Page 151 of Black Reign

Terrace.

Gardens.

Reception hall.

Security checkpoints remain active.

No flagged departures.

Which means if she left, she didn't use an exit I was watching.

Again.

A familiar sensation moves through me.

Frustration.

Admiration.

Hunger.

I pick up the note and read it once more.

I am not what I am.

“You're wrong,” I murmur.

Drew leans closer.

“What?”

I fold the paper.

Nothing.

Maybe I still don't know what Vesper looks like.

Maybe the blonde was real.

Maybe she wasn't.

But she came.

She stood at my table.

Drank my Scotch.

Left her mouth on my glass.

Held my jacket close enough that traces of her still cling to the collar.

Then disappeared while I was interrogating caterers.

A slow smile pulls at my mouth.

Drew sees it.

“There he is.”