“Yes.” She frowns.
“Did Eros tell you that you have to pass level three piloting safety to even get behind the wheel?”
“He said his mother taught him how.”
“Yes, his mother is one of the best damn pilots in the entire city. Did he tell you that?”
“No.”
“Do you know he’s a thief?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you to lie to us?”
“I plead the fifth.” Annabelle blinks.
“What does that mean?” Nico turns to me.
“It’s an American law term.”
“This isn’t America.”
“Clearly.”
“Both of you, stop.” She puts one hand on each of our knees, and our eyes snap to hers. “What Nico is trying to say is—”
“Eros is a bottom-sucking liar.”
The side door of theomadaflies open, and Eros peers in. “I’m what now?” He has a streak of dirt and blood on his face and slashes down his side, blood soaked into his tunic around the tears.
Belle scrambles to get out of theomadato him. “You’re bleeding!”
36
NICO
Not enoughis what goes through my head. Not. Bleeding. Enough. “Where the hell were you? And why did you leave our mate with a piece of dry seaweed for protection?” Blood rushes through my veins, pounding in my ears. I move to stand beside Eros, my hands fisted at my sides. It’s taking everything I have not to throttle him.
Annabelle gasps. “Protection? Azzurio wasn’t there for my protection. It was just somewhere for me to hang out while I waited for Eros to come back. I mean, if the Veiled City had ride sharing apps or...or I had my block, I bet I could even put your contact information in it. I could have contacted you. With my block that’s in the lockbox under Nico’s uniform on the top shelf.” She holds out her empty hand. “So stop coming at Eros.”
We have public transportation, but I’ve never seen a mermaid on it. I glare at her empty hand. An unsettling chill turns within me. She’s right. If she’d had her block, she could have contacted us. But there’s always the chance that someone could use it to track her as well. A surge of concern lurches through my chest, like a stone dropping in water, ripples of worry spreading across the pool of my anger. I need her safe, and the possibility of her being tracked by whoever hurt Alder isn’t something I’m willing to let happen.
“It’s okay, Sunshine. What happened today won’t ever happen again. It’s inexcusable. I have an explanation, but let’s... not talk about it here. I could hear Nico yelling all the way from the other side of the dock.”
I wasn’t yelling. I don’t yell. But now I’m counting, breathing, and all the other nonsense I’ve read about that it is supposed to calm me down. None of it is going to work. Putting my fist through Eros’s face? Yeah, that will work.
Annabelle has her hand on my chest again. I wouldn’t say my anger is lessening, but it’s calming a bit.
“Home. Can we go home?” She’s looking at me, but she glances at Eros and the trail of blood down the side of his cheek. I’m holding my side.
“Yes. Eros, Holter, you pilot the otheromada. Annabelle and I will take this one.”
“No, I’m piloting.” Holter gets in the front seat.
“Eros can’t go by himself.” Annabelle moves toward him, but I don’t move out of the way. “I’ll go with him.”
“No,” Holter and I say at the same time.