I wrinkled my nose, biting back the dumb smile that wanted to cross my face. “He’s delusional.”
She barked a loud laugh, shaking her head. “I think you’re the delusional one, Dan. What about Leon? That kiss from him was equally scorching. Fuck me, I feel like I need a change of panties from just watching that.”
Rolling my eyes, I went to the kitchen to grab us snacks and drinks, and we made ourselves comfy in the living room. Sabine peppered me with questions about Kai and Leon the whole time, but I gave her very little in response. Not because I didn’t want to share with her, but because I was an awkward, emotionally-stunted dumpster fire.
“Did you question that guy from last night?” she finally asked, changing the subject.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the trash Leon is taking out.” Sabine’s eyes widened, and I grinned. “Sabby, you should have seen him work. It was like fucking poetry; he got that prick singing like a nightingale in six minutes flat.”
She cracked up. “Oh my god, you guys are made for each other. You can’t decide if you’re impressed, turned on, or jealous, huh? Sick fuck. So what was the result?”
“All of the above,” I muttered, sipping my drink and remembering the blow job he’d claimed after I shot the guy.
Sabine snickered. “I meant what info did you get? But good to know, pervert.”
“Oh, the info. Right. He was Guild and tasked with killing you in whatever way possible. Just a good thing he was beta-level, otherwise we might not be having this conversation.” I toyed with the edge of my lip, thinking through how much I could tell her. But, given she was also on Blanchet’s radar, it seemed idiotic to keep her in the dark.
Her small frown was serious as she placed her glass down. “Tell me what I need to know,” she said softly.
I nodded, inhaling deeply. “Alright. A lot of this is just guessing, so feel free to give me your take on things if you see something I’ve missed.” I gave her a quick rundown of what we knew of Project Remus, because that was our best explanation for why Blanchet was killing off mercenaries. Sabine and I were both raised in Guild orphanages in France, both born the same year. For all we knew, she was a Remus baby.
She was quiet while I gave her the facts, then stayed silent a few moments after I was done as she processed and thought it over.
“So… we’re assuming that Blanchet is killing off Remus babies?” she asked, and I nodded. “But he doesn’t know enough about the project to know exactly who to kill so… he’s just covering all bases and killing anyone the right age, who grew up in Guild facilities?”
I frowned, thinking. “Yes? But maybe I’m wrong on that. He might also be going after anyone who knows about it or was involved or… shit, I don’t know. I honestly can’t work it out, but if we can find Layla’s data cache, I feel like it will be the missing puzzle piece we need.”
Sab nodded, then tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling for a minute. “And the guy at Meow said she had an uncle here in Shadow Grove? Have you spoken to him?”
I winced. It was something I’d asked Leon earlier when he’d filled Kai in on the whole Layla-Remus thing. “We can’t.” I sighed. “Leon killed him a couple of years ago.”
Sabine wrinkled her nose. “Whoops. Okay, but if he lived in town, maybe she hid the data here somewhere.”
“Fuck, I hope so,” I admitted with a laugh. “Otherwise, I’m shit out of ideas.”
Sabine gave a thoughtful nod. “Tomorrow morning, go see Nadia. If anyone knows, she does.”
My brows rose. “From Nadia’s Cakes?”
“The one and only. She’s a sly old bitch and knows everything that goes on in Shadow Grove. Trust me, she’s your best bet for info. Just… maybe don’t take the guys? She’ll only be helpful if you’re nice, and those two don’t seem capable.” She shot me a wicked grin. “To anyone other than you, I mean. I bet they can be real nice to you.”
I whacked her with a pillow, and she shrieked.
“Hey, have you spoken to Jude lately?” she asked when her laughter subsided. “She’s been crazy worried about you.”
I winced. “No. I’ve sort of been avoiding anything to do with the Guild lately.”
“Understandable, but given everything, it might be worth filling her in? I know she’s not a merc anymore, but she was in our alpha-level training camp, and she’s the same age as us. Someone might come for her, too.” Sabine gave me a worried look, and I knew she was right. The odds were much lower—Jude wasn’t an orphan like us—but Blanchet could go after her just because he was pissed off.
