He halted and swung around to face her. His eyes were wild, detached, his chest heaving. He stood holding her wrist for a long, breathless moment before he seemed to come back to himself, like he realized again where they were and what he was doing.
He let go of her as if she’d burned him. Or, more accurately, as if he was afraid he’d hurt her. His hand came up to hover beside her face; his brows knitted together. “You’re okay?” His voice was desperate.
“I’m fine.” She laid a hand over his thundering heart as if to quiet it. “You’re not.”
He shook his head and picked up her hand again, the one on his chest. He turned and pulled her arm through his, so she was tucked in close beside him, and picked up a reasonable walking pace.
“Mercy–”
“Not right now.” It sounded like a plea.
They walked back down St. Ann the way they’d come, but this time, Ava didn’t see any of the wrought iron or the gingerbread. She noticed Mercy: every deep breath, every flex of his fingers against hers, every crinkling of his brow.
He finally halted when they reached Jackson Square. He looped his arms over the iron fence and stared at the Cathedral. Pedestrians walked along behind them, chatting under the bright sky. While just one foot away from them, Mercy was all rain and clouds.
“I’m sorry,” Ava told him. “I would never have let you go there if I’d known…”
His eyes came to her and his mouth quirked, a fast non-smile. “What did she tell you after I left?”
“Nothing. I was the one telling her a few things.”
His smile became almost real. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
His gaze moved over her. “You mean, looking at her didn’t turn you to stone?”
She rested her chin on his elbow, where it was hooked over the fence, smiling at him. “Nope. Someone might need to check on her, though. My inner gorgon may have come out.”
“You get that from your mother, you know.”
“And proud of it.”
He reached to tousle her hair, eyes softening, a silent thank you.
Over his shoulder, a hundred feet down the sidewalk or so, Ava spotted the pale man in the black hoodie again.
She stiffened and he sensed it immediately, standing up straight against the fence. “What?”
“That man again. Behind you. No – don’t turn too fast. He’ll see you.”
He did a slow twist that looked casual, like he was scoping out the street behind them. Still, the man spooked and took off, disappearing into the crowd of St. Louis admirers.
“Did you get a look at him?” Ava asked.
He nodded as he turned back to her, expression grim. “Yeah. I don’t know him, but obviously somebody does.” He glanced down at her with an apology in his eyes. “I know I promised you some real sightseeing…”
“Not worth it,” she said. “After all, this isn’t a vacation. I didn’t expect it to feel like one.”
“Gates are locked,” RJ said as he and Rottie came into the common room. “You should see the fucking media circus out there by the street.”
Ghost didn’t want to.
“Mina and the boys are at Hound and Nell’s place,” Rottie said. “I talked to him. I’ve got his proxy vote to go ahead with whatever you wanna do.”
“Ditto for Troy,” Dublin informed them from the bar. “He’s not fighting his old ass through all that mess” – gesture to the door – “just to vote ‘yea.’ ”
Ghost nodded and did a head count. All present save Jace, and by now, he knew where that little fucker was. It would give him pleasure to be the one to put that rat in the ground himself.
