Page 47 of Curses & Keys
Moments later, the doors open directly into a suite. The cream and chocolate brown décor reassures me we’re still in The Hari. Gatlin stands by the door, gun in hand, and he relaxes only once he sees our faces. He immediately holds a finger to his lips.
Hawthorne looks around. “Where is she?”
“Sleeping,” Gatlin murmurs. “A combination of jet lag and adrenaline, I suspect.”
He steps to the side, and I get my first glimpse. Curled into the corner of the couch, dark hair tumbling about her shoulders, long, equally dark lashes fanned across her sleep-flushed cheeks, she is a vision. There’s a light blanket tucked around her, and I eye it speculatively.
“How was security?” he murmurs with a frown. “I haven’t wanted to leave her alone to check it out.”
“Impressive,” Mathias answers with a low chuckle. “I’ll have to upgrade the council after this visit.”
I lay a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry about your home. I’ve sent a team over to clean up the situation and make it secure until you can return.”
“Thanks,” Gatlin replies in a gruff tone. “Although I’ll probably have to sell it. Can’t have the world knowing where I live.” Gatlin motions to me. “Did you bring weapons?”
“Too many cameras, and it’s still daylight,” I remind him. He gives me an incredulous look. “We’ll get them tonight.”
He flicks a glance at her, then murmurs, “I have a theory about her.” His words are barely audible as he explains the conversation he had with Phaedra earlier about the gods gifting humans with abilities. “She didn’t deny it either.”
Hmm.The pieces fit together in a way that makes sense. Her secrecy. Knowledge of ancient civilizations and the gods. The ability to manipulate curses and regenerate. Her unique scent.
“It makes sense.”
Does it matter, though? I think about it. No. Not to me. But I don’t know enough about the gods to understand the implications. Will they care if she is with us?
Three heads turn my way, expecting me to say something more, but I ignore them and walk over to her. The second I sit down, Phaedra’s eyes open, and her hand whips out of the blanket, a stiletto in its grip. When she sees it’s me, she tucks it away and sits up straight, then pushes her silky locks behind her shoulders.
Stretching, she peers around the room. “Sorry. This couch is heaven. How did the council meeting go?”
Her bright blue eyes find mine, and for the briefest second, I’m lost in their depths. This woman intrigues me like no other. Quietly confident. Intelligent. Mysterious.
“To be honest, not well,” I admit, running my hand through my hair. “They might send out a kill order for both of us whenthis thing is done.” I explain what happened in the meeting. “The council is on the verge of falling apart.”
She nibbles her lush bottom lip as she thinks. Her tongue swipes across it, and my body automatically tightens at the unintentionally sensual movement. Silence builds between us, and I glance up to find her amused glance.
“If we have to go on the run, I know some great hiding places,” she jokingly assures me, taking my hand in hers. She pauses, her gaze searching mine before she continues. “Thanks, though… for trying to deflect the council’s attention. I hope it works.”
There seems to be a slight note of worry in her voice, but I can’t tell why. If only she would trust me with more information.
“I’m not leaving you to face this alone. I promise.”
She shrugs. “The council doesn’t know everything. Ask Gatlin. He found that out the hard way today.” Her voice is full of amusement and a tinge of mock worry. “I might have broken him.”
Gatlin huffs loudly, but surprisingly, a small half-smile appears on his face.
I chuckle. “Is that a smile? He does seem out of sorts. Mentioned something about a Harlequin? Although he didn’t go into detail.”
She shrugs. “It’s an underground network that supplies supes with various items. For payment, of course.”
Her explanation, while simple, has huge implications. As council security, I immediately want to know why we weren’t aware of them, but I push those thoughts aside to focus on today’s problems.
“London isn’t safe for you. We need to move our visit to the bank up to tonight. Figure out where we’re going next. Maybe Harlequin could get us the weapons and other tactical items we need?”
“That’s their specialty,” she says with a nod, looking around. “We need to put together a list first.”
Mathias slides into a chair at the table, pen and paper in hand. “Ready.”
Startled, she glances over at him. “Okay then. We need new encrypted phones, a way to get there without being seen, access to the vault, the key, password, and of course, weapons. Anything else?”
