Page 57 of Cheater Slicks

A prickle started at my nape and stung its way down my spine. Harrow wasn’t one for making spontaneous plans. And staying in the city? The odds of one of us bumping into him were too high for it to make sense that he hadn’t given us a heads-up we might see him around.

“He didn’t say a word.” I thought back on the last time I saw him. “He’s just hanging out?”

Doubt kept drilling down, deeper and deeper into my subconscious.

“I guess?” She must have heard something in my voice. “You don’t sound convinced.”

“Did he call or text you?”

“Text.”

“And did it read like him?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s not a goodhmm, is it?” She sighed. “What are the odds this ends badly for him?”

“Dis Pater popped in tonight, and Ankou. Plus Kierce and me. Anunit is here too. That’s five divine beings in the Quarter.”

And one of those beings had a thing for Harrow.

Anunit wouldn’t know how to text, but she was clever. During her time at the shop, she observed us talk that way often enough for her to grasp how to give him a vague order he could then interpret in his own voice. The same way she gave him a command to visit New Orleans without any clue of the intricacies involved in modern travel.

“You make it sound like New Orleans is a powder keg about to go boom.”

“Um…”

“I can come get Josie and Matty, if you need me to.”

“Thanks.” I dragged my bottom lip between my teeth. “I don’t think it will come down to it, but I’ll pass the offer along to Josie. I wish I could send Matty home, but I need him.” Saving Rollo had been a near thing. We would need every advantage we could get for Matty, and that meant keeping him close. “I would feel better if I could reunite body and soul ASAP.”

“I understand.” She cleared her throat. “The offer stands, though.”

“Thanks.” I smiled into the phone. “I appreciate it.”

The music cut out in the living room, a sign the party might finally be winding down, so I let Carter go.

As I was considering whether it was premature to break the circle in preparation for spending the rest of my night in Vi’s library researching the finger bone, the choice was stolen from me as Jean-Claude swept into the room.

“You gotta see this.” He was dragging someone behind him by the arm. “I haven’t laughed this hard in ages.”

Craning my neck to see around him, I got an eyeful of the person he was restraining. “Harrow?”

A dirty tee caked in grease, blood, and food stains clung to his torso. His jeans rode low on his hips, a breath away from slipping off, which I blamed on him unbuttoning them to make room for his stomach.

Dear Lord.

His stomach, which had been flat, was now swollen as round and taut as a basketball.

Understanding smacked me upside the head as his golden eyes twinkled at me without an ounce of remorse, and I growled, “Anunit.”

“Your bird destroyed my avatar.” Not a shred of guilt laced those words. “What else could I do?”

“You were supposed to be recovering. I thought you were half dead after what we did. Half drained. You know what I mean.” I grimaced at the state she left Harrow in. “How could you do this to him?”

“You do not like this body, but I do.” She patted her distended stomach. “He holds much.”

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