“Is there anything else you need?” Sam asks, and I do not like the wide-eyed way Grant keeps looking at him.
“I—No, thank you,” Grant says. His smile is sweet, cheeks ever so slightly pink. I do not like that, either.
“Right, come on then,” Sam says to Quinn. “Drew’s making dinner tonight.”
Quinn makes an approving sound and gets to his feet. “Be careful,” he says to Grant. Jeremiah lifts his eyes from the book to frown. I sigh. I suppose it is inevitable that Quinn should know what is happening in the Hunt. I can only hope Asher does not tell him every single detail.
“I’ll be fine,” Grant says, and for the first time since they arrived, he looks at me. “Vlad’s gonna be there. It’ll all be okay.”
Quinn smiles at him and me, and itistruly a privilege to see the changes that the fledgling bond between him and Asher has wrought. I survey him for a second. The Huntsman would take him in an instant, I think. From what Asher told us of Sorrel’s attack a few months ago, Quinn might be far better at dealing with high fae than the rest of us.
But he has been through a lot in a short time, and I cannot ask Asher to pressure his mate into assisting us when I cannot—
Well.
Grant is helping whether any of us want that or not.
Grant and Paxton see them to the door, and Paxton remains after Grant comes back and starts scooping all of his new purchases back into the bags they came in. I hear the low murmur of Sam’s voice replying to something Paxton has said. If I were to strain, I could make out the words, but there is no need for that.
“I’ll be ready in”—Grant’s eyes dart to the clock up on the wall—“ten minutes?”
“Fifteen,” I say. We will not leave for another half an hour, I am certain, but I have already accepted that, and I will not rush him. There is no need to start this journey off on the wrong foot.Grant nods and then dashes from the room, and Paxton makes a startled sound as Grant presumably runs past him.
Paxton shakes his head when he comes back into the living room. “He’s gotta keep to human speeds in the house,” he says.
“You’re just jealous,” Jeremiah replies without looking up.
Paxton huffs, but he is smiling. He turns his gaze on me. “You owe me money, by the way. Or the Huntsman does. That little shopping spree was not cheap.”
I frown. “They—”
“I told Sam if he doesn’t send me photos of the receipts, I’ll ask Drew for them,” Paxton says, smile sly. “This is our job. We pay for it.”
“I know that,” I say. Irritated, I get to my feet. I need to have my thoughts in order if I am to take Grant out on this mission. “This is going to be a disaster.”
Paxton shakes his head, but Jeremiah makes a humming sound that tells me there is something he knows that I do not. Paxton frowns at him, too, and at least this time I am not left in the dark.
“What is it?” he asks.
Jeremiah sighs and puts his book aside with a pointed glance at the door. I close it as silently as possible; I can still hear Grant’s movements above, and they do not hesitate.
“You do understand where you’re going?”
“To Margate,” I say, “as the Huntsman asked.” I arranged the hotel today. I have already ensured I know the way to the club, that I have several routes memorised to quickly extract both of us from any potentially dangerous situations.
“And where’s Grantfrom?” Jeremiah asks.
Paxton’s eyes go wide. “You’re joking.”
“He is—He cannot…” I trail off when I realise I have never asked Grant that question. It is not as though his past has nevercome up. He talked at length about his family and friends in the first few months and years after I turned him.
But the night I did that, he was not near Margate. Admittedly, he was not terribly far, if I have the location correct, but he was notclose.
“Why wouldn’t he say anything?” Paxton asks.
“You both know it wouldn’t stop the Huntsman,” Jeremiah scoffs. “And Grant’s desperate to prove himself. I wonder why.”
“I do not need him to do that,” I snap. “I would rather he be kept out of all of this.”
