Christianna
My foot taps impatiently as I wait for the guard to escort me to my car. Right now, everyone has to have an escort.
The air shifts behind me and I turn to see Meg pausing as she rummages through her bag.
She gives a small, “Ah,” when she finds what she’s looking for, then presses something into my hand: a mini pepper spray for my key ring and a small metal baton.
“Really?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Better safe. I’ve got the same set. They were delivered today. I have some things to stash around the house too.”
I peer out into the parking lot. “Where did the security guy get to? Want to chance it?”
She tightens her grip on the pepper spray and nods.
We step into the cool, dark evening. Every skitter of a leaf makes us flinch as we scan the lot.
As we approach my car, our steps slow.
WHORE gleams darkly across the silver paint beneath the area light.
Meg gasps. My fingers tighten around the canister as my eyes sweep the shadows.
A scuff sounds behind us.
We whirl in tandem, hands raised.
A figure in a cloak watches from the darkness. Recognition hits, and the tension drains from my shoulders.
“Did you see who did this?” Meg asks.
The figure shakes her head, then lifts a hand and points toward the pole-mounted camera.
I follow her gesture and see it smeared with paint.
A jingle sounds down the walkway.
Our heads snap up, bodies tensing again.
It’s the guard.
I glance back to where the Dark Angel stood.
She’s gone, absorbed by the shadows.
Chapter one hundred
Christianna
The Notes aren’t waiting at the door, and my nose twitches as a foul smell hits. I know what it is immediately. Everything took longer than it should have tonight.
I step inside and follow it to the back door, already moving through the house toward the kitchen. I should have been home earlier. I wasn’t.
“What happened?” Meg asks as I come back.
“My car,” I say, crouching to wipe and spray. “Everything ran late. They must be somewhere quiet.”
“The alarm was on, though, right?”
