The guards nodded, and Holden and I left the council headquarters without further incident. It was bad enough I’d been taken off assassin duties, but now it seemed like I couldn’t brawl in the confines of the council without getting someone in trouble.
The building housing the council was in SoHo just off Green Street, and as luck would have it, my next meeting was only a few blocks south at Bloomingdale’s.
I tucked my arm through Holden’s as we walked together in the chilly winter air.
“Thanks for the fight,” I said to break up the uneasy silence.
“Anytime. ”
“I feel so useless since Sig and Juan Carlos barred me from hunting rogues. ”
“You’re more of a target now. We’ve talked about this. ”
“I know. ” I rested my head against his shoulder as we walked. “I’m just not used to standing by and watching the action. And none of these freelancers are worth shit when it comes to killing rogues. ”
“You’ll never think anyone did it as well as you. ”
“Are you disagreeing?”
“As much as it might be detrimental to my long-term health to question the opinions of a Tribunal leader…” he elbowed me in the ribs, “…I think some of these freelancers make up for what they lack in experience by bringing a modicum of subtlety to their work. ”
“I resent that. I’m going to suggest to Sig we have you killed. ”
Holden shrugged, but when I looked up he was smiling. “You’d have to save me all over again. ”
“Pff. I learned my lesson last time. It’s not worth the effort. ”
We came to a stop outside the department store, and Holden stared at me for a long moment. When I opened my mouth to speak, he dipped his head. I turned my face at the last second and his kiss caught my cheek, but there was no hiding the new jump in my pulse.
“Secret,” he whispered.
“They’re watching. ”
Whenever I was in highly visible public areas, especially when I was going to and from the council, I had protection. Just because I couldn’t see them all the time, didn’t mean they weren’t there. Sig originally planned to have me followed all the time, but I’d put a stop to that plot before he could put it into action. I already had one permanent werewolf guard living in my house, and I was never alone for long, so I’d whittled my warden detail down to the bare minimum to appease the Tribunal leader. This close to the council headquarters, they’d still be trailing me, and if they were watching, my actions would be reported back to Sig. I didn’t need them to see anything that could be held against me.
Holden straightened and took a step backwards, bowing his head with stiff propriety. Then he vanished before I had a chance to say anything else.
But what else was there to say?
Chapter Two
A sharp elbow jabbed into my ribs, and a wave of anxiety wafted over me. The smell of worry and anger radiated through the vaulted room, and the object in my hands was wrenched away before I had time to react.
“Hey,” I protested, making a grab to retrieve my stolen property.
“You snooze you lose,” countered the chubby blonde who had snatched my leather gloves.
“Yeah, but those are my gloves. ” The supple black leather smiled at me from her sweaty fist. The Louis Vuitton gloves had been an early Christmas gift from my boyfriend, Lucas, and I’d be damned if a pushy Midtown housewife was going to make off with them.
She must have thought they were a hot-ticket gift
item and I was just too stubborn to let her buy the last pair. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she was actually stealing my property.
The woman sneered and said, “Looks like they’re mine now. Possession is nine-tenths of—”
“The law?” Mercedes Castilla came to stand next to me, flashing her NYPD badge at my portly nemesis.
The woman’s cheeks flushed an unattractive shade of red, and she handed my gloves back. I put them in my purse and stroked the 9mm SIG handgun hidden within. Mustn’t kill humans, I reminded myself, and withdrew my fingers.