Note to self—the next time I think something is a bad idea, agree and change my course of action.

"Excuse me," I whispered, tearing my gaze away from the scar under his left eye.

And from his perfect lips and chiseled jaw and tousled midnight hair and... oh gods, I had to get out of here. His presence in the echo had nearly undone me, but it was nothing compared to the impact he was having on me in real life. It was like being around June when she turned her succubus magic to a ten.

"Yes, let her go, Cian, but girl, remember—stand by the door and await for further instruction," Fynn said.

I spun around seconds from yanking open the door and running and nodded at the Andarien. Cian watched me closely, no doubt confused about why I was doing my damndest to keep my bare skin from brushing against the surface of the door. It had been stupid to come here in an outfit that offered little protection against echoes. Luck and concentration were the only reasons I hadn't had one—that and the fact the crush of bodies the club kept me from touching too many objects, but I was certain everything in this room would contain an echo. And if it was anything like the one in the cottage, I would be out cold.

"What did you two do to her?" Cian demanded. Out of the three, how was he the murderer? A murderer didn't concern himself with chastising others for making someone fearful.

Kohl and Fynn growled in response, and I took the opportunity to slip outside and close the door, wishing I was a normal girl who could collapse against the wall while she pulled herself together. Muffled voices filtered through the crack of the door—apparently, I didn't close it entirely—and I considered my options.

The smartest thing to do would be to run and never come back here. But then what would I tell Laura? 'I found your mother's killer, but the only proof I have is he matches the guy in my visions. Not to mention, he's looking for something, so someone else is going to die.'

"Never let it be said I'm smart," I muttered, inching closer to the door and doing my best to block out the roar of noise from below.

"All I hear is that once again, you failed." That sounded like Kohl. The bite in his voice would stay with me forever.

"You two are welcome to leave your lair of sin and hunt the last Shard."

That was Cian. I squeezed my legs together and bit back a moan. How could that man have a voice like that? Smoke and chocolate and steel that pierced every nerve in my body. Maybe the Andarie were another type of sex demon? It would explain the little interaction in the room earlier, but I suspected June would know if they were her kin or not. Unless the rumors were true, and they didn't originate in this world.

Cian was still talking. "I'm not sure where the confusion came in. I am not and never have worked for you. I answer to the Synod and the Synod alone."

Ice tinkled in a glass. Shit, I hoped the bottle wasn't nearly empty because I had no intention of delivering anything else to them. I'd already been incredibly lucky that Cian seemed preoccupied with my safety; otherwise, he might have stared at my face longer and figured out I was the girl watching him in the echo. This silver mask hid very little.

Fynn hissed, "The Synod are a bunch of fools, and they have no place among our people. Not anymore."

"And what about when we return? Do you forget that is the entire purpose of collecting the Shards?" A sliver of temper rattled through Cian's words. And a threat. "Unless you don't want to return?"

"That's a dangerous accusation."

"One," Kohl said, "I will need more scotch for. Get the girl."

That was my cue. I took the stairs three at a time, hitting the floor with a jarring thud that brought tears to my eyes, but I was lost among the throng before the door to the private suite opened fully. I risked a glance over my shoulder and stumbled when I saw Cian in the doorway, his tall frame back-lit by the blue glow of the suite. A small smile twisted his lips when he found me absent, but within a single heartbeat, he'd swiveled his head in my direction. Every cell in my body was aware of his gaze.

"Bria," Marcus said, spying me as I made my way to the stairs leading to the exit. "Bria!"

"Sorry," I mouthed. "I have to go."

He winced and nodded, then pounded a fist on the bar. I rushed up the stairs, barely missed running into a vampire, and then shrieked when I tripped over a drunk woman, going down in a heap.

"Harder."

A set of generous breasts bounced beneath him. Her overly painted face contorted as she came. He flattened his palms on either side of her head, and pounded into her as she clenched around him, coming with a roar they could hear on the dance floor.

The echo flickered from scene to scene, nearly every moment capturing bodies tangled together or teeth inching into arteries—both bringing pleasure. Bile filled my mouth as I rolled to my hands, fighting off the echoes, but they remained like a static radio station until I was standing and not a single slip of flesh touched the floor.

"You alright there, gorgeous?" A man slurred. A pole propped him up, but his eyes were kind—maybe a little wounded—and he didn't touch me. There was something familiar about him, like I'd seen a picture of him recently.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Gods, if I never had to say that again, I would be happy. I was not fine. Every inch of me ached with need that began with Cian and was set aflame with the echoes. The only difference was what I saw in the echoes made me feel dirty. It was the use of my ability that made me want so badly, but even that was unusual. It usually took an experience like the one at the cottage to drive me to this frenzy.

I had to get out of here before it tempted me to join someone.

The bouncer arched a brow when I bolted past him, but he didn't say a word. No doubt humans fleeing this place like the hounds of hell were on their heels was a normal occurrence, and I didn't stop running until I made it across the street. There, I dropped into a crouch, gripped the tops of my thighs and spread them, while I let the cold air whip across my face and my core until I no longer felt like I was moments away from combusting.

Down the street, a car door slammed, but I didn't open my eyes until I heard footsteps approach from that direction.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Jac," I spit out, bringing my thighs and rising to my full height. He bristled as he took in my attire.

"You look like a prostitute."

