Free Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff Page A

than him knowing it had been bitten off, Tony supposed. Over one of the reporter’s polyester-clad shoulders, he saw Amy stick her head in Mason’s office. “Are you on cheap drugs?” he asked conversationally.
    â€œDo you use drugs to heighten your senses?” Groves asked in turn.
    Tony smiled as Jennifer, Mason’s personal assistant, emerged. Part of Jennifer’s job was to protect Mason from unwanted press attention. When she was in a good mood, she extended that protection to the rest of the studio. His smile widened as one set of impeccably manicured fingers clamped down on Groves’ shoulder and the other reached low to give the wedgie to end all wedgies.
    He joined in Amy’s applause as Jennifer frog-marched the reporter across the office by the grip she maintained on the waistband of his tighty whiteys—which was now considerably higher than his waist.
    â€œFoster!” Not surprisingly, Groves’ voice sounded shriller than usual. “Does this have anything to do with the Demonic Convergence?”
    He stopped applauding and ducked quickly through the door, closing it behind him before Groves could see his face.
    â€œDemonic Convergence?”
    Too late to hide his expression from Lee, who’d apparently been lurking in the hall, one arm draped nonchalantly over a rack of faux Gypsy-wear.
    â€œTabloid reporter.” Tony shrugged, hoping he sounded a lot more dismissive than he felt. “That sort of shit’s his stock in trade.”
    â€œLike haunted houses.”
    â€œSure.” Shit. Not sure. The last thing he wanted was for Lee, who knew damned well haunted houses were real, to start thinking they were about to be involved in an actual Demonic Convergence. Which they were. Tony worked his way past a pair of gorilla suits wondering how the hell Groves had known about the DC. Had Leah spoken to him? And if she had, why? And if she hadn’t, how else…?
    â€œTony!”
    He turned just far enough to see that Lee had followed him. Given his ongoing obsession with the actor, not noticing that kind of proximity had to be healthy. Healthier had he not been distracted by the thought of Leah taking Kevin Groves, of all people, into her confidence, but lately he’d take any emotional stability he could get.
    â€œWell?”
    From Lee’s tone of voice, he’d missed half of an entire conversation. “Sorry. I wasn’t listening.”
    â€œYeah. I noticed.” And Lee wasn’t happy about it. Another time, a time when Tony didn’t have an immortal stuntwoman, a gung ho RCMP constable, and a Demonic Convergence to deal with— and let’s not forget there’s also something out there that reduced a grown man to snack food —Lee’s unhappiness at his lack of attention would be bringing on a case of the warm fuzzies.
    Another time.
    Right now, he had rather a lot on his plate. Did Jack expect him to go hunting the snack-food-reducing monster? Because that so wasn’t going to happen.
    â€œTony!”
    â€œRight. Sorry. Distracted.”
    Lee sighed and ran a hand up through his hair. “I was just asking if there was anything in what Groves said. That you were out with Constable Elson because a construction worker got killed.”
    He wanted to be a part of it—whatever it turned out to be. It was obvious in his voice, in his expression, in his body language. Everything said: Let me help you.
    Oh, yeah, like Tony was going to let that happen. In the last six months, Lee had been possessed three times and there was no way in hell—any hell—that he was going to add to that list.
    Let me help you.
    Why?
    Because I seem to have a deep-seated metaphysical death wish I’m not even aware of. Maybe it stems from my repressed sexual identity, but since that’s tied up with you, too, I guess I’m in the right place.
    No fucking way. He was not going to be responsible for Lee