Blind Salvage by Shannon Mayer

flopped onto the bed and threw my arm over my eyes. Half an hour and the rental truck would be here.
    “What do you know about ogres, besides Dox?” Liam sat down beside me, the bed sagging under his weight.
    “Volatile, territorial, prone to fighting and fucking. Sometimes both at the same time. Other than that, I don’t know. They keep their customs and tribes very close to the chest.” I flipped my arm off my face. “Hell, I hadn’t even known there were that many colors until those damn books of Jack’s.”
    “Bigger than Dox?” Liam fingered the blades he’d just strapped on.
    “Yeah, I think he’s pretty small for an ogre.”
    He sat up with a swiftness my eyes struggled to follow. “Seven feet is small? ”
    “For an ogre, yes.”
    I Tracked Calliope. The tingling of her emotions spoke of her fear, but she wasn’t hurt. A good start. My mind flickered over the possibilities of what kind of creature could have snagged her. Something from the air, something with talons. Dragons and Harpies were the two obvious choices. A dragon was unlikely; they resided in Europe and Asia for the most part, rarely coming across the water to North America. At least from what I understood.
    A Harpy, taking Eve out of the equation, was a good possibility, as there was a running animosity between Harpies and unicorns. But they—Harpies—were territorial too, and I doubted they would go so far out of their own area, even to snatch a foal belonging to their rivals.
    “What is going on in that head of yours?” Liam brushed his fingers across my forehead.
    I caught his fingers in mine. “Why would anyone want a unicorn foal?”
    His jaw flexed and his pale golden eyes grew thoughtful. “They haven’t contacted the crush for ransom, so it isn’t a power trip.”
    “Breeding rights, maybe?” She was surely a pretty enough little thing. I leaned across the bed and picked up the pale yellow rotary phone, dialing a number without thinking.
    The phone rang four times before a groggy voice came on the line. “You know what time it is here? I need my beauty sleep. I just got back from Europe.”
    “ Kyle , get your ass out of bed and on the computer.”
    There was a resounding thump and it sounded like the phone was dropped, then the shuffle of blankets before he came back on. “Shit, Rylee. Sorry, I’m going, just give me half a second.”
    “Tell him to put some clothes on,” Liam said.
    I put a hand over the receiver. “How do you know he’s naked?”
    “I can’t hear the rustle of clothes.”
    Shit, I didn’t realize Liam’s hearing was that good. “Kyle, throw some shorts on.”
    Another rustle and then the sound of bare feet slapping on cheap linoleum floors.
    “How did you know I was home?”
    I snorted. “Agent Valley told me he sent you home after you nearly crapped your pants when the Beast made his appearance at the police station.”
    He cleared his throat and Liam leaned forward. Static, loud and crunchy, filled my ears. I pushed him back. “Too close.” I mouthed at him. Technology and supernaturals never did go hand-in-hand, but with Liam it seemed even worse. Like the combination of werewolf and Guardian made him extra difficult around technology.
    “Kyle, have you got all the Arcane Arts files?” I was banking on this actually.
    “Um. Yeah. But I’m not supposed—”
    “See what we’ve got on unicorns in the Pacific Northwest.” My gut twisted just saying the words. Never in all my years knowing what the supernatural was had I shared so easily with a mere human. Not even with Liam.
    The click of fingers on a keyboard. “No, nothing in the Pacific Northwest. Wow, but would you look at—”
    “No, don’t look at anything else or you’ll be nothing more than a smear of shit on the wall if Valley catches you.”
    “Wait, I thought you were working with him?” Kyle’s voice rose in pitch until it was a mere squeak.
    “No, I’m not. But your ass belongs to me, not him.”
    His