“Yes?”
“I award you five points for saying sorry.”
I blinked, then forced back a grin. She wasn’t playing, so grinning would have been a mistake.
Not what I was expecting, and more than I deserve.
“Thank you, baby girl. Your generosity awes me.”
She inclined her head as regally as a queen.
#
Mira
“Mira! How could you?” Gigi scolded.
I rolled my eyes as the little watcher crashed into me. If I wasn’t so strong, I would have been knocked back into Rome. As it was, I staggered a little as her arms clung to me like octopus tentacles.
“Don’t you do that again!” she fussed as she squeezed me. “When a boy’s been stupid and upsets you, you run tome, notaway. It’s like the first rule of girlfriends!”
Shocked, I looked down at the mass of black curls on my shoulder.
Girlfriends?
Rome half-pushed me the rest of the way into the room and joined Kerry at the kitchen table.
“Itoldyou it would upset everyone,” Kerry said. “Listen to me next time, idiot.”
“Kerry!” Gigi hissed, then looked up at me. “You’re not an idiot.”
“Don’t worry. I understand him pretty well now.” I smiled.
“Did Rome hold you and let you slime up his shirt?” Kerry’s eyes were dead serious.
“Uh.” Unpeeling myself from Gigi, I looked from him to Rome, not sure how to respond.
“Yes, I did,” Rome retorted. “Not that it’s any ofyourbusiness.”
“Boots is my friend,” Kerry said, nothing but sincere. “I gotta watch out for her. And you owed her that much because you’re the one who made her cry.”
The last of the tension eased from my shoulders as I laughed with Gigi. Feeling eyes on me, I glanced over and saw Rome’s crystal blues staring at me. I blushed a little, embarrassed by my crying, but held his intense gaze. When he smiled, his eyes were so gentle, I had to turn away before I said something stupid.
11. Masterfully Handled, Caveman
Rome
Gathering everyone around the table, I asked Kerry to play the recording of the conversation with Kasparian.
We listened to it together for the first time, the kid’s phone on the table and the volume cranked.
“I feel so bad for your friend.” Gigi was in tears by the end of it.
“He’s not my friend,” Kerry replied, “but, yeah. I do, too.”
“Who’s the girl you asked about?” Jax asked. “The one the necromancer killed?”
“Zoe was one of our teammates,” I explained. “She was a bibliothecary and had the blessing of transmutation. Anyway, about a year and a half ago, she started dating a guy we knew was into something Diabolical. We tried to tell her, but that didn’t go so well. It pushed her further away from us. Six months later, she returned from a date as a zombie.”
