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grinned, squeezed me to him one more time, then released me and walked to the storefront window of a camera shop. It was close to midnight and the traffic wasn’t too bad where we were on Amsterdam Avenue.
    “So Rodán wants to give you more responsibilities than you already have,” Olivia said when Tristan turned his attention toward a traffic signal that had just turned red.
    As I nodded, Olivia shook her head. “I think you’re the best they’ve got,” she said. “But what do you think you are, Superwoman? Like you don’t have enough to do with running a PI office and being a Tracker.”
    “I haven’t decided anything yet.” As we stood at a crosswalk, I frowned and met her gaze. “I just don’t know if I want to take on that kind of leadership role. There would be a lot that goes along with it, maybe more than I realize.”
    “No kidding,” Olivia said. “But if you want to do it, go for it. You’d be damn good.”
    I heard the faint vibration of Olivia’s cell phone and she drew it out of the phone holster at her hip. Her features subtly changed when she checked the caller ID screen.
    I cocked my head. The expression on her face had been one of genuine pleasure, in a way that I’d never seen from Olivia before.
    She held the phone to her ear. “Hey, Scott.”
    My eyebrows rose. Olivia’s tone had a sensual edge to it that surprised me.
    With my Elvin hearing I could have eavesdropped and listened to “Scott,” but I never intentionally violated a friend’s privacy.
    “Perfect,” she said after a moment. “Everything will be waiting.” She lowered her voice, but I still couldn’t help hearing her add, “Especially me.”
    Olivia tucked her cell phone back in its holster as she turned around to face me. “What?” The tone of her voice and her expression were now more like the Olivia I knew and loved.
    “Am I being left out of everything now? Since when did you start seeing someone named Scott?” I put my hands on my hips. “And since when did you start to look and sound sappy over a guy?”
    “I did not look or sound sappy.” Olivia narrowed her eyes at me. “It’s just a guy I met a couple of weeks ago at the dojo.” She was a black belt in karate and worked out regularly in Midtown.
    “You’ve been dof ’ve bating a guy for two weeks and haven’t mentioned him?” I gave an incredulous look. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
    “It’s nothing.” She shrugged. “We’ve mostly been working out together.”
    “I caught that word,” I folded my arms across my chest. “Mostly. So what else do you do?”
    “We’ve been out a couple of times,” Olivia said.
    “What’s he like?” I asked, letting my arms fall to my sides again. “Come on. Tell me.”
    “Fun. Outgoing.” She smirked. “Kinky.”
    I laughed. “Only two weeks and that’s a word you’d use to describe this guy you’ve been hiding away. Kinky?”
    Olivia shrugged again. “You asked and you said I’ve been holding out on you.”
    I opened my mouth to attempt to get her to elaborate. A tingling sensation ran down my spine.
    “Time to track,” I said. “I sense some Metamorphs doing what they do best—getting into trouble.”

FOUR

    The following afternoon I signed for two small packages and set one of them beside the mail bin as the agency door closed behind the delivery person.
    Afternoon light reflected through the glass door, illuminating the sign advertising our office to other paranorms.

NYX CIAR
Olivia DeSantos
PARANORMAL CRIMES
PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
By appointment only

    It was Friday and I’d spent the morning catching up on office work. Mostly paperwork—things that had to be done but were my least favorite things to do.
    I turned my attention back to the boxes and mail that had just been delivered. I set aside the mail and used a box cutter on the first package. It contained some kind of electrical gadget that I figured Olivia must have purchased for the remodeling of our