She growled. “Seriously? Your entire life is an open book to me, yet you can’t tell me what it is you do each day?” She threw up her hands.
“I signed contracts agreeing not to talk about what I do and who I do it for.”
“Sure, to anyone else, but I’m…” She stopped herself from saying the wordsister. They weren’t related. Sure, they’d grown up together, but there had always been something more between them. She couldn’t even bring herself to say the wordfamily. Their bond went beyond even that construct. “Selene,” she finished after a brief delay.
Scott chuckled. “Okay, I won’t be able to divulge any names, but what I can tell you is that our clients depend on us to keep what we do for them secret. My list of clients includes a couple of movie stars you like and one you don’t, a few musicians that you definitely love, a couple of politicians, and”—he smiled over at her—“an author whose books you have read so many times.”
This was going to kill her. As he pulled back into his parking garage, she started listing off names. Each time as an answer, he only chuckled and shook his head.
“I’ll get one of the names from you,” she warned as she pulled out her overnight bag from the back seat of his car.
“You can try,” he joked as he took the bag from her. “But I’d wager…”
The moment their hands touched, his eyes faded slightly, and he stilled. Hell, he froze in place. Her first thought was to jerk her hand away, thinking that somehow, after all this time, she’d finally had an effect on him.
Only, his eyes didn’t go completely white. Instead, they just… went blank.
“Hello,” a woman’s voice said from behind her, causing her to jump. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Selene turned to see an Asian woman roughly her age walking towards her. The first thing Selene noticed was that she was beautiful. Like, knock-your-socks-off beauty. Instantly, Selene felt a kick of jealousy, but she squashed it quickly.
The woman’s long dark hair flowed past her shoulders. She was dressed in designer clothes, showcasing that she’d grown up with money and style, things Selene had had little of. The woman’s dark eyes were filled with curiosity and… something else that had Selene reining in the desire to fight—friendliness.
“Then why don’t you release my friend to prove it?” Selene suggested.
The woman glanced over at Scott. “If you are okay with him hearing what it is I want to discuss with you…”
Selene instantly knew that the woman was talking about power. Whatever this woman wanted to talk about, she was kind enough to keep the supernatural part of it away from others.
“He knows who and what I am,” Selene said quickly.
The woman ran her eyes over Selene, then moved to Scott and nodded. Instantly, Scott was freed. He finished his sentence as if nothing had happened. “…you won’t get too far.” He stilled when he noticed Selene had moved and that they were no longer alone.
Selene smiled when he tried to shove her behind him, as if to protect her. A few seconds later, he relaxed.
“Oh, hey, Mia,” Scott said casually. “I didn’t see you there.”
Mia glanced over at Selene, as if waiting for her to say something. Selene put her hand on Scott’s arm. “I think your friend wants to have a chat?”
Scott frowned down at her. “What?”
Mia stepped forward. “I felt you arrive earlier,” she said, her eyes on Selene. “But now that you’re back and… care to sit down for a cup of coffee?”
Scott frowned as Selene nodded. “Sure. How about we put my things up in Scott’s apartment and meet you…” She turned to Scott, her eyebrows raised.
“There’s a coffee place on the corner,” he suggested.
Mia smiled. “I’ll see you there in ten.” She turned to go but stopped. “I’m Mia by the way.”
“Selene,” Selene supplied.
Mia’s eyes went wide for a split second before she turned and walked away.
“Want to tell me what that was all about?” Scott asked as they started heading up to his apartment.
“She has power. A lot of it,” Selene said.
She kicked herself mentally for not feeling it earlier. She’d been too preoccupied with flirting with Scott to feel the crackle in the air. She’d let the woman sneak up on them. What would have happened if it hadn’t ended well?