“Well, don’t stop to ogle,” was Matt’s advice.
“Focus,” barked Sebastian.
I focused. The best lighting was over the bar itself, which was packed with bodies draped or seated before it. The place was crowded. I gritted my teeth and pushed my way through the mass of—from what I could smell—semi-washed bodies, keeping my movements slow and casual. Meanwhile, my eyes darted around, assessing the clientèle.
Some were also assessing me. I sensed their focus, and most weren’t shy about it either. Just how did they know I was female beneath the cloak? Did the average residents here have extraordinary noses?
Ignoring the stares, I scanned those sitting in groups. And found my quarry almost immediately, at three tables along the back wall.
Their demeanor stood in startling contrast to most of those around them, in that they were joking around. They wore cloaks that blended with the locals, but none had their hoods up. I counted fourteen, all much bigger than those around them, with distinctive broad shoulders and rugged features.
Dires.
“I’ve got Dires,” I whispered.
“How many?” asked Sebastian.
I counted. “Fourteen. I don’t know any of them.”
“They might not be our Dires,” Matt mused.
“They’re yucking it up pretty good,” I commented.
“Get out of there,” Sebastian said. “Then we’ll discuss Plan B.”
If I didn’t listen this time, he would never trust me again. I turned to go.
Just as a grip like a vise closed on my arm...
4
Anna
“How nice of you to drop in, bitch. If I’d known you were going to, it would have saved me a load of trouble.”
I was dimly aware of a muttered curse echoing through the ear comm. I reacted purely on instinct, rotating into the man grabbing my arm and driving the heel of my hand hard into his nose. He spluttered and backpedaled, his grip loosening so that I could wrench my arm free.
Trust me to run into the one Dire who’d know my scent. Every bit of profanity I knew ran through my mind. I missed my eight-foot-tall ogregarian friend—I would have loved to see her smite this bastard.
The smart thing to do at that point would have been to bolt. But as I faced up to my attacker, I was flooded with rage.
“Hello, Aaron.” I spoke loudly, so that my listeners would hear, and added a question that would hopefully stop them from flying through the window to my rescue. “Although it is lovely to see you, why are you here?”
He was incriminated in the twin kidnapping up to his beady eyeballs. And if Sebastian was who I thought he was, he would appreciate that freely offered information might get us what we needed to know.
“Easy, Shade.” The calm voice whispered through my comm. “We be with you. Now that he thinks he has the upper hand, see what you can get out of him.”
With me? I resisted the urge to glance around, but the words did reassure. And they made sense, too. Enough that I was able to exchange glares with the Dire, and repeated, “What brings you to this fine establishment?”
“I have a better question.” Aaron cradled his bloody nose as he fastened his free hand around my cloaked elbow and dragged me toward the table. “Why are you here?”
“I heard this was party central,” I offered, glancing over the pack at the table. Their eyes gleamed with their beasts, and one slowly and deliberately licked his lips.
“Well, boys,” Aaron addressed them. “This day just went from good to great. We were looking for entertainment, and she’s looking for a party.”
A rumbling growl sounded through the comm, but at least Matt hadn’t yet leaped through the window.
Dredging up a smile, I said, “My fist has already had a party with his nose. Anyone else up for a dance?”
