CHAPTER THREE
Robin Chesley was here, in the flesh—and she looked so different and pretty much the same. Simon tried to reconcile in his mind the teenage girl he’d been on missions with for three years to the woman he met eyes with and froze over just a few seconds ago. Her hair color looked lighter, but she had the same quiet features and clear skin.
She also had the same big green eyes that somehow managed to look even greener now, particularly at the outer portion—like fresh spring grass mixed with bottle green shards.
It had to be her because he didn’t know anyone with the same kind of eyes. He always thought her distinct because of it. But now it bothered him, mostly because of two things: first, Robin was in a bar by herself, and she didn’t even contact him that she was in New York.
Second, he was on a mission and absolutely needed to ignore her. There were too many eyes on him at the moment, and any wrong move or interaction with her would mean those eyes would be on her, too.
What the hell was she doing in Brooklyn?
The woman he was with tugged at his hand, and he immediately turned his attention in that direction despite the instinct to look at Robin again. It had been pretty damn hard to pretend he didn’t recognize her with that first gaze, and he’d almost been caught. Trying to block her from his mind, he grinned at the woman.
“Problem?” she asked.
If we’re talking about your illegal dealings, then yes. But Simon shook his head and tried to look extra flirty, something he perfected over the years when he went to missions like this. The woman, Rosie, responded with an even more seductive smile as she pulled Simon in the direction of the back door, where he knew she was expecting to get some quickie and use those charms they were talking about.
Simon’s mission involved said charms, which was a liquid sold or bargained and used to enhance a drinker’s sexual craving without his or her consent—and an after-effect that involved chills leading to death or insanity. It fell under the jurisdiction of shifters since the main dealer was a wolf shifter who got caught, with his partner still on the loose—and a non-shifter named Rosie. It had taken Simon almost a week just to track her down, then another week of observing her to set up an event for their accidental meet in this very bar. She was the one who approached him as he pretended to be gloomy in the bar, with a woeful tale about the woman he loved who rejected him. Rosie ate it all up and was soon offering him the charms, and he couldn’t ruin it now. He needed to catch her in the act, then catch her accomplices.
They were near the back exit when he felt a hand brush his wrist, then take hold. A sinking feeling settled in Simon’s stomach; he instantly knew who it would be before he could even turn his head to look.
“Hey, is that you? I thought I recognized you.”
Robin’s voice was unmistakable, rounder now in its maturity but still so matter-of-fact in tone. Reluctantly, he turned, his mind working a mile a minute trying to salvage the situation as Rosie paused, too.
But his mind was blank. His goddamn mind was blank, and all he could do was widen his eyes. “Jenny! What are you doing here?”
Jenny had been the name of the woman who rejected him—at least, in his story to Rosie. Robin looked him in the eye, her brows furrowing. Simon did his best not to send any kind of mixed signals, hoping she got the message.
Slowly, Robin’s face cleared. “I was just in the bar with some friends. I thought I’d say hi.”
“Well…I hope you have fun? I need to go. I need to…yeah.” He made sure to add some nerves to his tone to be believable.
His silent message, though: I’m fine. Go away.
Robin’s eyes never left his, and a hundred questions about why she was here popped in his mind. She glanced at Rosie, expression unwavering. Finally, she shrugged, turned back around and walked away.
Rosie watched the whole exchange in part fascination, part amusement. “So she’s the one?”
Simon let some frustration show. “Yes. Can we go now? I don’t want her to…”
The woman gave him an understanding smile. But instead of tugging him again towards the exit, she came closer to him and kissed him on the cheek.
“You’re a sweet guy. Let me do you a favor first.”
She then began to brush by him and back into the crowded bar, and Simon could only stare after her. Where the hell was she going? Was she—
It clicked all at once, and he realized he shouldn’t have used Robin as a cover. With an inward curse, he dove back in the crowd, looking for Robin and Rosie as fast as he could. He couldn’t spot them at all as he circled the place twice, and Simon decided to use the back exit to check the streets in case Rosie got successful in luring Robin away.
