Page 23 of City of the Lost
“And you’re sure this was the same thing that attacked you in the attic?” Noir asked. He studied me carefully, probably looking for signs of brain damage. I resisted the urge to pull a funny face and slur. Not appropriate.
I fingered the handle of my teacup. “I’m positive. It was the same thing.”
“These two operatives must be working for The Collective. They may be part of this elite team,” Noir mused.
It made sense. “And these metal things must be the threat that The Collective were talking about.”
“Which means they have no idea about the Lost,” Noir added.
Mack looked from Noir to me as if watching a tennis match.
Tay ran a hand over his face. “Can someone please fill me in on what the fuck is going on?”
He spoke evenly, without any real force. But Tay never needed to raise his voice to be heard. He had the kind of presence that demanded attention and respect. He was the gentle giant that could morph into a killing machine if those he loved were threatened.
Noir, succinctly, did the honors, filling Tay in on what we’d been dealing with the past three weeks.
When he finished, Tay pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you didn’t think to tell Mack and me about this?” He was addressing me in his angry voice.
I blinked at him in surprise. “When have I ever dragged you into one of my cases?”
His nostrils flared, a sure sign he was about to lose his shit. Mack pursed his lips, widened his eyes, and shook his head at me—a warning to tread carefully.
Fuck. “Look, you have your own shit to deal with. I didn’t want to burden you.”
“But you didn’t have a problem calling in the Arcana.” He glanced at Noir. “No offense.”
Oh, man. He was pissed and yet still polite. How could I not love him? “Noir happened to be there when I needed him.” It wasn’t meant as a slight, but as soon as the words were out, that’s exactly what they sounded like. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Tay pushed off the counter so his huge frame towered over me. “This isn’t about you and your claim on this situation as a case, this is about the safety of the neph in Southside—something that we could have helped ensure if you’d brought us into the loop.”
“We believed the elite team were—”
“I know what you believed,” Tay cut in. “But you were wrong, and several neph are dead because of it. Neph that could have been saved if you’d come to us for extra boots on the ground.”
My stomach quivered. Tay was never mad at me. This was new and uncomfortable, and fuck, I hated it. My neck heated in shame, because of course he was right. We should have enlisted help sooner. I’d been stubborn, confident that we’d keep things under control until The Collective stepped in.
“Hindsight is a bitch,” Mack said. “Wila did what she had to with the information she had at the time, Tay.”
Sweet Mack, always the peacemaker, but Tay wasn’t buying it. His tense jaw and the dark flash of his eyes were all a process of controlling his temper. He was probably counting to ten in his head.
“Tay?” I reached for his hand, and the fact that he allowed me to take it unknotted the tangle of emotions in my chest.
Mack caught my eye. “Promise us that if there are any more incidents, you’ll call us.” The words his brother wasn’t capable of uttering just then.
I nodded. “I promise. But I think we’re over it. There’ve been no weird sightings.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re not still out there,” Mack said solemnly.
“We should do a sweep of the district to be sure,” Tay added. “Tomorrow evening. We can split up into pairs. I have some walkies we can use to keep in touch.”
Mack grinned. “Tay’s wanted to play commando for ages.”
Tay shot his twin a lethal look.
Mack stuck out his tongue.
“I have an event, but I can make my apologies,” Noir said. “I’ll be here.”
