“What the hell were you doing?” he hissed.
I stepped back against his oaky amber scotch and chocolate magic scent, but in our time together, he’d marked me, body and soul. There was no escaping him. “Take a wild guess.”
Mrs. Hudson barreled out of the car, almost falling out in a somersault, her leash tangling between her feet in her haste to get to Levi.
“If you’d been caught? What then?” He bent down to scratch her behind one ear and the puppy’s leg thumped in doggie delight.
“Were you worried about me or the repercussions for the House?” I said.
“I’m always worried about my House.”
While I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy punching him in the throat, the idea held more appeal than, say, going home, putting on pj’s, and flaking out in front of Netflix. “I’m aware of your priorities.”
Levi motioned to his parents’ house. “And I’m aware of yours.”
His smile was sharp. I balanced on that same knife’s edge, my every gesture ruthlessly cutting those who mattered most. His eyes glinted; he wanted me to slash back.
What good would it do for both of us to die by a thousand tiny cuts?
“So long as we’re both clear.” I grabbed Mrs. Hudson’s leash to herd her back into the car.
“Crystal.”
I didn’t watch him leave.
After a quick walk around the block back home for the pug to do her business, I crashed hard, only to awake groggily at a shrill ringing. My bedroom was totally dark, which meant it was early afternoon. I fumbled for my phone, wiping phantom grit off my face. What day was it? Processing… right. Thursday.
Mrs. Hudson was nowhere to be seen, so Priya, the puppy hog, had her.
“Hello?” I mumbled.
“Ashira, I need to speak with you now.”
I shook my head to clear the cobwebs because Talia sounded uncharacteristically agitated. “What’s wrong?”
“Not on the phone.”
“You want me to come to your office?” I said.
“No!”
Talia was scared I’d out myself in the middle of her workplace when I’d done nothing but show restraint and consideration for her position. My own mother didn’t trust me. I kicked my covers onto the floor.
“My office,” I said. “Half an hour.” I jumped out of bed, already grabbing clothes, and got dressed in record time, spending five minutes looking for my car keys before finding them in my boot. Damn dog.
I hustled out the door, ignoring the other apartment belonging to Arkady Choi, the person formally known as my friend and neighbor. I wasn’t speaking to Arkady, since I had yet to discover what he was lying to me about and he had yet to confess, but he was still a member of Team Jezebel.
Technically.
We’d decided to keep him on. Well, Rafael and Priya had decided, and I’d reluctantly agreed after they’d worn me down. However, there hadn’t been much for him to do. Rafael and I did all the surveillance work on Isaac, so I hadn’t seen much of Arkady, which was fine by me.
Shockingly, Moriarty cut me a break, given my haste, and started with only a minor complaint.
City crews had worked diligently to clear debris off the streets, but evidence of the riot was very much present in the boarded-up windows, bent and missing street signs, one burned-out husk of a car, and the workers installing a new front door on my office building.
I quickly checked in with the game design owners, confessing my role in the destruction of their laptops. They were happy to have the mystery solved of why they’d shown up this morning to find a man asleep across their doorway, who’d bolted awake, wide-eyed, threatening any who passed like a demented Gandalf. They also assured me that their insurance would take care of any damages.
None of the other offices on the ground level or the second floor had been disturbed, I was pleased to note.
Talia waited for me in the reception area of the shared workspace where Cohen Investigations was located. She twisted the hem of her raw silk blazer, her eyes wide and haunted.
My stomach lurched and I hurried to unlock my office. “What happened?”
She sank into the chair across from my desk and pushed her phone to me with trembling hands.
I hit play on the video and gasped. It was footage of me at the aquarium gala the night my magic manifested. The recording showed me pinning Levi down and holding a knife to him, but from the angle, you couldn’t see that I’d also created that dagger from my blood.
I played it three more times, ruthlessly examining it for what it actually revealed. The video didn’t even show that I had enhanced strength because I’d jumped off him so quickly. “It appears that I threatened Levi with a knife. There is no proof of my abilities and all the records state otherwise.”
Levi had destroyed the House registration application when I started working for him, so there wasn’t even that.
Talia half-laughed, half-sobbed. “They know. Look at the text that came with it.”
It was from an unknown number. If you don’t step down from the party, I will reveal that your daughter is a Rogue. You have ten days to resign. Choose your futur wisely.
They’d left the “e” off future. No one blackmailed my mother, especially not some illiterate douchebag. And why ten days? That seemed rather generous. Didn’t blackmailers usually have a three-day rule? I checked the calendar. My deadline was June 14.
Someone out there was aware that I had magic but had sat on that fact until now. Who? And why? If this was Chariot’s doing, why make Talia resign when Isaac was an ardent supporter?
What if it was someone much closer? I fast-forwarded through the video one more time. What would Arkady have to gain in blackmailing Talia like this? If he intended to undermine me, there were far easier methods. Given all he knew about Jezebels, he could sell me out to Chariot no problem. I copied the text message down. Was this some misguided attempt to protect Levi? That didn’t make sense either. Despite Levi’s many issues with Talia, he’d never condone blackmail to take her down.
If this wasn’t coming from someone with a vendetta against me…
“Do you have any enemies?” I said.
“The entire Nefesh community,” she said flatly.
“Most Nefesh have no idea who you are or that you wrote that bill. Whoever sent this is attempting to use me against you. It feels personal.”
“There’s no one. My life isn’t a television show of secrets and scandal.” She stuffed the phone in her purse. “At least it wasn’t until recently.”
She was scared and upset. I made allowances for that and swallowed my sarcastic retort.
“What do I tell them?” she said.
“Nothing. Don’t respond. They don’t have proof, but if you reply it looks like you have something to hide. I’ll take care of this. I promise.”
“Your magic is going to cost me everything.” Her naked pain undid me.
“Mom.” I reached for her.
She shook her head, her hands up, and walked away, leaving nothing behind but the scent of her rose perfume.
We’d been doing so well. Sure, our relationship was built on a heavy helping of avoidance, but our weekly breakfasts were actually enjoyable. She’d even walked Mrs. Hudson with me along the seawall a couple of times. I rubbed my temples, feeling like a grenade had been lobbed into my day.