“That’s a used car when she turns sixteen.” I caught his eye. “Or money for college.”
Before Linus could whip out his standard fee, I pulled a dollar from my pocket and traded it for the ring.
With the transaction complete, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
At least Lethe would understand why I had to buy us new friendship donut pendants and why I would let our new jeweler melt the old ones for scrap…that I still wouldn’t allow to be used for our new designs.
“You didn’t compensate her much.” He returned his wallet to his pocket. “She won’t forget that or forgive it.”
“She touched you without your permission, and I won’t forget that or forgive it.”
Or her past sins against Linus and other former students, whose High Society upbringing numbed them to a level of abuse that still held the power to shock me.
Bette might walk the straight and narrow these days, but if she slipped, I would be there to catch her.
A tiny smile played on his lips. “My hero.”
“Don’t you forget it.” I linked our fingers and led him back to Moby. “We need to get a bead on Volkov.”
“I have people working on it,” he assured me. “There’s something else we ought to do before returning home.”
“Visit Esteban?” I could smell his stall from here. “Churros make excellent get well soon gifts, and Lethe is still recovering.”
“The cleaners confiscated my tux pants.”
In all the bronze powder excitement, I had totally forgotten about the interrupted fitting.
“Even if we filed the paperwork to get them out of evidence, they would still be contaminated.” Ugh, ugh, ugh. “With so many gwyllgi guests, you’re right. We can’t risk it.”
“Javier has my records. I can walk in, place the order, and meet you at Esteban’s.”
I did my best to ignore the siren song of cinnamon and sugar, but I failed. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“All right.” I walked backward for a few steps. “See you in a few.”
Hands shoved into his pockets, he turned and began the short walk to the tailor.
Stomach rumbling at the promise of chocolate dipping sauce, I wove through the early-afternoon foot traffic on my way to see my old friend.
Five
Linus allowed Grier a head start, a small one, before he pulled out his phone and dialed Javier.
“This is Linus Lawson. I would like to place a rushed order for a duplicate of the tuxedo for my wedding. No, I had no issue with your work. It was superb as always. There was an incident, completely my fault, and the pants were ruined. I’m aware you prefer to work with matching lot numbers to keep the fabrics identical, so I’ll pay whatever you think is fair to have it delivered in, say, two days? Thank you.”
With his business handled, Linus found a quiet spot and embraced his darker half until he became a swirl of midnight that blended with the surrounding night. The cold in him intensified, but he was used to the ache in his bones, like shards of ice slicing through marrow. Thus camouflaged, he began shadowing Grier.
The howl of wraiths who made up his tattered cloak rang in his ears, a constant white noise that droned endlessly. Drawing on their power, he honed his senses until he could have been walking alongside Grier, her sunshine smile enough to warm him from across the howling abyss. The gentle sway of her hips sent a growl up the back of his throat, but he cut it short when heads turned in search of its source.
She was more than beautiful, more than gifted, more than intelligent. She was vital.
To him, she was…everything.
Unable to help himself, he drifted too close and caught her soft laughter with his heightened senses.
“You’re stalking me,” she murmured. “Is it wrong to admit I kind of like it?”
A flicker of surprise caught Linus unawares, but then he smiled. “You knew I intended to shadow you.”
“Please.” She snorted as she stepped up to the curb then checked both ways before crossing. She was holding her phone and had plugged an earpiece in on the right side to explain away their conversation. “The guy who trained me was very thorough.” A husky note entered her voice. “Very thorough.”
Heat punched through the layers of cold, and his gut snapped taut. “You’re punishing me.”
“Pretty much.” She sank an extra swish into her hips, and he trailed after her like a lovesick puppy. “Using your fiancée as bait? Really? You know I would have volunteered. Now I’m all disappointed and stuff.”
A tendril of real fear wormed its way into his mind. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re trying,” she amended for him. “You’re used to working alone, calling all the shots. This is different. This isn’t you grooming me for a role or preparing me to ace my tests, this is new. This is you and me, working together. Partners. Equals.” A knowing smile he wanted to taste quirked up one side of her mouth. “You’ll get the hang of it. Sir Bonks-A-Lot will make sure of that.”
