“That doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to get to us,” Wrenlow said.
Gavin leaned back in his chair, gazing around the rest of the tavern. The smell of the fire drifted toward him, a pleasing and comfortable sense. It reminded him of his childhood, back before he had started his intense training. Not only was the fire comforting, but the smell of the food was as well. There was simply something about a well-cooked meal, and the Roasted Dragon had many of those. They were all tasty, and given how long they’d been staying here, he’d had an opportunity to eat almost all of them.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We haven’t encountered anyone quite like him before.”
“You can’t say that. We don’t really know anything about him.”
“Exactly. Which is why I can say we haven’t encountered anything quite like him before. I just want us to be careful. I get the sense that if he wanted to, he could have us eliminated.”
The idea that they were the targets would’ve been amusing were it not for the fact that Wrenlow wouldn’t be able to do much against someone like Hamish, though not for Gavin’s lack of trying. When they’d first met, he’d tried to train Wrenlow, but the man just didn’t have the knack for it. What he did have was a mind unlike anyone Gavin had ever met. That mind had proven increasingly valuable the longer they worked together and was the reason they’d survived as long as they had over the years.
“He’s giving you a chance to finish the job, though,” Wrenlow said.
“He is, and I have a feeling Hamish thinks he’s being generous in doing so.”
“He’s not?”
“If he were being generous, he would’ve realized the job was more difficult than he had let on initially.”
“I thought he’d made that clear,” Wrenlow said.
“He didn’t warn us quite as much as he should’ve about what we were going to face.”
Wrenlow looked at Gavin, a question in his eyes. They had been through so much together in the time since they’d met, and they struggled with some of the same things. It had made them fast friends, at least so much as Gavin could have friends. It was rare enough for him to do that. Most of the time, he found it easier to work on his own, and were it not for Wrenlow’s persistence, he might still be alone.
“That’s why you have me,” Wrenlow said. “With a little more time, I can—”
“You seem to be back a little early,” Jessica said, swinging by their table.
Gavin looked up at her and flashed the widest smile he could. “I figured I would see what you might have special for me tonight,” he said.
“What makes you think I have anything for you?”
He chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t mean it quite like that.”
“How do you mean it?” She leaned forward, a playful smile curving her full lips. A strand of her brown hair hung in front of her eyes, and she shook her head slightly to flip it out of the way.
“How do you want me to mean it?”
Wrenlow slammed his book closed and looked at the two of them. “Do you need me to step away? I mean, I know I’m only sitting right here, but I can step away while the two of you flirt.”
“You don’t have to go anywhere,” Gavin said, pulling one of the mugs of ale over to him and taking a drink.
Jessica smiled and winked at Wrenlow. “If he doesn’t mind if you watch, I guess I don’t either.”
“Would you stop?” Gavin said.
“What? You want him to watch, right?” Jessica said.
“You know he doesn’t like it.”
“He doesn’t like watching, or he doesn’t like women?”
Gavin looked over at Wrenlow, and he started to smirk. “You know, I don’t really know.”
“Well, he does spend quite a bit of time with you.”
“Can you blame him? I mean, I’m worthy of spending time with.” He chuckled as he said it.
“Listen to you, thinking you’re so special.”
“That’s not what you were saying to me the other night,” he said.
“You don’t know what I was saying the other night. You fell asleep before you had the opportunity to hear. Or find out.”
Wrenlow cleared his throat again. “Fine. If that’s the way you’re going to be, I am going to go. There are things I need to uncover to complete our task, after all.” He headed away from them, and Gavin waited until he was gone before shaking his head.
“He really gets quite jumpy about things,” Jessica said, taking a seat across from him.
“He struggles around women,” Gavin said.
She leaned forward. She had a bright smile, a round face, and chestnut hair that hung in waves past her shoulders, which she kept tied back with a colorful ribbon. “Considering all the time he’s spent here, I think I’ve seen him more than you. Maybe I should spend time with him. At least he’s around.”
Gavin laughed and took another drink. “Any news?”
“I’m not sure I want to share.”
“You’d rather leave me guessing?”
She glared at him, crossing her arms under her chest. It drew attention where she wanted it to, and she grinned as he dragged his gaze back up to her eyes. “There hasn’t been any activity, if that’s what you’re concerned about. I’d let you know if there was. I’m not going let anything happen to you or Wrenlow while you’re staying at the Dragon.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
“No? Then why all of the questions?”
Gavin debated how much to share with her. She’d been an ally ever since he’d come to Yoran, and not only had she welcomed him to the Dragon, but she often had insight into activity within the city he wasn’t able to get anywhere else. Her contacts often allowed her to learn information he didn’t otherwise have access to.
“A job went sideways earlier tonight.”
She turned back to him, smirking. “So that’s why you’re back so early. I wasn’t sure if you simply missed me.”
“Jessica—”
“I’ll keep my ears open for any news. Maybe you should do better with completing your jobs.”
She said it with a hint of a smile.
How much does she know about what I did?
Gavin had been intentionally vague with her over the time he’d been in Yoran, not wanting her to know what it was that he did. Stealing. Capturing those who needed to be moved. Killing, when it came to it. He didn’t think she would judge him in any way, but it was more to protect her. It was easier for her to deny that she knew anything about him when she didn’t know his line of work.
“Are you in trouble?” she asked. Her smile faded as a look of real concern appeared on her face and within her deep blue eyes.
“No more than usual.”
“Seeing as how I don’t know you all that well, I don’t know what ‘usual’ involves.”
“These days, it involves me working for someone whose face I’ve never seen, doing jobs that are increasingly dangerous, and trying to keep from having my friend brought into the middle of everything.”
Jessica watched him for a moment before shaking her head. “Are you telling me you’ve never met your employer?”