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I never said I was a sensible person.
In spite of the fact that my glare could have melted the skin off the face of a lesser being, Prescott went on talking. Maybe I was losing my edge. Or maybe he was used to being glared at. Both were equally likely.
“I think something bad is happening, and I’m worried that all the focus you put on yourself over the summer is going to make you an obvious target for some people.”
Yeah, that whole thing where Manea had put a bounty on my head had certainly raised my presence on some folks’ radar. Being chosen made each of us a bit of a celebrity in the public eye, but now I was on a lot more maps than I had been previously. When an ancient mountain deity tries to smear you across a highway, you know you’ve got some renown in the world of the gods.
“What tipped you off that something bad was happening? Was it the twelve dead kids?”
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“Yeah, you keep on saying that, and I think I might almost believe you, but I still don’t know why you had that guy following me.”
“If something happened to the girl, I thought the person who did it might be nearby still. I thought you might be the target.”
“Only me?”
“You. The other clerics too. But you’re the only one I know who makes a habit of going to crime scenes to look at dead bodies.”
“He says, like I do it for kicks.”
“I think between the two of us, you’ve been to almost as many crime scenes the last year as I have, and I’m the one whose job it is to kill people.”
I waved my hands. We were getting off track again, like we seemed to be in the habit of doing. Once we were together, we would snarl at each other like this for hours. There was no winning one of these fights, and frankly they wore me out, yet somehow I kept circling back to him time and time again.
“So you had all the clerics being followed then.”
“No. Just you.”
“Even though you thought the others could be in trouble too.”
“I don’t care what happens to an Infatuate or a Time Keeper. Yes, these kids dying is sad. Terrible tragedy. I don’t want to pretend it isn’t. Yes, I want to find out who’s doing it and make them stop. But I was only having you followed.”
“Because…you care?”
“Yes.”
I grimaced. “That’s fucking creepy, Pres.”
He spoke again, totally unfazed by my reaction. “Be that as it may, I’d rather be creepy than make plans to attend your funeral.”
“At least you’d know what to wear, I guess.” I nodded at his fancy suit.
“Hilarious.”
“Always.” His explanation had a taste of truthfulness to it, but all the same, I wasn’t totally satisfied with the answers he was giving me. It was a bit too sentimental, too romantic, to believe he was having me followed because he just cared so darned much.
I wouldn’t put it past him that he might have some emotional attachment to me. We’d known each other most our lives, and yes, the sex had been pretty great. But I didn’t imagine he spent his days pining over our lost love. That wasn’t really Prescott’s style.
The curtain rustled, and Leo popped his head in, shutting down any opportunity for me to keep asking questions.
Fine. I’d find Prescott again in Vegas, and we’d continue this conversation there.
“Tallulah?” Leo held up his cell, as if wanting to demonstrate that he hadn’t just barged in for no reason. “It’s Sido.” He handed me his phone, and I didn’t bother wondering why she hadn’t called me directly. I had a habit of ignoring her calls, and if she knew he was with me, reaching out to him was a lot more efficient.
Come to think of it, that was probably part of the reason she had him with me in the first place. He’d force me to answer the phone, and he’d cock block me from getting any action with the bad-luck priest.
Life sure was a kick in the ribs today.
