Page 37 of City of the Lost
“Confidentiality agreement.”
Like fuck I was signing something else. “No.”
“It’s either that or prison, Miss Bastion.”
Like hell did she have anything on me. “On what charge? Cleaning up the city? ’Cause I’d like to see that fly in court.”
“Oh, there’ll be no court, Miss Bastion. Just a one-way ticket to a cell. You’ve been running an unauthorized investigation business, after all. It’s a cut-and-dry case.”
I clenched my teeth, because that was bullshit, but alarm bells were ringing nonetheless. “I have a valid license.”
She smiled, but it was a perfunctory gesture that didn’t reach her eyes. “Not anymore. It expired two weeks ago.”
Fuck that. I’d renewed it two months ago for an eighteen-month period, but of course, they’d tampered with the database. They had the power to do that, and if they pressed charges, then I was fucked. Dammit. At least that was all she was threatening. They could do much worse. My bravado slipped a fraction.
I pulled the papers toward me and scanned the clauses. It was basic enough, stating that I couldn’t divulge the existence of the Lost or the underground hive. But, whoa, wait a second, what the fuck was the final clause typed in small print so I needed to squint.Agree to work with The Collective, on behalf of The Collective, as and when called upon.
“Ha!” I pushed the paper away. “Take out clause 34 and I’ll sign.”
She smirked. “Well, it was worth a try. Your friends will need to sign also.” Her gaze cut to Hon. “They should have been brought in with you as per protocol.”
Hon rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think we have more important things to worry about, Loraine?”
Loraine’s jaw tightened, and she turned her head stiffly toward Hon. “It may come as a surprise to you, Miss Chance, but we do have our own issues that need to be dealt with.”
“Yeah, well, your issues won’t mean shit if the Genisi aren’t eliminated.”
Loraine took a deep breath and then turned her attention back to me. “Get your friends to sign the contract, Miss Bastion. You have forty-eight hours to do so. I will have a courier sent to your place of business to collect them. Believe me, noncompliance willnotgo favorably for the Stephenson twins or their business.”
She knew who Tay and Mack were. “I see you’ve done your homework.”
Her gaze flicked to Azren. “Yes. But unfortunately we couldn’t find anything on you.”
Azren remained stoic, giving nothing away.
Loraine arched a brow. “Name?”
“None of your business.”
His eyes narrowed to slits, and he bared his teeth menacingly. Oh, shit. His teeth.
Loraine sat back, stunned. “What are you?”
Pulse pounding in my throat, I fixed a nonchalant look on my face and patted Azren’s thigh. “Azren is a man of few words. He’s part kelpie.”
“Oh, really?” Loraine said something in a low, guttural tone, her attention fixed on Azren.
He glared at her.
Loraine leaned forward, her palms flat on the table, her eyes alight in triumph. “You have no idea what I said, do you? If you were really kelpie blood, then you’d knowexactlywhat I was saying because I was speaking the ancient tongue passed down in hereditary memory to every kelpie blood.”
Fuck, Loraine was part kelpie? She didn’t have the teeth, but shit, that didn’t mean she didn’t have the blood. A weight settled in my stomach, because we were on the way to being so screwed. Think, Bastion. Think.
This time the smile that painted the Head of Operations’ face was genuine. A predatory smile. A shark smile. It screamedgotcha.
“What I want to know, Miss Bastion, is why you have a Shedim living with you?”
Azren’s body rippled with tension. Yeah, big guy, this was why I’d tried to leave you behind. But no, you had to be the protector and come with, and now Loraine was staring at me like I was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
