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Kira had stood up for herself quite admirably, but I couldn’t count on her safety the next time. And Clara—would Marina go after the human teenager next?
Just because my sister was off limits didn’t mean my fae employer had lost her leverage points. “Lupe,” I started, not knowing how I’d explain my absence, just knowing I needed to get out of there fast.
But the older woman wasn’t paying any attention. Instead, she’d pulled a key out of her pocket and tossed it to Kira. “For the boathouse,” she explained. “If you girls want to get in a canoe trip, this is your window. We’re shutting down camp in two hours.”
“Shutting down camp?” Harper’s face fell. She glanced my way, waiting for an explanation. But I had none to give. Had we failed so horrendously that Lupe planned to put a new team together? I shrugged at my sister as the older woman explained.
“Three-day vacation for the ‘dults.” Her eyes sparkled as she exchanged a grin with Kira. “Although I expect them to work on their swordplay while they’re away.”
“They need to,” Kira agreed, as if she and Lupe were co-captains. But she accepted the dismissal, heading over to Harper and Clara and leaving the “’dults” alone.
Which was Lupe’s cue to return her attention to us. I braced myself for recriminations...but none came. Instead, our boss was all business.
“Grab two practice swords and two real swords apiece. I suspect you’ll have no problem finding someone to spar with during your vacation.”
Vacation? This felt far too easy. I needed a way to bow out of Samhain Shifter events for a day or two and Lupe gave us all a leave of absence?
Of course, there was still the issue of Harper to be dealt with. I glanced at the kids, who were whispering in a cluster rather than racing for the boathouse. Kira nodded and my sister smiled. A real grin, not the pinched-lip fake she usually treated everyone to. How would Harper look when I told her I was sending her away in order to do yet another job?
As if she’d sensed my thoughts, Harper’s gaze met mine and her face fell. “Would it hurt your feelings...?” she started, before spluttering to a halt. Her head bowed and she scuffed her feet. Turning to Kira, she muttered. “I’d better not.”
My gut clenched. This time, the ease of getting what I wanted could likely be attributed to Tank. He must have thumb-typed Kira while I wasn’t looking and the older girl had invited my sister to return home with her just as we’d discussed.
Still, predictably, Harper felt guilty about abandoning me. “Hey.” Ignoring the fact that Lupe wasn’t quite done with us, I strode over to my sister and dropped down to peer into her face. “No, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you and Clara go home with Kira. I’ll find a way to see you before the end of break.”
“Awesome!” Like a light switch, Harper’s joy burst out of her. She wasn’t just going along with the other girls now. She was leading the way as they raced for the boathouse. Acting like a kid. Why walk when you can run?
As for the ‘dults, we waited until the creak of the boathouse door promised that young ears weren’t listening. Then Lupe finally explained what was going on.
“You did a good job.” She cut off Ryder before he could do more than mutter. “Even you. You quit. You apologized. You’ll do better next time.”
The tattooed shifter’s head rose, his gaze finally meeting ours for the first time since he’d realized he was engaged in a no-holds-barred fight with a minor. “Yeah. I will,” he promised, voice a deep growl.
Something strong and solid flew between him and Lupe, the air filling with an electricity that had nothing to do with alpha aggression or incipient shifting. This was pack forming, werewolf bonds that skittered across my skin in a way I’d never been privy to before.
And in its wake...a warmth. Rightness. Like I was being hugged ever so gently by someone who truly cared.
Lupe’s mouth twisted. “And that’s why you’re going on vacation. We need to become a team, but we can’t be a pack. Not if we don’t want the fae exploiting our weakness. Go home. Practice. Forget about each other. Then come back Tuesday night ready to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I wasn’t sure who spoke. One of us? All of us? We turned away as a unit to gather weapons, but Lupe’s voice held me back.
“Athena, if you have a moment.”
The happy haze of pack togetherness faded in an instant. I’d been singled out.
***
LUPE’S EYES BORED INTO mine. “Do you have something you want to tell me?”
Maybe it was our recent near-pack bonding. Or just the fact that this woman was tough and capable and kind all at once.
Whatever the reason, I hated the fact that I still wasn’t ready to spill my guts to her. Wasn’t ready to admit that I’d taken a side job with someone who was likely our enemy, even if my primary goal was the good of the Samhain Shifters. Wasn’t willing to explain how tantalizing some of Marina’s offers really were.
Probably because those two purposes were mutually contradictory....
I must have hesitated too long because Lupe frowned. “About your territory issues?” She raised both eyebrows and enunciated clearly. “Do you need me to speak with Rowan McCallister about your right to return to your apartment until Tuesday?”
Oh, right. The old problem...the one I was solving in a very outside-the-box manner. I shook my head. “No. I’m good.”
Lupe’s dark brown eyes were sharp now. I’d piqued her curiosity, and she didn’t seem like the type to let things slide. “Do...?” she started.
Then Tank was beside me. “Try these,” he suggested, dropping two practice swords into arms that had risen automatically to receive them. “How do they feel?”
“Heavy?” Unlike Kira, I had no idea how to choose a weapon.
And Tank, I suspected, didn’t either. But he’d distracted me at just the right moment, long enough for Lupe to dismiss my reaction and move on. “Butch!” she called. “We need to talk.”
So the moment passed, and the rest of the afternoon passed also. The girls returned from the lake damp from splashing each other but wreathed in smiles. By the time Tank dropped me off outside my apartment, they were arguing over who would get to take the wheel of his SUV.
“Do you girls even have drivers’ licenses?” Tank demanded, trying to sound tough but the words coming out laced with amusement.
“Learner’s permit,” Clara piped up.
“Me too,” Kira added. “Because someone won’t take me to do the test.”
Harper’s voice wasn’t quite as loud as everyone else’s, but she admitted: “I have a license.”
“Lucky!” Kira exclaimed while Harper glanced my way.
It wasn’t luck that had spurred her fast licensure. I’d wanted my sister to have an emergency escape hatch from Nick’s house as soon as possible, so we’d gone to the DMV together the day she turned sixteen. She’d used that skill to flee a dicey situation twice already.
It was almost as if Tank smelled the shift in mood because he threw my sister a bone that set her above her companions. “Then Harper can drive. Once we’re off the highway.”
“And you’ll take me and Clara to get our licenses tomorrow,” Kira prodded.
“Maybe,” Tank answered, eyes on me as I dragged my suitcase and all four swords out of the car. His voice dropped. “Do you need a hand?”
“No, I’m good.”
And, surprisingly, I was. Even though Harper was leaving with a man I’d known for only a few days, I trusted Tank to protect her.
The only flaw was that I couldn’t ride away in the exact same car.