Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) by Jessie Donovan

I’ve pinpointed her location.”
    “Where?”
    “Not far from the zoo. I can see the row of small rectangular houses, but I won’t be able to pinpoint exactly which one until I see it.”
    He nodded. “Right. Take my team of men and women, as well as the Siren. Use her if you need to, but just bring me Sabrina Ono. Salazar is secondary, but both I and the Collector would reward you if you could bring him in as well.”
    The woman’s face was blank as she nodded, which was the normal expression for any of the Collector’s long-term soldiers. Watkins signaled to his men in the room to assist the Locator out. Once she was gone, he brought up the video conference program on his computer and waited for the Collector to answer. As always, her face was shielded from view, but her voice was clear when she asked, “Did you find the woman?”
    “Yes. Your Locator is on her trail, and no doubt Salazar is with her. Did you need both of them alive?”
    “For now. The Shadow-Shifter has his uses, but it’s the woman I want. Rumors have been floating around the Feiru Liaison offices about a tip from James Sinclair, and this woman might give me the edge I need to keep Sinclair otherwise occupied.”
    Watkins didn’t know—nor care—about the Collector’s other plans, but in the interest of keeping civil, he nodded. “I’ll pass on the message. I wanted to ask for some reinforcements so I can focus on the bombing whilst your people take care of Ono and Salazar.”
    “They’re already on their way. Contact me when everything is complete.”
    The screen went blank and Watkins picked up his cell phone to call his bomb makers. He just might be able to pull this all off before breakfast tomorrow.
     
     
     
    Jorge waited behind the large wooden desk in his shadow form. Any minute now, his target would enter and he’d have only seconds to engulf the man, knock him unconscious, and absorb him into his mist.
    The target was a local police detective sympathetic to the Feiru , a man named Julio Reyes. Jorge wasn’t supposed to know why Reyes was the target, but while sniffing around and determining the best way to kidnap the man, he’d learned of Reyes’s current investigation into some Feiru -related crimes.
    He didn’t know all the particulars, but some of the crimes were by prominent gangs in the area, gangs that had been previous targets of the Collector. Jorge’s best guess was that the Collector didn’t want any of the human authorities putting their noses into her business.
    He almost felt bad for the human, but if Jorge failed this assignment, he knew his sister would be tortured again. No matter what it took, he couldn’t allow that to happen.
    The lock turned and Jorge watched the door, but instead of Reyes, he saw Harry Watkins holding a knife to his sister Alejandra’s throat. He moved toward Watkins, but the man slit Alejandra’s throat before he could reach the pair. Jorge watched in horror as his sister’s lifeless body was tossed to the floor. Watkins kicked her and stared straight at him. “You’re no different than me. You’ve killed innocents, and so have I. Remember that.”
    Watkins vanished and Jorge watched his sister’s blood cover the floor, unable even to cry out at his sister’s murder.
     
     
    Jorge jerked awake and sat up, heaving in deep breaths. Something touched his back and he rolled off the bed to the side and took a defensive crouch. He looked up to see Sabrina staring at him with a mixed expression of puzzlement and concern.
    Her voice was soft when she asked, “Are you okay?”
    He drew in a deep sigh. He’d been dreaming. Alejandra was safe with DEFEND, not dead on the floor.
    When he still didn’t answer, Sabrina moved to where he was crouched and kneeled on the floor in front of him. She reached a hand toward him and he suddenly yearned for her comforting touch, but then she pulled back and he wondered why. She asked, “How do you feel? Were you just having a bad dream or