“Multiple times,” he replied without elaborating.
“Ever bring back a souvenir you couldn’t explain?”
He met her gaze. “That's a loaded question.”
“Maybe. Depends on your answer.”
Payne took a long sip of water. “There was an incident. Afghanistan. A cave system outside Kunduz. We were tracking a weapons cache. Found symbols burned into the rock. One of my team went in. He disappeared for a while. Came outwrong.”
Rayna’s brows lifted. “Possession?”
“No, I don’t think so. He wasgivensomething. Speed, strength, a sixth sense for danger. But it cost him. Nightmares. Hallucinations. Eventually, paranoia. Shot his best friend during a routine exercise.”
Rayna didn’t speak. She knew that kind of magic. Black. Bargain-based. Nonrefundable.
“What happened to him?” she asked.
“He’s in a secure psych facility in Virginia. Not much of him is left.”
She looked down at her half-eaten sandwich. “You kept that quiet. I never saw it in any reports.”
“It wasn’t in any reports,” he said. “That’s why I started looking into other explanations.”
“Like magic.”
“Like you.”
“Me?” She reared back in her seat. “I wouldn’t do that to somebody.”
For a heartbeat, there was something raw between them. Recognition. Two people who’d seen the same shit but didn’t want to admit it.
Rayna reached for her chai and froze.
Across the restaurant, by the door, a man stood watching them. He was staring. His eyes never left their table. He wore a nondescript hoodie and had a newsboy cap pulled low, like an actor trying too hard not to get recognized.
“What is it?” Payne asked.
“Don’t turn your head,” Rayna murmured. “We’re being watched.”
“Gray coat?”
“No. New guy. Human, probably. But the way he’s positioned... He’s blocking the door.”
Payne set down his water. “Weapon?”
“Don’t see one. Doesn’t mean he’s not carrying.”
“I can get us out.”
Rayna shook her head. “Not yet. Let’s see if he makes a move.”
The man by the door shifted slightly, glancing toward the counter, then back at them. Still not obvious. But definitely therefor them.
Rayna slid out of the booth. “Bathroom’s this way, right?”
“Don’t engage?—”
“I’m not,” she said. “I’m just going to see what happens when one of us disappears.”
