The Siren (7 page)

I pulled his hand away from her. “That’s enough of the pleasantries. We’ve got a plane to catch.”

I pushed my way past them, and Warren did a double-step to catch up with me. “Did I just detect a hint of jealousy, Ms. Jordan?” He was smiling wildly down at me.

“No,” I answered.
 

He laughed and hooked his arm around my waist. “I think you were a tiny bit possessive for a moment.”

I bumped him with my hip. “Don’t let it go to your head, Mr. Parish.”

He kissed my cheek as we walked. “I like it when you get territorial.”

“Do you want me to pee on your leg or something?” I asked.

He laughed. “Nah. Dirty looks and snide remarks are enough.”

When we landed in San Antonio and walked outside to get our rental car, the heat almost reduced me to a puddle on the sidewalk. It had been forty-two degrees when we left Asheville, and even before noon in Texas, it was already pushing ninety. All four of us were severely overdressed. On the curb outside the airport, I stripped off my coat. Unfortunately, I was still wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

Shannon, in her black pants and suit jacket, looked like she was seriously rethinking her decision to tag along on our trip. “We have got to find some air conditioning.” She panted as she fanned herself with what appeared to be an unused barf bag from the plane.

Nathan slipped on his sunglasses. “Let’s get the car and go to the hotel. We’ll figure out the rest of the day after that.”

A bead of sweat drizzled down my spine. “I’m going to need a shower.”
 

Warren was looking at the rental car signs. “Which way are we headed, Nate?”

“Budget,” Nathan answered, pointing to the left.

I looked up at Warren. “We’re sharing a rental car?”

He nodded as we followed Nathan and Shannon. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

Cautiously, I lowered my voice and slowed my pace to put some distance between us and them. “I promise I’m not trying to be whiney or difficult, but have you considered how we are going to go searching for Rachel Smith with Shannon tagging along?” I asked. “You don’t think Nathan told her about us, do you?”

He shook his head. “I doubt it. Maybe he plans on letting her play at the spa all day while we are combing the city. She seems like a spa kind of girl.”

I giggled.
 

He laughed, looking down at me. “I’m so glad you’re not high maintenance. I would honestly prefer your hot mess over that nonsense any day.”
 

“What? You don’t want to see me in four inch heels?” I asked, smiling.

He flashed me a devilish grin and lowered his face toward mine. “I don’t know. Would you be wearing anything else?”
 

I poked him in the ribs. He wrapped his hand around mine as we walked. In front of us, Shannon was throwing her hips from side to side as she navigated the sidewalk. I sighed. “This is going to be an interesting trip.”

He laughed. “Just think of it as a personal growth opportunity for you.”
 

I groaned.

* * *

The Hyatt Regency on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio was undoubtedly the nicest hotel I had ever been in. The grand lobby stretched high above our heads with balconies lining the walls that looked over the sparkling reflecting pool in front of us. Even Shannon seemed impressed as we walked to the check-in desk.
 

While Warren got our keys, I walked over to the small bridge that stretched across the water and looked out of the massive window that framed the view of the San Antonio River Walk. A gondola full of tourists was floating by, and there were bistro tables covered with colorful umbrellas that stretched along the water’s edge. The tables were full of smiling patrons nibbling pretentious looking edibles.

A moment later, Warren was at my side. “You like it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I laughed and leaned against the railing. “I feel like total white trash right now. Why did you let me show up at this nice hotel looking like a hobo?”

His jaw dropped. “Like you would have listened to me!”

I couldn’t really argue.

Nodding toward the floors above, he offered me his arm. “You ready to go upstairs?”

I hooked my arm around his elbow. “Heck yeah, I am!”

We rode the glass elevator to the seventh floor, and I followed him down the hallway to our room. He opened the door to a spacious suite with a fluffy, white, king-sized bed centered between a leather couch and a massive window that overlooked the city. The flat-panel television hanging on the wall dwarfed the one I had at home. I stepped inside and inhaled the scent of green apples and Clorox.

