Remo approached and peered over my shoulder. “Maybe. Too bad your dad can’t bailusout of here.”
“That would be convenient.” I scraped my hair back and studied Cruz’s picture again. The fae had been male-model gorgeous, not to mention kind, generous, intelligent, and selfless. If he’d survived and had been my age, or around my age, I would’ve fallen head-over-heels for him.
“You have some drool on your chin.”
I lifted my gaze off the picture and set it on the fae who had, unfortunately, survived. “Funny.”
He obviously thought it was funny since he was smirking. “While you were staring at the dead fae, I took inventory of the place, and besides this pen”—he twirled it again between his fingers—“there’s nothing here.”
I wanted to take the file with me, as a sort of memento for Nima and Iba, but had no bag and didn’t want souvenirs of this place. Besides, this was all fake, or deepfakes, so it would probably not survive transportation through the portal. I set the file down and walked over to the door Remo propped open.
“After you, Trifecta.”
Oh . . . the horrid nickname. “Why do the good men die but the bad ones persist?” I asked as I brushed past him.
“Just because he died heroically doesn’t mean he was a good man.”
“I beg to differ. That’s exactly what it means.”
“Then according to your logic, that makes me a good man.”
I stopped walking and whirled to face him. Although the back of his body was coated in mud, his front was surprisingly clean and devoid of scrapes. “How does that make you a good man, Remo?”
“Well.” He clicked the top of his pen, sliding the ink tip out, then clicked again, sliding the tip back in. “I saved you from breaking your neck in the last cell and died doing it.”
“Except you didn’t die.”
“I beg to differ.” He clicked his pen again. “I came back to life, but I most definitely died.”
Even though he did have a point, calling mebad companycanceled out any heroic act. “If you want to be a hero, stay dead next time.”
He shot me a lopsided grin. “But then you’d be awfully lonely.”
“Unlike you, I’d rather be alone than inbadcompany.” I took off toward the next building, the one sandwiched between Bee’s Place and the jail—a mint-green two-story house that read ANGEL SPA.
“You seem awfully bitter I called you bad company.”
I spun around. “Was it supposed to be a compliment?”
His eyes darkened. I waited a couple seconds for him to apologize. When no apology came, I turned back toward the spa and shoved the door open. The bell over the door tinkled. I inhaled, expecting the scent of warmed candle wax and exotic oils. All I got was dry plaster and musty air. Glass jars lined the walls, but all were empty. I went up a set of carpeted stairs that creaked underfoot. The small landing gave onto three rooms—two had massage tables and empty cupboards, one had a small iridescent-tiled bathroom. Excitement tore through me at the sight of the sink. I twisted both the hot and cold knobs, but lo and behold, not even a rusty trickle spurted out. I turned to the toilet and lifted the lid to find the bowl as dry as the back of my mouth.Damn.
“Anything useful upstairs?” Remo called out.
Even though the massage tables were padded and thus looked relatively comfortable, we needed water and there was none. “Unfortunately not.”
He looked up the stairwell.
“If you don’t trust me, go check.”
He returned his gaze to me. “I trust you.”
“Huh.A Farrow trusting a Wood. That must surely be a first.”
His jaw ticked as though he were working really hard to bite back a retort.
I pushed past him out the door, then walked toward the next establishment—Bee’s Place. Instead of barreling inside, I backed up into the road to take in the two-story brick inn with its big picture window. This place contained so much history that it somehow felt sacred. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t the real Bee’s Place. Just a pretty copy placed in a parallel universe. Still, my heart held steady as I crossed back toward it and pressed my fingertips into the glass door.
I froze on the threshold, the aroma of something sweet and flaky wafting into me. “Do you smell that?” I whispered, stepping inside.
