help you locate her.” And help you fight.

He cocked his head. “You have a connection?”

I nodded. “It’s because we’re witches and twins. You’ve probably heard that some witch twins share a bond.”

“Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”

I shrugged. “Um . . . because you didn’t ask?”

His portal stayed whirling behind him, ready for him to step through it. I expected him to ignore me and disappear, but then he asked, “How close do you have to be to feel her?”

“Within fifty miles.”

His eyebrows rose. “That’s quite a distance.”

“Exactly. I’ll know if we’re heading in the right direction. I can keep us on track. Please. Let me come.”

“You could get killed.”

Killed? Ah, so he thought I was a weakling. I bit my lip, wondering if showing him exactly how un-weak I was would help. Instead, I jutted my chin up. “I won’t get killed, and if I do, it’s on me. Not you.”

He continued assessing me, his gaze unwavering. “So you’ll tell me if we’re near Tessa, and you fully understand that you could be injured or killed if things get hot.”

“I do.”

“Fine. You can follow, but if you die, I still expect payment. Can you guarantee that?”

Well, that’s pretty blunt. But it was a good reminder that this was merely a job to the hunter, and business was business. I could respect that. “I can set it up with my bank to deliver the money regardless.”

“Good. ’Cause if you don’t, I’ll come back here, and I’ll take payment my way.”

In other words, he would rob us dry. “Fine. That’s fair.”

His jaw clenched, a muscle bulging in the corner. “Also, if your actions compromise this job, or if you alert anyone to where I am or what I’m doing, I will shove you through my portal to a deserted snowy mountaintop and I’m keeping the money.”