Page 23 of City of Love

“Which is exactly why I’ve come here tonight. I’m telling you, it’s better to keep it open,” Benjamin said. “Let them have their little black market for food and clothing novelties. Give them just enough taste to keep them happy and quiet.”

Gideon leaned a hip on the table, crossing his arms. “That’s Machiavellian.”

Benjamin shrugged. “It works.”

“And the purists who want the portal closed?” Vik asked. “The ones calling Gideon a traitor to our civilization?”

“Keep things under control well enough and they’ll grumble, but not much more,” Benjamin said. “They’ll only fight if the rebels rise up first.”

Alana sank back into her chair, her weariness showing. “In any case, we need more information. Whether what happened tonight is a question of physics or foul play, it would behoove us to know.”

Gideon stood eyeing Benjamin as they all waited to see who would give slack first.

Benjamin dropped his shoulders and flicked a hand. “Fine, fine. Do your little investigations for now if it will help ease your mind, but the portal stays open. Remember, you’re not the only one with the technology anymore, Gideon. If you close your club to crossing, someone will just open the portal elsewhere in town, with or without the Committee’s approval.”

Over my dead body, Gideon thought as they watched Benjamin disappear back into the main salon. But something felt very wrong here, and he sure hoped it wouldn’t come to his dead body.

His or anybody else’s for that matter.

CHAPTER 10

It was past noon on Saturday as Lexi yawned over her second cup of coffee. Her big Persian cat, Dexter, rubbed his white fur against her ankle, which was still bruised and throbbing from the tumble she took on the street the night before.

Hard evidence that her interdimensional bar-hop had been no hallucination.

Her head throbbed, too. Not from pain, but rather a million questions, a restless night of sleep, and a single, insatiable need—to go back.

She rose from the table, pacing the kitchen before coming to a stop at her front door. The desire to fling it open and run straight back to the secret club and beg for an immediate crossing was such a powerful craving it left her shaking. It made sense though. That entire new universe made sense in a way this one didn’t, tempting her with possibilities and previously undreamt-of futures.

Her stomach growled, stopping the flow of thoughts with a sudden hunger pang the likes of which she’d never experienced. God damn, she was hungry. Like she hadn’t eaten in a week. A man-sized hungry. A big man.

She opened the fridge, eyeing the carton of eggs, the sourdough loaf, the Greek yogurt, the strawberries. Or maybe the bacon. Maybe all of that and the bacon.

The phone rang, her smorgasbord fantasy interrupted by the ringtone assigned to her mother.

“Hey, Mom, what’s up?” she said, gazing longingly at a package of bagels on the counter.

“Just checking in. Any luck with the job search?”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours.”

“I know, honey. But don’t wait too long. I’m worried about you. I tried calling all night, but you never answered. I kept thinking you had another one of those blackouts and were lying in the gutter somewhere.”

Oh geez. Did all mothers jump immediately to the “lying in the gutter” scenario when they couldn’t reach their daughter for more than a few hours, or just hers? She wasn’t that far off, however. Lexi’s ankle ached at the reminder.

“I’m fine. I was out with Margot, trying to get my mind off things for a while.”

Silence.

She should’ve known better than to mention Margot on top of everything else. Her mother wasn’t particularly in favor of her best friend’s lifestyle.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be going out right now? I mean, what with your visions and all, not to mention you should be saving every dime until you find another job.”

“Mom, please, relax. I have some money in the bank, and I had a nice time.” Nice time? Shit, she’d need to pull out a thesaurus to find the words to describe her Friday night.

“Seriously, Lex? This isn’t the time for partying. In fact, your father and I have been talking.”

Oh crap.

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