“Yes, I need to know more about this drug.”

  “What drug?”

  “Don’t play ignorant, Malek. It’s not your style.”

  “True. I assume the one the lovely Faye has been imbibing with.”

  “Yes, that one.” She intentionally scraped her thumb nail against the skin on his arm just under the edge of his polo shirt. “I need more information about it, and my normal sources are proving fruitless.”

  “What are you normal sources?”

  Molly stopped and turned, pressing her body into his side. “That’s for me to know.”

  “And me to find out?”

  “You would think, wouldn’t you? But no. I think I’ll keep my sources to myself.”

  Malek’s eye twitched, and she knew she’d irked him. Two hundred years ago, he would have come back at her roiling mad if she’d kept secrets from him, but two hundred years was a very long time, and just as she thought, he needed or wanted something from her as much as she wanted information from him. Malek getting angry would only hinder that progress for both of them.

  “Would you come with me?”

  “Come with you?”

  “Yes.” She grinned. “I would like the backup, and my normal crew is already busy tonight with other things. Would you like to get out of the house for a bit?”

  “What do I get out of it?” He narrowed his gaze at her.

  She chuckled and started down the steps again, coming to the second floor of the house where most of the bedrooms were for her main staff. “Oh, I don’t know, time with your matched. Time out of this house and in the city.”

  She was outwardly flirting with him. It wasn’t taking as much effort as she thought it would either. It make have been two centuries since she’d seen him face to face, but that spark was still there. As much as she may have wanted to deny it, she couldn’t. They were matched, and that meant something.

  “I’ll go with you under one condition.”

  Molly knew what he was going to say before he even formulated the thought fully. Shaking her head, she eyed him carefully as they walked down the hall. “No, Malek.”

  “Yes.”

  “No. I broke away from the fold once. I won’t go back.”

  “It’s not even a functioning fold any longer.”

  That startled her. Every tidbit of information she’d garnered over the years had told her the opposite. They were more powerful and more in control of the world than they had ever been. With witches becoming a dying race, at least ones as pure as they were, that had meant there was free reign on open territories.

  “Oh?” she asked, trying to get him to talk more. Perhaps he didn’t know as much as she thought he did.

  “We’re fractured. I told you this would happen if you left, and you did it anyway.”

  “With your blessing, I’ll have you remember that.”

  He paled. “It was for your happiness, nothing more. I couldn’t keep you there against your will.”

  “And I thank you for that.” They got to her bedroom, and she faced him, cupping his cheek. “Truly, I do.”

  Nodding, Malek bent his head so he was looking at the floor. “We need you.”

  “Malek, I don’t think they need me.”

  “I need you.” His confession hung in the air, building the tension already between them.

  Once more, Molly reached up and cupped his cheek, drawing her finger across his skin just under his eye. “You don’t need me.”

  “I do.”

  “Malek—”

  “Please listen.”

  “All right, I’m listening.” She stiffened her shoulders as a reflex, unable to control the slight move. “Share.”

  He rubbed his lips together and looked nervous. Not for the first time in her life did she wish she had Joel’s ability to read people and feel their emotions. It would certainly come in handy in moments like this.

  “The fold isn’t right without you. We’re weak. We’re fractured, but more than that, I’m weak without you. You know what we could be together. We could be powerful.”

  “Reina and Corbin are powerful.”

  “Yes, but even they are aging, and it has been centuries since they’ve had a child.”

  Molly’s lips parted and asked a question she already knew the answer to, but she didn’t want him to know how kept she was on the fold. “How long has it been since a child has been born?”

  Malek flushed. “Two centuries.”

  Letting out a snort, Molly clenched her jaw. “You will not blame this on me.”

  “It was our turn.”

  “I won’t—”

  “Just listen.” Malek pleaded, his eyes boring straight into hers. “Because I need you, more than the fold does. You have always balanced me, you know that.”

  She wisely kept her mouth shut.

  “I need that balance. Life has been long without it. I’ve kept tabs on you throughout the years, treasured the few times you have reached out to me, but I need more than that. I want more.”

  Molly wanted to tell him she didn’t, wanted to staunchly stand firm in her decision all those years ago, but she couldn’t. She needed him to open up to her. This was about more than just the fold. It had to be. No one had contacted her like this in nearly two centuries, not even when Pearl—she stopped that thought.

  “Is there something wrong that the fold should feel the need to call me back after so long?”

  He shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”

  “No war? No disease, no curse?”

  “No.”

  “Then what is so urgent, Malek. Tell me, because I don’t understand.”

  “I need you.”

  “You need no one.”

  “Maybe it’s just that I want you. Isn’t that enough?”

  There was an edge to his tone Molly couldn’t miss. She’d heard it there before. It wasn’t just what the fold was made for, it was that she disagreed wholeheartedly with its purpose. “I will think about it. But right now, I have more pressing problems to deal with, especially if you say there is nothing wrong. Are you coming with me or not?”

