Friendless.
When you build concrete walls around your heart, most people don’t stick around long enough to find out what’s on the other side—and I don’t blame them. It’s exhausting trying to chip away at another person’s defenses. But Ronan and Sophie were different. In their own ways, they’d each given me the space and understanding I needed to find my way into our friendships at my own pace. And they never gave up on me, no matter how often I pulled away, kept things from them, or closed myself off.
They believed in me. Believed that my friendship was worth the trouble.
So maybe this was my chance to prove their faith in me wasn’t misplaced.
No, I wasn’t ready to join a coven or start practicing magic again. And I wasn’t ready to share all of my secrets—especially not about what I’d done to Bean in the alley, or the strange darkness that seemed to be corrupting my magic place, edging in on the corners of my reality.
But for a chance to honor Sophie’s memory and prevent other witches from dying the same gruesome death—to give girls like Reva a fighting chance of growing up without the constant threat of hunters and whatever other killers lurked out there?
I could accept Haley’s olive branch. I could make an effort. I could try to put myself out there, just a little.
“You’re right,” I said, lifting my glass. “Idon’thave many reasons to trust you. But you make a kick-ass lasagna, and that’s something I can get on board with.” I winked, offering a quick but genuine smile. Then I touched my glass to hers and met her eyes, all traces of humor vanishing. “I’m in, Haley.”
Haley blew out a breath and smiled, shoveling a forkful of hot, gooey pasta. Around a full mouth, she said, “Okay. So… what’s our first step? I’m pretty much open to anything that doesn’t violate my moral compass, which is admittedly quite broad.”
I tore off a hunk of garlic bread and popped it into my mouth, still processing everything Emilio had shared about the case, which wasn’t all that much. He knew the witches had been injected with vampire blood, but he had no way of identifying the origins of that blood.
I, on the other hand, knew exactly who could help with that.
“If you need anything, do get in touch…”
And just like that, a plan sprang forth from the dark and dusty recesses otherwise known as my mind.
“Tell me something, Hay.” I grabbed my wine glass, holding it up to the light and admiring the deep, blood-red color. “How does your moral compass rate breaking and entering?”
Twenty-Four
Gray
The day I’d been booted out of Norah’s house, if someone would’ve told me that less than a week later Haley Barnes and I would be standing in front of the building that housed the morgue and medical examiner’s office dressed like twin hookers, I would’ve asked them to share whatever drugs they’d been smoking.
But three nights after hatching our plan over Nona’s infamous lasagna, that’s exactly what Hay and I were up to.
“Are we good?” she asked.
“Almost. More cleavage.” I tugged the zipper on Haley’s leather jacket, revealing the tight white V-neck sweater underneath. “And more lipstick.”
“Pushy witch, aren’t you?” Smirking, Haley pulled a tube of Rebel Red out of her purse and reapplied. “Happy now?”
“Oh, I’mthrilled.” I snagged the lipstick from her and applied another coat to my own lips, smacking them together to set the color. “After this, maybe we could put on some pants made out of raw meat and parade around shifter territory.”
“You know I could do a memory spell on the guy, right?” she asked. “Totally herbal. No side effects.”
“I know all about your skills.” I returned her lipstick and linked my arm in hers, leading us up the steps. “But you’re not using magic on him. It was hard enough to convince Darius to hold off on the vamp influence.”
“Okay, setting aside the fact that the most powerful vamp in the city is taking orders from you—”
“Not even close,” I said, but a warmth rose to my cheeks just the same.
It turned out Darius had really meant that whole “anything you need” bit, because when I’d asked him to meet us here tonight, he didn’t even question it.
“You’re blushing,” Haley teased. “Methinks someone around here has a little vampire crush.”
“It’s not a crush,” I insisted, but I couldn’t meet her eyes, and my fingers drifted to my wrist, gently rubbing the spot where he’d bitten me.
“I don’t know how you do it, girl.” Haley checked out my hair, pulling my curls over my shoulders and giving me one last fluff. “Sexy vamp Brit, sexy brooding demon… I can’t even work up the courage to post my Tinder profile, and you’ve already got two insanely hot men wrapped around your little finger.”
