“You need to pull over.”
“No shit.” I put on my hazard lights and start to slow down.
“Now!” Xavi’s breathing gets more erratic, and he looks around wildly. “I don’t have much time.”
“Time for what?” I ask, pulling the van to a stop.
Xavi doesn’t reply. He leaps out of the van and breaks into a run. But he only manages a few steps before he shifts. Into a block of ice.
“What the hell?” I race out of the van after him.
Ice Block Xavi is perfectly square, perfectly chiseled, and perfectly inanimate. As in, he’s literally just a perfectly formed, ginormous ice cube. I’d put him at seven feet tall, and equally wide, taking up the entire sidewalk as well as some of the snowbanks on both sides.
The sun glints off his surface, and questions race through my mind. Does he melt? Can he see me? Is he as cold as he looks?
“Can I touch you?” I ask. And even though he’s literally a block of ice, it sounds dirty somehow. Like I’m propositioning an ice block. “I was just curious what you feel like.” Shit, that’s even dirtier. “I don’t mean like that. I just wanted a quick touch.”
I bury my face in my hands because every word leaving my mouth sounds worse and worse. Can I possibly make a bigger fool of myself?
Get over yourself, Zoe. He probably can’t even hear you. Which is a fair point.
I peek through my fingers at Ice Block Xavi. He just sits on the sidewalk, exactly where he was a second ago.
I take off my driving gloves, reach out, and run a finger along his side. “Shit, that’s cold.”
Xavi shifts back. “Ice blocks are cold,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“You could hear me?” I flush.
“Yeah.” He grins. But not knowingly, the way Leith did last night. And he doesn’t use it against me, the way I know Ghost would. “Thanks, Zoe.”
“For what?”
“The stuff you said.” Suddenly, his cheeks flush scarlet. “Obviously, I know you didn’t mean it like that. The innuendos and stuff. But they were funny. And they put me at ease.”
“They did?” I don’t know if I should say you’re welcome, or feel embarrassed, or both.
“I always freak out when I ice block. And I can’t shift back until I relax. But you made me laugh.”
“Ice blocks can laugh?”
“On the inside.”
“Is that why you don’t dress for winter?” I ask.
“I’m almost always too hot.” He grins. “I’m like a Yeti in that way.”
I shiver. “I’m actually kind of jealous.”
“You should get in the van,” Xavi suggests. “And I should walk. You know, in case I feel the need to shift. I don’t think I’d fit in your van.”
“Is that why you panicked?”
“Didn’t want to cause a car accident.” Xavi rubs the back of his neck. “I walk everywhere. And I know tons of shortcuts. I promise it won’t take me long to get to Jewels Cafe.”
Chapter Ten
Zoe
Xavi and I spend the afternoon with Amber—whose crazy shifting seems to have worn off—and all three of her mates. We go over all the robberies, including anything we’ve seen or heard, which really isn’t all that much.
Xavi summarizes his interviews with shop owners. Wes tells us about being questioned by the police. And I go over everything I saw—or more like, didn’t see—during my cleaning jobs. But in the end, we’re no closer to finding the thief than we were when we first started.
“Another round of drinks?” Chase—Amber’s bunny shifter mate—asks, getting to his feet.
We all nod.
“I still think it’s Minerva Montgomery,” Amber says while she downs the rest of her cappuccino.
“Maybe.” I sigh, picking up my Mood Tea, and for the first time in a long time, I forget to infuse it with magic. There’s only a bit of it left at the bottom of my cup, but it turns gray with confusion. “I had Mini under a containment spell last night, and she never left my place.”
“What if she disabled it?” Amber presses.
“I have an alarm built in so it would alert me if she somehow snuck out.”
“Well, maybe she disabled that, too.” Amber pouts, and I get the sense that she really, really wants it to be Mini. Not that I blame her. I’m not a big fan of the witch, either.
“Mini doesn’t have that kind of magic, Bean,” Julian wraps an arm affectionately around Amber’s shoulder and pulls her into his side. An act that makes Xavi blush. “But maybe she is working with someone.”
“Like an accomplice?” Amber perks up.
“Maybe…” Xavi says softly. “But there’s one thing I don’t get.”
“What?” I ask, and when our eyes meet, he gets even more flustered. And pushes his glasses up his nose.
I like that about him. That he’s not a too-confident-for-his-own-good kind of guy. He’s nothing like Ghost. Or Leith.
Xavi’s sweet. And kind. And self-conscious. And adorable. All of which makes me feel more at ease. Not about the Cleanly Den thefts—I’m getting more and more worried about those. But about whether I’m good enough.
The whole thing with Leith really hit me hard. When Ghost betrayed me, I blamed him. He loved the agency more than me. He was the jerk. It wasn’t my fault. But when Leith flew away… I guess it got me wondering if maybe there’s something wrong with me.
But the way Xavi looks at me, like he’s worried I might not like him, not the other way around… it makes me feel safe. Makes me feel like I can trust him.
“Well? Are you going to tell us already?” Wes growls at Xavi. Then yelps. “Did you just kick me, Ambear?”
She narrows her eyes at him, which tells two things. She definitely kicked him. And her ankle must be feeling a whole lot better.
Wes growls, but he doesn’t look mad. He gives her a heated look instead—one that causes her to flush scarlet.
“Ignore them,” I tell Xavi, who’s blushing about as much as Amber. “What were you going to say?”
“Oh, right. I was just thinking…” He pushes his glasses up his nose. “Why rob those stores on the same nights you’re cleaning them? Why not just use whatever access the Cleanly Den has—keys, alarm codes—and come back another night?”
“Because they’re trying to make us look guilty,” Wes growls. Then yelps. And my guess is it has a lot to do with Amber’s foot.
“Right.” Xavi fumbles with his empty Unicorn Hot Chocolate mug. “That’s probably it. Sorry.”
I reach across the table and place my hand on top of his. His eyes widen, and he suddenly pushes his chair back. Then, he breaks into a run.
And all I can think is that it’s me. There’s something wrong with me. Something that makes men leave. And in that split second, I feel a part of me break.
I want to cry. I want to scream. I want to destroy Jewels Cafe or track down Ghost and hit him in his Ghostly nuts. I want to find Leith and demand he tell me why he led me on.