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I huffed. Okay, so maybe I had. A little bit. “How’s your head?”

Reynard touched his forehead, where a red smudge messed up all his pale perfection. “Sore, but healing.”

“That’s good.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get any information that will help Zodiac.”

“Oh! But we did.” I shoved my hand into my pocket—straight into cold goo. The crumpled piece of paper had turned to mush from all the bits of Copernicus soaked into my clothes. I managed to pull some of it out, and cradle it in my hands. “Oh no. I had it, Reynard.”

Zee glanced over.

He’d been so hopeful, and I’d had the key to his freedom in my hands. But I’d ruined it.

“What is it?” Reynard asked.

“Nothing . . . it’s nothing.”

But he saw how my face had fallen.

I sighed. Had it really all been for nothing?

Reynard folded his arm around my shoulders, and tucked me close. He smelled so good, even now, all masculine and woody. And I smelled like a sewer. “I’m getting your suit all gooey.”

“I have other suits,” he mumbled into my hair. “If anyone can save him, it will be you,” he whispered, so only I heard.

Did he care for Zee? Or did he care because I cared? It didn’t matter, not in that moment. I’d done a bad thing and a good thing, and while I was coated in the blood and guts of a bad person, I kinda just needed not to be alone.

We were together, all three of us.

And that was enough. For now.

CHAPTER 12

I stood under the hot water, washing bits of Copernicus out of my hair, in Reynard’s posh private jet. How many times did you have to wash bits of body off you before it indicated some poor life choices? Was twice in two weeks too much? I’d worn bits of vampire duke, and now a demon general. It was probably best not to think about it. Hopefully, Zee and Reynard weren’t thinking about it at all, or they’d start asking questions, the answers to which would get them killed.

“Adam?” Zee rapped on the door.

“Yeah?”

“May I come in?”

“Erm . . .” I swept my soaked hair back. I was naked in the shower, obviously, but the glass screens were all steamed up, and he’d seen all of me multiple times, so it wasn’t a big deal. “Sure?”

He entered the bathroom, wings hidden, propped his ass against the washbasin, and folded his arms. “I was going to wait until you’d finished, but didn’t, because you’re taking ages. What happened back there—you don’t need to worry, okay? It wasn’t your fault. The general had it coming.”

“He was going to put humans in pies.” I lathered up Reynard’s lovely soap and swept it all over me, determined to get every trace of grossness off. I’d been telling myself the humans-in-pies thing had justified my turning the general into mincemeat, but a part of me remained unconvinced. Probably because, deep inside, I’d wanted to kill him.

“He would have, too. In his mind, humans were no different from pets. I just want you to know, it’s fine, okay? I don’t care that you pulverized him. I was so fucking close to turning him into sushi after he knocked you into that machinery anyway. Would have, if Fuck-Hard hadn’t needed saving. Again.” Zee rolled his eyes. “He’s such a damsel.”

I rinsed the suds off, rotating under the hot water. “I didn’t plan for it to happen that way though. It just sort fell into place.”

“Fell into place?” Zee snorted. “You got that right. And hey, listen, I know I’ve been a dick. It fucks me up when you get involved with my shit. You’re you, and that shit is that shit. It’s wrong when it mixes.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I should have left it all alone, but didn’t.”

We fell into a soft quiet, with the only sound being the hissing shower. I rinsed off some more, ruffling my hair, fairly certain I’d washed all the chunky bits out.

“Are we okay?” Zee asked in a small voice.