Her ready forgiveness untangled the knot in his stomach, the impulse to reach out and run his fingers through her hair a visceral need that forced him to make a fist.
He didn’t deserve her. Her patience for him was boundless. He was a quick study, but he had so much to learn when it came to being a good partner, a good husband. At least this much, he could do for her. Hunting was where he excelled.
“Go on ahead,” he told her. “I’ll keep watch.”
This form didn’t render him invisible, which would have been a useful trick in their line of work, but it did make him hard to differentiate from other shadows.
“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” she warned him. “I would hate for you to leave me no choice but to kick your butt for getting hurt this close to The Big Day.”
“I’ll do my best.” As far as promises went, it was an easy one to make. “Be careful.”
“I will be.”
He crossed the street with her then hung back while she kept strolling the cobbled incline down to River Street. Nose lifted to breathe in the scents of cinnamon and sugar, she headed toward the row of tents where Esteban set up shop most nights. Linus let her get far enough ahead his pulse kicked with eagerness to close the gap, but he quelled the instinct to coddle her and surveyed their surroundings.
One slip, she would forgive him. Two in the same night would get him…bonked.
Vampires were less common on the street now than before the Siege, and they walked in pairs for safety. For that reason, the tall male threading the crowd as he pretended to examine a tent near Esteban’s, this one filled with local art, stood out. Even from this distance, Linus sensed the direction of his focus on Grier.
Wrapping the night tighter around him, Linus began a leisurely stroll toward the vampire.
Ahead, Grier laughed with Esteban, who had stopped working to catch up with her.
The vampire observed them through the strings of a windchime while Linus looked on.
Tensions still ran high in Savannah between the necromantic and vampiric factions. He wasn’t about to make a move on the vampire until he confirmed he was an agent of Volkov’s. So he pretended interest in a display of local jams and honeys in the event this vampire was more observant than most.
“Are you in position?” The vampire appeared to speak to no one. He must be wearing an earpiece similar to what Grier was sporting. “She’ll be headed your way in five.”
The check-in gave Linus time to consider his options before the vampires made their move.
When Volkov abducted Grier, he stole her from Woolworth House. Until Linus designed a tattoo for her that granted immunity from vampiric compulsion, she kept holed up at home, afraid to venture out. Her purchase of a vehicle too big to fit the older streets in downtown Savannah told him she hadn’t finished healing yet. Still, Moby gave her control, gave her room to breathe. She fought through her fears, and he respected her for it. Too much to allow Volkov another shot at fracturing the bold spirit not even Atramentous had broken.
With a final chuckle, Grier accepted bags filled with churros and dipping sauces from Esteban then set out for the area where she had parked. Her pace was slow, and she performed an elaborate juggling act when she reached Moby to buy the vampire she must have also spotted time to catch up with her.
Once she unlocked the SUV, she gently arranged the food. Tires squealed as the vampire from the market made a grab for her, but she danced aside. He fell forward, and she slammed the door on his head and neck until he howled and covered his head with his arms.
A second vampire leapt from an idling van and rushed to his friend, but Linus intercepted him. He went in low, hit the vampire in the gut with his shoulder, and flipped him using one of Grier’s favorite tactics. The vampire hit the pavement on his back with a sharp grunt, and Linus drew on a sigil that paralyzed the attacker from the neck down.
“Who sent you?” He crouched beside the vampire and started going through his pockets. “Who is your master?”
“I’ll kill you for this,” he spat as his senses recovered. “You can’t stop what’s coming.”
“What, exactly, is coming?” Linus confiscated the vampire’s wallet and thumbed through its contents. He located a driver’s license and credit cards issued to the same, likely fake, name. “Mr. Orlay.”
Fangs bared, he hissed, “Savannah belongs to—”
Grier kicked him hard enough for his eyes to roll back in his head.
“I get tired of hearing all the Savannah belongs to the vampires rhetoric.” She nudged him with the toe of her shoe. “The Siege has ended. Get a life.”
“He’s on his second.” Linus dusted his hands. “It doesn’t appear he’s done anything productive with this one either.”
“True.” She straightened her ponytail. “Let’s get these losers in Moby.”
Linus had to admit, the SUV’s bulk came in handy when they were forced to haul bodies.