"Bring your dancing shoes," he said.
I snorted in disgust, and his laughter followed me out the door. Damn him to hell, I thought, and fleetingly wished I hadn't argued with Lucian. It would have been nice to ease the ache of desire in his arms. I could always go to Franklin's, a discreet up-market wolf club I often used at times like this, but even as that thought crossed my mind, my nose was wrinkling. The club had lost some of its appeal lately—mainly because Lucian had a sexual repertoire my usual partner at Franklin's had no hope of competing with.
Azriel appeared beside me as I walked up the road to the taxi stand. "The face-shifter theory is an interesting one."
His voice was still very formal, and irritation swirled. But did I really want the easygoing, warm version when desire raged so badly inside me? Yes, that insane part of me whispered. Most definitely. I ignored it and said, "It would certainly explain why no one can find Nadler."
"If he is being so cautious with who sees him, it is also probable that he is not only keeping an eye on his lawyer's movements, but he would have ensured that the lawyer could not actually describe him."
I stopped and looked at him. "Mind tampering?"
He nodded. "It's possible."
"But that implies our fake Nadler is more powerful than we'd thought." And probably more dangerous, although his actions with the soul stealer gave more than enough warning about the lengths to which he was willing to go.
"Exactly," Azriel said. "I do not think it wise for Jak to accompany you to this ball."
"There's no way in hell he's going to remain behind. He wants this story, Azriel."
"Maybe so, but that is neither here nor there. Do you agree that it would be better for him not to appear?"
I frowned. "Yes, but if we stop him, he'll be furious." And knowing Jak as well as I did, I had no doubt he'd pursue the story without us, and that, ultimately, could be even more dangerous. At least this way we had some control over his actions.
"He can be stopped and yet still think he was there," Azriel commented.
My gaze searched his for a moment—although why, I have no idea, given that he was still in retreat mode. "So you'll keep him at home somehow, but feed him false memories afterward?"
"Yes."