Demon Night

said.
    Jake grumbled, and a five-dollar bill appeared in Ethan’s hand.
    “Thank you kindly, Jake. And to you, Miss Savi, for judging so well.” The money vanished. Ethan held Charlie’s gaze, the amusement fading from his expression. “You sure about Mark Brandt and his car?”
    Charlie nodded. “Pretty sure. He was very passionate about it—and convincing. He’s one of the reasons Jane got a hybrid. Why?”
    “Because Savi found out that young Brandt had some work done at Vladimir’s shop—or rather, there was a transfer from his accounts to the shop. But we’re wondering if this was money for something else, and what, because the numbers don’t add up—and we ain’t got a record of any flights from D.C. around the same time, though his father had plenty.” Ethan shook his head. “I’ll have to see what I can get out of Manny.”
    Jake swiveled in his chair. “Are you going up tonight?”
    “You plan on teleporting me? How about you try to get over there first?” Ethan gestured to the opposite side of the room.
    Jake set his jaw; a low, wavering thrum slipped through Charlie’s body, similar to what she’d felt when Ethan had used his Gift, though not as strong or as steady.
    Ethan grinned. “Should I ask Miss Savi to scare you real bad?”
    Charlie might have thought that a joke if Jake hadn’t begun eyeing the small woman warily.
    “Boo,” Savi said without glancing away from her computer. “Do you need me to set up a new identity for you, Charlie? Identification, education, background? Or do you plan to keep living as yourself?”
    Charlie’s brow furrowed. “You can do that?”
    Savi nodded. “A clean slate, if you want one. About half of us do; after the transformation, some have to completely start over, because they can’t keep their old lives.”
    Charlie’s life would be different. Was there any reason not to make it as easy as possible to slip into a new one? Never having to check the “convicted” box when she applied for a job or an apartment; not killing herself working toward a degree she wanted.
    But at least what she had was hers. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t all flattering, but she’d earned it.
    “I don’t think so,” she said finally. “Except maybe a driver’s license.”
    “Done,” Savi said. “Washington or California?”
    “Washington,” Charlie responded, then paused. She’d answered automatically—but was it an indication that she was clinging too hard to her life in Seattle, just because it was familiar? Or was some part of her hoping that she’d go back, return to what she’d been?
    But she didn’t change her answer; she was distracted by the stiffness in Ethan’s shoulders as he moved away from her and set her laptop on a table in the middle of the room.
    “You ought to be able to get something done here, Miss Charlie.” He pulled up two chairs, swung one around and straddled it. Whatever tension had been in him seemed to disappear with that lazy posture. “And I’ll sit a spell with you. Otherwise, I’ll just be hovering over them while they work. Computers and I ain’t exactly bosom friends.”
    “Why?” Charlie opened the laptop, booted it up.
    “Passwords,” Ethan said in an intimate tone, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. His thigh brushed hers. “It seems such a hassle to type them out or remember them. So I use my Gift.”
    Charlie blinked. “Does it work?”
    “Well, it works all right with locks and such, telling a security system that I’m feeding it the correct code. Computers aren’t quite so accommodating. More often than not, they quit working altogether.”
    “Even through a security system is basically a computer program?”
    Ethan dropped his chin in a slow nod, his gaze holding hers. “And then there’s this.” He lifted his hand, spread his fingers wide. “I just ain’t made for them tiny keyboards.”
    Which immediately made her think of what those big hands could have been made for. Charlie squeezed her legs together, focused on her computer, and Ethan’s soft chuckle filled the air beside her.
    “I’m awful sorry, Miss Charlie.”
    “No, you’re not.”
    “I’m awful sorry I ain’t showing you what else they can do.”
    “Oh. Well, me, too.” She bit her lip as soon as she said it, looked past his shoulder. They’d been speaking in low tones, and neither Jake nor Savi were giving any indication that they were listening, but they must have been able to