Page 71 of The Shade of Things
Emmett threw his hands up. “What am I, chopped liver?”
“We’re getting paid as well,” Eli said. “What’s the difference?”
Laurent draped an arm over the back of Eli’s seat. “Why’d you drag Mitzi into this?”
“She’s smart, she’s powerful, and she understands the magic community.”
I smiled my thanks. Nice to have some appreciation.
“Yes. She is all that.” Laurent rested a weighted gaze on me for a second, then shrugged. “Then a paycheck is all it was, and we are all on the same page.”
I narrowed my eyes, not buying his act for a second.
He jerked his head at Eli. “As a fellow Sapien, do you want to try and calm them down?”
“Yeah, sure.” Eli slid off his stool and headed to the table.
Emmett had snuck off and was halfway to the bar. I didn’t have the energy to follow him.
“You still could have said something,” I said to Laurent. “Isla is your friend and she has sway over the others.”
“Don’t read too much into the fact that we know each other.” He glanced over at her then sighed. “She won’t listen to me.”
The other Sapiens allowed Eli to join them, but Isla launched into some diatribe before he could say much.
“Because of Henri or because of something else?” I said.
“I don’t know.” Laurent shot me a sad smile.
“Maybe you need to have more faith in her.”
“Maybe I do.” He laughed but it sounded forced. “Seems constant deadly situations are enough to make me rethink how I look at things.” His eyes found mine.
Did he mean us? Hope flared hot and bright in my chest, but before I could say anything else, Emmett wandered back, glugging gin straight from the bottle.
“Emmett!” I shook a finger in threat. If he slid into prophecy mode, he could be stuck there forever or even die. I kept telling Emmett how much I valued him, but it seemed like he needed more affirmation than I could provide to believe in his own worth and take care of himself properly.
Laurent grabbed the bottle away, causing booze to spill over the golem’s chin. The intention was sound, I just wished he’d been a bit kinder about the interaction.
“Yeah, yeah,” the golem grumbled. “I could go all woo-woo.” He slid off the stool and grabbed the bottle.
I raised my eyebrows.
“I’m putting it back, okay?” he huffed and stomped off.
Laurent rolled his eyes, which, fair, but why couldn’t he give Emmett a compliment now and then?
Oy vey. I didn’t have the energy to deal with fighting with the shifter about yet another person.
I unearthed another protein bar, chewing my way through the cardboardy substance. I’d been impressed with Emmett’s behavior so far, but how much longer before he cracked under all this pressure, at which point he’d be a liability, not an asset?
Wait. Tatiana had to know that was a possibility, so why send him? I frowned. The Morph had detected Eli and me under the cloaking, so Emmett’s lack of a heartbeat hadn’t saved us. That extra leg he used as a blockade had. All of that “expect the worst, plan for the worst” reasoning sounded like a load of bullshit now.
Was he a mole? After all, Tatiana never did anything without clear motivation, and she wasn’t being paid for Emmett’s time by Deputy Chief Constable Esposito. What was her angle?
“Where’s he going?” Emmett had returned with another can of Coke.
Laurent was headed outside, his pack slung over one shoulder.
