“What are you thinking?” Emery asked Reagan as he met her at the car with me in tow. The sun was nearly gone from the sky, leaving long shadows.

“I’m thinking I still miss the Lamborghini.” She pulled open the driver’s door and sat down behind the wheel.

Emery opened the rear door. “Do you mind if I sit in the front?” he asked me. “I want to get a feel for what she’s planning. She doesn’t seem like the strategic type, and I—”

“Yes, sit in the front.” I dropped onto the seat and pulled in my legs. “You’ll be better at steering her than I will.”

“Nothing to steer,” Reagan said as Emery shut my door and sat in front of me. “We’re just going to get some information from my good buddy Red, and then we’re going to figure out what to do with that information. I’ve done this a million times.”

“If you’re so close to Red, why did he call Penny?” Emery asked.

“Two reasons.” Reagan gunned the car down the lane to the highway. “Man, but I do miss that Lamborghini.” She turned. “First, Red doesn’t understand what friendship means. Sure, I make his life hell, but does he get picked on by anyone else? No, he doesn’t.”

I could just barely see Emery nodding slowly.

“Second, Penny’s special look lured him in. He wants to protect her. They all do. It is pretty damn fantastic. I want that talent so bad. Alas, I’ll just have to rely on inspiring blind fear.”

“Penny’s special…look,” he said without inflection.

“Yeah. You’ll see. She hasn’t done it with you yet. It’s this sad puppy sort of look. Pure damsel in distress. It seriously works, trust me. All the boys rush to her side to help.”

“She’s exaggerating,” I said, shaking my head and looking out the window. “The incident she’s talking about was right after I was basically chased out of Darius’s house. I looked like a wet poodle—”

“Wet kitten.”

“—and they were trying to help me. Then Reagan showed up and threw people around and basically kicked down the door.”

“It wasn’t me. Don’t let her fool you—she’s got hidden powers.”

“A lot of them,” he said, still without inflection.

We found a spot to park near the patch of scary men from the last time I’d been in the area. The sinking sun cast deep pools of shadow beneath the trees. Less people were there tonight, and the ones who were didn’t bother to glance up when we stepped out of the car and shut the door. All the same, the feeling of watching eyes and hidden magic hung over me.

Anything could be waiting around here, crouched behind a corner or sitting on a balcony, watching those who passed. They’d have the advantage in almost every scenario. If the Guild wanted to come at us, they’d have plenty of opportunities.

“There. See?” Reagan pointed at me as we crossed the street.

I tried to straighten back up while also letting go of my hoodie, which I was clutching against my chest.

“She looks lost and vulnerable.” Reagan made a beeline for the shifter bar. “But that’s not even the worst of it. Just wait.”

“Are you okay?” Emery asked, his posture nothing like mine. His broad shoulders swayed in time with his confident swagger.

“I’m just not good enough to defend against a surprise attack yet,” I murmured, trying to look everywhere at once. Something felt different about this area. More dangerous. It was early evening this time, not the dead of night, and I was accompanied by two experienced fighters, but it felt like we were heading into a death zone. I didn’t even need my temperamental third eye for this one—I needed to get out of Dodge.

“She’s got nothing to worry about,” Reagan said, her confident swagger nearly matching Emery’s. “If the worst happens, it’ll probably be my ass, not yours.”

Emery narrowed his eyes at her, and I could tell he’d just picked up another clue. Reagan was a terrible secret keeper, and I was an even worse detective. I’d clearly given her a false sense of security.

Music spilled out of the bars ahead and people littered the sidewalks, some shaking and dancing on their way, holding drinks and laughing. A small crowd crossed the street, guys and girls in their twenties, whooping and hollering at nothing I could see.

“I wish I could’ve explored this place like everyone else does,” I reflected without meaning to. “Without the overhanging fear that seems to follow me around lately.”

Emery slipped his hand into mine and entwined our fingers. “We will. Maybe not now, but someday, we’ll drink our way through the town like they’re doing.”

“You’ll end up facedown in the gutter, mark my words.” Reagan slowed near the corner and gestured us to get in toward the side. She turned so she was mostly hidden from the people gathered in front of the bars down the way.

