“It was a pleasure meeting each of you.” Lei bowed her head toward us. She spoke the key and jumped into the gateway book.
Arik took off his vest and tossed it to Demos. He extended his scabbard and blade. “Can you take care of these for me?”
Demos took them. “Certainly.” He inclined his head to us while diving into the book.
“Let’s be on our way, shall we?” Arik walked off toward the elevators.
“Oh, great,” Nick whispered. “Here’s where he kills us.”
“You’re such an epic moron. He could’ve killed us ages ago.” Afton rushed after Arik.
“That’s not nice, Afton,” I said and gave Nick a sympathetic look. “You know how she is…”
“No joke. She’s got bite.” His gaze followed her. “I like her that way.”
Nick and I stopped beside Afton and Arik to wait for the elevator. Arik gave me a sidelong look. “You handled yourself quite well back there, in the Vatican.”
I smiled all the way to my toes at the compliment. “Thank you. I was a mess, though.”
“Nah, you were a real peach.” He smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
My eyes widened. How freaking embarrassing. He did see my peach-colored panties. And they weren’t sexy Afton-type panties; they bordered somewhere between little girl and granny glam. Ever so casually, I smoothed down my skirt, thankful it was in place.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I avoided eye contact with Arik. This was going to be one long elevator ride.
“We have to get our things,” Afton said as the doors closed.
“What time is it?” I asked.
Nick checked his cell phone’s screen. “It’s almost four.”
“The front desk closes soon.” I yanked the claim ticket out of my skirt pocket.
We retrieved our purses and umbrellas from the coat check and then stepped outside under leaden skies and drenching rain. I wrestled with my weather-beaten umbrella, rain pounding on my head until it opened, then I dashed down the steps after the others with the loose handle wiggling in my hand.
Traffic jerked and stopped on the street, horns blaring and brakes squealing. Arik’s biker-knight apparel caused many questioning glances. The rain plastered his dark hair against his forehead and dripped a trail of water down the side of his strong jaw. His every move was easy and sure. I’d checked out hot guys before. Not one swaggered like Arik. I’d felt attraction before, too, but this was way different. Each time he looked at me, it was like a thousand wings took flight in my stomach.
“Do you want to get under?” I yelled over the downpour clapping against the fading petals of my rose-colored umbrella.
He flashed me his dimples. “No, thank you. The rain is refreshing.”
Lightning shocked the dark clouds, making them look like purple smoke. Nick and Afton were several feet ahead of us, arguing about something. Nick’s black umbrella bounced snappishly over their heads. I hurried to catch them.
“What’s wrong with you two?” I flinched at a sudden smack of thunder.
“He’s mad that I called him a moron,” Afton said with irritation.
“I am not. I’m used to your crap.”
“That’s not nice,” I said.
“I know,” Nick agreed. “She has no filter.”
“I do, too,” Afton protested.
“Really?” I fumed. “I meant you both aren’t being nice. And don’t you think we have more to worry about than this?”
“You do have more to worry about,” Arik said, catching up to us. “That hound in Paris was sent by a Writhe.”
“You’re insane,” Nick said. “I feel like we’re in some weird video game.”
“This isn’t a game,” Arik said. “I don’t think you fully understand. Our Monitors detected your presence in the gateway and so did the Writhes. They’ll kill you if they find you. I can’t be certain if any other hunters sensed you. If they did, they’ll track you. This very moment you’re leaving a trail, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
My voice quivered. “But we did that library hop thing, so they’ll lose our scent. Right?”
“It won’t erase it, just slow them down.” Arik stopped and spun around, his eyes fixed down the street. “We have to get somewhere fast.”
“Why?” I turned to see what had distracted him. “What’s wrong—?”
A mountain with legs charged up the street. The man, bald and scarred, didn’t have to dodge pedestrians, because they hurried out of his way. Terror shrieked through my body. The bad people. The thing I’d feared my whole life was barreling down on me.