Spin the Shadows (Dark and Wicked Fae #1) - Cate Corvin Page 0,37

for you full time. I want to be your agent.”

The corner of Robin’s lips twitched. “Do you now?”

“Yes.” I crossed the kitchen, poured myself a cup of coffee, and rummaged in the fridge for the cream. A frost sprite was lounging on an old take-out box in the back, reading a tiny magazine. “You’re going to hire me, and I’m going to be an agent. This is non-negotiable. Also, I get a pay raise and I keep my dental plan.”

I sat at the table, mixed enough cream and sugar into my coffee to turn it more of an off-white than brown, and looked expectantly at Robin. “So, what’s the first order of business, boss?”

The grim look was gone. He was looking at me like I was the sun, his sapphire eyes crinkled a little at the corners, but his gaze also dropped to my mouth, still swollen from Gwyn’s kisses.

I fidgeted with my mug, trying not to imagine kissing both Gwyn and Robin and failing. How fickle was I?

“Well,” he said, pulling his eyes from my mouth with what seemed like an effort. “I’m happy to have you onboard, since I clearly can’t say no.”

“Nope.” I took a cheerful swig of coffee and almost choked. I’d dumped in enough sugar to kill a pixie. “You can’t.”

“Then the first order of business is to find Calder. We need to confirm he’s still living in the Undercity.” Robin glanced at my clothes. “And to get you out of that ridiculous outfit.”

My ears interpreted that statement in a very different way than how he meant it.

Robin seemed to realize the exact same thing when he saw the light blush on my cheeks. He cleared his throat. “The wardrobe will provide,” he added hastily. “Feel free to use it whenever you wish.”

“Thanks, boss.” Sisse smirked at my mumble.

“I could cut the tension in here with a knife,” she murmured, and flew away on a sprinkle of glittering dust.

I was going to curl up and die like a salted snail. “So, how are we going to lure Calder out? If he has a nereid fetish, disguising ourselves as one of them is our best bet, right?”

Robin still wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Yes, especially as I’d prefer not to have your real face on display all the time, especially in the Undercity. I’ll construct you a better glamour, and you’ll once again be the bait— but this time, Briallen, please do not take unnecessary risks. It’s better to run than become impaired in enemy territory.”

I thought of the guilt that had saturated his voice when he thought he was speaking privately to Sisse, and my ears burned with shame.

Robin had been more worried about me than the mission… which had made me a weak link. “I won’t. Once was enough to learn that lesson.”

“We need to lure him out.” Robin took a long drink of coffee. I wondered if he’d slept at all last night, but judging from the faint shadows under his eyes, I was willing to bet the answer was not much. “Once we make contact and find his new hiding place, I’ll have you plant a bug in there. If you can install a tracking chip on his phone, all the better. Once we have access to his messages, we’ll know with whom he meets and where he’s funneling these humans.”

I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking it over and playing my last encounter with Calder through my mind. “It’ll be hard to do it while he’s conscious. Especially if he’s pawing at me.”

Robin nodded slowly. “I’d rather not have you pawed at, if possible.”

I lifted one shoulder. “Some things I can deal with, if it comes down to that. Finding those girls is more important to me. But I was thinking… what if I rendered him unconscious without hurting him? We’ll need him again later.”

One of Robin’s arched brows rose. “Go on.”

“Well… I wouldn’t roofie him. That might make it a little too obvious. But maybe…”

“An alcohol-activated contact poison?” Robin suggested.

I grinned at him over my coffee. “Perfect.”

I told him my plan, cringing a little bit at some of it, and by the end I was expecting Robin to tell me off, get the hell out, and go beg Numa for my old job back.

But he was nodding, his brows scrunched in a thoughtful frown. “It’s risky, but it could work. And that behavior isn’t uncommon in the Undercity.”

My hand froze midway to raising my coffee to my mouth.