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in their
surroundings, first by closing his eyes and smelling. Gargoyle senses were
always heightened no matter what form they were in. Next he scanned the area,
looking for anything the CSU team may have missed.
    He and Mason
split up to cover more ground. After several minutes he called for his young
cousin, “Mason, come check this out.” Rafe was squatting by a set of tire
tracks hidden behind a row of saplings. “What do you see?”
    Mason pointed at
the tracks. “Tread, large vehicle probably a van or an SUV. Makes sense the
killer would have used a van so he could haul more people. An SUV is large but
the seats would have to be removed. Tread appears to be from a late model Ford
panel truck with the wheels out of alignment on the right side.”
    Grinning, Rafe
pulled out his cell phone and snapped several pictures, sending them to Julian.
The Society owned a sophisticated lab that allowed them to do their own
investigative work. Hopefully Jules could get the make of the tread and thus a
clue to who the killer was.
    When Rafe was
satisfied there was nothing else to see, they once again unfurled their wings
and took to the skies.

    Nikolas had
looked through over half of the books in the family library; a massive room
that just happened to be in his home. So far there was nothing written about
human bonding. One of his specialties was speed reading. He would much rather
be sitting with an old book in front of a fireplace than outside patrolling.
This assignment was just what he relished.
    If it were true,
if the Goyles could bond and mate with a human, their heritage could be
preserved, and another generation of protectors could be produced. This
possibility excited him, so after a quick bathroom break he dove back into the
rest of the journals. He had just pulled a book down from the shelf when he heard
the door open. Geoffrey, his older brother by about fifty years, walked in.
    “I thought you
were helping Gregor find someone to go undercover.” He placed the book on the
table and opened it.
    “I did. One of
my students, Tamian St. Claire. His skill in Muay Thai is the best I’ve ever
seen. I’m just waiting for the day he kicks my ass,” Frey said with a laugh.
“He’s still a little bit of a wild card. There is just something about him I
can’t quite shake, but he’s been studying with me on and off for three years
now, and I really like the guy. He has no family in the area and mostly sticks
to himself. He is always talking about making a change and stepping up to
better the world, that kind of thing.”
    Frey walked over
to the bookcase pointing to the book beside the space vacated by the journal
Nik was studying. “This one next?”
    Nik looked at
his brother and frowned. “You hate reading. And sitting still. And reading.”
    Frey grabbed the
book and sat down in an overstuffed chair and got comfortable. “Yes, but I hate
being alone more. If there is something to bonding with humans, I want to
know.” He settled in and began reading.
    Nik just
shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the book in front of him.
Being alone was just a way of life for most of their species. Nik often drove
out of town to find one night stands. While he hated the lack of connection
that came with that type of interaction, he craved the feel of a woman beneath
him, beside him, surrounding him. Seems he wasn’t the only one.

Chapter
8
     
    Rafe woke to his
personal phone ringing. He glanced at the clock: 4:17 in the fucking morning.
“This better be important.”
    “Hello to you
too, Brother. Catch you at a bad time?”
    “Sin, you do
realize there is a time difference?” Rafe sat up, swiping a hand through his
hair. If Sin was calling so early, there was a good reason. 
    “Of course I do,
but I wanted to give you a heads up. Since you didn’t bother answering your
phone before going to sleep or returning the message I left, I thought I
better check on you. What’s up?”
    Rafe’s thoughts
were