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open Emma’s bedroom door. Our adopted hellhound lifted his gray head.
    “Just me, Brim,” I whispered under my breath.
    His eyes caught the light from the hallway and flashed red. He blinked in that quiet way of his and then resumed his position on the rug by my daughter’s bed. Those two shared an incredible bond. Brim and I would never so close that we could communicate without words, but ever since he’d given his life to protect me on Helios Tower and I brought him back from the brink of death … well, I loved that ugly beast and I got the feeling he might just love me too.
    I crept to Emma’s bed, brushed the hair from her temple, and kissed her softly, not worried about waking her; the kid slept like the dead.
    After closing her door, I went downstairs and headed toward the living room, where the blue glow of the TV told me Rex was either still watching or had fallen asleep.
    I went for the hall closet, pulled out my shoulder harness, and then walked into the living room. Rex was stretched out on the sofa, hands folded over his chest and out cold. I nudged his leg. Nothing. “Rex.”
    “Hmm?” His eyes didn’t open.
    “I have to go to work.” I picked up the remote and turned off the TV. “Not sure when I’ll be back.”
    “Hmm. Fine. I’ll take Em to school …”
    “Rex. There
is
no school. It’s Christmas break.
Rex
.”
    “Huh. Yeah. Break. Sure. Hey, turn off the TV, will ya.”
    I rolled my eyes, grabbed the afghan off the back of the sofa, and spread it over him.
    Me leaving in the middle of the night for a case wasnothing new to Emma and was no surprise to Rex. I knew they had shopping plans tomorrow and Rex would look after her. That was our deal—he had a place to stay, and in return he helped with the house and played stand-in parent to Em. As much as Rex bitched and complained, it was clear that the Revenant inside my ex’s body was trustworthy and he liked living here, being a part of our family.
    I went into the kitchen and left my daughter a note, pretty sure she’d be up in the morning before Rex, and then I left the house.
    It was only after I pulled out of the driveway and headed downtown that I allowed myself a moment to freak out about the suicides and what this all meant.
    Murder. I was sure of it.
    No one needed to be on the roof with them, not if they weren’t in control of their minds and bodies. The Sons of Dawn could’ve given the suicide order to the spirits controlling Casey and Mike. Death would set their spirits free, and would keep law enforcement from containing them and using an exorcist to find out what they knew. Like the names of the high-ranking cult members.
    My fingers tapped impatiently on the steering wheel. Shit, shit, shit.
    This was not like Grigori Tennin. He’d never get rid of a useable commodity. So, what the hell was going on?
    Could it be that he wasn’t the big man in chargeafter all? A faint tremor ran up my spine. Not a comforting thought.
    The Healey was one of my favorite old downtown buildings. Sixteen stories. Took up an entire city block, and had a grand Gothic presence I loved. Will and I used come here with Emma to see the massive Christmas tree they’d place in the rotunda for the holidays, eat at one of the restaurants, and do a little shopping in the ground-floor stores. Much of the building, however, was luxury condos. It was right near Five Points and Woodruff Park, and convenient to Station One.
    An ambulance and a few police cars blocked Forsyth Street. A cop directed traffic at the intersection. I drove up and flashed my badge. He waved me through. A TV crew was hurrying down the sidewalk. Pedestrian onlookers had gathered on both sides of the street beyond the tape.
    I parked behind a cruiser, ducked under the tape, and approached the uniformed officer already walking toward me. “ID?”
    I flashed my ITF badge.
Federal Division, Detective Madigan,
it said. What it
didn’t
say was:
covert division, license to use deadly