He tore off his suit jacket and moved to drop it over my shoulders, but I jumped out of his reach. Clothing rarely gave me issues with echoes—something about the way it constantly touched one person seemed to make it difficult for it to absorb energy from anything else, and since I knew Jac's energy well enough, I could block it easily. But right now, I was too shaken up to hold that kind of concentration, and we would have a repeat of earlier if I so much as sniffed him right now.

"Dress code."

"You were inside Indulgence?"

"Oh, are you put out that I gained access somewhere you didn't? I bet we could get you a pretty outfit, and they would let you in." Only for him to be devoured within minutes of stepping inside... though, what was he doing here? Surely, he wasn't following a lead on Cian. Had I missed some clue? "Why are you here?"

Jac scrubbed a hand through his tight curls, eying me warily. "Same reason you are, no doubt. Harold Kincaid?"

Harold... That was it. Harold Kincaid had been the kind, older man who'd asked me if I was okay before I left. His picture had been in the documents Laura emailed me, and holy shit, things just got more complicated. Harold might not be the killer, but what were the chances he frequented the same nightclub as Molly's murderer? Were the Kincaids human? Cian had referred to Molly as human, but that didn't mean Laura and Harold were.

"Fuck," I hissed, slapping my hand on my forehead. Was it a coincidence Laura reached out to me to solve the murder, or were they somehow involved and were luring me into a trap?

"Do you need to sit down?" Jac asked, rushing to my side and sliding an arm around my waist, all the ire gone from his face and tone. "I can call an ambulance."

"What, no. Why?"

"You're sick, Bria."

I twisted in his hold, my breasts flattening against his chest as I tipped my head back to look into his eyes. The gold flecks were bright against the swirls of forest green and brown, and it wasn't my imagination that they flared brighter as his grip on me tightened.

"I am?"

"The tumor," he said, lowering his head and speaking against my lips, his breath a warm caress that had me rolling my hips forward in response. Those skillful hands shifted lower, dragging the pathetic excuse for a skirt up so his erection hit exactly where I needed it to.

"Uh, huh." I didn't know what he was talking about, but I knew what his body was saying as I worked myself against him. He didn't stop me, just dug his fingers in my ass to give me leverage as I broke apart with a muffled shout against his chest.

"Better?" He asked hoarsely when I stepped away from him and tugged my skirt down. The streetlight was bright enough to reveal the damp stain on his pants, marking the raised material, and I itched to unzip his pants to help him out. There had to be an alley around here somewhere.

"I'll be better when you're inside of me," I said, taking his hand and dragging him toward the shadows.

Jac dug his heels in. "Is this a side effect of the tumor? Is that what all that was about? You know, how you used to jump me during cases?"

"What fucking tumor are you talking about?" I demanded.

He jerked his hand away and stared at me with contempt. "Jesus, Bria. Earlier today you told me you had a brain tumor."

"Shit, I did, didn't I? It was a joke."

"A joke? What kind of sick person makes a joke about that? It's been eating at me for hours. It's been all I can think about, and meanwhile, you're laughing your head off while you're inside a sex club." He stepped into my personal space and grabbed the back of my neck. "Bet you lied earlier when you said you'd been with no one else since me. How many did you fuck tonight? Did you joke about it with the others? Tell them what an idiot I was while they screwed you from behind the same way I did against the cottage earlier?"

"Jac, come on. You know me better than that," I insisted. I knew what this looked like. Him finding me here, but despite the urges I never could control around him, I wasn't some sex depraved lunatic—or I hadn't been. Tonight was giving me some serious doubts.

"Do I really?"

"Yes, I never lied about what was between us." I hated how desperate I sounded. Jac Grisham was an asshole, and I hated him. It shouldn't matter what he thought about me, but it did. "Besides the guy who was my first in high school, there has never been another man in my life or inside of me. Only you."

A flicker of lace moving in the breeze blowing in from the open balcony—the scent of jasmine and sea fighting against the perfume of lust permeating the room. Moonlight pooling across satin sheets and his back as he moved over me. A blue so brilliant it existed nowhere else but in his eyes. And—

"Bria?"

Jac let go of me, concern warring with his fury as he watched me shake my head to clear the... the what? It wasn't an echo. I hadn't touched anything.

"Jac, please—" I finally managed.

"No, I'm done. Don't let me catch you near here again. I don't know how you got this lead, but you're done. If... if I run into you again while I'm investigating this murder, I'll have you arrested for obstruction. I swear to fucking god, I will."

"And there he is. I worried I'd read you all wrong, but you're the same lying, manipulative asshole as always," I screamed at him as he stormed away to his car.

He didn't crank the engine, and I knew he was waiting for me to leave so he could continue his stake out. Just as I knew, he would call someone to arrest me if I stayed.

"Fuck you," I cried, flipping him off as I spun on my heel to walk to the bus station. It would suck in these heels, but the alternative was to take my shoes off and risk the echoes in the concrete. "No, thank you—"

I froze and squinted into the darkness. There, in the alley beside Indulgence, I swore something had been there. Watching me with unnatural blue eyes, but it was gone now. If it had ever even been there. My mind was so messed up from the lust and the echoes and now the pain of Jac's betrayal.

Right now, I needed sleep. Tomorrow, I was paying a visit to Laura Kincaid.