Page 45 of After Darkness Falls

"What's wrong with Gwen?"

"Nothing. I'm just not stupid enough to mess with witches. The last fool who pissed one off woke up with a rash all over his ass. Pass."

21

Numbers

"All right, meet in two hours?" Jack asked.

Chloe shouldn't have been surprised that he'd try to escape; not many men were up for a girly shopping trip.

"Three?" Tris asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "The drive back to Oldcrest from Inverness is a good two hours, and we set up the meeting at twelve. Two hours is pushing it."

"Got it. Come on, Chloe. Shoes first."

Tris seemed to know the city very well; as they walked along the River Ness, she told her about the castle that had been built back in the medieval days and then redesigned during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

"I don't know the history of these parts as well as many," Tris admitted. "Jack and I are from New York."

Chloe had guessed, given their accent. They'd both adopted an almost British twang, but she'd detected an American drawl underneath it all.

"What made you leave?" Chloe asked as they reached a shoe store.

"A big-ass shadow," she replied, confusing Chloe.

Given all the magic and mystery surrounding the world she'd dived into, she asked, "What, an actual shadow?"

Tris shook her head. "My sister. Perfect. Turned at twenty-one, so she looks younger than me although she's ten years older. Very strong. Extremely good at magic. Everything I do, she does, only better. Jack was pretty much fostered at the Institute because his parents were always working, but he left New York a good ten years ago, when I was sixteen. He was eighteen and had just been assigned to London. I busted my ass to get the grades and asked to get into the Institute. My sister studied at the Academy in New York, so that was the first time I did something different. I like it here. I'll stay in London under Jack's rule after I get my master’s."

Chloe got it.

The mixture of normalcy, magic, and supernatural somehow made Tris more real. Who cared that she'd eventually turn into a vampire? She was just another woman trying to escape the umbrella cast by another family member. At least Tris's shadow wasn't a murderer.

"I get why you'd want to—"

Stay. She was going to say stay. But her eyes fell on the price tag of the leather boots that she'd been eyeing and she wasn't able to get another word out.

Holy shitcakes, she needed to get out of this store, pronto.

"Not cheap, right?" said Tris, wincing. "But these shoes feel as comfy as any trainers inside, and the leather is the best quality—only gets cooler with time. Check these out."

Tris showed off her own leather boots, which seemed right out of the store. They were dark gray, almost black, but they'd been cleverly distressed, and the part where the leather had been scratched revealed a red underlayer.

"They're seven years old. Trust me when I say I've used them."

"But, four figures," Chloe whispered, eyes still bulging.

Now that she wasn't working, she was only relying on her savings and credit card. Chloe had calculated that she had enough for four years if she was careful. Buying these shoes wasn't careful.

Chloe had toyed with the idea of asking the Campbells if they needed a waitress at the Snuggy Snot. If she caved and bought those drool-worthy boots, she'd need to beg for the job.

"I'll get them if you want," said Tris indifferently. Chloe was already shaking her head, but the woman added, "You can work it off."

Oh. Well, that changed things.

"How?"

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