Free Succubus, Interrupted by Jill Myles Page A

the rows of objets d’art , hands on her hips. “Let’s find this stupid manuscript and get out of here.”
    I tilted my head, watching her leave. Remy was many things, but she was never cranky.
    This wasn’t like her. “What do you suppose is bothering her?”
    “Don’t know, don’t care,” Zane said, his wings folding against his back. “I’m here for you.”
    I patted his chest—such a fine, delicious chest. “You do know she’s my best friend and you’re going to have to get along with her at some point, right?”
    He pulled out his cigarettes. “Nope. I can put up with many, many things, princess, but that woman is not one of them.”
    I rolled my eyes and pushed away from him. “Well, stay here. We shouldn’t be but a minute.”
    5
     
    Jill Myles
     
    SUCCUBUS, INTERRUPTED
    He grinned and grabbed my hand before I could go and kissed the palm, melting my irritation away.
    They’d eventually get along, I told myself. A few millennia of bickering and they’d settle right in.
    At least, I hoped that was the case.
    The floor of the Dark Age & Medieval Europe wing of the museum was lit, which told me that the security guard was somewhere on the premises. We had to be quick about this. Get in, take the manuscript, get out. I tried not to think about how wrong it was. I mean, it was a priceless artifact. One of a kind. The Melledin manuscript was indecipherable to scholars, a regular modern-day puzzle. Of course, Zane knew what it said—it was written in an angelic script, by one of his old buddies. We’d seen a news article on it and once I realized Zane could read it, I’d grown excited. Maybe this book would lead us to the missing halos. We had no clues otherwise. The fact that it was in the New City museum was just an added bonus. Things were going my way for once.
    Of course, when we got to the wing… the manuscript wasn’t there. I checked every glass case. Twice. Nothing.
    “I don’t understand,” I said slowly, standing in the center of the long room and shaking my head. I’d sent Remy to scope out the premises (since I couldn’t really fly under the radar, being an ex-employee and all) and she’d reported that it was at the museum, in the wing we currently stood in. “You said you saw it here on Friday, right?”
    At my side, Remy stared at the empty case in front of us, chewing her lip. “I did. I took a picture of it, too.” She fished out her phone and handed it to me.
    6
     
    Jill Myles
     
    SUCCUBUS, INTERRUPTED
    I stared at the picture, squinting at the placard in front of the case. “On loan from William Jeffers III’s private collection,” I read, then cursed. “He must have taken it back. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    Remy shrugged. “Maybe he heard something about a breakin?”
    “This place hasn’t been robbed before. Before now, that is.”
    Remy shrugged again.
    “Do you know if they said anything about the exhibit being a temporary one? Or where it was going next?”
    She shrugged once more.
    I was really not liking how quiet she was. “I guess we should go,” I said, my words trailing off as she looked at something over my shoulder. “What is it?”
    She stepped past me and moved toward a display case.
    Frowning, I followed her, resisting the urge to snap my fingers in front of her face. Zane was waiting for us, and the sooner we got back to him, the better. I was nervous about getting caught, even though the worst-case scenario was not all that bad. Even if the security guard was armed, well, we’d survive a gunshot wound. Succubi were hard to kill, and a bullet wasn’t one of the ways you could take us out. Even if we got shot, it wouldn’t do lasting damage. Sting, yes.
    Incapacitate, no.
    Remy put her hand on one of the glass cases and stared at an object inside. I stared at it too. The case was filled with Viking art—cups and helmets and drinking horns. The figure that had Remy’s attention was a fertility god idol—Frey. Like all Viking