We all coped with grief in different ways, and laughter was the least self-destructive option.
“Aubrey has the fire under control.” He wiped the amusement off his face. “He says it tastes the same. It’s slightly off from what we encountered at the battle with the coven, but it’s identical to last night’s fire.”
Part of me wished I could share the intel, use Aubrey as a source, but we had a promise to Gray to uphold. We would keep Aubrey’s identity a secret for as long as possible. It was the only way to give the teen a taste of a normal life, considering what he was and what he was capable of.
But if he ever lost control, if the citizens ever paid for it, I would learn firsthand how Linus had felt during the past year when he took personal responsibility for me and my actions.
Second chances didn’t come free, and they didn’t come cheap. Someone always, always paid for them.
“The cleaners are on their way,” he kept going. “I understand several of the individuals are gwyllgi?”
“From a visiting pack,” I confirmed. “The alpha was lucky to escape with her life.”
“We’ll update you if we learn anything else.” Gray bowed his head. “Let me know if we can help.”
“I appreciate that.”
Thinking back to how Claudia had pieced herself together in front of me, I doubted we would have to lean on Gray or his pride for help. Guilt must be eating her alive. She had known the risks, but she had accepted them. For their sake. And hers.
After what Midas told me, I couldn’t blame her. The scholarship was nice and all, but I was willing to bet what she had been after was Tisdale’s seal of approval. That would go further than a check or a few weeks’ worth of lessons.
Alone again, Midas and I looked at one another, but I was the one to break the silence.
“There’s already been too much collateral damage.” I twisted one of the silver rings on my fingers, the one responsible for my Hadley persona. “Now my family is here.”
“Don’t go down that road.”
“This could have been them. Addie and Boaz. They could have been in the lobby tonight, taken her offer, the same as me.” I forced myself to leave the ring alone before my glamour flickered. “They could have stayed to grab a bite after I left.” I swallowed hard. “They could be dead.”
The night Addie and Boaz decided to drop in early was the first we had seen of the coven since the battle. Coincidence? Nah. I don’t think so. More like a carefully executed strike against me, right to the heart. But why not blow up their hotel? Or their Swyft? Or the restaurant where they ate dinner?
They had gone after Midas and me and then Claudia and me. I was definitely the common denominator. Did that mean my family was safe as long as I wasn’t with them? Or did it mean I had gone so far around the paranoia bend I ought to be crafting my own tinfoil hat right about now?
“Hadley.”
“Our inner circle is feeding them information.” I read the same pain in my heart in his eyes. “There’s no other explanation.”
Another packmate lost. No, lost wasn’t the right word. Stolen. One with decent security clearance if they had ready access to Midas and me. We hadn’t suspected a breach until now, so the coven mole or moles were a light touch, aided by wearing others’ skins and partial, if not total, access to the hosts’ memories.
A worse possibility slithered down my spine, that a member of my team might have been compromised. The information and resources available to OPA staff posed a much deadlier threat if they had been turned against me.
“I’m sorry.” I touched his arm, echoing his grief while pulling him back from the ledge. “We’ll find them, and we’ll stop them.”
Midas bobbed his head, and his breath came out harsh. He cut his eyes toward me then almost smiled.
Happy to distract him, I pressed for details. “What?”
“I believe you.” He kissed my forehead. “You have never let me down.”
“Give it time.” I patted his chest. “You haven’t known me very long.”
The negative comment earned me a scowl, but he lost his chance to lecture me on self-worth when the screen lit on my phone. “Yeah?”
“You didn’t call back,” Bishop grumped. “What’s happening over there?”
A snort escaped me. “Like you don’t have eyes on me right now?”
“Smoke,” he clipped out. “Makes it kind of hard to see out of overhead cameras.”
Smarting from the well-deserved smackdown, I rattled off a quick report in my best potentate voice.
“Station Thirteen has the fire under control. Claudia is alive. A third of her pack left the bar when she did, so they’re okay. The others…” I stared at the blaze. “She wants a piece of the coven for what they did to her people. We need to keep her in the loop, or she’ll go vigilante on us.”
Of that, I had no doubt. It’s what I would do in her situation.
“Are you coming in tonight?”
“That was the plan, after the bar.” I rubbed my forehead. “Addie and Boaz came in last night, which I’m sure you already know, you stalker. The rest of my guests must be here too, though I didn’t think to ask.”
A silence lingered during which I heard his teeth grinding.
Family? Or city? Which would I choose? Which was my priority?
Suddenly, this felt like a test I could fail, and if I did, he would lose respect for me.
Paranoia? Yeah. Probably. Maybe?
“Since it’s pretty obvious I’m being targeted, that means we’ll be moving my family from their hotel into the Faraday for the duration of their visit.” The Faraday, despite its hiccups with me, still far outclassed any simple hotel on security. Even if it meant putting my mother underfoot for several days. “Can you coordinate that with them for me?”
“What will you be doing?”
“What do you think?”
As much
