"They also placed a tracker on my bike, so it'll be worth checking your cars before going anywhere."
Ilianna snorted. "Like me checking is going to do any good. I wouldn't know a tracking device if it slapped me in the face."
I grinned. "I'll do it. In the meantime, you'd better start preparing some repelling potions. You just might need them."
"I always carry a bottle or two when I'm out. I just didn't get the chance to use them this time, because you were screaming at me to run." She crossed her arms and studied me with concern. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, first off I have a date—"
"Date?" Tao said, surprise evident in his expression. "Wasn't it yesterday you were moaning about the dearth of eligible men in your life?"
"It was," I agreed, "but this one stepped in to help me against the shifters who attacked Ilianna."
"I do believe you skipped that little detail," she said, her voice cross but a twinkle in her eyes. "What have I told you about skipping the important bits?"
"He's tall, broad-shouldered, golden-haired, and handsome enough to tempt even you." My grin grew as she snorted. "He's also an Aedh."
"Aedh? I didn't think there were any left in the city." Tao hesitated. "That's a bit of a coincidence, isn't it? I mean, all these men after your father, and you getting rescued by an Aedh."
"I hadn't really thought about that." It wasn't like I'd actually had a whole lot of time to think during the attack. And afterward, my hormones had well and truly been in control.
Damn it, I wanted the date to be real, wanted it to be based on mutual attraction, not some subversive desire to mine information about a father I'd neither seen nor met.
But now that the seed had been planted, I couldn't ignore it. Tonight's date suddenly lost some of its shine, and that was a shame.
"I could be wrong," Tao said, touching my arm lightly.
I smiled and squeezed his fingers. "You might, but you might not. It's better that I'm alert and aware rather than lost in attraction."