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Eden tuts loudly, eyeing Dredd and me. We were made at the same time, with stone from the same quarry, to serve the same purpose, but there is a reason Dredd volunteers for the solo jobs and I can easily let him go. He doesn’t play well with others.
“Come on, boys. We have a guest.” Eden shakes her head at us as she moves in closer, looking over my wing. “Hey, Julianna…”
“Jules.” Her voice cracks as she corrects Eden, but it grows stronger. “Mostpeople call me Jules.”
My lips quirk at the corner, and I drop my wing just enough to allow Julianna a clearer view.
“Jules, got it. I think this is yours.” Eden nods, eyeing me as she hands her the purse. “Your phone has been vibrating for a while now.”
“Thanks.” Julianna doesn’t look up before shoving her hand in the bag and pulling out her cellphone. I frown. I hear her heart beat faster and smell the faint whiff of perspiration dot her skin as she scrolls through her messages.
What have you gotten yourself into, little thief?
“I know what this is like,” Eden continues, “learning the world isn’t what it seems. Why don’t we let the big guys talk about their boring business while we get breakfast in the kitchen and chat? I’ll explain everything.”
“Go with Eden and we’ll talk later,” I say firmly, looking back over my wing.
“No.” The word bursts out from Julianna’s lips, seeming to startle even her.
I arch a heavy brow and frown in her direction.
“Uh… no,” she repeats, and I can hear the uncertainty in her voice, but she continues, “You can’t just expect for me to find out magic, gargoyles, and witches are real and then leave and… what? Pretend I don’t know what really goes bump in the night?”
“And vampires,” Eden offers helpfully.
“Satyrs,” Rook adds on.
“Shifters,” Knox jumps in with a grin.
“Don’t forget succubi.” Stiel gives me a sarcastic wiggle of his brows.
“Stop,” I demand, slapping my tail against the floor for emphasis.
“Yes, all that… exactly that.” Julianna’s eyes go back to being huge saucers, but she continues with a determined gulp, “You said you’re not a liar, but if I hadn’t taken this ring off you…”
She reveals my emerald ring, holding it out towards the room. Deep grooves mark the soft flesh of her palm where she must’ve been gripping the ring to the point of pain.
“You got the ring off of Titan? Without him noticing? How?” Knox asks in awe, his sharply hollowed face going dopey with admiration.
Talented little thief.
“Outsiders aren’t welcome,” Dredd snaps, his tail knocking against the ground. The vertical ribs along the tip of his tail click sharply on the marble and echo through the penthouse.
“That’s enough,” I snarl. “She’s staying.”
Dredd backs down quickly, moving as far away from the group as possible while still technically being in the hallway.
“Thanks.” Julianna smiles, small and curt, as her hand closes back around the ring. I’m not sure she realizes she still has it or if she’s holding onto it like a security blanket. Either way, I don’t need it just yet, so she can do what she pleases. I’ll address the stealing when it’s just the two of us.
I drop my wings and shift slightly to the side to give her a full view of everyone. To let her see us all in our monstrous glory. She shifts from one foot to the other, tightly gripping the blanket around her body. No matter what she might think of me right now, I told her I would take care of her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. And then I’m getting her tempting ass out of here.
“Rook.” I focus back on my brothers, and Rook steps forward with military-like precision. “What did you find out about the information on the napkin? Does the coven know if Freddy is keeping the Keystone there?”
“Stiel was able to confirm it was Freddy’s address and that he will have an event two weeks from now unveiling his latest artifact finds to his collector friends. It seems he recently acquired an over two-thousand-year-old ceremonial vessel from Turkey.” Rook moves forward, standing at attention as he relays the information.
“Acquired? You mean stole,” Dredd hisses.
“Freddy is no different than Harris,” Stiel confirms. “Their items are stolen with no thought to the cultures or people they rob from. They will not care that the Keystone is rightfully ours.”
