Page 34 of V for Vengeance

His cat eyes sparkled like I’d challenged him to be the one to educate me on the marvels of New Orleans. “Say no more, love. Tonight, we’ll take our time. But first, we must catch the old hag’s little treat before he flees the city.”

The old hag’s little treat?

“I’m assuming this is someone connected with Harmony?”

As if he was a proud papa, Cash beamed a toothy grin at me. “That’s right. It took me a little…negotiating to get his location, but he’s a favorite. If anyone knows where she hangs her hat these days, it’s him.”

Phillip was going to pitch a fucking fit when he found out Cash all but decided to do this without his know-so, but I couldn’t argue with the fact that it was smart to take me and not my less-than-welcoming Hunter partner. I’d be less likely to scare the guy off. Very few people knew my name and face. I’d look more like a tagalong than Phillip would. Especially when he and Cash fought like children every chance they got.

Staring at my pocket, I weighed whether or not I should text my quick-to-rage mentor that we were following up on a lead. If I did, he’d come running. But not if I didn’t tell him where I was. It’d take Phillip too long to locate me the normal way. Still, he was a professional at the end of the day, so he wouldn’t ruin a mission in progress. And he’d promised to trust me. Telling him would show I trusted him, too.

Just a quick text so he couldn’t say I pulled a dick move.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I eyed the rambling man next to me. Cash was still galivanting and gesturing to places wepassed like he was my personal tour guide. His eyes were on the world around him and not me, so he wouldn’t notice a quick text. But just in case…

“What’s that place over there?” I asked, pointing to some far-off shop that beamed black light and gave all those unique voodoo vibes Kate was obsessed with. “Anything supernatural-inclined camping out over there?”

Cash quirked an eyebrow and turned his pretty head the direction I pointed, falling for my trap hook, line, and sinker. Dudes were so simple. When he did, my fingers moved like the wind to tap out a message to Phillip. My nifty supernatural blood meant it happened in seconds. Before my Dark Fae guide could glance at me again, my phone was already back in my pocket.

“That’s a new one. I haven’t seen it before,” he mused slowly, intrigued, and his cat eyes were bright and sparkly like he was finally having fun. “Should we check it out after we do our errand, love?”

Errand? That was one way of putting it. But I guess with Cash, it wasn’t likely to turn violent and explosive. I kept forgetting that he and Phillip had different interrogation methods. Not that my Hunter mentor wasn’t an effective interrogator, but I looked forward to the change of pace.

Grinning, I nodded. “Okay, I’m game. I haven’t done anything normal since this shitshow started, so I guess it couldn’t hurt. Phil’s going to be pissed off no matter what time we come back. Might as well make it worth the beating you’re about to get.”

“He can try, darling, but I think you’ll find it’s not that easy anymore. It’s about time he knows it, too.”

What?

I stole a glance at the usually pompous Fae next to me. Something about the look in his eyes put me on edge. I’d never seen it before. It reminded me of Phillip when he faced off with Eros. It was dangerous and lethal. It promised pain andretaliation. I nearly missed my step like a dingus watching his expression darken into something I’d never seen on him before.

“Careful, bird,” Cash chastised, his hand already out to help me before I realized.

I didn’t even have time to be mortified that I, Frankenstein’s monster, nearly ate asphalt—and all because I was distracted that Cash, for the first time since we’d met, actually looked like the villain everyone accused him of being.

Before the wheels in my head could turn, he let loose a short, excited squeal. “Oh, V! You must let me buy you a new ensemble while we’re here. I insist. A thank you for helping me with those pesky Blood Mages.” Pesky Blood Mages? Cash’s personality was one of a kind. “As you must have gathered, our magical contract has been satisfied, so you’re no longer bound to it.” I hadn’t gathered that, but okay. “A pity, really. But rest assure, love, I will not leave you. I shan’t abandon you in your time of need.”

My time of need?

“And that would be…with clothes?”

“Precisely,” Cash asserted with a nod, grinning.

So, not because of Harmony and taking down the very operation that was hunting him down, but because I was a fashion disaster? What a weird reason to stay. Of course, Cash was the type to use silly things to justify his honorable actions. He didn’t like people to think he cared. So, this wasn’t totally off the wall for him, but still.

“You don’t—”

His cat eyes sliced over, practically liquid. “No, no. I insist.”

He got persistent about the weirdest things.

“Fine, you crazy fashionista. But only one outfit. And you can’t brag about it to Phil. We both know how much you like to ruffle his feathers.”

“Ruffle his feathers? Well, I never.”

The hand over his chest was what did me in. I couldn’t hold it together. I laughed out loud, and when Cash clicked his tongue in agitation, I bent over my waist and died all over again in amusement.

But seriously, what was this dude starring in, Gone with the Wind? He’d gone full Southern belle on me, and I couldn’t get over how perfectly it fit his image. Only Cash could marry his swanky high school girl vibe and Southern belle one in a way that worked and wasn’t at all weird. If anything, they fit so well I couldn’t see him any other way now.

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