Page 13 of Barely Breathing

“You look well,” he says, pulling back to study me. His nose twitches slightly. “Though, I guess the rumors are true. You smell like a vampire.”

I lean down to sniff my shirt, but I don’t smell anything beyond the lingering of my soap.

Anthony kicks out a chair. “Sit down before your loud mouth says something that draws the wrong attention.”

Peter drops into the seat, still grinning. He lowers his volume. “Please. These tech addicts wouldn’t notice a supernatural if we danced naked on their table. Speaking of naked, remember when we?—”

“No,” Anthony and I say in unison.

Peter laughs. His eyes dart to the windows, then back to us. He’s worried about something. Or someone.

“So,” he says, lowering his voice even more. “Anthony says you need werewolf intel. That’s treacherous territory these days, Tamara. Especially for someone sporting vampire cologne.”

I resist touching my neck where Costin’s bite has long since healed. “I don’t care about the danger. I owe it to a friend to ask.”

Peter’s smile fades. “A mortal or vampire friend?”

“Mortal. His name is Paul,” Anthony says. “We’re not trying to jam you up with your pack. All we want is a conversation.”

Peter glances between us and looks uncomfortably around the coffee shop before hunching forward to lean on the table. All of his playfulness fades. “I don’t think I can help you.”

“He was taken off the street by a werewolf about a week ago here in Manhattan,” I say. “I just need to know who and why.”

“A week?” Peter repeats carefully as if stalling. “Idon’t need to explain how this whole thing works to you two. If a werewolf attacked your friend a week ago in the city, then you’re either waiting for a dead body to float up in the Hudson or for the next full moon to pass. Either way, he’s not going to be what you remember. I think you should just forget it all about?—”

“You know something,” I interrupt. “You’re not a good liar, Peter. Just tell me.”

I don’t need lessons on the danger of werewolves. And I’m sure as hell not going to just forget about Paul.

“I know lots of things.” He leans back, crossing his arms. “Most of which I shouldn’t tell you or anyone.”

A chill runs down my spine, and I glance toward the windows. I can tell by the light that the sun has just set. For a moment, I swear I see a shadow move—fast and deliberate. Costin? The thought makes my pulse quicken.

I can’t know for sure. Several creatures move like that.

“Peter,” Anthony says, his tone carrying a warning. “We’re not asking you to betray pack secrets. But if you know something about Paul’s kidnapping?—”

“Kidnapping is such a harsh word.” Peter’s gazefixates on my amulet.

I lean over to make him meet my gaze. “What do you want me to call it? An abduction? I was there. I saw what happened.”

Peter’s attention moves around the shop. “Let’s call it a necessary relocation.”

“Relocation for what?” Anthony persists.

Peter shakes his head. “I can’t.”

I reach for Peter’s hand. I know it’s manipulative because he likes me, but I must know. I give him a light squeeze. “You can trust us. What’s going on here? What are you scared of?”

“Listen,” Peter takes a deep breath. “I heard a rumor that this Paul guy is Devine protectus.”

If Paul claimed Devine protectus, then he remembers more of our shared past. When we were together, before the amulet broke, I had told him that if anything supernatural tried to mess with him or Diana, he needed to tell them he was Devine protectus. It’s an old Latin term for protected humans, a rare honor that isn’t really used anymore. And it isn’t something that I can enact as a mortal.

Anthony gives me a strange look but doesn’t call me out. “If the wolves know that and they still have him, that’s an affront to our family.”

“You have to know this is not an attack on your family. You have to know that,” Peter insists. “None of us wants to go up against the Devines. You know we have very little say in what the Alpha and hisguard get up to. I mean, I barely see the guy and I kind of prefer it that way.

“If you don’t want it to be open season on werewolves, you need to tell us something, buddy. Come on.” Anthony’s threat is veiled, but it’s enough.

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