“Good point,” I murmured, then checked the time. “Let’s call her?”
Sabine nodded, pulling out her phone. “It’s like three in the morning for her, you know?”
“Pfft, she’ll answer.” I finished my drink and put the glass down so I could scoot closer to Sabby. The call rang a couple of times, then Jude answered with a totally black screen.
“Sab, it’s the middle of the night,” she groaned. “I’m assuming this is urgent.”
Sabine and I exchanged a grin. “Uh, urgent is a matter of interpretation, Mackenzie,” I replied. “But you can totally nap on the job tomorrow instead.”
Jude gasped and flicked her bedside lamp on to illuminate her face. “DeLuna!” she exclaimed, blinking sleepily at the screen. “You’re alive!”
“Like there was ever any doubt,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I was just… laying low. Did Leon pay you a visit recently?” He’d already told me that he had, but I was surprised Jude hadn’t messaged me about it.
She grimaced. “Yeah. But I figured he was just paranoid about your safety or whatever. No big deal. Hey, you’re in Shadow Grove? Isn’t this risking Sab’s cover?”
“See,” Sabine said to me, “worrying about everyone.”
Jude gave the camera her middle finger, and I laughed. “Oh, I miss you, Mackenzie,” I told her mournfully. This was the longest we’d really ever gone without speaking—outside of deep cover missions—and it was making me realize how much I valued her friendship.
“I miss you too, DeLuna,” she replied with a pout. “And you, Allard.”
Sabine responded with kissy faces, and Jude gave a sleepy laugh, flopping back into her pillows and taking her phone with her. “So, did you guys just call to make me jealous that you’re drinking together on Christmas Eve, or has something happened?”
I wrinkled my nose, then sighed. “Alright, here’s the abridged version.”
Jude was patient and quiet as I hit all the key points of what was going on and why I’d been ghosting anyone to do with the Guild recently. When I finished, it was to warn her that she needed to be extra careful, in case Blanchet targeted her too.
“Holy hell,” she whispered when I was done. “That’s a head fuck. But it also explains why I haven’t been able to get hold of a few friends. Damn.” She swiped a hand over her face, looking shocked and sad. She stayed in touch with a lot of mercenaries from our training groups, not just Sabby and I, so she had more friends to lose than we did.
“Are you taking a gun to work with you?” Sabine asked. “If not, please do. It’d be so easy for someone to attack you in those dusty old stacks.”
Jude gave a serious nod, then quirked a smile. “Maybe I should get one of those James Bond walking sticks with a sword inside.”
“Probably not a bad idea,” I agreed, yawning. “You could use it to threaten Franklin when he’s being an asshole.”
“Oh, he’s still pulling that bullshit on making you work overtime?” Sab asked, cringing. “He’s such a creep. I bet he just likes checking out your ass when you bend over.”
Jude chuckled. “Yeah, he’s the worst, but whatever. At least I like my job, even if my boss is totally insufferable. How come you look so sleepy, DeLuna? Isn’t it like barely dinner time there?”
Sabine shot me a wicked smile. “Yeah, DeLuna. Why are you so tired, hmm?”
Kai seemed to have the most impeccable timing in the entire freaking world, choosing that exact moment to return home loaded with grocery bags.
“I’m back!” he called out, and I gave a squeak of surprise. He dropped his bags into the kitchen while I frantically tried to think about how to explain Kai to Jude, but he took the decision straight out of my hands.
He leaned over the back of the couch that Sabine and I were sharing, grabbing me by the throat and kissing me like he’d been gone for a month rather than two hours. Oh fuck, I couldn’t think when his tongue was exploring my mouth like that.
He released me with a hungry sound, then kissed my nose. “I’m making dinner. Sabine, are you allergic to anything?”
My friend, staring at us with wide eyes and an open mouth, shook her head quickly. “Nope, I’ll eat anything!”
Kai looked between us and gave a satisfied nod. “Good.” Then he seemed to notice Jude on the camera screen clutched in Sabine’s hand. “Oh, hello there.”