Easier said than done.
Someone bangs on the door. “Where are all my dancers?” Sal demands. “Someone needs to get their ass on stage.”
“Sounds like it’s your time to shine, Sal,” Imani hollers.
“Yeah, Sal,” Brandy adds. “Your tits bounce more than mine these days, anyway. You’ll be a big hit.”
Sal mutters something about pecs and ungrateful employees, and I raise my eyebrows. “What’s he doing here?”
Imani smirks. “Trying to keep the Fang running without Luca. Let’s just say he’s found it difficult, and that’s putting it mildly.”
“We figured we’d be fired.”
Ada scoffs. “If you play it right and let him yell at you for a few minutes, you’ll come out of this with a raise. Sal hates being here, and he’s gotten a crash course in exactly how important Luca is to the Fang.”
My lips twitch. Luca busts his ass every day to keep this club afloat, and it’s about time Sal recognized that. While I’m grateful we haven’t officially been fired, I can’t come back to work until I see this through. “No yelling yet,” I tell them. “I need to handle some things first.”
Imani studies my face. “Malach deserves your loyalty, babe. Hang on to that if things getmessy.”
I nod and squeeze her hand.
Her eyes are tired, and I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been missing or something else. This isn’t the right time to push her about it. Just because I decided to air everything out to the other girls doesn’t mean Imani will make the same choice.
Sighing, I dig around in my cubby, relieved to find a clean set of sweats stuffed in the back. I change into them, ignoring the bruises and scrapes on my legs. We made it through the escape relatively unscathed, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t take hits.
“I may need your help with a young witch,” I tell Ada and Brandy. “She’s a kid, but she’s powerful. She hasn’t spent much time around other witches.”
Brandy winces. “Our coven doesn’t have a lot of juice, but we’ll be happy to help her. It’s not easy around here for a lone witch.” She doesn’t say the obvious; we all already know it—it’s not easy for any supernatural to be on their own in the Fringes.
That’s okay, though.
Because it’s home.
And it’s good to be back.
TWO
Unspoken Rule of the Fringes #22:
There’s always something hiding in the dark.
CELINE
By the time I climb the stairs to my apartment, my feet are dragging and the silence is oppressive. I have no idea how long I’ve been awake, but it’s been ages since I’ve been this physically or emotionally drained.
I can’t rest yet, though.
We don’t have a key; our bags are still somewhere in the monster realm, and—I freeze and hold up my hand to make the others stop. A fissure of dread opens in my belly.
The door to my apartment is closed, but there’s a boot print in the center, and it’s hanging crooked enough to make my eye twitch.
Getting in won’t be a problem because someone already has.
“Don’t get any closer, angel.” Alistair eyes the door as if it might attack me. Since I’m pretty sure it’s been knocked off its hinges and propped in the opening, that’s a validworry. Anything could be behind it, but I’m too pissed off and wrung out to be afraid.
I poke the door gingerly, and my fingertip tingles. “Whoever broke in left magic behind.”
Hyacinth pushes past Riven, wrinkling her nose. “Not witches.”
