Edge of Moonlight by Stephanie Julian Page B

re-introduce himself to John. Not that John remembered him.
    Dane had already gone into the house.
    “So,” Tam said. “How are you really?”
    Kaine shook her head. “I have no fucking clue.”
    * * * * *
    Though not as strong as the first time he’d seen Kaine, John had that same sense of déjà vu with her commanding officer.
    He hadn’t dreamed about this guy though so he didn’t have a clue what the fuck was going on.
    The guy’s dark hair hung to his shoulders and the tattoos on his arm were like no script John had ever seen. He looked like he bench-pressed two-fifty easy and walked with a distinctly predatory stalk.
    The man had the air of an officer and John straightened under his amber glare.
    He almost didn’t expect the guy to put out his hand and introduce himself.
    “Kyle Rossini.”
    “John Simmons.” He bit back the “Sir” that automatically sprang to his lips as he shook the guy’s hand.
    Kyle wasn’t his commanding officer. He didn’t have to take orders from this man.
    And he really wanted to know what the hell was going on.
    “Kaine updated me on the situation with your sister. Why don’t we go inside so we can talk to Dane and Nica? I’m sure you’ll want this taken care of as soon as possible.” So you can get the hell away from Kaine that much faster.
    Kyle didn’t have to say the words. His expression made it perfectly clear that’s what he meant.
    John bit back the urge to tell the guy to mind his own damn business but he couldn’t fault Kyle for trying to protect one of his own.
    A quick look across the porch and he found Kaine and the woman Kyle had arrived with huddled together. Kaine had her back to him so he couldn’t see her face but he could read her body language. Her shoulders had hunched again, her head was down and she was shaking it like she disagreed with whatever the other woman was saying.
    God damn it.
    With a sharp nod, he followed Kyle into the house and back to the bedroom, where the new doctor and Nica stood next to the bed.
    John was actually a little surprised to see the doctor with a stethoscope in his hand as he listened to Evie’s heart.
    “Dane,” Nica touched the man’s shoulder, “this is Evie’s brother, John. Maybe he knows the answers to your questions. John, this is Dr. Dane Dimitriou.” John took a good look at the doctor. The guy looked as clean-cut as any serviceman he’d ever met. At least six-two and a solid one-eighty, the guy was built like a swimmer. Strong upper body and arms. Long, lean torso and legs. Short brown hair barely brushed his ears and sharp gray eyes took John’s measure at the same time.
    “Has your sister been having any muscle cramps? Nosebleeds? Convulsions?” For the next ten minutes, John answered as many of Dane’s questions as he could, feeling more and more useless every minute.
    Had he ignored warning signs that there was something seriously wrong with her?
    He remembered the incident two months ago when she’d blown out the light bulbs in the apartment. He’d tried to ignore it then.
    Had he ignored it too well? What else had she been dealing with and hiding from him?
    What if Evie had had her meltdown before he’d met Kaine? Would his sister still be alive?
    That one really tore at his guts. And twisted his brain into knots.
    A brain still trying to come to terms with magic.
    When Dane finally stopped, John felt battered, like he’d gone a few rounds with a champion prize fighter. Too much information in his head to make sense of it all. Too many questions.
    His eyes wanted to close, he was so damn tired. But he shook his head and tried to think.
    “John, it’s going to take me a little while to consult with Nica and figure out a plan of action,” the doctor said. “Maybe you want to take some time and get some rest.”
    “The house next door is empty right now,” Nica spoke up. “It’s quiet.” Quiet time. Right. Time to think. Christ, just what he didn’t need.
    What he did need was a