Cillian’s expression told me he was thinking hard about her words. “Fair enough,” he said finally, sliding his eyes to me and grinning. “Oh, that is just ... so wrong.”
“What?” I popped in front of the side mirror so I could study my reflection. I’d opted to look like Aidan so I would fit in with the group. As far as I could tell, it had worked.
“Oh, man.” Braden made a whiny noise that had me jerking my head in his direction. “Did you have to pick one of my brothers? Now I’m not going to be able to touch you for days. I’m so grossed out by this entire thing.”
I shot him a withering look. “You’ll get over it.”
“What if I don’t want to get over it?”
“Then you can sleep alone until you grow up.”
Braden didn’t look any happier with that suggestion. “Let’s just get this over with. The faster we get in and out, the faster I can drink until my memory blurs.”
“He’s funny,” Luna noted, falling into step with me. Her gaze was keen as it scanned the neighborhood.
“He’s got his moments,” I agreed. “Now isn’t one of them.”
“He’s hot, too. Well, that whole clone thing aside.”
I smirked as we hit the sidewalk in front of the house in question. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an abandoned shell. I worried what it would look like inside.
As if reading my mind, Luna shook her head. “These places are usually tricked out inside,” she explained. “They want them to look like crap on the outside but they need comfort for the inside. Don’t be fooled.”
“I thought you hadn’t been inside this place,” I pressed.
“I haven’t, but I’ve been in a million places just like this one. I know what to expect.”
“Fair enough.” I glanced over my shoulder, to where Cillian and Braden flanked Zoe for the walk to the house. I did a huge double-take when I took in her glamour. “Are you supposed to be someone? I mean ... you look vaguely familiar.”
Zoe nodded and smiled. “I picked the most frightening countenance I could think of.”
“And who is that?”
“Peewee Herman.”
“I ... huh.” I vaguely knew the name. “I don’t think he’s as frightening as you think he is.”
“I bet nobody approaches me.”
“Probably because the dude was known for whacking off in adult movie theaters,” Braden noted.
“I’m fine with that.” Zoe turned her attention to the house. “I’m thinking we go in hot. There’s no sense pussyfooting around. We don’t want to give them time to react.”
“So ... what? You just want to kick the door down, do you?” Cillian challenged. “What if Luna is wrong and there’s some poor, unsuspecting family in that house?”
“Luna is not wrong,” Luna intoned darkly. “Luna is never wrong.”
Zoe snorted. “Geez. She really is just like me. I’m frightened.”
“You should be,” Luna stressed before turning to the rest of us. “I agree with the theater whacker, though. By the way, I have no idea who that dude is but I agree that suit is enough to terrify anybody. It was a good choice.” She shot the mage an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “As for launching a frontal assault, it’s the only thing that makes sense. If we knock, they’re going to start scrambling. If they have weapons, that’s going to backfire on us in spectacular fashion. Do you really want to risk that?”
I wasn’t certain how to answer. Most of my assaults involved some form of subterfuge. Cillian and Braden looked to agree with me, but they didn’t have a lot of firepower in their arsenals. They had no choice but to play it safe ... or draw swords. As far as I could tell, neither of them boasted swords.
As for Luna and Zoe, they were two of the most powerful beings I’d ever come into contact with. Zoe’s reputation was legendary and she’d fought more battles — huge battles, at that — than anybody I knew. And Luna? She was mouthy to the point of being distracting. She was cocky to the point of being worrisome. Something told me she could hold up her end of a battle in a fight, and that was what ultimately swayed me.
“Maybe we should just kick in the front door,” I said finally, earning an incredulous look from Braden.
“And if there’s some innocent family in there?” Braden challenged. “They’ll call the police, and we’ll deserve to be arrested. Do you have any idea how angry my father will be if we’re arrested?”
Zoe’s snort was disdainful. “Aric will lay bail. He’s done it before. We don’t need to tell your father anything.”
“I don’t know.” Braden looked to Cillian for backup. “What do you think?”
“Of course, I’ve never known an adult to be so afraid of what his father thinks,” Zoe added, using a sing-song voice I recognized as being meant to agitate the men in our group. “I guess that’s why you still live with your daddy, huh? I thought it was weird, was going to warn Izzy about getting involved with a thirty-year-old man who can’t separate from his father, but she’s probably figured it out on her own.”
Braden’s eyes flashed with mayhem. “You are ... un-freaking-believable,” he hissed in a low voice. “Do you really think that’s going to work on me? You can’t call my manhood into question and get me to come to heel. I grew up with Aisling. I’m familiar with that particular trick.”
Zoe’s expression never changed. “It’s fine. I understand.”
Braden made a growling sound and scuffed his foot against the pavement. “Fine,” he said after a beat. “We’ll go in hot. You win.”
“Oh, geez.” Cillian made a face. “She just played you. I hope you know that.”
Zoe’s smug smile told me she knew it, which was all that mattered. “I’ll be the first through the door,” she said as we started up the sidewalk that led to the house. “I want their attention on me when we go through.”
“Then you should
