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Ilay back on the lumpy hotel-room bed, my thumb skimming over the screen of the cheap tablet Kyler had picked up for each of us on his last expedition into the tech stores. “Might as well be able to use the internet when it’s available for free,” he’d said cheerfully as he’d handed them out. “Just don’t sign into any of your pre-existing accounts, and no one will be the wiser.”
Ky was sitting on the room’s other bed, hunched over the full laptop he’d bought himself. The keys clattered under his speedy fingers. There wasn’t much in the room except us, the beds, and a carpet that gave off a slightly mildewy smell into the air. A pretty far cry from the gleaming apartment Jin’s friend had lent him, but at least there was no reason for the Assembly goons to check some rinky-dink hotel just far enough from Newark airport that no one really wanted to stay here.
“Still looking good?” I asked Ky.
He nodded, his eyes never leaving the screen. “I’ve been watching all the phone lines, their internet service—everything I can get access to. No one in the Levesque family has given any indication they even know Rose exists. Either her aunt is keeping the secret as promised, or anyone else she’s told knows better than to spread the word.”
“How long do you think we should give them before Rose reaches out again?”
Ky rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t know. It’s always going to be a crapshoot to some extent. But everything she said about the meet-up sounded positive.”
“So you’re leaning toward trusting them.”
“Well…” He grinned at me. “I’m leaning toward giving them at least a little more rope to see whether they hang themselves withthat, at the very least.”
“We can’t be too cautious,” I pointed out. “If we cantrust them, we’re going to need them sooner, not later.” Staying in this motel in Newark worked for now, but I couldn’t imagine how it was sustainable. I’d seen how dogged our attackers were. At some point Rose was going to have to cast magic again, and then they’d be on us—unless we had a better way of stopping them.
“True, true.” Ky sighed. “Now, if I had ears right inside their houses… But that might be a little extreme even for me.” He laughed a little to himself, and I made a mental note to always stay on Kyler Lennox’s good side.
I turned back to my own way of contributing something, which was looking through the odd job postings on a website I’d used before to find bits of work here and there while I’d been traveling. Most of the offerings were pretty menial, but every now and then a listing popped up from someone willing to trust a relative stranger with their car. I could go in, give an engine a onceover, and have it running properly again in less than an hour most times. And that paid a hell of a lot better than carting someone’s moving boxes around.
The money we had on us wasn’t infinitely sustainable either. Might as well get a head start on restocking our funds.
There weren’t any quick and easy jobs on offer today, though. I grimaced at the tablet and set it down. The one problem with being under a sort of lockdown was I did get a little stir-crazy when I couldn’t roam around. Rose and the other guys were in their own rooms down the hall. We’d come in one pair at a time and asked for separate rooms, in case the Assembly started checking around for large groups with only one woman. But even if she wasn’t right here with me, I didn’t want to leave the motel without her either.
The Assembly had hit us too many times, too hard, for me to feel comfortable even with the few walls between us right now.
It was still an hour before we were supposed to meet up to grab dinner. What else could I do with the time that might be useful? I’d already spent a couple hours checking over the SUV this afternoon, repairing a few bits and pieces that hadn’t come out of the crash unscathed, stashing some more stores of gas in the back. I’d even managed to fix the windows, thanks to some replacement glass I’d grabbed at an auto shop on our way to the hotel. It was ready to go if we needed to make a run that way, at least.
I brought up a map of the area to consider escape routes by road. A thump sounded on the other side of the wall next to my bed. Then a moan filtered through, low and needy.
Ky glanced over and chuckled. “Glad someone’s having a good time.”
It wasn’t Rose. Her room and the other guys’ was in the opposite direction, with a couple between theirs and ours. But hearing two strangers go at it made me think of her anyway, with a tightness in my groin.
I wanted her, so badly. I couldhaveher now. But I had to think about what was best for all of us. She had four consorts who could not only light her up with pleasure but with magic too. It only made sense for me to step back for the time being and wait on the sidelines until she didn’t need that energy quite so much.
Another moan carried through the wall. I rolled my eyes and got up to use the bathroom—and maybe relieve some pressure in a different way.
I’d only made it halfway across the room when a now familiar pain smacked me across the head.
The wave of magic cut through my senses and jabbed down my spine. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth against it, my feet stumbling to a stop. The Assembly’s enforcers hadn’t thrown anything at us since that last skirmish when Damon had brought out his gun. I’d started to think they might have quit that strategy.
No such luck.
Kyler had sucked in his breath with a hitch. A moment later, his shoulders came down as Rose must have sent more magic through their consort bond. She’d said she didn’t think they could trace that because the connection was already established. The pain in my own head eased, but it couldn’t have been because of her.
No, it wasn’t going away. It was just shifting. An eerie sensation wriggled through my nerves. I found myself turning toward the door. Just to get out, just to stretch my legs. I’d wanted to get some air, hadn’t I?
My heart hiccupped. That wasn’t my impulse. The magic was propelling me somehow.
“Where are you going?” Kyler said.
“I—” The sensation wrapped around my throat, making it harder to speak. I forced the words out. “Their magic is pushing me.”
I tried to fight it, tensing against the movements. My steps dragged, but my feet still edged toward the door. Ky’s eyes widened.
“I’ll tell Rose,” he said, grabbing his phone. “She can help block them.”
