Page 119 of Fool Me Twice

Carefully, Roma puts her half-eaten taco back into its wrapper. “I think part of me has wanted to defect for a while now,” she says softly. “For a few weeks, at least. Maybe even longer. And then, after everything that happened with thecounterspell, I’d almost convinced myself that Icouldleave, but…” Her awkward smile looks more like a grimace. “Things went wrong exactly when I wanted them to go right.”

“Meaning that we found out you were under orders to betray us,” Obie says. “Again.”

“Obie,”Ez says, exasperated.

“No, that’s‍—that’s fair,” Roma says, and when Ez glances at her, she’s meeting Obie’s gaze head-on. “You’re right. Thatwasmy original mission from the Council. It was to get close to all of you‍—to JJ, specifically‍—and bring you down from the inside. But then…” Unexpectedly, she leans her shoulder against Ez’s. “But then Ez happened. And then Naomi happened, and JJ happened. And I realized that I didn’twantto complete my assignment anymore. I didn’t want the life that the Sanctum had for me, no matter how stable or safe it seemed. I‍—I wanted to be here. With all of you.”

JJ’s smile is warm. “Good. Because we want you here, too,” he says, and he glances at Cass’s tense shoulders. “Well.Ido, at least.”

“Hey!” Ez protests. “Don’t forget about me, Jackson!”

Roma grins. It’s lighter and more carefree than any of her smiles in the past, and with a swell of pride, Ez thinks that defection looks damn good on her. “The only reason I didn’t leave sooner is because I didn’t think I had anywhere to go,” Roma continues, her eyes shifting back to Naomi. “And lone defectors don’t tend to last long on the outside‍—not unless they have resources or, you know, demon sugar daddies.”

Ez chokes on a laugh. Cass looks appalled. “Excuseyou?”

JJ gives Cass an appraising look. “I mean, she’s not wrong.”

“Okay,listen‍?—‍”

“But then today,” Roma finishes, “Bryant told me they found JJ by monitoring Obie’s property records. From the context, it was obvious that they’d actually found Naomi and Sawyer’splace, instead.” She looks away. “And the Council wanted me to lead the mission. They knew I was hiding something, so I realized it was just their ploy to catch me in a lie. To force my hand so they could throw me in prison as a dissident.” She lifts her chin defiantly. “And if I was going down, I was going down fighting.”

“Well, luckily for you,” Obie says evenly, “we decided to make sure that didn’t happen.”

“And I appreciate that,” Roma says, her eyes sweeping around the room. “Thank you. All of you. I’d‍—I’d probably be dead or imprisoned right now if you hadn’t come back for me.” Her gaze lingers on Naomi, a frown creasing her brow. “But you two exposed yourselves to the Sanctum. Allfourof you exposed yourselves. What does that mean for you?”

Naomi smiles mirthlessly. “It means that we’re officially targets again. Good times.”

“It also means that the Sanctum‍—and the Chain‍—are about to realize that we know about the conspiracy,” Gregorio says, his jaw set in a grim line. “And that we told the rest of you about it, too. After all, why else would demons and hunters work together?”

“Unless they assume the four of us are in a really hot polyamorous relationship,” Micah adds. “Which I feel like isn’t too far outside the realm of possibility nowadays.”

Ez snorts. Gregorio casts his eyes to the ceiling like he’s praying for patience. “Babe.”

“All right, all right,” Micah says, and he digs out his cell phone, tapping into the screen. “I’ve actually had official resignation letters to the Chain written for both of us for a few years now. I just need to add a few finishing touches, and then we can send them off and go into hiding.”

“Aw, your first time being fugitives,” Sawyer says, pretending to sniffle. “They grow up so fast.”

“Shut up, Solomon.”

“Wait,” Ez says, frowning at them. “You’re quitting your jobs?”

Micah throws her a confused look as he types. “Well, yeah. We can’t exactly go into work if we’re on wanted posters, right?”

“We could figure something out.” Obie’s voice is quiet. “Find a way to imply that your appearances at that little standoff were just glamours. We know how much you love your jobs.”

“No,Micahloved his job,” Gregorio corrects. “I tolerated mine. Gave me something to do during the day. But I’ve been reliably informed that there are TV shows and video games to fill that void in my life, so I’m sure I’ll survive.”

“Did you hear that they’re releasing aWater Warsvideo game?” Naomi asks.

Gregorio buries his face in his hands. “You humans keep getting worse and worse.”

“And wearegoing to need a new inside demon in the Chain,” Sawyer muses, tilting her head contemplatively to one side. “Someone who can keep an eye on the bureaucrats on the highway and let us know if they make any significant moves. Any suggestions?”

“I’ll handle that,” Obie says. “Maggie Khan will be‍—well, ‘delighted’ isn’t the right word, but I’m sure she’ll derive immense satisfaction from burning the Sanctum and the Chain to the ground.”

“As she should,” Micah says firmly, and he taps his screen one more time before handing his phone to Gregorio. “Here we are‍—the final version of our resignations. Tell me what you think?”

Gregorio skims over it. “It’s good,” he says, “besides the fact that your phone autocorrected ‘sincerely’ to ‘suck it.’”

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