“What are you doing?” Emery asked, scanning the surrounding area.

“Red wanted to meet me at the brewery down the way. A place with a lot of human tourists. He knows I can’t cause a scene in a place like that. Not without Roger breathing down my neck again, and ain’t nobody got time for that.”

“Roger… the Alpha of the North American pack?” Emery’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. We have a love-hate relationship. Anyway, I just want to make sure Red’s gone. If so, then we need to make our way into those bars and see what we can see. If I get close enough, I’ll be able to point out the mages.”

“Given how they react to me, I’ll be able to tell you which mages are friendly and which aren’t,” Emery said dryly.

Reagan turned slowly with glimmering eyes. A smile curled her lips. “Yes, indeedy. Fantastic.” She turned back around. “As soon as we know Red is safely out of the way, we’ll go dangle the bait. Roger may want to do things by the book, but why wait for the Guild to start a fight? Let’s get them to play their cards.”

“Oh good, you’re the bait this time. I like that better.” I felt an itch between my shoulder blades, like someone was focusing so hard on me that they were poking me in the back.

Emery turned before I could, and looked in the direction of the gaze. A group of laughing people wearing beads and funny glasses sauntered down the sidewalk. A couple crossed the street, a man and woman with a slight limp. There were more the other way, coming around the corner. People were everywhere, in all moods. Hiding here would be a piece of cake.

“If we mask ourselves with a spell,” Emery murmured, “we’ll give away what we are.”

I clutched my hoodie again. “Reagan, get this show on the road. I want to get out of here.”

“I’ll get the show on the road, but you’re not getting out of here.” Reagan ducked, bobbed, and weaved, making a fool of herself while trying to scope out the bars. “With Emery here, they’ll be pulling all their resources into one place. And with the Guild’s money and power, a few of the lug nuts in Callie and Dizzy’s groups will be stupid enough to join their forces. Teamed with the creeps who are already loitering around this city, sticking to the outskirts and waiting until the time is right, we’ll have a small army on our hands.”

“They’ll attack during the day so we can’t use the vampires,” Emery said. “Given that they’ve seemed to stop caring about keeping their magic under wraps…” He shook his head and scanned the crowd. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right. We need to dangle some bait.”

“The bait. You,” I said between clenched teeth, my body shaking. I knew a battle was coming. I’d known that for months. But the last few days had given me time to relax in relative safety. Time to better hone my craft. Then Emery had shown up and the danger around me had seemed to melt away.

I’d fallen into my own false sense of security.

And it had just been ripped away.

“Perfect. Yes!” Reagan grabbed my arm and dragged me up the street toward the bars. “Keep that mojo going, Penny. Get those shifters eager to help you. That’ll at least give us a few more hands on deck.”

A big man with a unibrow stood in front of the bar we’d been thrown out of the other night, taking some woman’s ID. She laughed and touched her hand to her chest, making a joke about feeling young again. Her comments were met with a hard scowl.

“Jimmy,” Reagan said, crossing in front of him and leaning against the wall beside him. I awkwardly stood next to her, since she hadn’t let go of my arm. Emery stood on the other side, staring at me with a perplexed expression, as if he still couldn’t see me as a damsel in need of rescuing.

Mr. Unibrow, Jimmy, curled his lips and shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here. Management ain’t impressed with you right now.”

“When is management ever impressed with me?” she asked.

He handed the woman’s ID back and took one from a man wearing an excited, dopey smile. “Fair point. Red’s gone.”

“Good. Say, listen, what’s the scuttlebutt? What have you got wandering through here?” Reagan pushed me back against the wall so she could look down the sidewalk.

Jimmy handed the ID back and finally looked at us. His eyes snagged on me, and his scowl increased. “What’s the deal with her? She need rescuin’ from you or what?”

“See?” Reagan shot Emery a glance. “What did I tell you?”

Jimmy followed her glance, keeping his focus on Emery for a few beats longer. When he finally returned his attention to Reagan, there was a wary light in his eyes. “What are you into now?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. I can’t use the help of a sea creature shifter, no matter how perplexing and secretive their mating habits…” Reagan waggled her eyebrows at him.

“What kind of sea creature?” I whispered, losing the battle with curiosity.

