Page 90 of Fool Me Twice

A trickle of disappointment curls through Ez. “No. Not yet, anyway. I just put a twelve-hour deactivation in place, because‍—well, long story short, the Deep doesn’t like Sanctum enchantments. Our first attempt at the counterspell didn’tkillRoma, but it came concerningly close. We’re planning to try again without the enchantments tomorrow morning.”

Obie’s face clears. “So that’s why Roma is staying with you overnight? So you can redo the spell at sunrise?”

Ez waggles her eyebrows. “Among other reasons.”

“Shut up, Ez,” Roma says, her voice muffled against JJ’s shirt.

“That’s a pretty lengthy hug there, Gutierrez,” Ez drawls. “You’re gonna make me jealous.”

JJ peels himself away from Roma, looking between her and Ez in bewilderment. “Wait. Are you two‍?—‍?”

“Oh, Isocalled this,” Cass says, and he wiggles his fingers at Obie. “Pay up. You owe me twenty dollars.”

Obie looks affronted. “I never agreed to those terms. I agreedwithyou. It was really only a matter of time before they slept together.”

Roma buries her face in her hands. “I hate all of you.”

“Roma‍—Roma.”JJ grabs her wrists and wrestles her hands down, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you and Ez together now? For real? Are you‍—‍?” He takes a deep breath, meeting her eyes. “Roma, are you going to defect?”

The words sound like anvils dropping in the suddenly silent room. And much as Ez wants to grab Roma and bring her home and never let her go, much as she wants to have with Roma what Cass found with JJ‍?—

She knows that it’s Roma’s decision to make, not Ez’s. And she knows that Roma hasn’t quite finished grappling with it yet. “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she begins awkwardly. “We’re still‍?—‍”

“I’m seriously considering it,” Roma says, and Ez’s heart stutters. Roma is clearly talking to JJ, but for the barest hint of a second, her eyes flicker to Ez. “I’m‍—I’m very much considering it.”

Naomi’s smile is fond. “The fugitive life is a lot nicer than you might expect.”

“We can help you set it up, too,” Sawyer says, a smile twitching on her lips. “And maybe even help you process all the residual trauma. Because there’s alotof residual trauma to process.”

“I can arrange a spare apartment for you,” Obie offers. “I’m getting the vibe that you’ll be staying with Ez, but you can never have too many safe houses.”

“And you and JJ will have a lot to talk about,” Cass adds cautiously. “Maybe we could have you over for dinner sometime. You can‍—you can meet Desi.”

JJ’s grin is as bright as Ez has ever seen it. “We’d love to have you,” he says, and he hugs Roma again. “Just let us know what you need, okay? Once you make your decision.”

Slowly, Roma nods. She has the same vulnerable expression from when she and Ez were imagining a new future‍—a future with themtogether‍—back at Ez’s house, but this time, there’s something different underneath it.

Something like determination. “I will. I’ll probably have a lot of questions for you. Like‍—like what I should bring with me from the Sanctum.”

“I didn’t exactly have the chance to pack a bag,” JJ says.

“Sawyer and I did,” Naomi says. “We’ve got you, kiddo.”

Warmth floods through Ez. Everyone looks so relieved and happy, so thankful that they have another ally, anotherfriend‍?—

Another person to love. And, personally, Ez thinks they have more than enough love to go around. “Perfect,” she says, reaching out a hand for Roma; like an instinct, Roma steps back towards her, tangling their fingers together. “Now, all we need to do is end the epidemic, and‍?—‍”

Right on cue, a purple-gold rift blossoms to life in the middle of the room. Micah stumbles out of it, closely followed by Gregorio. “Hey, guys,” Micah says, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. “Glad you could make it.”

“Not like Naomi and Sawyer gave us much of a choice,” Obie says, giving the ex-hunters in question a pointed look. “So what’s this about?”

“Nothing much,” Gregorio says. “Just that we might’ve found a way to figure out exactly how the mega-rift epidemic began‍—and who started it in the first place.”

39

All the blood rushes from Roma’s head at once. “I’m sorry.What?”

Micah looks taken aback at her reaction. “We weren’t hiding anything. We just didn’t realize we had everything we needed until now.”

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