He paced toward me, that challenging look I'd come to love forming on his face. "Oh, trust me, there will be no truce. You just woke the beast, little girl."
Tension crackled between us like fireworks and, for a second, I regretted that everyone had been in here and that I hadn't asked him some very, very personal questions. "I might wanna use this prank again on you."
"Too bad. I'm definitely writing all kinds of protection spells to stop you," Gray murmured, as he took a step closer to me.
"I'll just have to unravel those," I countered with an arch of my brow. He licked his lips and my eyes darted to their plush shape.
"I'm gonna keep you tied up with so many pranks you won't have time," Gray threatened in a seductive purr.
"We'll see," I winked at him then turned to saunter out.
The smack on my ass didn't sting a bit, it just served to heat the space between my thighs and made me ready for whatever Gray's next prank would be. Whatever it was, it would have to wait until later, because we had a shit ton of work to do. We’d stolen the serum. Now, it was time for us to steal Matthew away and give him back his future.
We caffeinated some more before we headed out to divide and conquer.
Malcolm rode off to join a “Unnaturals are Unnecessary” march led by some norms who wanted to eliminate the Unnatural Spell altogether. They claimed it was too dangerous and should be illegal. He was going to use that as his cover for failing to return to MAD. He said he often skipped out on school for various political movements, so it wouldn’t be out of character for him.
Evan went to tell his parents he wanted to go back to home schooling after everything that had happened at the ball. That would prevent him from having to go back to MAD. He didn’t think it would be a hard sell.
Z just smiled and told me he was fine with ditching.
“But your ankle monitor?” I argued.
“Meh, one of Gray’s guys works for a catch-and-release wildlife place. He tossed it on a wolf.”
I just facepalmed at that and moved on.
Gray insisted he didn’t have to care about going back to school. “Trust fund doesn’t matter anymore.” He gave me a wink and wouldn’t say more than that until I pulled him aside in the kitchen, toward the little eat-in table and away from the others.
“What if the serum takes a long time? What if it’s too hard to replicate?” I didn’t want him betting everything on it. Only I was allowed to do that.
He just smoothed down the sleeve of my t-shirt. “Good thing we stole some pretty rocks then.” He gave me a panty-melting wink. “My guys already have a couple buyers lined up for stuff.” He leaned in and kissed me softly, his lips trailing lightly over mine before he smacked my ass and made me jump. “Now, get outta here. I have to move us to a new location and you’re burning daylight.”
Gray insisted we needed to stay on the move. He was going to pack up our stuff and monitor police chatter while we all ran our separate errands. He was bound and determined to keep us ahead of the ‘Pinhead pricks’ as he called the Pinnacle cops.
Andros didn’t say much. He just ate and then got on a motorcycle, kicking up a trail of dust as he headed off to look over the vampiric institution that held Matthew and see if he noticed any weaknesses Evan had overlooked.
That left Zavier with me.
And while I should have been planning a funeral, I didn’t feel like it. I wasn’t quite ready for that. In fact, I texted Tia instead, to see if she knew someone.
Her response: -I’m so fucking sorry!!! Yes. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got you covered.-
A second later, her additional text made me bark out a surprised laugh, nearly choking. -Also, sidenote of total unimportance, I’ve never been so grateful to be ditched on a date in my life.-
I replied: -Not unimportant. Super important. I’m glad you’re safe too. Love you.-
-Love you more.-
-Enough to hug me in public?-
-Let’s not get crazy.-
Her final response left me with a small smile on my face and helped me push back the emotions. Feelings were for last night. Today was the day for action.
I turned and looked at Z. “Gonna ride bitch again?” I winked.
“Only because it lets me grind against your ass,” he replied, sliding on a sleek silver helmet.
I laughed and zipped up my riding jacked, donned my own helmet, and then showed Z just how much practice I’d gotten with wheelies chasing after Matthew.
His girlish screeches had left me in a blazing good mood that lasted the rest of the ride.
But that happy feeling faded as soon as we parked. I gave Z the helmets and he wrote a quick spell to shrink them so he could slip them into his jean pocket like a pair of marbles.
My nerves started dancing with anxiety as we walked across the parking lot, between some run-down cars, toward Dr. Potts’ office.
Was she there?
Was she alive?
Would I be able to get the details about the spell she’d put on Matthew? It was highly unlikely we’d have enough time to get in there, reveal the original spell and unravel it, not with heightened security. Not when restraining Matthew safely was already going to be a big enough task.
A man who still sat behind the wheel of his car gave us a weird look and I fought the urge to flip him off. I didn't need any parking lot drama. I just needed to get inside and talk to Potts.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight as we got closer. I tried to ignore them and relax my hands as I strode toward the office, the smell of the Chinese place next door wafted toward me and made me crave egg rolls.
Next to me, Z was totally relaxed. He inhaled the smell of the restaurant and said, “We should totally take Potts to lunch.”
“You just want to go to lunch.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, so? Two birds.”
“You can wait ten minutes.”
“I can make time speed up so ten minutes is over in a snap,” he countered.
I moaned in frustration. “Can you be serious for one—”
The door swung open in my face before I could even reach for the handle. And suddenly Potts was there in a flowy flower dress and a crocheted vest that looked like it was from the original Woodstock. Her arms wrapped around my waist and she lifted me off the ground in a bear hug that I never would have expected from her—she was stronger than she looked. It also wasn’t lost on me that her hug was probably incredibly out of character. But I was just as happy to see her as she was me.
My hands flew to her shoulders and I held on.
“Saw you through the lobby window. Left the blinds open because after that breakout, I want to see who’s coming,” she said.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said softly.
She just set me down without responding. But the hug had said everything for her.
Z grinned next to me. “Now, that’s a good hello. Can I get one too?”
Potts set me down and glared at him. “Who are you?”
He opened his arms, like he was prepared for a hug. “I’m Zavier—”
“This the stalker?” She turned to look at me without touching him.
“Nope.”
“Well, he definitely wasn’t your date last night.”