Page 116 of Fool Me Twice

Ez shifts closer to Roma as the strike force advances‍—not putting herself in front of Roma, but keeping them side by side, just like they always are. Roma snaps back into her fight stance, swaps out her throwing knives for her favorite ax‍?—

Without warning, another burst of purple-gold rips through the air. “Hope you didn’t start the party without us,” JJ says, stepping briskly through the rift with his escrima sticks in hand.

Roma’s stomach plummets. “JJ‍—JJ,no‍?—‍”

“Jackson, I told you tostay,”Ez says, exasperated. “Sit. Stay.Basic commands,hunter.”

“I can assure you that JJ has never once in his life done what he’s told,” Cass says, striding out of the rift with Obie by his side. His eyes sweep around as he analyzes their opponents. “Five against eighteen? We can take them.”

“More in the back,” Obie says, tipping his head to one side to listen. “Sounds like at least another dozen.”

“We can still take them,” Cass says dismissively.

Roma’s pulse is pounding in her temples. “Guys‍?—‍”

“JJ.” They all look over when Bryant steps forward, her hands held out placatingly. “JJ, I can give you one last chance here, okay? Just‍—just come back with us. Please. Roma‍—‍” Her eyes flash to Roma, and for just a moment, Roma sees the pain behind them. “Come on. Come on, guys. Don’t make me lose you. We can fix this, okay? Ipromisewe can fix this, and‍?—‍”

And this time, when another snatch of purple-gold sparks on Roma’s other side, she actually jerks away on instinct. “Who the hell is that?” she demands, glancing at Ez.

Ez looks equally bewildered. “It’s definitely a transport rift, not a mega-rift,” she says, taking a cautious step towards it, “but‍?—‍”

“Stand down. All of you.”

Roma’s blood runs cold. Bryant stiffens, her eyes widening, and the rest of the hunters jerk to attention, naked shock on their faces.

And Sawyer Solomon, famous purebred defector, steps out of the rift with her shoulders pulled back and her head held high in a way that screamshunter.“Standdown,”she repeats, her eyes narrowing as the rift evaporates behind her. “That’s an order.”

Bryant’s face is bloodless. “Sawyer,” she says hoarsely. “Sawyer, what‍?—‍?”

Sawyer scoffs. “You never kicked that habit of talking back to your superiors, did you?” she asks, and Bryant’s mouth snaps shut. “I’m on special assignment from the United States Sanctum. Have been for the past six years. And, not for nothing, but all of you areseriouslyputting my mission in jeopardy right now.”

The words slice through Roma. “What?” she manages, and her eyes dart to Ez. “Ez‍?—‍”

Ez, though, isn’t looking at Roma. Instead, she’s squinting at the space just behind Sawyer, like she’s looking at something that isn’t quite there.

Roma follows her gaze and sees the faintest of shimmers in the air‍—three shimmers, to be exact.

Almost like the subtle spacetime warping of three half-baked invisibility spells. Realization jolts through Roma.

Even six years later, Sawyer still remembers how to play the Sanctum’s games.

“I‍—‍” Bryant swallows hard. “We were never told that.”

Sawyer massages her temples like she’s praying for patience. “There’s areasonfor that, Nehemiah. You have a smartphone, right? Do me a favor and look up the definition of ‘undercover.’” She arches an eyebrow. “Better yet, call the U.S. Council directly. They’ll be able to validate my story.”

Roma almost starts with surprise. That’s a bold gamble, but it buys them time‍—and room for doubt. Bypassing the chain of command to go directly to the United States Sanctum is nearly unthinkable for a rank-and-file hunter‍—and, even if they did try it, the U.S. Council’s phone lines are always busy.

It’s a con that might actually work. For a long moment, Sawyer and Bryant stare each other down.

And then Bryant shakes her head. “Nice try,” she says, “but no deal. Or did you forget thatyou’rethe one who taught me how to pick a liar out of a crowd?”

There’s an explosive sigh from the empty space near Sawyer. “Told you it wouldn’t work, babe,” Naomi’s voice says, and in the blink of an eye, she appears next to Sawyer, Gregorio and Micah flanking them on either side.

A grin twitches on Sawyer’s lips. “Worth a shot, though. And it was sexy, right?”

Naomi gives Sawyer a look that kind of makes Roma want to gag. “Very.”

Obie looks like he’s ready to rift back out just to spite all of them. “So are we going to fight or just stand here slinging one-liners? Because I have better things to do with my day.”

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