Page 35 of Kissed the Mark
“What’s the ‘deal’ then?”
“The deal is that you get to keep your lifein exchange for betraying Leandra, and I get Leandra’s rank whenshe’s gone. Simple.”
Simple. Except I couldn’t quite believeLeandra would do any of this, even if she was shady sometimes.She’d seemed so earnest with her research—so excited to show offeverything she’d found and accomplished.
“Okay,” I said, “I’ll help you.”
Between my options, Patricia’s let me offthe easiest but with the darkest conscience, Leandra’s left meunemployed or, if Mateo was to believed, possibly dead, and Mateo’slet me fuck everyone over a little bit but also scratch my itch forcuriosity. I wasn’t sure what the morally correct option was, letalone the best option for me, but one thing I was certain of: I wasdamn sick of vampire politics.
Chapter Eighteen
The Woods Pack
THE PACK THAT THE NEWLY turned wolf belonged to wasnotoriously secluded, even for werewolves. The other two packs inMayfair mostly lived in town and had their main congregations inshared town spaces, only venturing out to the woods on the fullmoon to enjoy the forest at Mayfair’s edge to the fullest. The packthat lived in the woods was not one that could be reached easily—inhindsight, it made sense for the mayoral council to send the girlthere, because she would be more protected if the attack on her hadbeen targeted. But had she been targeted by Leandra, or by BillDyer?
I had to admit that I was deeply unsettledby all this. What if I’d just said no to Leandra in the firstplace? Someone would still be dead, and someone’s life alteredforever—but I wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of it,because it would’ve been none of my business. The other bountyhunters were keeping up their normal level of marks, but I wasslipping, my rank undoubtedly falling behind the others because Iwas so embroiled in this mess.
I wandered the woods, my feet crunchingleaves and branches. There was not a good known location for theWoods Pack. They would come to me, if they wanted to. I wasbasically relying on stumbling across someone or being found. Deepdown I hoped that they would see me but decide not to approach, andthen I could go home and tell Mateo Rivera that nothing happenedand to fuck off and leave me alone.
My phone buzzed. And then it buzzed again. Asquirrel dashed in front of me and skittered up the side of a treeas it buzzed a third time. Annoyed, I took it out to see where thenotifications were coming from.
[1:23 PM]:Heyy
[1:23 PM]:Where are you?
[1:24 PM]:I need to ask yousomething
It was from an unknown number, albeit onethat started with the 314 area code. Probably not a wrong number,but I hadn’t had time to check if my contacts automatically syncedover from my last phone.Who is this?I texted back.
[1:25 PM]:Someone who blew your mindlast night
God. I was tempted to bury the phone in thewoods, go to Faerie, and never come back. At least Patriciacouldn’t murder me there.Is there something you need?
[1:25 PM]:Yeah. Can I call you?
The phone buzzed in the same call patternI’d heard when Mateo contacted me earlier. She hadn’t even waitedfor a response. I put the phone to my ear but didn’t say anything,bracing myself. I wasn’t sure how to approach her in light of thenew information I possibly had about her.
“Olympia? Are you there?” Leandra asked.
“Yes,” I said tersely.
“Where are you? It sounds like you’reoutside.”
“You said you needed something?” I shiveredin the cold.
“I wanted to ask a favor,” she said. “Thoughyou’re free to refuse if you don’t want to do it.”
As though I hadn’t done enough favors forher lately. “What is it?”
“Well…it’s kind of weird. Would you bewilling to go to that pack in the woods and talk to the girl whogot turned by that werewolf who died?”
Spots filled my vision. “What?” Imanaged.
“I just think she might know something. Theywouldn’t be happy to see a vampire anywhere near them, but theyprobably wouldn’t mind a fairy. Kindred forest spirits or somethinglike that. I want you to invite her out for a drink or a meal orcoffee or—you get what I mean. And then I’ll show up there so I cantalk to her.”
“Why? What do you think she knows?”
“It might help us with Patricia,” she said.Once again, not directly answering my questions.
