Sweet Peril (14 page)

“We’re still trying to find other Neph to be allies. I need to see Blake and Kai. I know they’ll be in, but they need to hear about the prophecy.”

A thoughtful minute of quiet passed. My nerves felt like they were being wrung out at the thought of seeing Kai again. Ginger eyed me.

“You realize he’ll never let you love him, right?”

She could verbally punch like no other.

“I know that, yes.”

She crossed her arms, one shoulder cocked up, and glared at me as if I’d never truly understand Kaidan the way she did. And maybe she was right. Because even though my mind knew he wouldn’t let me love him, my heart continued to hope.

Kope caught my eye from across the table and we both looked away.

“Let’s do something fun together while arsey-Astaroth is gone!” Marna grabbed my arm, redirecting my attention. “Let’s get our nails done!”

I could never tell Veronica. She’d combust if she knew I’d cheated on her with Marna.

“You ladies should enjoy this time.” Kopano sounded weary. “I will go to the hotel.”

“Ah, Kope, I’m sorry!” Marna laughed. “Men get their nails buffed, too, you know.”

He stood. “I could use an early night to bed.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “We could do something else.” I knew how he felt—jet lag was setting in—but I was too excited to sleep yet.

“I am certain.” He headed for the door, bowing his head at us.

“I’ll come by to see you in the morning before you leave,” Marna promised. “Text me your hotel info.”

His eyes looked weary when he gave a small nod and turned to go, and it made something inside me seize up with sadness.

When he left, Marna sent me a meaningful look and I nodded. We’d talk. We grabbed our purses, but Ginger still sat, staring off, deep in thought.

“You coming, Gin?” Marna asked.

But Ginger looked at me. “You say it’s safe tonight?”

“Yeah.” I told her about Dad’s intel, and how they’d let me know if danger arose.

“You two go,” Ginger said. “I think I’ll have a night to myself.”

The mother bear was letting the cub out of her sight. Shocking.

Marna looked completely taken aback. “If you’re quite sure . . .”

Ginger nodded absently and waved us off, already falling into relaxation mode, getting up and plopping herself on the couch with a remote. Marna shrugged and linked her arm through mine, leading me out of the flat with a skip in her step.

“Don’t go back to the hotel tonight,” Marna pleaded. “Stay here with me!”

“Okay,” I agreed, and we chatted the whole way to the salon.

After manicures, pedicures, and pub baskets of fish and chips, we started making our way through the night crowd to the hotel so I could get my stuff. I pulled my jacket closed as the
fall breeze kicked up and we passed a pub playing live music.

“I could totally live in England,” I said.

Marna took my arm again. “You would totes love it here.”

We walked quietly for a minute.

“What do you think is going on with Kai?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No idea. We were all shaken up after the summit, but him worst of all. Maybe he’s going through a rebellious stage.”

“I don’t want him to do anything stupid,” I whispered.

“I know. He’s just testing the boundaries, but I’m sure he’s fine. Don’t worry, ’kay?” She squeezed my arm and I squeezed back.

We retrieved my bag from the hotel and took the Tube back to Marna’s place.

“What’s it been like to travel with Kope?” she asked as we ascended from the Tube at her stop.

“It’s been great. He’s actually talked to me some. He was awesome in Syria. You should have seen him.”

We sidestepped around a street violinist. He wound a string of sad, whimsical notes through the air, and I tossed a few bills in his open case.

“He likes you, you know,” Marna said.

For one confused second I imagined she was talking about the violinist. When I realized she meant Kope, my heart sank. “We’re friends. That’s all I want.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. “I understand.”

But I felt the need to explain. “Sometimes I forget how he is,” I said. “And I touch him, like I’d do with Jay or Blake. But it’s weird. He gets all tense, and then I feel bad. Does that ever happen to you?”

She grinned at me. “No. But that’s because he doesn’t fancy me. I imagine he’s got a bit of pent-up sexual aggression that he’d just love to—”

“Marna!”
I squealed, bumping her hip with mine.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

When we got back to her flat, Ginger was in her room, talking animatedly. Marna mouthed “Blake” to me, and Ginger must have heard us come in because she got really quiet.

Marna and I stayed up talking late into the night.

In a moment of seriousness, she brought up Jay.

“I owe you an apology for that night, New Year’s Eve. It was convenient to work on Jay when the whisperers showed, but you should know it was more than that.” Marna picked at the covers. “He was so sweet to me, so
real
, and so cute. I wanted to kiss him. Honestly. He’s the only boy I’ve ever fancied like that.”

“It’s okay,” I told her. I’d long since let go of any ill feelings about that night, and I’d always wondered what she really thought of him.

I told her everything—about how Jay and Veronica had eventually reconciled and become a couple, and how I didn’t know if they’d be able to make it through the college transition. Veronica seemed bored and unhappy these days.

