Mortal Danger

“Maybe I didn’t need to worry about you after all,” Jen said. “You’ve changed.”

I smiled faintly. “I’m aware.”

After that, my yogurt and salad went down better, since I’d passed the first hurdle. People knew I wasn’t the same perpetual victim I’d been last year, and things should get easier from here. I didn’t have a clear strategy for infiltration, but making friends with Jen was a good start. From watching other people try and fail, I understood that I couldn’t seem to care much about impressing them. They openly mocked those who tried too hard, which was why Davina wasn’t a full-fledged member after three years of orbiting their space.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I sat through my classes, listened, and took notes, while gossip washed around me. I could expect more of the same for a day or two, but eventually, they’d get bored with speculating just how much work I had done. I pretended I didn’t hear the whispers; it was simple from years of practice, and now they were saying nice things.

Assholes.

After school, I sighed at the guy who stopped at my locker and tried to ask me something about Lit class. Since Colin hadn’t assigned anything yet, it was a stupid plan for getting to know me better. I stared at him until he stuttered and backed away. For the first time, I glimpsed why Allison and Brittany acted the way they did. I couldn’t deny the faint rush of power that sprang from a single glance.

But I don’t want to be like them for real.

So I managed a smile. “I have to go. Maybe we’ll talk later.”

“Sure,” he said, seeming relieved.

Then I slipped past him, joining the throng heading for the exit. My backpack was full of textbooks since my dedication to schoolwork hadn’t changed. Outside, the weather was sunny, just a hint of clouds, but the humidity made my hair curl. I threaded through the knot of students heading for their cars and passed the gate to where all of the bodyguards and black vehicles were waiting.

Then I drew up short. Kian stood across the street, leaning up against an office building. When he caught sight of me, he straightened, checked the traffic, and jogged across the street. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever since I’d seen him. Today, he was dressed in black, but it worked on him and didn’t come across as emo.

He wore a faint smile when he reached my side. To my astonishment, he leaned down to brush my lips with his in the kind of casual kiss that boyfriends gave long-term girlfriends. Since that didn’t apply to us at all, I froze until I heard some girls behind us talking about how totally hot he was, loud enough that I was supposed to notice.

“What’re you doing here?” I whispered.

“I thought it would be nice if I met you on your first day back.” The answer radiated goodwill and innocence, but … what about the rules that prevented us from socializing? Whatever had happened, his eyes begged me to play along.

“It’s an awesome surprise.” I stretched up on tiptoes to hug him murmuring, “What the hell?”

“Later,” he breathed into my ear.

Okay, that was supremely distracting. Pressed up against him, it dawned on me that the reason that Colin Love and other crazy-hot guys didn’t register on my hormonal radar was because I’d already imprinted on Kian. That could be … unfortunate.

“Is this your boyfriend, Edie?” Allison Vega stood behind me, wearing a deceptively friendly smile, but after our exchange at lunch, I knew to expect trouble.

“Yes,” Kian said, before I could answer. “I was lucky to meet her this summer.”

“Oh?” Allison imbued the single syllable with an insulting amount of skepticism.

He aimed a warm look in my direction. “Normally I wouldn’t date a high school girl, but Edie’s different.”

That’s putting it mildly.

“So you’re … in college?” she guessed.

Kian nodded. “Look, we’re in a hurry. But good luck with…” He trailed off as his gaze slid over her and then shrugged. “… everything.”

I stifled a laugh. When he took my hand, I worked not to react, as if we did this every day, when in fact, we’d only done it when he was porting us somewhere. I let him lead me toward the station, but he surprised me by stopping at a red Mustang parked behind all the black town cars and SUVs, a splash of blood against raven wings.

“If I’m going to impress them, I have to go all the way,” he said.

He opened the door for me, and I saw Allison and Brittany watching from the gates. The former looked furious and the latter confused. With a mental shrug, I climbed in. He reached across my lap, opened the glove box, and pulled out a small tin. Opening it, he dipped his fingers in the clear gel and smeared it around the frame of his window. Kian tilted his head, indicating I should do mine as well. While I complied, puzzled, he did the front and back windscreens. Then he started the car and smoothly made a U-turn around the cul-de-sac and headed back toward the city.

“We can talk freely now. The effects will last twenty minutes or so.”

“What the crap is going on?”

“Circumstances have changed. I’ve been assigned to you exclusively.”

“And you’re not supposed to tell me that,” I guessed. Which was why we’d soundproofed the car with silicon goo. God, my life is so weird. “Let me guess, you’re supposed to charm me for some reason.”

“I wish you weren’t mixed up in this, Edie, but since the alternative is you being dead, I can’t wish for that, either.”

“Wishes are part of the problem, I’d say. Is this car one of yours?”

He sighed. “Why are you so clever?”

“You went cheap, huh? Sum things up, if time is limited.”

“Normally, I manage five cases at once. I grant favors as requested, answer questions when permissible. But my boss called me into his office today. See, he wants your last two burned as fast as possible. He didn’t tell me why.”

I nodded, listening.

“I was instructed to win your trust, get close to you by any means necessary.”

“Which you could be doing right now, by allegedly laying all your cards on the table. Sort of like a double bluff. You tell me enough of the truth to make me think you’re on my side while you’re manipulating me for your own ends.”

“That’s possible,” he admitted. “Wedderburn suggested I tell you that I’m too into you to stay away, I don’t care about the rules anymore.”