Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel Becca Blake (fiction novels to read .txt) 📖

demons like we were told. And if that’s true, maybe Dad wasn’t, either.”

“Those are a lot of assumptions for one sentence. Where in his room did you find this?” Orion asked. “I’ve never seen it before, and he’s never mentioned it to me.”

“It was in that western novel he loves. He’s been trying to get me to read it forever. I think he left it for me to find.”

Orion set down his fork and leaned forward. “I know you want to make sense out of what happened to Owen. I do, too. But you have to remember that we’re in a dangerous business here, and this is an unfortunate reality for us. He’s not the first person either of us have lost, and he won’t be the last.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say that. It just sounds like you’re jumping to conclusions here without evidence.”

I flipped the note over to show Orion the signature. “It’s signed by someone named Maki. Do you know who that could be?”

“Jay Maki is a liar and an Oathbreaker. If that note is from him, you should toss it right in the trash.”

“So, you know him?”

“I’ve been hunting him a long time. He used to be a damn good hunter, but he lost his way. And if there’s anything he knows, it’s how to manipulate people,” Orion said. “Look, even if this didn’t involve someone as shady as Maki, it’s not a good idea to go digging into something like this without approval.”

“So, give me approval,” I said.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Even if this was all legitimate information that was worth looking into, you wouldn’t be the one assigned to do it. You’re too close to it—it’s too personal. And you’re going to be on mandatory leave for another month, anyway. You can’t go back out in the field this soon after a tragedy.”

“I can’t just ignore this. Those girls at the warehouse mentioned him during our last assignment, and today I found a note he left Dad. It can’t be a coincidence. We have to find out the truth. What about that emerald? Did you ever find out what it was? What were those girls trying to do with it? And who is Raxael?”

The questions poured out of me faster than I could stop them.

“Enough!” Orion stood up and pounded his fists on the table. “I would love to have someone else to blame for Owen’s death. Believe me. I really, really would. But digging into a cryptic note left by a lying Oathbreaker? That’s not how we need to grieve him.”

“But—”

“Riley, you need to drop this. I’m not saying this as your dad’s friend. I’m giving you an order as your commanding officer.”

Orion took his jacket from the back of his chair and stormed out of the house, leaving his meal unfinished on the table.

As soon as he was gone, I raced up the stairs, frustration fueling every stride. I’d never known Orion to act this way. He had to be just as curious as I was. If he wasn’t, it meant he knew something—something he wasn’t telling me.

“What are you doing?” Jacob stood in my doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

“I’m not giving up on this. You heard the way Orion dodged my questions. There’s something more going on.” I tossed clothes into a duffel bag, not paying much attention to what I was packing. I slung the bag over my shoulder and shoved past Jacob. “I can sit around here and mope and grieve, or I can go out there and do something about it.”

“So, what, you’re just going to leave?”

I let that question hang in the air as I picked up my new sword from next to the coat rack.

“You know I have to tell Orion about this, right?”

I paused my packing to look at him. “No, you don’t. You’re coming with me.”

“Like hell I’m defying my C.O. less than a week into the job. And I’m sure as hell not doing it for your sake, just because you want to hunt down some conspiracy theory on a whim.”

“We’re just going back to Omaha to find that other girl, Alexis. If we leave now, we can be back before anyone notices we’re gone.”

“Absolutely not.” Jacob stepped in front of me and leaned down, his face only inches away from mine. “If you go, Orion is the first call I make. My dad is the second, and it won’t be long before he tells the rest of the Council.”

“You said you want a spot on the Council, right?”

“Yes,” he said, suddenly uncertain. “Eventually. What’s your point?”

“It really sounds like there could be something big going on here. Don’t you think being the first to uncover something huge would win you some major points with your dad?”

“Orion was very clear when he said not to look into this. You aren’t worried about pissing him off?”

“If we do find something worthwhile, your dad is on the Council. All he has to do is give the order, and we’re clear.”

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “What’s your plan?”

“I’ll work on that while we drive.”

Chapter Eleven

I didn’t argue this time when Jacob insisted on taking his roomy SUV to Omaha. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but his Toyota was much more pleasant than my beat up Cavalier, and it was nice to sit in the passenger seat for a change. He wasn’t supposed to be driving, but he refused to allow me behind the wheel of his car.

When we arrived at the warehouse the next morning, we found that someone—likely a cleanup team from Headquarters—had already been there to take care of the body and the mess of blood that we left behind. Only the hole in the ceiling remained as a reminder of the fight that had taken place. The building looked so different now, with daylight pouring in through the opening above.

The extra light also made the job of searching for evidence about Alexis’s whereabouts easier.