Nolan nodded. “Kylan left before we received the footage. We believe he arrived last night and is only staying one day in each location, considering the danger of us coming after him. My contact there works nearby and didn’t know he was present until he was on his way out.”
He spun around to his computer, pulling up a grainy black and white video on every screen. The still image while paused showed a slim man in a suit facing away from the camera, slicked back hair immaculately neat. There was another man too, also walking away but with his head turned to look back. He was bulkier, his expression blank and suit slightly ruffled. His hair was tied up into a messy bun on the top of his head, completely contrasting how put-together the other man was.
“Let me guess. We don’t see Kylan’s face in this video?” I asked.
Sighing, Nolan shook his head. “He always evades capture on camera. I wish I had some photos of him from my childhood, but my family wasn’t the affectionate, photo-sharing type.”
“I can imagine.”
There was a sudden pang in my chest as I thought of my family. Maisie, stuck in Zemterra somewhere and mated to a man she didn’t want. My parents, kept in the dark by the only daughter they had left. I’d treated them like shit. Once all this was over, I had to see them. Right now, I couldn’t let Kylan see I cared about them or they would be the next hostages he’d take.
“Who’s the other guy?”
“Grey Easton. He does Kylan’s dirty work when necessary and is his right hand man, bodyguard, anything Kylan needs him to be.”
I sensed a story there, but I wanted to watch the video first. “Play it.”
He hit a key and it began to play, no sound. The two men walked down the street, almost out of the camera’s range, and then Grey stopped beside a dark sedan and opened the door for Kylan. He slid in with catlike grace, and Grey rounded the car to get into the other side of the backseat. The driver pulled away from the curb, and that was it.
We had less than thirty seconds of silent video of them getting into a car.
It was fucking pathetic we were treating this like the holy grail of all accomplishments.
“That was anticlimactic,” Caspian murmured, watching the video loop.
No one else commented, but we all agreed. It played through a couple more times, all of us watching in silence, until Nolan sighed and stopped it. “What’s important is that we knew where he was. We can use this information.”
“How do you plan on using this information?” I asked. “You’ve said before his travel patterns are erratic. He could be in Zemterra right now.”
“He’s using his local properties and not heading across the country,” Nolan offered. “That could mean he’s too intrigued by you to leave the area.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Would he have left anything behind at the condo?” Emmett asked. “Maybe there’s something we can use to magically track him, or maybe he wrote something down about future plans.”
“I doubt it,” Nolan said.
“We should go regardless,” I declared. “Discreetly breaking into a condo where he isn’t currently located is a good dry run for our teamwork. If we can’t do it, it doesn’t bode well for any attempts to kill him.”
“While I partially agree with you, what happens if we get caught?” Altair asked. “He’ll know we’re after him.”
“I think it’s implied that we’re after him at this point,” Oswald said dryly. “I agree with Freya. A dry run is in order. If Shan doesn’t kill Altair in the field, I’ll be shocked.”
Shan sulked beside me, but didn’t argue. It was odd of him to not give his opinion, but I was going to accept it as the blessing it was.
“Nolan, what do you think?” I asked.
The vampire’s eyes widened, his surprise so potent I felt it second hand through his bond with Ozzy. Every time I asked his opinion he was shocked. He was a strong leader and he’d proven it. Far more fair than Shan had ever been, not that I thought my other mate was a poor leader. Just… irrational at times.
“It’s a risk,” he said slowly. “But everything is a risk. It might be better to simulate the mission with less stakes before throwing ourselves into the deep end. I think we should go.”
“Then we go. I’d say that’s a majority, and Altair’s vote doesn’t matter,” I said, grinning at Altair. “He’s your boss, so his opinion vetoes yours.”
The fallen angel wasn’t especially put out, rolling his eyes and eager to get in on the action. Clement and Amabella had stayed mostly quiet, but I imagined they would go with Nolan’s decision without complaint. My understanding was that they would stay here. Someone needed to protect Mabel and the injured assassins.
“In that case, we leave in an hour. Everyone get yourselves ready,” Nolan said. “Hopefully we don’t all die during the dry run.”
* * *
