His expression lightened with surprise and pleasure. He said simply, “Yes.”
A tapping made them both turn. Tricks stood with a sheepish smile in the open doorway. She said to Pia, “I’m so sorry you had to witness what happened in the hall.”
Grinning, Dragos said to the faerie, “Goddamn, ma’am.”
The faerie’s cheeks darkened. She said, “What, you’ve never said something stupid in a fit of temper?”
“Never,” said Dragos. He snagged Pia’s wrist and pulled her with him as he leaned back against his desk. As she settled at his side, he drew light circles on her back.
Pia coughed. He looked at her. She muttered behind her hand, “Big roar, last week?”
His fingers slid under the hem of her shirt, and he pinched her. Pia jerked upright and huffed at him.
Preoccupied with her own sense of grievance, Tricks didn’t notice their byplay. She said, “Dragos, you’ve got to do something. Tiago’s giving me fits.”
“Clearly,” said Dragos.
Tricks scowled. She told Pia, “I’m great friends with all the other sentinels, but I barely know this guy. He’s always off somewhere fighting things. Over the last two hundred years we’ve had maybe a dozen conversations whenever he’s been called back to New York. Suddenly he’s seething and snarling around the place, thinking he can tell me what to do?” The faerie turned to Dragos. “He’s a junkyard dog. He shouldn’t be allowed in the house. Would you please send him back to South America?”
“The South America contract is unimportant. I canceled it a half hour ago,” said Dragos. “We’re pulling the rest of the troops home.”
Tricks’s slender shoulders sagged. She wore the expression of someone watching her life crash in pieces around her. Pia’s mouth slid into a sympathetic pout. She knew just how the faerie felt.
Tricks gave her a grim smile. “How about some alcohol with lunch?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Pia.
FOURTEEN
Pia and Tricks said good-bye to Dragos and left his offices. In the hall, Graydon and Rune were talking to Tiago. Tricks ignored the trio as she sailed past them. Tiago glared after her. The handsome laughing man Pia had glimpsed so briefly was once again supplanted by the hatchet-faced assassin. Pia matched the faerie’s shorter stride and kept her expression scrupulously neutral.
Tricks took her down to Manhattan Cat, the restaurant on the ground floor. “It’s owned by a Wyr-fox, Lyssa Renard,” the faerie said as they walked across the crowded lobby. “Lyssa’s a bit of a snobby bitch but she does know her food.”
“I’ve heard of the restaurant,” Pia said. She caught a glimpse of Rune and Graydon keeping pace a few feet away, their eyes constantly roving over the crowd. “It’s gotten some decent reviews.”
“You’re a vegetarian, right?” Tricks pushed the restaurant door open. “Of course, there’s a lot of dead animal and fish on the menu, but there are also some good salads and a few tofu dishes I like. Best of all, they stock this 2004 Piesporter that makes me crazy. You like white wine?”
“Absolutely.”
“A girl after my own heart.” Tricks turned as the hostess, a dark, slender young Wyr-cat with slanted eyes, approached with menus and a smile. “Hi, Elise, I’m sorry we’re late.”
“No problem, Tricks,” said the hostess.
The restaurant’s decor was simple and sleek, featuring dark wood, white linen tablecloths and fresh flowers. Every table was filled, and while one or two people called out a greeting to Tricks, most of the occupants paid no attention to them. The sounds of conversation and cutlery accompanied them as the Wyr-cat led them to a small private room at the back that was, Tricks explained, on permanent reserve for Cuelebre executives.
There were three tables in the empty room. After letting Pia precede them, Tricks stopped in the doorway. She said to Elise, “We’ll have two orders of the tofu stir-fry, a bottle of the Piesporter and no men allowed.” This was thrown at the two gryphons who were hard on their heels. Elise nodded with a smile and slipped away.
“Aw, Tricks, come on,” said Graydon.
“No,” said the faerie. “You know this room. You know there’s only one way in or out. And you know she’s with me. Deal with it.”
Tricks slammed the door in their faces. Pia started to laugh. “There’s nowhere for them to sit out there,” she said.
“I know. I’m still mad at them. Besides, these walls are soundproofed. You know, supersensitive Wyr hearing, corporate secrets, confidential business lunches and all that.” Tricks grinned. “That means you and I get to have some girl talk.”