Clearly, searching the apartment was an excuse for a chat, and he was going through the motions to avoid losing a feather. “What exactly did Noah and Dov tell you?”
“They explained what you do during all that extended time you spend on missions.”
“You mean . . . seduce women, sample restaurants, patronize bars?”
“I’m sure you do all those things and more, but that’s not what I was hinting at, Adam.”
He smacked the drawer shut and stepped closer to me, the toes of his white sneakers knocking into my tan-heeled booties. “You. Know. Nothing.”
I tipped my head, loath to be cowed by this growling male. “In Sweden, I signed up to this woman who’d kidnapped a child. Guess who strolls into her house just after she’d promised to return the child to his rightful mother? The detective on the case and Noah.” I took a breath, released it. “I cornered him after the arrest, and he said he was signed up to the guy, and what a funny coincidence that we were ‘working’ the same case, but then he lost a feather.” I dropped my handbag onto the bed and parked the other one on the side of the commode.
I thought Adam muttered the word weak, but his lips were wedged so tight I’d probably imagined the sound.
“During our two-hour long trek back to the guilds, I dragged it all out of him.” I dug my charger out of my handbag and hunted the baseboards for an outlet. When I found one, I crouched and plugged in my dying apparatus. When I stood back up, I pushed my hair off my face and returned Adam’s unwavering stare. “I admire what you guys do, which is why I’m here. I want in. I want to be a shorhim too.”
“No.”
I blinked.
“I can’t believe Dov even gave you the time of day. The daughter of a bloody seraphim!” Adam jammed a hand through his gelled mahogany locks. “Do you realize what would happen to our team if anyone in Elysium heard about it? They’d put an end to it, and possibly to us.”
“I would never snitch.”
“You have a very attentive father.”
“Which is why I moved out of the guilds.”
Adam let loose a frustrated growl. “That was error number one!”
I frowned. “How was that a mistake?”
“Have you ever lived outside a guild?”
“No.”
He shook his head. “Then your father’s probably already onto you. Which means he’ll be onto me and Dov in no time.” He strode to the wall, ripped my power cord from the outlet, and flung it in my bag. “Go home. I’ll get your money back.” He started for the door.
“And then you’ll let me help?”
He wheeled around and stalked back toward me, backing me into the bed until my knees folded, and I was forced to sit. “Don’t you plucking get it, Naya? Your help will only get the rest of us hurt.”
“You’re turning me down because of who I’m related to?”
“Ah . . . you’re finally catching on.”
His rejection and tone emptied my lungs. “Dov said I—”
“As the team leader, I get the right to veto his suggestions.”
My lips thinned. “You know how many feathers I’ve—”
“Over nine hundred. Everyone knows. Your parents are oh-so-proud of their little girl.”
“Nine hundred and forty-seven to be exact, so—”
“Bravo, Starlight.” He slow-clapped.
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.
“Don’t worry. After tonight, I won’t be calling you anything since our paths won’t cross again. Not until Elysium, but that’ll be in a few years for me. Before the end of this one for you. Maybe before the end of summer?”
“Do you just love the sound of your own voice? Is that why you won’t let me finish a single sentence?”
My rebuke stunned him into silence. Finally.
“I didn’t share my number of feathers with you for applause; I shared it to make you understand that my parents don’t pry into my missions because I’m on track. They trust me.”
“You’d be a liability.”
“Dov doesn’t think so.”
“Well, I do.” His gaze stuck to the window, that did, in fact, overlook a private garden. Although, could it be called that when it was no larger than the kitchen closet by the door? “You bloody already are.” He reached the door this time. “Happy do-gooding, Naya.”
The way he said my name, dragging it out as though the sound of it was unpleasant, made my invisible feathers bristle. “I was warned you were an ass, but you’re worse than that.”
The corners of his mouth drifted up as he backed away. “It was nice meeting you too.”
In lieu of my middle finger, I flipped him my index, which was ishim-proof and just as evocative. My silent admonition merely increased his amusement.
After he was gone, I stewed in silent anger but then rose off the bed, grabbed my charger and shoved it back into the outlet. I didn’t need Adam’s approval or Dov’s protection to guard unsuspecting humans.
All I needed was high-speed internet and holo-rankers, and I had access to both.
Chapter 3
Adam
When I reached Emmy’s door, my blood was more pressurized than the water at a fountain show.
My plan for the evening had been to enjoy Emmy one final time and work on a compassionate break-up speech. Not worry whether my fellow fletchings’ wing bones were in danger of seraphim flames, because if my team was discovered, everyone involved would suffer, including Dov.
The ranker was so cautious that I couldn’t figure out why he’d taken the risk of sending one of the Seven’s kids my way. Was it because Noah had blabbed, and Dov had felt cornered into confessing?
I ran my hands down my face, a growl lodged in my throat. Finally, I grabbed my phone and fired a message off Noah’s way: When were you planning on telling me about the company you kept in Stockholm?
At the same time as I pressed send, a message from him appeared.
NOAH: Galina just called. She says we’re all moving to Chicago?
“Baby?” Emmy called out.
“What?” I gritted, few words irritating me more than baby. According to my fathers, I’d never liked being referred to as a child, not even when I was a child.
She emerged from the bathroom in only her underwear and a frown. As she strolled over, rolling her hips, I clicked my phone off and jammed it inside the back pocket of my jeans.
One mess at a time.
Emmy cupped the nape of my neck. “Hey . . . what’s up with you? Did something happen downstairs?”
Huh? Oh, right . . . Naya. I glared at the floorboards, hoping the fletching would feel my annoyance through the old wood and painted plaster, then lifted my gaze back to Emmy, trying to banish the seraphim heiress from my mind, but her face bled right over my soon-to-be ex’s. I shut my eyes and squeezed the bridge of my nose, pulse flaring at my temples.
Soft lips pressed against my hard ones, attempting to coax them open, but my mind kept sprinting to what my next move should be.
Should I go back downstairs, tell Naya I’ve had a change of heart, and give her something to do, so she believes she’s in and keeps the organization a secret?