I’d come back to Midnight not just because Saint had dragged me into another of his epic fucking messes, but because I thought it would give me a chance to finally find some fucking answers. Answers about the night Oona died—about Saint’s version of events that’d never quite added up.
But all night, as I’d walked the alleys of the city that’d claimed the woman I’d once loved, all I could think about was the woman I’d left at the apartment back in the Hollows.
My angel of darkness.
Oona’s death had damn near destroyed me, and after years of chasing the ghosts of all those unanswered questions, after years of nurturing a festering rage at the unjustness of it all, Haley Barnes had taken me completely off guard.
She’d snuck up on me. Her laugh, her fire, the taste of her kiss, the feel of her fevered touches in the corpsevine field, the sound of her moans as I’d made her come for me…
I didn’t know what the fuck it all meant, if anything. But right then, staring at her in our kitchen in the Hollow, I knew I wanted more.
More than just a mission.
More than just a roll in the corpsevine.
More than I’d ever admit to anyone—even her.
Especiallyher.
“Thank you so much, Jax,” she said now, stretching up on her toes and kissing my cheek.
I sighed and ran my hand down her back, my thumb grazing the soft skin that peeked out beneath the hem of her T-shirt.
Saint, who’d gone so still and silent I’d forgotten he was even in the room, groaned. “While you were out on your little shopping spree, Jax,Iactually managed to find some useful intelligence.”
Still holding Haley in my arms, I glared at him, shocked he could even use the word ‘intelligence’ in a sentence, given how stoned he was.
“So, if you don’tmind,” he continued, rolling his eyes, “I’m much more interested in discussing Keradoc than watching you fondle my ex.”
“So don’t watch,” Haley said, flashing me a devious little grin that had my cock twitching.
Damn it.All I wanted to do was drag her ass into that bedroom and make up for the two days we’d wasted avoiding each other.
But if Saint had found good intel on Keradoc, we needed to hear it.
“Out with it,” I said.
“The Feast of Midnight,” he said with a flourish. “Also known as the Feast of the Beast. Also known as our best shot at getting up close and personal with the warlord we so know and love.”
“Also known as a thing that hasn’t happened in years,” I said. “They don’t do the feasts anymore.”
“Ah, but they do!” Saint beamed. “Resurrected from the dead for one night only, and it’s happening in less than two weeks.”
“What’s the Feast of Midnight?” Haley asked.
“Some bullshit party the ruler of Midnight throws to convince the people he gives a shit about them,” I said. “It’s the only time his castle is open to the public.”
“Concurrently,” Saint added, “he hosts a soiree for the upper-crust. Very exclusive, invite-only, lots of ass-kissing and deal-making. Those rich bastards are the only ones who’ll get anywhere near Keradoc. They don’t even host the parties on the same floors.”
“So, what are you thinking?” I asked, my interest definitely piqued. “Can we bypass security? Have Hudson get us in from the top, maybe?”
“Not a chance. The place will be crawling with soldiers. The main floor is one thing—they’ll be admitting every criminal and murderer from the Hollow to the Sea. But the exclusive party? Fourth-floor ballroom. Andnoone’s getting up there without an invite.”
I nodded, seeing right where this was headed. “You’ve already talked to Gem about this.”
“She’s already working on my list.”
“What’s on the list?” Haley asked.