“This is ridiculous.” I laughed and dropped my bag on the bed. I walked to the window and pulled the curtains the rest of the way open, displaying the peaceful San Antonio River and restaurants below.
 

He walked up behind me and encircled me with his arms. “Did I do well?”
 

“You did crazy well. This is gorgeous.” I was buzzing from his energy and from excitement. “I may not want to ever go home.”

He kissed the side of my neck and let me go. “I’m going to change into something lighter. Are you going to take a shower?”

“Yeah.” I walked to the bed and unzipped my suitcase. “What’s the plan for today?”

Warren pulled his shirt over his head, and I forgot what I was doing. It was like his torso had been sculpted out of cream cheese. A large talon shaped tattoo stretched over the right half of his body, both front and back, with hooked claws like that of an eagle snatching him away from above. He had the word
Azrael
, meaning the Angel of Death, inked in script just below where his right side holster normally rested on his hip.
 

I bit my lower lip.

“I told Nate we would meet them for lunch in an hour.” He stopped rifling through his bag when he noticed me staring at him. “What?”

I felt my cheeks flush red. “You’re very distracting.”

He smiled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets distracted in this relationship.”

I walked over and pushed his suitcase back and sat down in front of where he stood. I ran my fingers across the tattoo peeking out from the waistband of his jeans. “Why Azrael?” I asked. “You’ve never told me.”

His chest expanded with a deep breath. “When I was in Iraq about five years ago, we had to clear a section of Baghdad around an Islamic mosque. We entered into this building where, I guess, some Shiite leaders were meeting. This one guy with a long white beard looked at me and freaked out. I mean, we were all dressed in our cammies, carrying M-4s and everyone was pretty nervous, but this guy was looking just at me. I thought he might jump out the window.”

“Really?” I asked.

He nodded. “He had these crazy eyes, and he pointed at me and said the word
Azrael
. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but I asked our translator. He said it’s the name some Islamics use to refer to the angel of death or the angel of retribution.”
 

“So you had it tattooed on your hip?” I asked.

He shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”
 

“Do you think that guy knew who you were—or
what
you were?” I traced my finger over the word again.

He sighed and shook his head. “If not, it’s one hell of a coincidence.”

The angel pin little Kayleigh had given to me was attached to the front of the pocket on my jeans. I ran my finger across it. “I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.” I looked up at him. “Do you think whatever we are could be linked to angels?”

He sat down next to me and laughed. “No.” He turned his palms up. “Then again, who knows? I certainly haven’t come up with any other reasonable explanations.”

“Do you believe in angels? Or God for that matter?” I asked.

He blew out a deep sigh. “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the notion of some loving, all-powerful being with the hell I’ve seen over the years. However, I do believe there is more out there than just what everyone thinks. You and I are proof of that.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I agree.”

He pushed himself up and leaned on his arms over me. His perfect face was inches from mine. “I do know one thing for sure.”
 

I grinned. “What’s that?”

He shook his head. “You are no angel before nine in the morning.” He laughed and kissed the tip of my nose.

* * *

Nathan and Shannon were waiting at a table at Paesano’s restaurant on the River Walk, just down from our hotel, when Warren and I caught up with them. Warren, Nathan, and I were dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Shannon had changed into a green sundress and a hat that was nearly as big as the umbrella over our table.
 

I adjusted my sunglasses and looked up at Warren as we walked toward them. “I’ll play nice, but there are no guarantees I won’t push her into the river.”

He laughed and tucked his fingers into my back pocket.
 

Warren pulled out my chair, and I sat down between him and Shannon at the square table. Nathan was across from me, sipping on a beer, wearing aviator sunglasses underneath his Shitstarter ball cap.
 

“What are you drinking?” I asked him.

“Peroni.” He held the glass toward me. “Wanna try it?”

I shook my head. “I’ve had it before. I think I’ll order one too.” I picked up a menu. “This place is delicious. I ate here when I came for a conference last year.”

Shannon was fanning herself with the wine list. “I don’t know why anyone would come here. It’s too hot,” she griped. “We should have gotten a table indoors where there’s air conditioning.”

