Jace cleared his throat. “Kirsten, any chance you’ve made some headway with that illusion spell?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “I’m getting closer, but I don’t think it’ll be ready by tonight, unfortunately.”
“That’s what I thought,” Jace said. “Maybe it would be best for you to stay here where you’ll be safe.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Carter’s shout drowned me out.
“No!” He clung to my sleeve, pulling me closer. “Please, no. I need Miss Kirsten. I need her.”
The change in the little boy was immediate and heart-wrenching. Tears were already streaming down his cheeks, and I could feel his panic. He clawed at me until I wrapped my arms around him to soothe him.
“I can’t go alone. I can’t!” Carter shouted. It was as though a switch had been flipped inside him at the thought of going anywhere without the person who’d saved him.
“Carter,” Jace said in a soothing voice. “Buddy, it’s all right. I just want to make sure Kirsten is safe and doesn’t get hurt.”
“No, no, no, no, no!” He buried his face into my shoulder.
“Can we bring his mom here?” I offered. “Save her and then come get Carter? I could stay with him.”
“We only have two vans,” Langston said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s too risky. We’re taking most of them to Dustin and Shayna and the rest to Ivy. We’d have to make a forty-five-minute detour to circle back here to pick him up. That gives Eren’s people too much time to come after us. This has to be fast and smooth. No wasted movement, no change of direction. It’s the only way it’ll work.”
Jace stared at the boy sobbing into my shirt. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he came to a decision he didn’t like.
“Fine, you can come,” he said at last to me. “You know enough defensive magic to protect yourself.” His eyes darkened as he looked at me. “But if anyone gets near you, I’ll rip their fucking throats out, and that’s a promise.”
Everyone heard the seriousness in his voice. Each of us understood that he wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly what he said.
Harley stepped up beside me to whisper in my ear as the rest resumed talking and planning. “Is this really safe?” she asked.
Turning, I saw the worry written in her eyes. Actually, it was more like terror.
Placing a hand on hers, I said, “It’ll be okay. I have my magic, I have Jace, and I’ll be surrounded by a ton of pissed-off shifters who’ll be keeping me safe. I’ll make it home fine.”
Harley chewed at her bottom lip, her face a writhing mask of anxiety. Her eyes shot down to Carter, who clung to me for dear life.
“What about him?” Harley finally said. “He’s so young. It’s going to be dangerous. Besides, I like the little guy,” she added, running a hand through his hair.
I blinked at her, my head tilting to the side. Glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, I said, “Harley, is that maternal instinct I hear in your voice?”
Since high school, Harley had sworn up and down, left and right, that she was never having kids. Never wanted them, and never would want them. Now, with the way she looked at Carter, I couldn’t help but believe that might have changed.
Harley rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on,” she said. “He’s a good kid. So was Morgan. That doesn’t mean”—her eyes skipped over my shoulder to the table behind, then back to me—“that I want kids or anything.”
Narrowing my eyes, I glanced over my shoulder. Waylan sat beside Jace, speaking in low tones. Hmm, was this a thing that would happen? It was obvious Waylan was head over heels for Harley, but I’d assumed my friend hadn’t noticed. Perhaps she had and was open to it despite all her claims of being a “city girl.”
I wanted to chide her about it, going so far as to open my mouth to joke with her, but I was cut off by the front door opening and the sounds of argument.
“Why are you here, though?” Tank said as I turned to see what he was freaking out about.
“I told you. You all need help, and I’m here to help.” Tinsley grinned at Tank and patted his cheek. “You’re cute when you’re worried.”
“Tinsley?” I called out. Carter finally released me from his death grip, and I went to the front door.
“Good morning, dear,” she said, grinning and opening her arms for a hug.
Tank was right at her side again. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Tinsley released me, one eyebrow cocked and her nose turning up ever so slightly. “I’m sorry, we exchanged numbers for a date. I don’t recall signing over my rights to do as I please, did I?”