  He nodded his answer.

  Molly turned around, leaning against her door with her hands over the knob as she faced him. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She was halfway through undressing when the door to her room opened. Surprised, Molly turned to find Malek standing there with his hand on the knob. They both knew he was pushing his boundaries, but she needed information as much as he did, and she had agreed she would do this. Sending a flirtatious smile over her shoulder, Molly stripped the rest of her dress off before disappearing into her closet.

  Coming back out, she made a show of pulling her leather pants on and a clean black shirt over her head. She flipped her hair up into a bun at the base of her neck, all the while staring him down. As soon as she was finished tying up her boots, she grabbed her jacket and moved to him.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered, making her voice husky on purpose this time.

  Malek pressed a hand to the small of her back as they left her room. Before she knew it, they were parking her Tesla at the corner nearby the club where she’d found Faye. What she really needed were Faye’s contacts, but since Faye was being less than forthcoming with information, she’d have to rely on what she knew of Faye’s contacts—which was probably far more than Faye dared to admit.

  Molly walked confidently down the sidewalk toward the pier where she knew the man with the red head tended to hang out and sell. Even if he wasn’t selling the drug, he would at least know if there was a new drug on the streets, maybe. He was Faye’s dealer, and as far as Molly had ascertained, he was human and she couldn’t figure out if he knew he was selling to Tainted or not.

  Malek stayed close to her as they moved. It wasn’t long before they came to a stop. Molly knelt down to the man who was far grungier than the last time she’d seen him. His head was tilted down, his life was in two rucksacks next to him. His shoes had no tread and his toes peeped out of one. His red cap lifted, and his eyes widened as he stared at her.

  “I want some information.”

  “I got nothing for you.”

  Molly smirked. “I’m not the police. I won’t arrest you. You’re a dealer, I know that. You know my friend, she used to buy from you.”

  “I don’t know anything.” His teeth were mostly rotted from his mouth, and Molly had to hold her breath to squat close to him.

  Drawing in a deep breath, Molly tried to soften her tone and worked her magic into his mind. He would at least be easy to manipulate. “Do you know about a new drug?”

  He shook his head. Malek standing at her back made her more nervous than ever. Molly felt he was hiding something, but she couldn’t quite see what it was yet. Working even more into his mind, she breathed magic into him.

  “Have you lost customers lately?”

  The man in the red cap nodded. “A few. Not unusual.”

  There she had him now. “And do you know about a new drug?”

  He barely nodded.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know anything.”

  “Do you sell it?”

  “It’s not for sale.”

  A shiver ran up Molly’s spine. “What do you mean it’s not for sale?”

  “They give it away. They don’t charge, but I tried it, and it didn’t do anything.”

  Molly turned to glance at Malek, who shrugged at her as he looked nervously around. “Someone’s going to see us.”

  “Even if they do, you know how to deal with that.” She shot back at him. Focusing once more on the man in the red cap, Molly pressed a hand to his leg to get his attention. “Who is giving it away?”

  “Don’t know. I got it from one of my regulars.”

  “Who might that be?”

  “I don’t share that information.”

  Molly clenched her jaw and worked even more into his mind. She’d eased up on her magic when he’d started talking, but clearly he had quite a few more barriers than she had anticipated, not to mention, he wasn’t high like she had hoped. That would have helped her magic flow into him far more easily.

  “You said it didn’t do anything for you?”

  “Nothing.” He spat on the ground about a foot away from Molly’s boots. “Tasted like shit, too.”

  Malek leaned down and pressed a hand to her shoulder. “We shouldn’t linger.”

  “No one is coming,” she whispered at him. “Stop worrying.”

  A slight rain fell over them, dampening everything at the edge of the pier. Drops clung to Molly’s hair, and she knew it was going to get heavier as the hours wore on. She’d called on it, asked it to come.

  “Who was it that gave it to you?”

  “Ricky.”

  “Who is Ricky?”

  “She’s my ex.”

  Molly raised an eyebrow at that and twisted to see Malek. He was huddled under his jacket against the rain. “Where might I find Ricky?”

  “Haven’t seen her in a few weeks.”

  “Weeks?” Molly tightened her grasp on his leg, knowing the physical contact would help the connection. “Are you Ricky’s only dealer?”

  “Thought I was. Guess not.”

  “Where might she have gotten this drug?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “It’s too much,” Malek whispered. “He’ll start resisting soon.”

  “You’re not my trainer any longer. He can handle it.”

  “He can’t.”

  “Shut up, Malek.” The fire in her voice was strong, lightning crashing down in the city beyond them. Turning back to the man in the red cap, she pushed into his mind even more. “Where might Ricky have gone?”

  It wasn’t words that flashed through his mind so much as it was an image. Ricky in an apartment, raggedy with an old torn couch, one Molly recognized immediately. Pulling out of his mind, Molly stood up straight and turned into Malek’s stiff form.

  “Let’s go,” she ordered.

