“Yes,” Considine said. “Do you still want to get out and walk around?”
I pulled a knit cap out of one of my jacket pockets and crammed it down over the puff of my red curls. “Yeah,” I said. “If Gisila is watching the place, I want her to see I’m not scared.”
I pulled on my gloves—better for grip strength and finger mobility than mittens, even if they were colder—then hopped out of the car at the same time as Considine. “I want to check in with the day shift. Do you mind canvassing south?”
Considine narrowed his eyes as the wind swept his dark hair across his forehead—he didn’t bother with a hat. “That leaves you without backup.”
“I’ll be with the day shift,” I reminded him. “And you don’t have to go far—just a block.”
Considine joined me on the sidewalk. “I will…ifwe patrol north together.”
“Deal,” I said without hesitation, since he’d proposed what I was planning on already. “Thanks for checking south.”
Considine prowled off while I approached the day shift duo. “Hello,” I started, my voice a little shaky.
It’s work. This is for work. I don’t need to be nervous. I can just ask how it’s going. Wait, do I need to introduce myself first?
I paused a foot away from the pair, my brain freezing. There was no protocol for meeting coworkers outside of the Cloisters.
“Blood, right? From the night shift?” The werewolf bowed to me—there was that respect I’d been fighting for weeks that had infiltrated the entire task force.
Iknewit was a massive compliment to be respected, but while I was combat capable, that didn’t mean I should be a more or less respected team member. In fact, if I was less respected, maybe fewer people would call me Blood.
I awkwardly nodded. “I’m not here on any official capacity. I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen anything.” I glanced at Tutu’s—an adorable brick building with tasteful red trim and large picture windows. “Since tonight is the most likely night for another attempt.”
The werewolf didn’t even blink when the howling wind ruffled his hair. “There’s been no problems so far. Staff members have told us they’ve increased security inside. I can’t smell anything different, though, and neither can…the other members on my team.” He meaningfully glanced in the general direction of the leprechaun.
That would confirm that Tutu really doesn’t seem all that concerned by Gisila…but why?
I shelved the thought for a more appropriate time and started to automatically stand with my arms behind my back before correcting my posture to something more relaxed. “Well, that’s…good.”
“Nothing to the south, Dessert.” Considine appeared at my side and took my hand.
I frowned at him.
“What?” He smiled widely at me. “It’s our cover—we can pretend to be a couple.”
My pesky memory kicked in to remind me of our kiss, but I slammed the door on that fast.
I turned back to the werewolf and wizard. “Thank you. We’ll be going now.”
Considine—still holding my gloved hand—turned us north. “Ready to patrol, partner?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I want to check inside Tutu’s.”
“Fine with me,” Considine said. “That just means I get to hold your hand longer! Unless you would consider skinship past your limit? I did say I wouldn’t push you anymore today.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “It’s just…why do youannounceit?”
“Announce what?”
“That you’re happy to hold my hand longer.”
“Because I am,” Considine said. “And if I don’t tell you, you won’t notice. That’s why I had to announce I was going to seduce you.”
A pinched wheeze escaped my lungs before I concluded this was not a mental battle I could win, and I darted into Tutu’s, Considine as my hand-holding shadow.
The sensation of spicy food and gossamer wings brushed my brain in a very unlikely combination—that would be Tutu’s seals and the fae wards that covered the building.
