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I dropped my glamour and came alongside her.
She glanced at me and did a double take. “What the fuck? Are you trying to get me killed?”
I grabbed her arm and dragged her onto a side street. “You said your Lainey Q cover is blown, right? But before you shut everything down, can you do one last thing? Take some pics of me and Zoe and put them up anywhere you want. Hell, sell them to the goddamn tabloids. If that’s okay with Zoe.”
I glanced at my new mate. She stared back like I’d suggested stripping down to our underwear and jogging up the Champs-Élysées.
“No, it’s not okay. Are you trying to put a target on our backs?”
“It’s already there.” I raised a hand, palm out. “Hear me out, okay? It’s the perfect way to spike your mother’s guns. Put the two of us out there everywhere. The Tremblay Ice Princess and a Dark Angel—in love and mate-bonded. The humans will eat it up.”
Already, a trio of French teenagers was eyeing me and Zoe. They were too cool to approach us, but one pointed her phone at us.
“Hm,” said Lainey. “‘Angel Thaws the Ice Princess’s Heart.’ ‘Ice Princess Melts for her Dark Angel Lover.’” She chuckled. “I like it.”
Zoe groaned and passed a hand over her face.
“Think about it,” I told Zoe. “The whole world will be cheering us on. Victorine has to find out sometime that we’ve mated. You said yourself it’s the only way. This way, she’ll be forced to deal with it. There will be no fucking way she can kidnap you, lock you up and pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Mated?” asked Lainey. “Congrats, you two.”
“Thanks,” we said without looking at her.
Zoe had paled at the suggestion her mother might kidnap her.
Fury balled in my stomach. For two cents, I’d stake Victorine and rid us both of her for good. Not that I’d ruled that out, by the way. But first, we’d try diplomacy and a little old-fashioned strong-arming.
“It could work,” Zoe said. “But Victorine will go ballistic.”
“She’ll go ballistic no matter what we do. This way the whole world will know we’re mates, including both our syndicates.”
Zoe nodded. “She’ll be furious hearing about this on social media.”
I grinned evilly. “Yeah.”
“But itwillmake it impossible for her to attack you without repercussions. But what about you, Lainey? What will your bosses say when they realize you were this close to Rafe and didn’t stake him?”
“No problem,” she answered. “I’ll tell them I couldn’t risk it, not with you right there. They’ll know by then the two of you mated, and they’d know you’d defend him to the death.”
“I would.” Zoe took my hand in a fierce grip. “Okay, I’m in. Let’s do it.”
“Awesome.” Lainey whipped out her phone and snapped several shots, including one of me deep-kissing Zoe.
Take that, Victorine.
“I’ll tag you both,” she said as she returned the phone to her pocket.
“Can you wait to post them until tomorrow?” I asked. “Give us some time to get out of Dodge. And make sure you mention that we’re mated.”
“Oh, I will. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Victorine hears about this.” She grinned. “Don’t try and contact me. You won’t be able to find me anyway.” She walked off, a jaunty swing to her hips.
“I’m thinking we shouldn’t use those tickets to New York,” said Zoe. “She might believe they’re clean, but who knows what her Board of Directors is up to.”
“Whatever we do,” I said, “I have to get to a phone. There are things my father has to know ASAP.”
Like that Tomas was a traitor, Gabriel had a slayer embedded in his staff—and Zaq was trying to kill him.
Zoe went motionless. She nudged me and nodded at the main street.
