That day had been polluted with a lot of Jinn, and Ari’s senses weren’t as strong then as they were now. It could be the only reason she hadn’t picked up on the fact that darling Beau was in fact a full-blooded Jinn. That didn’t explain, however, why he was suddenly here … in a somewhat creepy, stalker fashion.
“What are you doing here?” She started walking, her mind on getting him out of the mall and somewhere private.
She was thankful when he followed. “I mean, this is quite the coincidence.”
“It’s not.” He threw her a smile as his eyes drank her in appreciatively.
Suddenly Ari wasn’t feeling that his eyes were filled with innocence; it was more like the lightness of belief, and she was starting to get a bad vibe about it.
“Oh?” She kept her question curious, not agitated, but was glad to see the wall-to-wall glass exit doors up ahead.
“I know who you are. I’ve known for quite some time.”
“And who am I?” she asked as she led him out into the mall lot. Her eyes quickly scanned the area and decided the best spot was in the far left corner. Most people had parked near the front, but the left side was quite full.
More coverage.
More privacy.
She headed in that direction, pretending her car was that way.
Beau grinned at her. “You’re the daughter of a Jinn king.”
Ari tried not to let that freak her out. Some Jinn knew who she was, and she guessed that within five years, every Jinn in both realms would know who she was.
“So you know who I am, but I’m still in the dark about you. What is a full-blood Jinn doing at a high school?”
What the freaking hell are you, in other words, and am I ethically bound to kill you?
“We’ve met before. I mean, before before. We’ve even kissed.” His grin was not only cocky but also somewhat leering.
Ari tried to hide her shiver.
Instead she smiled, like she found this news interesting, welcoming even. “Really?” she came to a stop beside a high-sided SUV, blocking them from the view of anyone entering and exiting the mall. Hopefully, the cars behind blocked them from view on the opposite side.
“I possessed your friend Nick back in Sandford, Ohio.” He took a step closer to her, his eyes drinking in her face.
Shock jolted through Ari at his casual confession. And she recognized that look. It was the same way Nick—possessed Nick—had looked at her. It’d made her extremely uncomfortable even then.
Not to mention he’d just answered her question. She definitely needed to take care of this guy, but she couldn’t exactly conjure the black dust she’d used on him before when she and Charlie had attacked and taken him to the Aissawa Brotherhood for an exorcism. The Brotherhood was from Morocco, experts on exorcising Jinn from all sorts of places. Jai had called in a favor to get them to come and save her friend Nick from this guy. Ari now knew the black dust she’d used to incapacitate Nick/Beau was called Ephemeral. A natural crush of herbs mixed with a short-term enchantment, it had the power to knock a Jinn unconscious. But Ari couldn’t conjure it out of thin air in front of him. It would be kind of a giveaway.
“Right,” she murmured, trying to think fast. If this was that creepy-ass Jinn who had possessed Nick, then he was proving he was somewhat obsessed with Ari. She could use it against him.
Tilting her head a little flirtatiously, she licked her lips and watched his eyes flare at the move.
“It’s quite a coincidence us meeting in Connecticut.”
“Right,” he agreed excitedly.
“That’s what I thought. I fled Sandford after what happened and I was trying to forget you, but then you turned up and I’m like, that has to be fate, right?
We’re destined.” His eyes narrowed. “But then you kissed that guy who orchestrated the whole thing where the Aissawa Brotherhood ripped me out of Nick, and then all those Jinn turned up and you disappeared. I was trying to find you and then word started circulating—rumors about Lilif and you taking care of it. It led me right here.”
“Mmm, all very interesting,” she murmured and stepped even closer so their bodies were almost touching. “I think I like this body better than Nick’s.”
Beau’s eyes darkened and before she could say another word, she was yanked against him and his mouth was on hers.
Her first instinct was to kick him in the balls and then teach him a lesson he’d never forget. How insane was this guy to think he could just stalk her and then kiss her?
Fortunately for Ari, her smarts kicked in before her knee did and she decided to go along with the kiss and use the distraction against him. She wound her arms around his neck and let a rush of magic flow from her hands. The satin pouch she’d conjured from Michael’s herb stores was a comforting weight in her hand, but the use of magic had drawn Beau’s attention.
He shoved her away in surprise.
“What the—?”
Ari had already blown the black dust in his face before he could finish the sentence. She watched with satisfaction as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He collapsed with a dull thud against the concrete.
She glanced around hurriedly to check for witnesses and then telepathed Jai.
Five minutes later, a black Mustang pulled into the mall lot and got as close to Ari as possible. Jai and Gerard got out, hurrying toward her.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ari said as a welcome.
“What happened?” Jai asked, all concern as he and Gerard lifted Beau’s body and used cloaking magic to hide him from human sight. They carried him to the back of the Mustang and threw him inside rather carelessly. Ari explained what had happened and by the time she was finished, the reddening anger on Jai’s face made her nervous.
“We’ll get him back to Michael’s,”
Gerard assured Ari. “We’ll need to get the Aissawa Brotherhood here to do an exorcism, and then we figure out how to trap him in a Secretum before he can get away.”
Ari nodded in agreement. “I’ll meet you guys back at Michael’s.”
***
Jai was not happy. Ari knew this because the entire time they were at Michael’s discussing a plan of action for Beau/Nick/Stalker, Jai grunted answers at her and generally looked like any minute, he’d blow.