“Don’t you think underground criminals might know you, if you were a vampire hunter in the city?” he pressed. “It’s myunderstanding Huntsmen are renowned, wearing their colors proudly.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So you know what Huntsmen are, huh?”
Cas shrugged. “Just like I know how to talk, walk, recite Shakespeare, fuck, and fight. They’ve been around for centuries. Memory loss tends to be about personal experiences, not general knowledge.”
I bought exactly none of that.
But the asshole made a point. If we were going undercover, I couldn’t take someone who might be recognized on sight. François only left Paris a year ago.
“I’ll go,” Cas offered.
“How are you so sure you won’t be recognized?” I challenged. “Maybe you were a Huntsman in Paris, too.”
“If I were, your friend could tell us,” Cas said smoothly. “But what I picture when I hear Paris is not modern. I don’t think I have been anywhere in your world in the last few centuries.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Your selective amnesia is so fucking convenient, isn’t it?”
He snorted, shoving his hands in his pocket. “What do you imagine I could tell you if I remembered, I wonder?”
“What you’re doing here, for one.”
His glare was challenging as ever and I refused to look away first. In the end, Gideon cleared his throat. “Silver, take him with you. He’s strong, and will provide good backup. Cas, if anything happens to her, I’d happily kick your ass, but I doubt there’ll be anything left by the time Kleos is done with you, so, maybe take care of her.”
“I don’t need a damn babysitter.”
“You’re a protector, and we work in pairs for a reason. It’s a recon mission, but you never know—things could turn sour.”
In truth, keeping an eye on Cas was one of my current assignments, so as fun as a couple of days in Paris with François would have been, swapping my old colleague for the untrustworthy newcomer wasn’t the worst idea.
I sighed. “Whatever.”
Gideon levelled me with one of his rare serious looks. “Out there, you two are partners. That means watching each other’s back. Do I need to put you through some trust exercises before the assignment?”
I would rather throw myself off a cliff, so I shook my head. “No, sir. I’ll have his back.”
While I still didn’t trust Cas’s motives, I doubted he’d do something as obvious as betraying me once we were alone. The fact that he thought of a crooked, complex strategy about the missing reserves while the rest of us went for the obvious told me that when he’d show his hand, it would be calculated, the knife coming in the middle of the night, silent and still.
Which of course was exactly the problem. But I’d still be safe until he was ready to strike.
“When are we leaving?”
“Thursday, first thing. The auction is Friday night. Make your own way to Paris, but the jet will be on standby Saturday morning—you’ll need it in case you’re traveling back with a stock of stored magic.”
The jet was prepped to not explode because of magical interference. We never could take a commercial flight—and traveling by train or car with a sensitive, precious load was inadvisable.
I rubbed my hands together. “Two days in Paris!”
Gideon’s look told me he saw right through me when I imagined whistling with my arms full of designer clothes. Suddenly I felt far less ambivalent about the piles of gold in my safe.
“To scout the place out,” he intoned, gaze sharp. “Not shop.”
I pouted. “Must you ruin my fun?”
“Literally my job.”
“So what’s the plan until Wednesday?”
Gideon cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think you should be doing,protector?”
