“I’m not talking about that last one, Em. The weird part is that nobody’s that nice all the time on the outside unless they’re secretly trying to get something out of it. He hasn’t once snapped back at me. That’s a red flag.”
“Does it ever occur to you that nobody wants to snap back at a Goth chick who looks like she’s ready to punch someone’s lights out at any given second?”
Cheyenne laughed. “Of course it does. And the people who have a problem with the way I look are the people who don’t want anything to do with me, including a little round of stinging banter. I don’t care about that. But that Matthew guy didn’t react once to the way I look or what I say. Nothing. It’s like he’s just…”
“Nice?”
The elevator doors opened again on the ground floor, and Cheyenne pulled Ember backward into the lobby. “Too nice, Em. Too nice to be genuine.”
“You know what?” The fae leaned forward to slip into her jacket as they headed toward the front doors. “I think you’ve spent way too much time studying your mom.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a lot more cynical than you wanna admit. Or that you’ve been taught to expect the worst from people.”
Cheyenne hit the handicap button beside the front doors and waited for them to slowly open. “I’m pretty sure I heard you say something about perfecting the art of having no expectations.”
“Okay, well, no expectations and expecting the worst are two different things.”
“The outcome’s the same, though, right? You’re never disappointed, even if you’re wrong.”
Ember looked at the halfling over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “That’s not how you think about the world.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Cheyenne shrugged it off and wheeled her friend toward where she’d parked the Panamera in the apartment complex’s huge parking lot. That doesn’t make Mom’s motto any less accurate. Everything comes with a price. “Assuming he is genuinely a nice person, I still say he’s trying to get something out of it.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?”
They reached the car, and Cheyenne locked the chair’s wheels before unlocking the car with that perfect little chirp and opening the passenger side door. “I mean, to get in your pants, for one thing.”
“Oh, my God.” Ember rolled her eyes and braced herself against the chair. “Stop talking and help me get in the car.”
“What? Don’t tell me you haven’t caught onto that by now.”
Ember laughed. “We’re not having this conversation. Not right now.”
“Uh-huh. Because then you’d tell me that you’re totally into it.”
“Do I have to make this transfer myself?”
Cheyenne snorted and bent down to assist her best friend into the car.
She pulled into the parking lot on Union Hill ten minutes before 6:00 p.m. As she unfolded the wheelchair and locked it up beside Ember’s door, Cheyenne found herself glancing around for a car that looked like it could have come straight out of a time machine from the ‘50s.
Ember laughed when they got her settled in the chair. “Who are you looking for?”
“I told you about that old guy who does custom work on cars, right?”
“This is where you met him?”
“Yeah.” The halfling chuckled. “He was cool. I should call him.”
“What the hell would you have him do to a brand-new Porsche?”
Shrugging, Cheyenne shut the door and turned toward the street off the parking lot. “Whatever he wanted, I guess. It’d just be a cool thing to do.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Hey, you had your moment to go crazy with putting the apartment together. Which, by the way, is totally awesome. This guy does it with cars.” Cheyenne had to help Ember get the chair over the bumps in the parking lot’s entrance, then again when they reached the ramp up onto the sidewalk beside the rows of shops lining the street.
“You know, I never stopped to think about how crappy these ramps are before I tried pushing myself up onto one.” Ember jerked down on the wheels as Cheyenne pushed the back of her chair. “All about perspective, right?”
“That’s a good way to put it.”
They didn’t pass many other pedestrians on the street, given the mid-October chill in the air and that it was Tuesday. Ember glanced in the windows of every single shop they passed, grinning at her reflection. “So, how do we get down there?”
Cheyenne pointed at the marque above the froyo shop two stores ahead of them. “Gotta hit the frozen yogurt place first.”
“Hey, I like dessert before dinner as much as the next girl, but I’m not in the mood for froyo.”
The halfling laughed as she stopped beside the door and pulled it open. “Neither am I.”
“Oh. It’s this place?”
“Yeah. And it’s nowhere near the best part.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You’re late, Cheyenne.” Yurik stepped away from the counter at the back of the froyo shop with a smirk.
“By like three minutes. Relax.” The halfling shot Ember a crooked smile as they made their way past the tables and chairs and the stations of cookies and candy pieces.
“Who’s your friend?” Tate stuck his hands in his pockets and eyed the two magicals they’d been waiting for.
“This is Ember.” Cheyenne gestured toward the FRoE agents wearing their temporary human masks. “Yurik, Tate, and Bhandi.”
“Hey.” Bhandi jerked her chin at Ember and folded her arms. “You been here before?”
Ember shook her head, wrinkling her nose with an unsure laugh. “First time.”
“All right. Another newbie.” Yurik turned toward the man behind the counter and held out his fist for a bump. The man shoveled a heaping spoonful of lime-green frozen yogurt into his mouth and stared at the disguised goblin. “Okay. Good to see ya, Joe.”
Tate snorted and headed toward the back of the empty store. “Come on.”
The group followed him toward the door marked Employees Only. Ember’s eyes widened when he