“It’s about time. What took you so long?”
Simon blinked. Then he whipped his head in Robin’s direction, where he found her standing beside the garbage bin and looking slightly irritated. Beside her was the slumped, unconscious form of Rosie, locked tight by some sort of invisible energy. Memories of their missions together rushed through him, and Simon suddenly found himself grinning as he approached her.
“So you knew all along?”
She shrugged. “I knew she wasn’t human. I confirmed it when she tried dragging me out to give me some kind of drug. So you’re dealing with witch drug dealers now?”
“It’s magical charms. I was about to bust her.” When he was finally near her, he didn’t hesitate. Simon reached out and hauled her towards him, wrapping her in his arms for a tight hug. The scent of lemons filled his nostrils when he sniffed, and he couldn’t have been happier. It really was her. “I need evidence, though.”
“I got that covered,” she said, responding to his hug before pulling away.
Simon nodded. Five years and they still worked seamlessly. For some reason, that pleased him.
“You’ve filled out,” he commented, referring to her weight.
“You’ve grown tall,” she observed.
“And you’re still short,” he shot back.
She glared. But the glare eased off as they grinned at each other.
Remembering the others, Simon hauled the unconscious Rosie over his shoulder. “There are others. They’re around here somewhere, and were watching me earlier. Any chance you can help me ring them up?”
She considered it for the first few seconds before nodding. “I have nothing better to do.”
He lifted a brow at that as they began walking. “What were you doing in Brooklyn, anyway?”
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“I wanted to see if you wanted to travel.”
Oh.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere fun. Prague?”
Simon smirked. “Hold on to that thought. Let’s see after this.”
*****
It took them a few hours to go around Brooklyn for a merry-go-round chase with the other witches, and Simon was amazed at how Robin handled it all with ease, like she was really part of the mission. She did spells and other things that he knew she didn’t know five years ago when they last parted, and he was sure it would have taken him a few more days had he done all this alone.
The last two witches were more troublesome than most, having experience in dealing with the likes of her. Simon and Robin hauled their unconscious prisoners inside an empty warehouse, where she protected them with a spell. Then they proceeded to run around the city while she tried to track the two down, muttering under her breath when they kept evading her.
Then things turned, and it was soon them that were being chased. Simon took them to an alley, where he whispered to Robin the idea he had in mind.
She didn’t even hesitate. Robin altered their faces, a frown marring hers as she concentrated on her task. He felt his face heat up at the spell, and it stung a bit. Then she shed her coat, and Simon got a glimpse of more skin than he expected. She was wearing a little black dress that accentuated curves he was shocked she would have. But he didn’t get to view them longer because she was already pulling him towards the streets.
Simon shut off his mind and immediately placed his arm around her. Their walking changed, swaying as they supported each other and played the role of two drunkards trying to get home.
Footsteps sounded from behind, and Simon used his modulated voice to cause a ruckus.
“Why don’t you want to go home with me?” he whined. “I’m going to fuck you all night long and—yeaaaaaah.”
She pretended to shake him off, then stumbled on her feet and giggled. She then pretended to change her mind and yanked him towards her, their bodies slamming just as the two witches passed them with barely a glance.
There was no need for a signal. Simon instantly shifted his hands and leaped for them at the same time Robin opened up her magic. Sparks vibrated all over her body as she ran after them, just as Simon got to the first witch. The witch blasted him with a force, but Robin was on her in an instant. Then she proceeded to attack the second witch with a speed he’d never seen before, ending the fight with a dropkick enhanced by a spell.
Simon stared at his enemies, unconscious on the ground. Robin knelt before them and chanted some more, wrapping them with the same energy that she’d done to the others earlier. Then, without losing breath, she stood back up and brightened. “Where to next?”
He shook his head in amazement, the adrenaline still flowing inside him.
“Home.”