I blinked my eyes in question at Nathan, wondering what he was thinking in bringing her along. He just grinned at me.
 

Shitstarter is right,
I thought.

After we’d ordered and our beers were delivered, Warren split a glance between me and Nathan. “So, what’s our game plan while we’re here?”

Nathan sat up in his chair. “Well, we can’t do a whole lot of work until Monday, but I was able to get my hands on some records for caseworkers in the city, females with the last name of Smith.”

I tipped my beer up to my lips. “What if she’s not a caseworker now? Or what if she’s not going by Smith anymore?”
 

“Who?” Shannon asked.

“The woman we are here looking for.” I turned my attention back to Nathan. “What if her name never was Rachel Smith?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve got to start somewhere. I also got the information for the convenience store where she was last seen. That should help narrow the list down a bit.”

“How far is it from here?” Warren asked.

“Just a few miles east,” Nathan said, nodding in the direction away from where the sun was sinking lower in the sky. “We can cruise over that way this afternoon and look around if you want.”

I shook my head. “Let’s have some downtime for the weekend. We can work on Monday.”

Shannon laughed. “Sloan and I actually agree on something.”

I leaned my elbows on the table and glared at Nathan. “What’s Shannon going to do while we’re working?”

“I’ll come along, of course,” she answered.

I cut my eyes across the table. “Nathan?”

“I can answer for myself, thank you very much,” Shannon snipped.

I blinked at Nathan again.

He put his hand on hers. “It might be best if you stay at the hotel while we’re gone. The case we’re working on is classified.”

She laughed and turned her nose up in my direction. “Classified? I don’t think Sloan has any kind of secret clearance.”

He pulled down his sunglasses enough to make direct eye-contact with her. “Shannon, we talked about this. I told you if you wanted to come, you were going to have to be on your own some.” He leaned toward her. “What we’re doing might be dangerous.”

“Then why does she get to go?” Shannon was pointing her finger at me, and for a moment I considered reaching out and breaking it off.

I held my hands up and pushed away from the table. “OK. We need to get a few things straight here.” I looked her square in the face. “We’re not just here for some kind of double-date vacation. Nathan is helping Warren and me with finding someone we need to talk to. This is business. So don’t think you and I are going to be part of some kind of wives’ club that gets our nails done while the boys go to work.”

Shannon’s mouth fell open. I was becoming accustomed to that expression from her.
 

Nathan reached over and took her hand. “I’m sorry, but I told you this when you asked me to come along. Sloan’s right. You’ve got to sit this one out.”

She pushed her chair back and stood, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder. “Well, maybe I should sit lunch out too then!”

“Don’t leave.” Nathan sat back hard in his seat and folded his arms over his head in frustration.

She turned on her stiletto and stalked down the sidewalk, her heels click-clacking as she marched. He started to get up, but I held out my hand to stop him. “No, let me,” I insisted.

Warren caught my arm. “You play nice.”

I rolled my eyes and yanked my arm free from his grip. I jogged to catch up with her. “Shannon, wait!”

She spun around with her finger in my face. “You know, everything was perfect before you showed up!”

I reared my head in surprise. “Me?”

“Yes, you! It’s like I haven’t even had a boyfriend since he met you!” She stamped her foot on the brick sidewalk.
 

The river behind her looked terribly tempting.
Just one little shove…

I took a deep breath, to calm my temper. “Shannon, listen. I don’t know what’s going on with you and Nathan, but it’s not about me.”

“Don’t lie to me, Sloan! You may have your hunk of a boyfriend over there, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing between you and Nathan.” Her voice cracked with emotion.

My jaw was clenched so tight I thought my teeth might break. “Did you come here to babysit us?”

She didn’t respond.

I shook my head. “Look, I honestly don’t know what Nathan sees in you, but you are going to lose him if you keep acting like a jealous, self-centered wench. I’m sorry if your relationship is on the rocks, but I can promise you if it is, you’re probably the problem. Maybe you should stop worrying so much about me and start taking a little better care of him. God knows, you don’t deserve him.”