Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel by Becca Blake (english novels to improve english .txt) 📕

His gaze tore through me as he searched for a reaction, any muscle in my face that so much as twitched while he spoke. I could feel him waiting for me to mess up, to reveal that we’d been there, too.

When I said nothing, he continued. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice the alarms. I’m sure the sound travels this far.”

“We were a little busy,” Jacob said. “Didn’t hear a thing until your guys stormed in and interrupted us.”

Marcus’s mouth twitched as he looked at his son. “I see. So, is this where you’re living now?”

Jacob gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’ve been spending my nights here recently.”

“As much as I love discussing my sex life with my partner’s father, maybe we could save this discussion for the morning?” I said.

“Of course,” Marcus said. “As soon as we’ve had a chance to search your home thoroughly.”

“Why?” I asked. “We had nothing to do with this.”

“He was a very close friend of your family, and we have to be thorough in our investigation.”

“I assume you’ve searched his house as well?” I asked.

“Our team there just finished up. It doesn’t seem like Orion stopped at home, so we’re checking other places he may have been.”

“If Orion stopped here, I wasn’t aware of it. What about our protective detail? Did they see anything?”

“They didn’t see anything tonight, Miss Collins. Not a thing.”

Marcus assumes a lot more than he knows, Celia had said.

How much did he know, and how much had he guessed?

“It doesn’t sound like you have much reason to search my home, honestly. But I have nothing to hide, so do what you have to do,” I said, shrugging. “Just do it quickly. I’m tired, and I’d like to get some sleep tonight.”

He raised his hand, and my house turned blue. The glow bathed everything in light, from the walls to my own body. I lifted my hand and watched it shimmer over my fingers before it faded away, and my living room returned to normal.

“What was that?” I asked.

“A spell that will allow me to see through invisibility,” he said. “As I understand, you’re very proficient in that ability.”

“So I’ve been told.” I crossed my arms and leaned back against the wall.

“Now, let’s have a look so we can make sure you’re not hiding anything.”

Marcus Thorne moved through my home with an authority that made me feel like I was the one who didn’t belong. An entourage of bodyguards followed him from room to room, surrounding him in a protective circle as they aided his search.

I followed behind them, watching as they tore through each room with determined efficiency. He wouldn’t find any evidence of Orion, who I hoped was now safely on his way to Omaha, but I hated the idea of him digging through my belongings unattended.

Marcus paused in my bedroom to glance at the disturbed sheets, then crouched down to check under my bed. He pulled out the clothes I’d been wearing earlier in the night. His forehead creased with concern as he held them up to show me. “It looks like these were taken off in a hurry.”

“Yes. They were,” Jacob said dryly.

If nothing else, I appreciated his dedication to our alibi.

At that, Marcus’s face contorted in a distasteful sneer, and he dropped my clothes on the floor without taking the time to examine them more closely. If he had, he may have found dirt or even recent bloodstains that would have been more difficult to explain away.

He made his way around the bed and picked up the weapon harness Jacob hung on my headboard. His frown deepened. “Your second holster seems to be empty.”

“I must’ve left the other gun at my place,” Jacob said coolly. “It’s not like I really need it while we’re off duty, anyway.”

“I suppose not.” Marcus hung it on the bedpost and began pacing around the bedroom once more.

“Are you satisfied?” I asked. “Like I said, Orion’s not here. I haven’t seen him since his trial. Now, if you’re done interrupting my night, I’d like to get back to sleep.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re both very eager to return to bed.” He stopped in front of Jacob on his way out of my room. “This isn’t what I was expecting when we assigned her as your partner. I suppose it’s a good thing to have a partner you get along with so intimately.”

Just hearing that word from Marcus Thorne’s lips made me shudder.

He did a final sweep of the downstairs and paused once more in the kitchen. He’d already searched everything, but something new seemed to have caught his eye.

As he made his way over to the window, the breath caught in my throat.

He ran a finger across the disturbed line of dust on the windowsill. With the grey coating on his fingertip, he spun around to face us. “Were you aware your window was open?”

At a loss for words, I simply shook my head.

“I’d suggest keeping it closed this time of year. You’ll let out the warm air from inside.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I managed.

He wiped his finger off on the ruffled blue curtain above the window, then handed us a small piece of paper. The business card was plain white except for Marcus’s name and phone number in simple black text.

I tried not to laugh at the absurdity of his own son needing a business card to contact him, though I supposed it was just for show. That was all this search had been, really. He knew we were involved in Orion’s escape somehow—he just hadn’t figured out the details yet.

“If you learn anything about Orion’s whereabouts, please give me a call. I’ll see you both at your trial later this week. If you’re able to give us useful information to help us catch him, I’m confident I’ll be able to clear your names.”

Once he and the others left, I let out a shaky sigh. “I hate that asshole.”

“Believe me, you’re not the only one.” Though it