Bittersweet Magic (The Order #2)

He frowned. If Roz didn’t have the Key, who did? Roz was a Seeker, so maybe the Order should employ her. They could get this demon off her back, and she could work for them and find the Key—if she didn’t already have it. He could keep her close by while he worked out just what it was that intrigued him so much.

Oh, the taste of her blood, so sweet, was a big part of it. As was that delectably curvaceous body. He’d been an idiot last night; he should have taken her, bound her to him by whatever means possible. He would put that right; it was first on his to-do-list. Take Roz to bed and show her how great they could be together.

His good mood didn’t last for long.

“What do you mean she hasn’t been seen all day?” Piers didn’t even attempt to hide his temper. He’d been on his way up to the penthouse when Graham had waylaid him with the news that Roz was not in the building.

Graham appeared unfazed by his foul mood. He’d seen it before. “She left this morning. Hasn’t been seen since.”

“Get Carl and meet me in my office now.”

He paced the room while he waited for them to arrive. Where the hell had she gone this time? And why? He was betting she was still pissed off with him and this just a way of getting him back for leaving her last night.

But he didn’t know. The fact was—he knew very little about her. Except he wanted her in a way he hadn’t wanted anything or anyone in a long time.

Hell, last night, he’d backed away because it meant more to him than a quick shag. Now he wished he’d dragged her down to his underground lair, fucked her brains out, then chained her to the wall.

He ground his teeth together and smashed his fist into the desk.

“Ouch,” said a voice behind him.

Piers turned to see Carl lounging against the door, arms folded across his chest. He hadn’t even heard the werewolf come in. Graham hovered behind him as if reluctant to join them. “Where the hell is she?” Piers snarled. “You were supposed to go with her if she left the building.”

“Unfortunately, you never told her that. Look, you never said she was a prisoner. She was gone before I knew she was leaving. If you hadn’t wanted her to go out alone, you should have given more specific instructions.”

He was right. That didn’t make Piers feel any better. Maybe she was in danger. Who had she been fighting with last night? Could the demon have found her, taken her? Could he be punishing her even now for failing to get the damn Key?

After last night, he should maybe have considered the possibility that she would run. She hadn’t been particularly pleased with him, but still he thought she would stick around. And he still didn’t believe that she wouldn’t come back. She was just sulking.

“I followed her to The Crooked Hat,” Carl said, “but she gave me the slip. Where she went after that, I have no clue.”

“She went to see Jonas?”

The other man shrugged. “I presume so. He’d left by the time I realized she wasn’t coming out through the front door.”

“Is he in the building yet?”

“Yeah,” Graham replied. “He arrived just before dark. You want to see him?”

“Hell, yes. Get him in here.”

Graham looked relieved to have an excuse to get out of there. “I’ll go find him.”

Maybe Roz had just gone to see the warlock to find out about what she was, but Piers suspected there was more to it than that. What could she have possibly sought from Jonas? Shit, why hadn’t he stayed with her last night?

“There’s something else,” Carl said, interrupting his thoughts.

“And are you going to tell me what that is?”

“You asked me to investigate the woman who was working with the police. The one who helped them find the missing girl.”

“The one at Jack’s house?”

“Well, from the description, I’m pretty certain it was your friend, Rosamund.”

The information should have surprised him more than it did. “She’s a Seeker. She must have helped the police find the girl. She probably even gave them Jack’s description. Why the hell didn’t we put this together sooner?” It made perfect sense now. “Christ, she does have the Key.” She’d lied to him. Why did that hurt? Why had he believed her?

She must have found it that night at Jack’s place. But she hadn’t had it with her last night. He was sure of that. So, the question was, where was it and what did she mean to do with it? He was guessing she still planned to hand it over to her demon master and gain her freedom. And could he blame her?

Hell, yes.

She should have brought it to him. He would have kept her safe, found some way to pay off her debt to this demon. And if it was Asmodai—as he suspected—he was going to beat the shit out of him. Or get Tara to do it.

He hated that Roz hadn’t trusted him enough. From what she’d told him, he reckoned she’d gotten too used to taking care of herself. She didn’t know how to ask for help.

Or maybe that whole show last night had been her way of asking. Or her way of saying good-bye. He ran a hand through his long hair, pressing his skull, trying to make sense of it all. To work out what she was doing, where she could have gone.

“I take it you’ve tried her cell?”