Page 26 of Fool Me Twice

Councilwoman Nasir’s voice is hard and her eyes are bottomless. “Explain to me in your own words what happened last night, Gutierrez.”

Roma swallows hard, resisting the urge to fidget. The councilwoman’s office is as cold and foreboding as ever, just Nasir sitting stiffly behind her desk and Roma standing alone in the center of the room, and Nasir’s steely expression doesn’t give Roma any comfort.

The other hunters probably reported back first. Figures. Most of them are mixed breeds, and even though some of them are technically helping Roma with this operation, they’re doing it more for brownie points with the Council than out of any compassion for Roma. And as for the sole purebred among them‍?—

Well. Roma doubts that Bryant threw her under the bus, but considering how angry she was last night, she probably didn’t protect Roma as much as she usually would.

That means Roma’s defense is entirely on her own shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she decides to go the contrite route. “I believe that I made an error in judgment,” she says. “In myattempts to get close to Jackson again, I’ve found myself mostly targeting the demon spellcaster Esmeralda Laguerre, who’s a… friend of his. However, she’s started to get suspicious of how often we find ourselves in the same vicinity whenever the mega-rifts open, so I decided to manufacture a situation where she would have to respond from a different location.”

“So you had Nehemiah and Chester open a rift on an abandoned street corner in the middle of the night.”

Nasir’s voice isn’t quite accusing, but it isn’t necessarily understanding, either. Warily, Roma nods. “Yes. There are some bars nearby, so we knew it would be reported quickly‍—and since the Chain’s Public Safety Department was busy with the rogue summoner, I figured they’d have no choice but to call Laguerre. So Bryant and Chester opened the mega-rift, I ‘responded’ to the situation five minutes later, and we settled in to wait for Laguerre.” She swallows hard. “But‍—but then a demon accidentally wandered into this dimension, which clearly wasn’t part of the plan. It was an unrelated demon,” she adds hastily, “not one of the ones whose soul energy Bryant and Chester were using to maintain the rift itself.”

And they’re beyond lucky for that. Not only would Bryant and Chester have been punished for actuallysummoninga demon to this realm, but, well.

Roma doesn’t know what Bryant’s worst nightmare would’ve been, but she thinks Chester’s probably would’ve looked like one of the demons who murdered his family. Chester is tough, but she knows that would’ve shaken him up.

“So Nehemiah came back to the Sanctum to request further assistance,” Nasir says curtly, “while Chester stayed behind to maintain the rift.”

Roma winces. That was the one part of her plan that she reallydidn’tthink through‍—the fact that Chester would be stuck struggling to hold open the rift alone for nearly twenty minutes.She’s pretty sure that he’s still passed out from overexertion. “Right. Once Laguerre showed up, we closed the mega-rift and went after the neophyte ourselves. But by the time Bryant arrived with reinforcements, Laguerre had already calmed the demon down and the police were about to leave, and I…” She shakes her head. “At the time, I thought that ceding the round to Laguerre would ease tensions with the police and potentially make her trust me more. It was a gamble, but‍—but I’m not sure if it succeeded.”

“Hm.” Nasir’s lips curve down with displeasure. “It was indeed a gamble, and one that I’d advise you not to make in the future. Although your concerns about the police were reasonable, I will remind you that your mission to regain Jackson’s trust is secondary to the Sanctum’s overall mission of retrieving demons for testing. Do I make myself clear?”

Roma nods once. “Yes, ma’am. I apologize for the error.”

“And, if you’re that worried about Laguerre suspecting you, then I’m sure you won’t protest to other hunters taking your place for the next week,” Nasir continues, and Roma fights back a flinch at the punishment. “We’ve given you considerable autonomy with this assignment, but I can see that was a mistake. From now on, I want reports on your proposed strategy for each coming week, with a particular emphasis on how it aligns with the Sanctum’s goals. I’ll expect the first by five p.m. this Friday, and you won’t be permitted to resume operations without my approval. Until then, you’re dismissed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Roma repeats quietly, and she backs up, fumbles the door open, and slides it closed behind her, barely daring to breathe until she’s halfway down the hall.

She really hopes this works. Not only did she put herself on Nasir’s radar, but now, the other mixed-breed hunters are going to be more passive-aggressive than ever in “helping” her. Plus, gossip spreads like wildfire in the Sanctum, so everybody willprobably be side-eyeing Roma by the end of breakfast. And out of the two people she knows will always have her back, one of them is still unconscious because she pushed him too hard, and the other‍?—

There’s a low whistle from ahead of her. Roma’s eyes fly up to see Bryant herself peeking out from behind a corner, her eyebrows raised.

Moment of truth.Stomach churning, Roma attempts a smile as she breaks into a jog to meet her, slipping down the side hallway to keep them both out of sight. “Hey, Bry.”

“Hey.” Bryant’s smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Glad you got out of there in one piece.”

“Thanks.” Roma leans against the wall, straining her ears. She can’t hear anyone else around, but hunters are always listening. “So, uh, you knew Nasir was going to call me in?”

Bryant shrugs one shoulder. “You had to give your mission report at some point. And she mentioned last night that she wanted this handled before breakfast, so it wasn’t hard to guess the time.”

Roma’s throat feels dry. “What’d you tell her?”

Bryant shrugs again. “Just what happened, I guess.”

“Right. And‍—and what doyouthink happened?”

“Like‍—‍” Bryant lets out her breath in a hiss. “Listen, I get it, okay? I really do. The Gutierrez name has been on thin ice ever since Naomi defected, and getting matched with Kenneth Long could change your futureandyour family’s future for the better, but you can’t start putting that above the Sanctum’s actual objectives, okay? Even the best marriage prospect won’t fix it if everyone thinks you’re untrustworthy, and‍?—‍”

An incredulous laugh bursts out of Roma before she can stop it. Getting hitched to Kenneth Long is the absolute least of her worries right now. She wants to know if her gamble paid off, wants to know if last night’s neophyte ended up in the prison‍?—

Wants to know if her worst fears about corruption in the Sanctum are a reality.

But it’s not like she can tell Bryant any of that. “I’m not doing this for the marriage prospect, okay? I’m doing it to get JJ back. To get ourfriendback. That’s the reason for all of this, and‍?—‍”

Bryant is already shaking her head. “Even if we get Jackson back, he’s not going to be our friend anymore. You know that as well as I do, Gutierrez. He’s not the person we remember, if he ever really was, and‍?—‍”

Something snaps inside Roma’s chest. “I’m notlikeyou, okay?” she bites out. “I can’t‍—I can’t just turn my brain off and pretend I never cared about him in the first place!”

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