Vee said, “You look familiar. But your name isn’t ringing a bell.” She pursed her lips in evaluation.
In response, Dabria cast cool eyes on Vee, and just like that, all suspicion dissipated from Vee’s expression, leaving her as blank as placid water. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. This is the first time we’ve met,” Vee said in a monotone.
I glared at Dabria. “Can we talk? Alone?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she answered breezily.
I pushed my way over to the hallway leading to the restrooms. When we were out of the crowd, I spun on Dabria. “First, quit mind-tricking my best friend. Second, what are you doing here? And third, you’re a lot prettier than Patch led me to believe.” Probably didn’t need to throw in that last bit, but now that I had Dabria alone, I wasn’t in the mood to dance around. Best to get straight to the point.
Her mouth curled into a satisfied smirk. “And you’re quite a bit more plain than I remember.” Suddenly I wished I’d pulled on something more sophisticated than boyfriend jeans, a graphic tee, and a military-style hat. I said, “He’s over you, just so we’re clear.” Dabria examined her manicure before looking up at me through lowered lashes. With unmistakable regret she said, “I wish I could say I was over him.” I told you so! I thought angrily at Patch.
“Unrequited love sucks,” I stated simply.
“Is he here?” Dabria craned her neck to search the crowd.
“No. But I’m sure you already knew that, since you’ve taken it upon yourself to stalk him.” Something mischievous danced in her eyes. “Oh? He noticed?”
“Hard not to when you’ve clearly made it your life’s purpose to throw yourself at him.” Her pouty smirk adopted a hardened edge. “Just so you know, if it weren’t for my feather Jev keeps tucked in his pants, I wouldn’t think twice about dragging you out to the street and giving you a front-row seat with an oncoming car. Jev might be here for you now, but I wouldn’t breathe easy.
He’s made quite a few enemies over the years, and I can’t tell you how many of them would love to chain him in hell. You don’t treat people the way he has and sleep with both eyes closed,” she said, cold-blooded warning creeping into her tone. “If he wants to stay on Earth, he can’t be distracted by some”—her gaze raked over me—“childish little girl. He needs an ally. Someone who can watch his back and be useful to him.”
“And you think you’re just the girl for the job?” I seethed.
“I think you should stick to your own kind. Jev doesn’t like to be tied down. One glance at you, and I can tell you’ve got your hands full with him.”
“He’s changed,” I said. “He’s not the same person he was when you knew him.” Her laughter rang off the walls. “I can’t decide if your naïveté is adorable, or if I want to smack some sense into you. Jev will never change, and he doesn’t love you. He’s using you to get to the Black Hand. Do you know how high the price on Hank Mill ar’s head is? Millions. Jev wants that money as much as the next fall en angel, maybe more, because he can use it to pay off his enemies, and trust me when I say they’re snapping at his heels. He’s ahead of the game because he has you, the Black Hand’s heir. You can get close to the Black Hand in a way most fall en angels can only dream of.”
I didn’t bat an eye. “I don’t believe you.”
“I know you want the Black Hand, sweetie. Just like I know you want to be the one to destroy him.
Not an easy feat, considering he’s Nephilim, but pretend for a minute it’s possible. Do you really think Jev will hand Hank over to you when he can deliver him to the right people and receive a ten-million-dollar paycheck? Think about it.”
On that note, Dabria raised a shrewd eyebrow and merged into the crowd.
When I returned to the bar, Vee said, “Don’t know about you, but I didn’t like that chick. She rivals Marcie for the number one spot on my skank-detecting meter.” She’s worse, I thought grimly. Much worse.
“Speaking of instincts, I haven’t made up my mind yet how I feel about this particular Romeo,” Vee said, sitting a little higher on her stool.
I followed her gaze, finding Scott at the end of it.
A good head taller than the crowd, he waded toward us. His sun-streaked brown hair hugged his head like a cap, and paired with bedraggled jeans and a fitted T-shirt, he looked every bit the bass player in an up-and-coming rock band.
“You came,” he said with a hitch of his mouth, and I knew right away he was pleased.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said, trying to squash down any uneasiness I felt over Scott’s obstinate refusal to stay in hiding a little longer. One brief glance at his hand revealed that he hadn’t removed the Black Hand’s ring. “Scott, this is my best friend, Vee Sky. I don’t know if you two have officially met.”
Vee shook Scott’s hand and said, “I’m happy to see there’s at least one person in this room taller than me.”
“Yeah, I get my height from my dad’s side,” Scott said, clearly not in a hurry to elaborate. Then to me, “About homecoming. I’m sending a limo over to your place tomorrow at nine. The driver will take you to the dance, and I’ll meet you there. Was I supposed to get one of those flower things for your wrist? I totally forgot about that.”
“You two are going to homecoming together?” Vee asked, eyebrows vaulted, fingers pointing between us in a puzzled manner.
I could have kicked myself for not remembering to tell her. In my defense, I’d had a lot on my mind.
“As friends,” I reassured Vee. “If you want to come, the more the merrier.”