Now I’m being absurd, holding my fist out to Terrance for a fist bump. Terrance grins and crashes his huge, meaty hand against my knuckles. “Right back atcha, Trouble. No matter where you end up after this, you need me, I’m there.”
“You’re welcome to stay,” Director West says. “If you need a job, you could come work for the Agency—gifts like yours could prove very useful.”
I shake my head automatically. “Thanks, but I just want to keep my head down and my nose out of trouble. Your world isn’t exactly safe for humans. Besides, I could use the change. I’ve got a lot of bad memories here that I’d like to escape…and certain asshole vampires to avoid.”
Director West lifts an arched brow at me, but the corner of her mouth tips up into a small smile. “Very well. Stay safe, Nora, and good luck in your next venture.”
After saying good-bye and giving my thanks to everyone, I make my way to the back of the room, where Oliver is still sitting at the table. He starts to fidget when I approach, but he stays put knowing I’ve got questions. “Oliver, hey.”
“Hi, Nora.”
I sit down next to him and offer a smile to put him at ease. He runs his fingers through his hair and then tucks both of his hands in his lap.
“So…” I ask the million-dollar question. “You work here?”
He meets my gaze and gives me a small, almost cocky smile as he shrugs a shoulder. “I’m the assistant director.”
“Seriously?” My eyes bulge. That title sounds important. Like…is he Nick’s boss? Sweet, cute Oliver? He certainly looks the part now. He’s handsome in his suit and seems to have more confidence than he had on the bus yesterday. “If you have a good job here, what in the world are you doing hanging at the library and taking the bus out in my neighborhood every night?”
Oliver’s cheeks blush. “I was keeping an eye on you.”
My jaw falls slack, and I quickly pop my mouth shut. My mind starts racing. What did he mean by that? Why would he be looking out for me? How did he even know who I am? It was sweet that he was worried about me, but it was a little creepy at the same time. Was he stalking me?
Oliver grimaces, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “You don’t remember, but we’ve met before. Years ago. I’ve been looking out for you ever since.”
I’m shocked. Had we met before last night? Sure, I’d seen him around the library over the last few months, but I didn’t think we’d ever talked. Had we? I think really hard and come up blank. “Um…no…?”
He shakes his head. “No. You don’t remember, because I spelled you to forget. A long time ago. About nine years ago.”
It only takes me a second to realize what he’s talking about, and then I gasp so loud I gain the attention of everyone in the entire room. “That was you?”
Oliver flinches, startled, and his face drains of color. “You do remember?”
A shadow closes over me, and I glance up to find a giant, overprotective troll giving Oliver a stink eye. Everyone else gathers in behind him. “Everything okay over here?”
“Yeah, sorry, I just…” I look back at Oliver, my mouth flapping like a fish’s. “The park that night? Those men… That was really you?”
He nods, face ashen, and mumbles, “I didn’t mean to kill them.”
“What?” Nick asks. He sounds morbidly curious.
Director West, on the other hand, seems much more concerned when she says, “You killed people?”
I want to slap my hand over my face. Wrong thing for him to say in front of a whole group of people that happen to be the underworld police. No wonder he seems so distressed. His face goes green as he glances up at his boss. “I didn’t mean to.”
Poor guy. There’s no way I’m going to let him get in trouble for that. “I’m glad he did. Those bastards deserved a lot worse than they got.”
There’s silence for a few moments, until Director West says, “Would you two care to explain?”
I really don’t want to explain, but it sounds more like a gentle command than a request, so I take a deep breath before launching into one of the most horrific memories of my life. “I was thirteen, living with a foster family up in Chaldean Town. Sometimes my foster dad would drink, and when that happened, it was better for me to not be around, so I’d duck out of the house and wait him out in the park nearby.”
“A thirteen-year-old girl wandering alone in Chaldean Town after dark?” Nick mutters. “Were you crazy?”
“It was usually the safer option,” I murmur as I fall, unavoidably, into the memory. “Just not that night.”
Several people in the room curse under their breath.
“What happened?” someone asks gently. I don’t know who, because I’ve got my eyes closed, and I’m fighting to stave off the PTSD panic attack.
When I can’t answer the question, Oliver speaks up. “It was late in the evening, and I was out in the park practicing my control of my magic. I had a hard time containing my power back then. But anyway, I was on my way home cutting through the playground when I saw two human men…um…”
“Attacking me,” I finish, my voice a ghost of a whisper.
The energy in the room grows heavy with friction. A low snarl breaks the silence that’s so menacing the hairs on my arms stand up. I’ve heard that growl before. Terrance’s eyes have gone black, like they did back at the club. The entire group seems just as shocked by his change as those at the club had the first time.
I understand this is some kind of reaction to the news that I was hurt like that, because Terrance feels protective of me. I’m a little baffled that the troll cares so much, but it punches me in the gut at the same time. I’ve never had a true friend before. Never had anyone to watch my back. My chest burns at the thought of the treasure I’ve acquired in my acquaintance with Terrance.
I hate touching people, but I place my hand on his arm anyway. I’m plunged straight into his thoughts because they’re so close to the surface. He’s so beside himself with rage that he’s having a hard time not tearing apart the people in this room. The only thing keeping him from rampaging is the thought of figuring out who those men are. When he does, they’ll be dead for what they did to me.
“They are dead,” I assure him. “Oliver took care of them that very night. I’ve been safe from them for years now. It’s okay, Terrance.”
Terrance takes a deep breath. His eyes morph back to their normal brown, but he’s still trembling slightly. “It’s okay,” I promise him again. “It was a long time ago, and Oliver saved me.”
It hasn’t been long enough—will probably never be long enough—but I’m not going to admit that to Terrance right now.
“I didn’t mean to kill them,” Oliver whispers. His voice sounds as haunted as mine. “I was just so angry and scared. And I didn’t have control of my magic yet. One minute they were terrorizing Nora, and the next they were on the ground, charred beyond recognition. Nora was still conscious, and I was afraid she would tell people what happened, so I spelled her to forget what she’d seen and took her to the hospital.”
I don’t realize I’m shaking my head until Director West questions me. “His spell didn’t take?”
I glance up at her, startled. “Sorry. No, it did. I did forget how they died, but…” I meet Oliver’s gaze. My eyes start to glisten, and I take a deep breath to keep from crying. “But when you took me to the hospital, you carried me in your arms. We were touching, so I could hear your thoughts.”
Everyone in the room except Parker and Henry gasps, but I barely notice. My gaze is locked on the man I’d remembered as my savior for the last nine years. The scared but brave boy who made the horror stop and got me help. “You thought about it all the way there. I could see what had happened in your mind, and I felt your fear that you’d be in trouble for killing them.”
Seeing his fear even now, I offer him my sincerest smile. “I would never have told anyone on you, Oliver. You saved my life that night. You were a hero.”