“Fuck.”
“Apologize.” Harrow patted her shoulder. “Tell her how you feel about her, and make it genuine, or you’re going to lose her.” His gaze lifted to mine. “You don’t want regrets when it comes to Talbots. Trust me on that.”
Dread, fear, and panic melded into a look I couldn’t define on Carter’s face before she started running.
“What do you think her odds are of patching things up with Josie?” Harrow watched her go. “Her first attempt was as bad as it gets. It can only get better from there, right?”
“We can hope,” Matty weighed in. “Otherwise, Carter is going to die alone. Super alone. As alone as alone gets. Then heap more alone on top of it. Like a cherry. On an alone sundae.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I shoved him. “We get it.”
“I was thinking, while I was stuck out here on the outside looking in?—”
“Quit being such a brat.”
“What if we set up some cameras? Keep eyes on the divine burrito?”
“Divine burrito? I was thinking more along the lines of divine cocoon.”
“Ah.” Matty lifted a finger. “But cocoon implies he’ll emerge in a new ultimate god form.”
“Good point.” I shivered at the possibility. “Divine burrito it is.”
There was no way to hardwire the cameras, so they would have to be the kind you charged periodically. Or maybe solar. Solar would be better. Less maintenance. I would have to ask Carter, if she survived the face-off with Josie, since she was more tech savvy than me.
Claps rang out from the shadows, and Ankou strolled into the clearing with us. “Nicely done, Bijou.”
Crap. Crap. Crap.
Why did the universe hate me so much? Why couldn’t I catch a break?
As much as I wanted to ask for an update on Lucia, I hedged the issue. “Where’s Ithas?”
“How would I know?” He glanced around, curious. “You marked me for Dis Pater, remember?”
“Yeah. I needed bait he wouldn’t suspect before it was too late. I learned from watching you to use whatever—orwhoever—is on hand.” I shrugged like he so often did to tip the weight of his choices off his shoulders. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.” I smiled sweetly. “Nothing personal.”
“You’ve spent far too much time around me.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more.”
“You got everything you wanted.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Everything I wanted too.”
“As long as Dis Pater remains confined, you’re free to do as you wish.”
“I’m not worried about that.” He chuckled low. “You would do anything to protect Kierce, and that protection now extends to me.”
“As long as you leave my family and my friends out of your shenanigans, we won’t have a problem.”
“And you? What do you say?” He cut his eyes toward Harrow. “You going to make trouble for me?”
“Killing you won’t bring my uncle back.” His fingers curled into his palms. “But letting you live means Frankie gets her happily ever after.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yeah, it is.” Harrow slid his gaze to me. “If you had ever cared about someone other than yourself, you’d know that.”
“I would ask for a goodbye hug, but I don’t want to press my luck. Tell Josie I…” A flicker of emotion I couldn’t name pinched his expression, but he bounced back too quick for me to decipher it. “Never mind. We can skip that part.” He blew me a kiss. “So long, Bijou.”
