The guard considered me for a second, then sighed begrudgingly.
“She’s an impressive one,” he admitted. “You’re lucky Eros has taken a special interest in healers. Follow me.”
He stood, shaking his hand out as he strode toward the two armed men, who stowed their weapons.
I returned to Cliff’s hands and beamed up at him. “You used the pen!” I whispered.
He winked. “Not a bad trick. Think we can replace the ink with arsenic next time?”
“For someone likehim? Absolutely. I love your thinking.”
Delilah quirked a brow. “You guys have a weird friendship.”
11
Jon
Icaught up to Tammy beside one of the tables. Catching her shoulder, I turned her round, and she seized my wrist like she fully intended to break it. Her dark brown eyes flashed wildly, lips pulled back in a snarl.
Then she froze and gaped at me, nearly dropping her glass of champagne.
Itwasher. Skin like polished wood interrupted by scars. Black hair worn in an updo that looked completely unlike her usual simple style. But that face…
Although I had seen her many times over the years, each reunion dragged me straight back to the worst day of my life. Seventeen years old. Smelling of smoke and blood, a scent I chose to keep in my life with each hunt. But that first time would always be different, and I would always stagger between relief and terror to see her.
“Jon,” she stammered, releasing my wrist and taking a step back.
For a moment, I stopped registering the swathes of people around us. I leaned down and pulled Tammy into a tightembrace, the knot in my chest unraveling at the feel of her.Safe, alive.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You’re…you’reokay.”
Still wearing a breathless little smile, I released her and stepped back. Tammy raked me up and down before settling on my face.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to having to lookupat you,” she said. “I still remember when you were barely taller than me.” Her lips pressed into a thin line, glancing over her shoulder. When she spoke again, a sharper edge lined her voice. “What the hell are you doing here, Jon?”
She looked sofrightened. There was a violent disconnect between the Tammy I knew and the woman standing before me. Her black cocktail dress was fitted to her—a far cry from the tactical clothing of a seasoned hunter.
“What do you mean?” I struggled to keep my voice low. “Youtoldus to find you. You said you were in trouble.”
“What are you talking about?” But even as she spoke, a fleeting frown crossed her face, some kind of connection that I couldn’t piece together.
“The texts,” I said plainly, wishing desperately I could whip out Cliff’s phone to show her. “You texted us to find you here. To find thisErosguy.”
Horror mounted on her face. “That wasn’t me.”
My stomach twisted like I’d missed a step in the dark. “What?”
“You heard me. I haven’t sent youshit. Someone else must’ve figured out how to contact you. Someone who knows I’ve been trying to keep you away.” She looked around us, wide eyes scanning the crowd. “Where’s Cliff?”
I hesitated. How could I even begin to explain the insanity that we’d been dragged into?
“He’s busy. Tammy, why the hell wouldn’t you want us here?” Try as I might, a little woundedness seeped into my voice. Yearsago, she’d have trusted us to defend her own family. Now she didn’t even call us as backup for some snooty black market party where she was clearly outnumbered, unless there were other discreet hunters here I hadn’t clocked.
Tammy visibly tried to gather herself, focusing back on me like that might anchor her. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to see you’re safe, and I’m impressed you made it this far into the event without getting killed. But I don’t need your help here. You can’t stay.”
“Then we’ll rendezvous afterward. Listen, we’ve got something in motion here to bring this whole fucking gala to the ground.”
“Well, call it off,” she bit out. “This is a small, targeted operation on my end. The pieces are too intricate for me to introduce more players into this. Please, Jon. Stop whatever you’re doing, and go. I’ll catch you up once I’m through here.”
