“I don’t recognize any of the partiers.” He cut a path to Greenleaf and the bouncer at the door. “We’re here on official business.”
The tall black man wore a fitted suit in a rich emerald fabric that shimmered under the club lights spilling onto the street. His thin tie, light shirt, and darker shoes were shades of grass, spring, and leaf. He jerked his chin toward the drunken line winding down the block. “I already heard that once tonight.”
The silver of Bishop’s eyes gleamed bright, hungry. “We’re with the Office of the Potentate of Atlanta.”
The bouncer flicked a glance past Bishop to me, took in my bleached jeans and holey tee, and smirked.
“Sure, fella.” He pointed out the queue, in case we missed it the first time. “End of the line.”
“Hadley.” Bishop stepped aside and shoved me front and center. “Assert your dominance.”
Assert my dominance, my foot. “Look, just because I’m dating Midas doesn’t mean—”
“He’s the pack prince,” Bishop said flatly. “You had to have picked up on some of his tricks.”
“That guy from earlier. He claimed he was pack.” The bouncer wet his lips. “He was legit?”
We had come to the right place if Midas beat us here, but the sensual music spilling out onto the street conflicted with the earlier techno beats. This wasn’t where his call dropped then. He must be elsewhere.
“Midas Kinase.” I waited for recognition to dawn. “What rock have you been living under?”
Gray skin mottled his fists as he clenched them. “You got a problem with stone trolls?”
A troll able to turn his fists to stone would be just the ticket for policing rowdy supernaturals.
“You’re fae.” I didn’t step back, but I shifted my weight onto my heels. “I thought this was a warg party.”
“Blithe Danann is hosting.” He adjusted his tie, which was pinned with a silver oak leaf. “This is her place.”
The name meant nothing to me, aside from the obvious nod to her heritage, but Bishop set his jaw.
“We should go.” He closed his hand over my arm. “Now.”
“What about Midas?” I jerked free of him. “We have to warn him.”
“You do not want Blithe to notice me.” He ground his teeth. “Trust me. We’re done here.”
“All right.” I did trust him, and this Blithe person was freaking him the frak out. “Let’s go.”
While Bishop watched the swirling crowd, waiting for it to eddy, I kept an eye on the bouncer.
“Repeat that.” Plugging one ear against the ruckus, he shoved his earpiece in tighter. “Are you certain?” Adjusting his tie yet again, he shifted his gaze to Bishop with a swallow. “Ms. Danann wishes to see you.”
“No,” Bishop said without turning, then stepped into the flow of bodies and dragged me with him.
The laughing crowd with their bright eyes and grasping hands shoved against us, herding us backward, toward Greenleaf, as if it possessed one consciousness and one purpose.
“Bishop.”
The single word rang with deafening finality, despite the utter chaos around us.
“Find Midas.” He shoved me through the front line into the less turbulent core. “Go.”
Flinging my arm back, I cursed him as my fingers slid free of his. “I’m not—”
“You’re leaving,” he snarled, “or I’m calling Linus.”
The threat worked its magic, and I stopped fighting the current and let it sweep me away.
“Jerk,” I muttered as I navigated the streaming bodies in search of any port in the storm.
A clammy hand circled my ankle just as I broke clear, and I almost kicked it off me on reflex.
“Hadley,” the slight woman crumpled at my feet rasped. “Hadley.”
With the space around me as open as it was going to get, I hooked my hands under her arms and hauled her against the nearest building to give us a wall to put at our backs. Only with that scrap of reassurance did I risk crouching to examine her.
“Do I know you?” I checked the pulse at her throat and found it thready. “Hey.” I patted her cheek. “Can you hear me?”
“Lis…” Her eyes rolled around without settling on me. “Lis…”
Whatever grip she had on my name had slipped as she repeated the new one over and over.
“Hang in there.” I pulled out my phone. “I’m going to get help.”
The sentinels had been alerted to the situation in Midtown, but this woman needed immediate medical attention.
“Lis…” The woman closed her hand over my wrist. “Lis…”
“You’re okay.” I eased out of her grip when her nails started to bite. “Medics are on the way.”
“Lisbeth,” she murmured. “Lis…beth.”
Sweat popped down my spine and blended with the dampness already there. I hadn’t met any members of the OPA team, aside from Bishop, and I wasn’t meant to. Ever. I didn’t know what to do. There were no protocols for this. This—this was like spotting a unicorn in the wild. One that might stab me with its horn to preserve its anonymity once its mind defogged from the high.
“You’re Lisbeth?” I clutched her hand. “My Lisbeth?”
A long exhale passed her lips, and she slumped against the pavement.
“Lisbeth.” I shook her shoulder, and her head sagged to one side. “Frak. Frak. Frak.”
Bishop had ditched me, and I had yet to spot Midas. That left me precious few other allies to call.
No.
Not allies.
I had to stop being such a coward about labels.
Friends.
I had few friends to call, and the first one who popped into my head wanted space.
With that in mind, I dialed up Remy. She didn’t answer, which wasn’t unusual when she was on the clock at the kiosk, but her dedication to the sale had never irked me more than it did right then.
Hating myself for putting him in this situation, I called my first choice before I changed my mind.
“Ford,” I blurted. “Don’t hang up.”
He blasted a sigh across the receiver that spoke volumes.
“I’ve got a team member down on Crescent Avenue Northeast one block east of Greenleaf.” I trained my gaze on the raucous partygoers, praying to spot the familiar in the churning faces. “Near as I can tell, she ingested the new drug that hit the streets tonight. She needs to be evacuated immediately.”
Before any sharp ears overheard us, realized who she worked for, and figured payback might be a giggle.
“A member of your…” He grew more animated. “She’s OPA?”
“Yes.” I trusted him with another clue that risked exposing her identity. “Her name is Lisbeth.”
“Damn it, Lee.” A tick, tick, tick filled the background. “I’m on my way.”
“Thank you.”
He ended the call with a muttered curse that made me feel three inches tall.
Hunkered down while I waited for backup, I sought out Ambrose through our bond and found him strolling down the center of the sidewalk, uncaring if I noticed him absorbing trickles of ambient energy from the crowd. The effort of snatching him back to my side was exacerbated by his mini power trip, but I got him locked down before he stirred up more trouble.