Breathing out a world-weary sigh, Cliff glared at the floor plan. “Great. Here I thought this was gonna be really fucking impossible to pull off or something.”
“Just think of the payout, and you’ll be fine,” Delilah said. “Or—the peace of mind that you’re saving innocent souls fromthe living nightmares that could be unleashed upon the world. Whatever floats your boat.”
Jon didn’t look much more hopeful than Cliff. “It’ll be a miracle if we make this work.”
Lee smirked, his sharp gaze moving between us. "Not everyday a heroic job like this comes around. You might even find yourself having a little fun."
7
Sylvia
Grumbling, Cliff tugged at the long, crisp sleeves of his white shirt like he’d been bound in ropes again. As far as I could tell, it fit him perfectly. But it was his hair I kept staring at. I’d never seen it this way—pushed back, almost in Lee’s style. A few locks were out of place, but that graced him with a delightfully roguish look. Not too wild but certainly not tame. Cliff looked so handsome, it hurt a little to look at him—not that I'd ever admit it to him.
Cliff swatted Lee’s hand when he tried to fix one of the stray locks. “Touch me again, and you’re gonna find it real hard to breathe with your throat wide open. It’s bad enough you’re making me wear this monkey suit.”
Lee flinched like he’d been fully punched. “It’sArmani, you ungrateful bastard. And you look great in it.”
Wincing, Ben flitted closer to Lee. “Maybe focus on the disturbingly specific death threat instead of the clothes?”
“You’re getting off easy with this, you know,” Cliff said, rounding on Ben, who went freshly pale. “Getting to be invisible the whole time. Doesn’t even matter what you wear.”
I pressed a hand to my chest dramatically. “At least you get to enter this party like an actual person. I’ll be merchandise!”
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled, stalking away to grab the matching tuxedo jacket. “This whole thing is a fever dream from hell.”
We were lucky, I supposed, to have had the day to recover and plan, but now we were a mere two hours away from the Crimson Gala. No matter how I ran the details through in my mind, my stomach still knotted at the idea of being separated from Jon, at being exposed to what might essentially be a ballroom full of immeasurably wealthy Rhett Iversons.
Delilah approached, brushing Lee’s arm to turn him toward her. Even in her cream-colored heels, she was several inches shorter than him. It was hard not to melt a little at how his face brightened immediately at the sight of her, like she was sunlight breaking into a windowless room. I tried not to stare, but they were both sobeautifulthat they pulled my attention like gravity. It was hard not to want to be an active participant in whatever they did. I wondered if they had that effect on everyone they met or if I was as hopelessly excitable as Cliff accused me of being.
I flew to the hallway table where Ben was standing and landed beside him, pretending to inspect my appearance in the vast arched mirror.
Delilah held up a pendant, its filigreed face bearing an impressive square-cut diamond at its center. The faint scent of singed roses came with it—Delilah’s spellwork—but fae glamour was layered over the jewel like a shield to mask it.
“Keep this close to you,” she said, closing Lee’s hand around the piece. “It’ll change to yellow when we’re approaching Eros. Blue when he’s dead and we’re heading to the security booth.”
Lee considered the diamond. “And if something happens to you?”
She smiled sweetly. “Thought of that, of course. The diamond is bound to both my will and my heartbeat. It’ll go dark if something happens to me. Something to keep you from worrying all night.”
He pulled her waist, ducking to kiss her. “You know I love a vintage piece, but this isn’t going to stop me from worrying about you for a second.”
Delilah shot him a sheepish smirk, looking up through her lashes. It was as close to vulnerable as I had seen her; I had almost doubted those icy shields of hers came down at all. “Yeah, well… It was worth a try.”
She clutched lightly at the lapels of his jacket like she didn’t want to let him go.
“After this, we’re going to Italy,” she said, injecting a lofty air back into her voice. “No more do-gooder crap for a while.”
“Nothing but champagne, truffles, and doing things to each other that would horrify the Amalfi Coast,” Lee promised.
They kissed again, Lee cradling Delilah’s cheek to tip her face up.
Ben rubbed his temples, groaning—and saving me an excuse to give them privacy. “I’m demanding a room at a different hotel. Maybe a different country,” he said pointedly.
They broke apart, Lee’s spirits untarnished. “You don’t mean that, Benny.”
“Try me,” he shot back, but his annoyance was laced with fondness. “I have better things to do than soundproof every room you two cross through.” Ben glanced at me, shaking his head.
I chuckled with him, but once again, I was baffled at the truth before me. He was more similar to me than I could have imagined any fairy in my wildest dreams. I had countless questions bubbling, desperate to ask him.
