Page 61 of Bent Out of Shade
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I swungby Giulia’s tower on the way to the gang-owned dive bar to return her ring.
She took it back with a sad smile. “Grazie, Miriam.”
What had I done wrong? Did she believe that all relationships existed as quid pro quo and now she felt compelled to do something in return? I frowned. Gargoyles were go-to creatures for information and golems performed tasks, but in my experience, they were treated as tools more often than friends.
Jude, Laurent, me—we were all good people, and yet all of us were guilty of the above. Emmett, for all he was loved, had huge insecurities about how he fit in and his worth, Pyotr, despite all the Banim Shovavim using the KH, was comically excited when I’d become his first real friend, and now here was Giulia, another lonely supernatural.
“Giulia.” I jangled my car keys to get her attention. “You’re still invited for dinner because you’re my friend. It was wrong of me to ask you to give up your gift from Laurent and I’m sorry.”
She slid the ring onto her paw, her expression brightening. “You are forgiven.” She licked my chin with her raspy tongue and I squirmed. “But if he ever gives you a better present?” She snicked out her claws.
I took a step back, then narrowed my eyes. “What happened to not hurting other supernaturals?”
She scratched her face, her gaze briefly darting away before she gave a forced laugh. “Kidding.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Or am I?” She sailed back to her rooftop.
Awesome. She’d almost crushed me once over Laurent. My boyfriend was sooo making it up to me for placing me in a “do not injure” exemption.
I backed up to my sedan, keeping an eye on her, but before I got there, the world swung sideways with a sickening lurch, depositing me back in the underground grotto. The brilliant turquoise waters rippled, casting rainbows on the stone walls, and the Leviathan raised its armored head above the surface to train its dark, vast gaze on me.
“Hello.” I gave it a feeble wave.
There was a rumble, and Smoky took shape, its socket-less stare sending a second wave of goosebumps over my skin. “Have you found the Ascendant?”
I fiddled with my car fob. “I’m working on it, but it’s only been three days.”
“Four.” Smoky gave me a grim smile exposing far too many pointy teeth.
Everyone wanted things to happen right away. Tough, the world didn’t work like that, and being badgered by a phantom smoke face was not helping tonight’s mission.
“I’m doing my best,” I snapped. “And considering I’m your only option, don’t antagonize the person doing you a massive favor.”
Smoky’s eyes, such as they were, widened comically and its entire face stuttered.
“Not used to people talking back, are you?” I planted my hands on my hips, unleashing my sternest mom face and voice. “Look, I’m in full agreement that Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sammaneglof were total dicks for exiling you here, and I’m happy to get you out, but don’t harass me.”
Smoky’s gaze dipped down to the rest of the Leviathan and it nodded.
“Good.” I flipped my hair off my shoulder. “Now return me to my car.”
* * *
The final Hastings Mill business that Eli had directed me to was a classic dive bar with scuffed floors, gloomy lighting, and a plethora of beer signs nailed to the walls.
Thanks to my invisibility mesh, I waltzed past the gruff bartender and the few day-drinking patrons into the back office without incident. No one was in there, allowing me to thoroughly search all the drawers and the battered old computer on the desk. There was a ton of porn but no useful information.
I sat down on the chair that was more duct tape than fabric at this point. Gangs in Vancouver were smart and ruthless, and this one didn’t keep incriminating material at this particular property holding. I smoothed down a frayed edge of duct tape. With their boss in prison, someone on the outside had to be running the show for him. As I pulled out my cell to call Eli, two men entered the office.
I fumbled the phone, managing to catch it before it hit the ground—which would have alerted them, cloaking or not.
The older man, with a pot belly and a grizzled ZZ Top beard, slammed the door, causing the nudie calendar on the back to bounce against the wood.
I tamped down my snort. Phrasing.