Marna listened, shifting to sit behind me and play with my hair while I talked. When I finished, she lay her head on my shoulder and sighed.

“No offense to your friend, Anna, but human girls always take love for granted. They want things to be wild and carefree all the time. And when it gets too comfortable or requires a
little work, they just toss it off. I’d give anything to be loved by a guy like Jay. But I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side, right?”

Marna kissed my cheek and I told her good night. After she turned off the light and we snuggled into her downy bed, I felt something cool on my shoulder. I reached up and was surprised to find a damp spot on my T-shirt. Remembering how she’d rested her head there, it now made sense. Marna’s tears.

She just wanted a chance at love. We all did. Love was the essence of being alive. But we’d never have a chance to work through those phases of a relationship and find ourselves in that comfort zone with someone. We’d never know for certain whether or not we’d take it for granted. I curled up on my side, lacing my fingers together and pressing them to my forehead.

Use me to make it happen
.
I beg, let it be soon. And let us have a chance to live
.

D
ad contacted me three days before Christmas. I’d been beginning to wonder if there were any more Neph out there who could be allies. He forwarded my travel itinerary for the following day with a message saying he’d meet to debrief Kope and me on our second layover, which would be in New Zealand. I stared at the itinerary for a long time. We were going to Australia! Dad warned me that it was summertime there, so I’d be sure to leave behind the sweaters and jackets I’d been donning.

I saw that our first short layover was in Los Angeles, which pinched at my heart. I’d be so close to Kai, and he wouldn’t even know it.

Out of sheer concern I’d told my dad what I’d learned from the twins about Kai not working. He gruffly replied that
he couldn’t get involved, but promised to let me know if he heard anything. Dad said L.A. had a constant high volume of whisperers prowling, so we’d have to get the timing just right before he’d send me there.

Trying to be patient sucked. Time just kept taunting me. And now the holidays were here.

We’d be gone over Christmas. I’d never been away from Patti on the holiday. I hated to leave her alone—especially in our apartment, which looked so dreary without the annual decorations. But we couldn’t be caught celebrating.

Before she took me to the airport, I slipped a gift onto her bed when she wasn’t looking—an angel necklace with a list of a hundred things I loved about her. Some of the stuff was silly, little memories and inside jokes only she would get, but I knew she’d read it over and over while I was gone.

Kope flew down, just like last time, and met me at the Atlanta airport. He was more subdued than normal on the first leg of our flight. Maybe because the last time we’d seen each other I’d revealed an awful lot about myself and my feelings for Kai to him and the twins. I didn’t mind the quiet, though. And I was glad the truth was out there.

When we changed planes in L.A., there was blessed little time to contemplate how near I was to Kaidan. Kope kept sending me furtive glances, but I was too lost in thought to talk.

I’d been on an adventure across the world, and Kaidan had no idea. For so long I’d been in a holding pattern, refusing to move on, and recently I’d been shoved forward without him. With each new event and journey I felt farther from him.

I stared out the airplane window and sent a silent greeting over the dry hills before our very long flight across the ocean.

Jet lag set in as we arrived in New Zealand. My internal clock was thoroughly confused; thankfully, enthusiasm for the trip overrode it. Kope and I waited at a corner table in the airport restaurant where Dad said he’d meet us. We hadn’t been waiting long before he came clanking up. I wasn’t sure how he got past the metal detectors with those giant steel-toed boots. I stood and hugged him around his thick waist.

“Trip okay so far?” he asked.

“Great,” I told him.

The three of us huddled over the table when he took out the manila envelope. He wasted no time.

“This is the son of Mammon, Duke of Greed. Name’s Flynn Frazer. Twenty-six years old.”

He pulled out a picture of a youthful man with bright red hair, cut short, and a slightly crooked nose. I easily recognized him as the bouncer from the awful summit in New York City. Flynn had a wide mouth and an infectious grin. He appeared to be in a gym, standing next to a punching bag with some other guys. He wore shiny red shorts and a sleeveless white T-shirt. He was short in stature compared to the other guys, but he had a wiry-muscled build that boasted of strength. One of his teeth was an obvious shade whiter than the others.

“Does he have a fake tooth?” I asked.

“Probably,” my father answered. “He’s an MMA fighter. Mixed martial arts. He’s the current welterweight champion
in Australia. Never lost a fight. You’ll get to see for yourself while you’re there.”

I chewed my lip. Fighting, even for sport, made me a little nervous.

“What’s welterweight?” I handed the picture across the table to Kope.

“The weight class between lightweight and middleweight. Around a hundred and seventy pounds. His sin manifests itself differently than you might think. His father’s a dragon when it comes to hoarding gold and jewels, but this kid doesn’t seem to care about those types of acquisitions. He’s greedy for attention and status, especially when it comes to his rank and reputation, whether it’s a win in the ring or building a rep with the ladies.”