  “Go where?”

  “To an apartment.”

  They arrived at the high-rise shortly after. It was one she had been to years before when she’d first met Faye. It was any wonder. Faye wouldn’t have just let the apartment go without giving it to someone she knew, and she’d given it to the man in the red cap, who had given it to Ricky. The walk up the stairs was long, and she was glad she was in boots this time.

  She didn’t hesitate as she formed a fist and pounded on the door. Sending out her magic, she felt for Ricky’s presence inside the apartment, and sure enough, she was there, passed out on the old ratty couch.

  “How did you know this place?” Malek asked.

  “Long story,” Molly muttered and pounded her fist for a second time. “Ricky, open the door.”

  It took five minutes before Ricky woke and cracked the door open. Molly stared her down, blonde hair a mess, eyes red and bulging. She must be human if she took the drug and survived. Molly didn’t wait as she pushed her way inside.

  “Hey!” Ricky shouted.

  “Don’t try me,” Molly dared. “You have access to a drug. I want to know where you got it from.”

  “What drug?” Ricky’s voice slurred.

  Molly pushed her way into Ricky’s mind, knowing she was using her magic more than she normally would, but she was tired of waiting for answers, and the pressure of Malek right behind her made her use it. “The new one. The one you’ve never had before. The one you shared with your ex.”

  “Oh.” Ricky sneered. “That drug was shit. Did nothing.”

  “Good. Better than if it had worked. Now, where’d you get it?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “I’m tired of games tonight. Where did you get it?”

  Ricky sighed. She headed for the small kitchen that was about as clean as when Faye had lived there, dishes and rotting food everywhere, mold up the wall behind the sink. It was a hell hole, and probably insanely cheap in the slum part of town. Ricky came back with a small black business card.

  “Dunno. Gave me this, too.”

  Molly took it and flipped it over. Nothing was on it. It was a pure black card on both sides, no letters, no address, no number. “There’s nothing here.”

  “I know.” Ricky crossed her arms. “Never found the asshole again and since the pill didn’t do shit, I wasn’t really looking.”

  “Can I take this?”

  “Have at.”

  “Thanks.” Molly turned around and walked out, Malek following on a few steps behind her. She at least had some information. Whoever was handing out the drug didn’t know human from Tainted, which at least narrowed what kind of Tainted it was, to an extent.

  “What are you thinking?” Malek’s voice shook her.

  Molly sent him a glare before she slid behind the wheel of her Tesla. “I’m thinking this drug is specifically targeting Tainted.”

  “Agreed. But that’s not uncommon.”

  “No, it’s not. But for it to reach human hands? That is uncommon.”

  Just before she was about to shove the car into gear and step on the gas, Malek leaned over the center console and gripped her cheek. He pulled her in hard for a kiss, taking her by surprise. Molly gasped, her lips parting, and he swiped his tongue against her. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she drew in a sharp breath. Malek’s other hand came down, skimming over her breast to her waist and then back up to her breast, massaging gingerly while he nipped at her lower lip, just like he used to do.

  Molly lost herself in the embrace. He’d always known how to kiss her, how to draw her attention away from whatever she was doing. That had been the curse of him. Giving as much as she got, Molly tangled their tongues together in a dance. Finally when she pulled back, she pressed their foreheads together, not daring to look him in the eye.

  “What was that for?” she whispered.

  “I want you to really think hard about it.”

  Molly hesitated before she answered, trying to make sure the lie would slide through undetected. “I will. I promise.”

  “That’s all I can ask for.”

  “We can’t let our race die.”

  “I said I’d think about it, Malek.”

  He pecked her lips again before resting in his own seat. “Then let’s find us a dealer.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ben was shoving the last of the needed equipment into the van when Molly pulled up in her Tesla, parking on the side of the house instead of the garage since it was full. Ben closed the van up and leaned against it as he waited for Molly to round the corner.

  “What’s going on?” her voice was firm and commanding.

  “Creature capture,” Ben answered, his voice full of excitement for the chase. Something felt different in him the last few days. There were tingles that ran throughout his entire body. At first, he’d tried to ignore them, but then they became so much part of his regular life that he couldn’t, and he found himself not wanting to.

  Molly didn’t ask him another question, but the look on her face told him he better get to explaining soon. She stared him down with that on perfectly manicured eyebrow raised and aimed in his direction. Ben choked back a cough into his hand before he stood up straight.

  “We got notification there’s a skoll on the loose.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. So Joel and I were going to go get it. Weren’t sure when you’d get back.”

  “Faye?” Molly asked.

  Ben blanched. He’d gone to find Faye, and found her he had. She was throwing a fit in her room, tossing everything around it as she looked for something. He had no idea what, but Joel had told him to ignore her and leave her be.

  Molly must have caught his look because she stepped in closer, a hand on his upper arm as she eyed him more carefully. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s upset,” Joel’s voice was strong as he came into the garage from the house the same time Malek joined them from the yard.