Page 52 of Talon

“Nothing,” I growled, feeling sullen and defensive. “It’s none of your business, Dante. Why do you care, anyway?”

“I care that you’re going to get yourself sent back to Talon!” Dante snapped. “I care that you keep breaking the rules and don’t think about the consequences. I care that there was a rogue dragon at that party, and you two seemed very friendly with each other.” His glare hardened, accusing and almost hurt. “You knew he was still hanging around, didn’t you? You knew, and you didn’t tell me.”

“Why? So you could rat him out to Talon again?”

Dante blinked, taken aback, and I sneered. “Yeah, I know it was you. Don’t expect me to be forthcoming when you’ve been keeping secrets, Dante. You didn’t have to do that. Riley isn’t hurting anyone.”

“Riley?You know his name?”

I winced. Dante stared at me, aghast, then shook his head. “Dammit, Ember, you don’t get it, do you? Rogues are dangerous. They’ve rejected everything Talon stands for and they’ll try to get you to do the same. If you keep talking to this rogue, Talon might see you as a coconspirator, and then the Vipers will come after you both. Is that what you want?”

I shivered at the mention of the Vipers. Dante noticed my hesitation and pushed himself off the wall, coming to stand in front of me.

“I know you’re curious,” he said in a low voice, “but you’re playing with fire, sis. If you keep this up, Talon might label you a traitor. The Vipers will take you away for good, and I can’t lose you like that. Promise me you won’t talk to him again. Please.”

I met his gaze. “If I do, willyoupromise me you won’t inform Talon?”

He stiffened and drew back. “It’s our responsibility to inform the organization about any and all possible threats,” he said. “Rogues put the survival of our race in jeopardy. The rules are clear. I have to tell them.”

“Fine.” I set my jaw. “Go ahead and tell Talon. But you might be turning your own sister in, as well, so I hope you’re okay with that. If the Vipers come for me, it’ll be your fault.”

He raked both hands through his hair, a very human gesture of frustration. “Ember, please,” he groaned. “Don’t be like this. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“I don’t need you to keep me safe,” I retorted. “I just need you to be on my side for once.” He started to protest, but I opened the door, an indication for him to leave. “Choose, Dante. Me or Talon? The organization, or your own blood?”

He stared at me blankly, as if he didn’t recognize me anymore. Then he walked across the room and out the door without looking back. I swallowed the lump in my throat and flipped off the light, letting the door swing shut behind him.

Garret

I was fieldstripping my Glock when Tristan came home.

“Well, that’s never a good sign,” he said, placing two full grocery bags on the kitchen counter. I didn’t answer. Closing my eyes, I reassembled the pistol again, feeling the comforting metal slide between my fingers. Slide, barrel, spring, receiver. I slid the magazine into place with a satisfying snap and opened my eyes to find Tristan watching me.

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Something bothering you, partner?”

“No.” Placing the assembled pistol on the coffee table, I leaned back and prepared to take it apart again, trying to focus this strange, restless energy and calm my mind. Ever since I’d kissed Ember on the beach two days ago, she was all I could think about. I couldn’t concentrate on work, training had no appeal and even tasks that had become second nature had grown tedious. I was stumbling through this mission in a fog, and I needed to refocus my mind. It didn’t help that tonight loomed over me like a thundercloud, making me nervous and edgy, unable to calm down.

Tonight, I would see her again. I was taking her on a date, as strange as that was for me. At Tristan’s repeated prodding, I’d called her last night to ask her out, and she’d accepted instantly, though she had asked me to pick her up at the Smoothie Hut instead of her house.

“I can do that,” I’d told her, frowning. Getting inside the Hill residence was one of our main priorities, but Ember had been reluctant to have me close to the villa ever since we met. “But don’t you want me to pick you up at home?”

“Um, yes,” she stammered, and I could sense she was holding something back. “But...well, it’s my brother. He’s my twin, and he’s a little overprotective. Actually, make that über-overprotective. Overprotective to the nth degree. After I got home from the party, he was pretty pissed. If you show up at the house, he’s going to be neurotic and ask questions, and I don’t want to deal with that right now.” She sounded defensive and a little sad at the same time. “I plan to tell him about us, but after he cools down a bit. Until then, it’s just easier for him not to know.”

Tristan shook his head, moving the groceries from their bags to the counter. “It’s nearly four o’ clock, Garret. Don’t you have adatetonight?” he asked pointedly.

“I haven’t forgotten.” It had been on my mind the second I woke up this morning. Tristan didn’t need to remind me. I was acutely aware of every minute that dragged by. “I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

“Oh, yeah. Here.” He broke away from the counter and tossed me something tiny and black. I caught it, letting it rest in my palm as I looked down. A tiny, thin square of plastic and metal, lying inconspicuously against my skin. I blinked and glanced back at Tristan. “A bug?”

“Stick that in her cell phone if you have the chance,” he said, continuing to put groceries away. “It should go in right behind the battery. Once that’s done, we should know in a few days whether or not she’s our sleeper.”

I stared at the bug a moment longer, strangely hesitant, before slipping it into my pocket.This is a mission,I reminded myself, standing to return my Glock to its holster. I certainly couldn’t take it with me tonight.It’s nothing personal.

“By the by,” Tristan went on, pausing to grin at me over a Doritos bag. “I’m curious. Where are you two crazy kids going, anyway?”

“Movies, I suppose. Isn’t that the normal practice?”

“Yes.” Tristan nodded. “If you want to be completely boring and unoriginal. You’re not going to get her to talk much by staring at a screen for two hours.”

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