On the other side of the table, Jake gave Sawyer a questioning look. Sawyer wasn’t sure taking Adriana with them was a good idea, but they needed information. And if he was being honest, he wouldn’t mind having someone with her abilities along on this mission, either. He nodded at Jake.
A moment later, everyone but Caleb left the room, eager to finally get some sleep. The big werewolf looked at Harley questioningly.
“I’m going to hang around downstairs for a little bit,” she told him. “I’ll see you later.”
Caleb hesitated, his blue eyes darting to Sawyer, his expression unreadable. Mouth tight, he gave Harley a nod, then walked out, leaving her and Sawyer alone. Now that they were by themselves, the raspberry-and-cream scent was even more powerful, not to mention definitely mouthwatering.
“You aren’t tired?” he asked, walking around to where she stood on the other side of the table.
She smiled, tilting her head to the side a little to look up at him. “I am a little, but I’m also hungry, and I can’t sleep on an empty stomach. Besides, I’m in Paris with a few hours to spare, which means I can get to sightsee before we go after the bad guys.”
Sawyer returned her grin. “You want to catch a few of those sights together, then have dinner?”
Harley’s smile broadened, her blue-gray eyes twinkling. “I’d like that.”
It was scary how happy that simple answer made Sawyer.
Chapter 4
“You realize there’s no way we can see the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, walk the Champs-Élysées and still have time to get something to eat, right?” Sawyer asked in that sinfully perfect accent of his as they strolled toward the Seine River. Behind them, the late-afternoon sun bathed everything in soft light. “You’re probably going to need to trim down your wish list and focus on where we can go on foot.”
Harley groaned in despair but knew Sawyer was right. As much as she might want to spend the rest of the day exploring the city, they weren’t going to have time. The truth was, Jake could call any minute to say they were on the move. She didn’t want to waste time riding a bus or taking a train to get to one of the farthest tourist sites and end up missing everything.
“What do you think we have time to see?” she asked.
“Well, we could cross the river and walk along the south side until we get to the Eiffel Tower, then hang out there for a while before following the river to the Pont Alexandre,” he suggested. “From there, we can take the bridge across the river to the Champs-Élysées and pick a restaurant we like.”
There was no way Sawyer could know it, but that was the perfect itinerary. The Eiffel Tower was number one on her must-see list, and it was hard to go wrong with any tour that included the shops along the Champs-Élysées. She’d never admit it, but she had a serious thing for designer shoes. She didn’t actually own any because there was no way she’d ever pay that much money for a pair you couldn’t run in or wear in the snow, but it was still fun to look. And where better to window-shop for shoes than Paris?
“Sounds good to me,” she said with a smile.
The stroll along the river was absolutely breathtaking. Not only was the weather perfect, but there was also something awe inspiring about walking past buildings and bridges that were older than a lot of countries in the world, including the U.S. Harley could practically feel the history under her feet.
When the elegant-looking bridge, Pont de Grenelle, came into view with its copy of the iconic Statue of Liberty, they both pulled out their phones to snap some pictures. Harley almost laughed, thinking how completely normal they appeared. Like they were simply two tourists out seeing the sights. Except they were about as far from normal as anybody could get. Then again, given everything Adriana had told them, maybe there were a lot more people in the world who were far from normal than anyone had ever thought. Maybe she and Sawyer weren’t so different from everyone else after all.
Harley looked around at the people they passed. The laughing teenagers, the young man with his pastels and easel painting a bridge called Pont de Bir-Hakeim with the Eiffel Tower in the background, the old couple holding hands and smiling. How many of them were special?
“Do you think any of these people are like us?” she asked Sawyer when they stopped to take in Île aux Cygnes, the man-made island in the middle of the river. Lined with trees, the walkway with its many benches looked perfect for whiling away the hours.
Sawyer didn’t say anything at first, his attention fixed on the people moving along the narrow island a few hundred feet away. He wore the same long overcoat he had last night, and damn if it didn’t look good on him. When he finally turned to her, his expression was curious. “Are you asking if there are any werewolves around? The answer is no. We’d be able to smell them.”
Harley almost snorted. Sawyer might be able to smell them, but she doubted she ever would. She might have been able to pick up a fellow werewolf’s scent in the confined space of the club last night, like she’d done with him, but out in the open like this, with the breeze swirling around all over the place? Not a chance.
Although, oddly enough, she could still pick up that same delicious scent of cinnamon coffee cake she’d smelled in the conference room. Her nose really was freaky.
“What if they aren’t werewolves?” she pressed. “What if they’re special like Adriana? Would we smell them then?”
He regarded her thoughtfully. “Adriana has a specific scent like any other human, but she definitely smells human.”
“What about Misty?” she prompted. “Does she have a distinctive scent?”
Misty smelled human to Harley, but that didn’t mean much of anything.
“Should she?” Damn, Sawyer’s accent even made confused sound sexy. “Is she special like Adriana?”
Harley nodded, wondering if she should be outing Misty’s hypercool ability. “She can communicate with computers and other kinds of electronic devices. Like a Vulcan mind meld, except with an inanimate object.”
She thought Sawyer would be as surprised as she was when Misty had first demonstrated her talent, but he merely lifted a brow. “That’s useful.” His mouth twitched. “Although I have to admit, I’m more of a Doctor Who than a Star Trek fan. But for the record, Misty smells human, too.”
Harley considered that as she eyed the tourists and they started walking again. “So we could be surrounded by people like Adriana, Misty, or even that jerk with the knife.”
The memory of the guy who could disappear and reappear at will made her wonder how worried they should be about that.
Sawyer didn’t seem concerned, though. “We could be, but I’d like to think our werewolf instincts would tell us if any of them were dangerous.”