Page 85 of Twisted Fate

My stomach growls at the thought of kung pao chicken. I glance over at him and offer a small smile. “Maybe.”

“Whatever you want, Rory, say the word.”

“There’s an amazing hole-in-the-wall restaurant a few blocks down.”

“You got it.” He pulls back out onto the street and holds one hand out to me, keeping the other on the wheel.

I slide my hand into his, resting it on the gear shift. “Thank you,” I murmur.

It only takes a few minutes to get to the locally owned Chinese place I told Tristan about. My family has been ordering from this restaurant since I was born, and from what I can tell, it’s still as amazing as it was over a decade ago.

One of the waitresses I’ve chatted with on several occasions, Tess, seats us in the far back booth and leaves us with menus. I scan mine as if I don’t already know what I’m going to order. I peek over at Tristan, watching him for a moment before his eyes flick up and catch me staring.

He shoots me a wink and sets his menu on the table. “Do you know what you want?”

I nod, dropping mine on top of his. “I knew before we walked in the door.”

He chuckles. “You’re always prepared.”

I tilt my head. “I spend so much time with you,” I say. “I have to be.”

Tess returns to the table with our drinks, so Tristan doesn’t say anything in response to my remark. I hand her the menus and order my kung pao chicken and vegetable chow mein before Tristan orders. She scribbles down what we want and hurries off to get our order in.

“Crap,” I mutter. “I left my phone in the car. I should go grab it in case my mom calls.”

“Stay here. I’ll get it,” he offers.

I shake my head, standing. “Toss me your key, and I’ll be right back.”

He fishes the key out of his pocket and drops it into my open hand. “Always so stubborn,” he murmurs.

I walk backward to the front door and blow him a kiss. Outside, I head toward the parking lot at the back, clicking the unlock button as I approach the passenger side. Swiping my phone out of the cup holder, I slip it into my jacket pocket and lock the car after I shut the door.

Before I can turn around, a hand clamps over my mouth. Someone slams me against the car. I cry out, pain shooting across my face where it hit the window. I spin around to face my assailant and wince when he grabs me by my throat. His dark brown eyes narrow, his white blond hair flying all over the place with the wind.

“Aurora,” he purrs, cocking his head to the side. He looks over my face as his fingers dig into my jaw.

I try to smack his hand away, cringing at the sharp pain. “Who the hell are you?” I growl, as two others step into my line of sight—a guy and a girl who both look my age.

He presses his knee between my legs and leans in until his face is inches from mine. “Keep quiet,” he snaps.

“Ease up,” the other guy barks.

“Fuck off, Nik,” the guy snaps but lets go of me.

“We were told not to harm her,” the guy—Nik—says.

“So what?”

Nik rolls his eyes, thrusting a hand through his messy black hair, and shrugs. “Your funeral, asshole.”

The girl sighs. “Can we hurry? I’m getting bored.”

I shove the guy away from me. “I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you lot are light fae.”

Nik slow claps from where he’s leaning against one of the parked cars.

“What gave us away?” the guy still blocking my escape asks with a snicker.

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