“Merman. How do they mate? No one knows.” Reagan waved that aside. “Doesn’t matter. At the moment. Listen, Red was concerned enough about the strangers of this area to call. What have you seen?”

Jimmy stared down someone who had stopped outside the bar and looked in. The poor guy with the strange taste in Hawaiian shirts clearly liked the music and was thinking about a libation, but the intense furrow in Jimmy’s bushy unibrow scared him off. He skulked farther on down.

“We got mages.” Jimmy spat to the side, nearly hitting Emery’s shoe. “Sorry, bro.” He curled his lip. “Heard someone talking about some nasty shit. Shit I don’t even want to repeat. Got him all sorts of power, la-dee-da. Had to brutally kill someone to get it. Didn’t seem to bother him.” He shifted to a wide, aggressive stance. His magic, the call of the sea, deep and powerful, washed over me. “I threw his ass out. Said he couldn’t be talking about none of that in my bar. Hell no. But he has friends. I know he does. Shifty-eyed, scrawny little hacks coming in here and staring holes in my back. When I look around, they have something else taking up their attention. Driving me crazy. But I don’t know no more than that. I don’t know enough to start banning people. Hell, I don’t even know who to ban.”

“Any other bars you’ve heard about this happening in?” Emery asked.

“A couple. All magical clientele. But again, aside from a few things people have mistakenly overheard, that’s all we know. It’s bugging me out. At least you can tell when it’s a vampire. Hell, even you.” He gestured at Reagan. “You smell different. Do I care why? No, I do not. I know you ain’t human, I know to watch my six around you, and that’s that. But these fuckers.” His lip curled again. “They’re dressing like tourists. They’re drinking and trying to fit in. I don’t know one from the other, but I know they ain’t right in the head. I know they don’t give two shits about killing people. That’s got me jumpy, I don’t mind telling you. I do not want that shit in my town, do you hear me?”

“The real question is, does Roger hear you?” Reagan asked, a gleam in her eyes as she surveyed the street in front of her. It was the look that promised action, and I was just thankful not to be on the other end of it.

“Yeah, he knows, but he doesn’t know how big the threat is yet. Doesn’t know how many people to bring in.”

“Tell him the Rogue Natural is on scene. We’ve got both targets in town, together. It’ll draw big numbers.”

Two younger girls stopped outside the bar and looked in before shooting furtive glances at Emery. They giggled, and one flicked her hair.

“Hey, you coming in?” Jimmy asked in a rough voice.

The smiles faltered. The one with long blond hair batted her Bambi eyes at Emery. “Well? Are we?”

They both giggled. I wanted to swat her.

“No, no!” Reagan stepped in front of Jimmy and pointed a finger at the girls. “No way. He’s taken.” She jabbed a finger at Emery, who cracked a grin. “Don’t you be creepin’ on my girl’s man. He’s not for you. I will cut you, do you understand me?” Eyes wide and smiles dipping in confusion, the girls started backing away. “I will cut you if you so much as glance his way. Tell all your friends. He’s off the table, bitches.”

Faces fallen, the girls hurried off. I couldn’t do much more than stare.

“That was a bit much,” Jimmy said, putting his hand in front of Reagan without touching her. “Respect, but it was a bit much.”

Reagan laughed and stepped back. “I’ve always wanted to do that. I could get down with having a girlfriend to defend.”

“You don’t need more reasons to fight.”

“What a horrible thing to say to me.” She cracked her knuckles. “Speaking of starting fights, let’s see who’s in the bar today. If Red comes back, don’t let him in. He’ll just tell Roger on me.”

Jimmy shrugged. “Back corner. Glasses,” he said, waving her in. “Give him hell. We need to clean up this town.”

Reagan stopped me before entering the doorway. “Give me a moment. Then drift off to the right and try to find a corner. Emery, head to the nearest end of the bar. We’re splitting up.”

“That’s not a good idea,” he said, his hand firm on my back.

“I need Penny to draw on heartstrings, and she’ll do that better alone in a corner. As for you, I want to see who recognizes you. That’ll be telling.”

“And you?” he asked quietly.

“Why, I’ll raise hell, of course. Smacking down mages in bars seems to be a specialty of mine.”