I recognised the jet the moment I caught sight of its sleek black wings.
‘Who managed this?’ I asked suspiciously as the three of us stood on the tarmac, bags at our feet, waiting to board.
Onyx snorted. ‘Do you really think we could steal a jet from under that tyrant’s nose?’
I frowned, watching as the door opened and the stairs came down. ‘You failed to mention she knew I was coming.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I try to ignore her existence altogether. How else did you think you’d be getting through the front door?’
Actually I’d had a similar plan myself. They just didn’t realise that I still had direct contact with the Vice of the Assembly.
‘Who are you talking about?’ Gray asked from beside me.
‘Josephine,’ I answered, mixed feelings always rising to the surface when thinking of her. We’d started off on the wrong foot. She’d done everything in her power to stop me from being accepted into the Academy and the general Grigori community. In the end she’d changed her mind and the Assembly had voted again, this time in my favour – but by then it was a case of bridges burned and lives forever changed.
Though I would never say it out loud, there was a part of me that respected her. She did the things she did because of her commitment to her position on the Assembly. The problem was she was relentless with her demands and egotistical. Once Josephine decided on something, there was no swaying her or standing in her path, which was a problem, considering she was wrong as often as she appeared to be right. And that limited my respect for her.
‘That bitch from Santorini?’ Gray spat, looking like he was ready to get back in the taxi and head home.
‘Yep.’
He pulled out his phone and started to tap away.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘Putting a team on standby in New York. Last time I saw that cow she tried to lock me up.’
There were a few reasons Gray refused to deal with the New York Academy, but Josephine was the main one.
‘You too?’ I asked, my tone lightening.
Gray scowled at me. Rogues took their freedom very seriously.
‘She still wants me behind bars,’ Onyx said dryly from my other side.
I couldn’t hold back a small smile, surprised how easy it was to slip into old habits with Onyx around.
Gray, still unhappy, eyed me suspiciously. ‘And why would she give you a ticket in?’
Yeah. Gray was good at what he did.
I followed Onyx up the steps of the jet and looked back at Gray, contemplating how much I wanted to give away. ‘We stayed in contact after …’
‘After you bailed on everyone?’ Onyx offered eagerly.
I shot him a glare and tossed him my bag to stow.
He caught it with a grunt and smiled. ‘Good thing we were able to avoid the metal detectors,’ he said, the tell-tale clinking sounds of its contents clear as he hauled the bag into one of the overhead compartments.
‘Somehow she got my mobile number,’ I explained to Gray as he followed me aboard. ‘She’s the one who sends me jobs from time to time. If I’m not working on something else, I take them.’
This interested Gray. He realised some of the jobs I’d brought him and the other guys in on must have been for the Academy, too. I worried briefly that he’d be offended that he’d inadvertently worked for Josephine, but he just said, ‘She thinks highly of you, then?’
I shrugged, taking a seat at the back of the jet, from where I could see everything. ‘More like she figures I can get the job done. Either way I’m dispensable.’
Putting his bag away in the same overhead compartment Gray smiled, satisfied with my way of thinking. Neither of us was easily fooled. ‘Does anyone else know about your arrangement with her?’ he continued.
‘No. And I want to keep it that way,’ I answered, eyeing Onyx.
Onyx’s smile widened. ‘I give you my word, I will only tell two … three people at most.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You haven’t matured at all, I see.’
‘Whereas you look decidedly aged,’ he quipped.
If he thought that was going to upset me, he was wrong. I was pleased that the past two years showed in my appearance. I would turn twenty in a couple of months and it was only a matter of time before things in the ageing department slowed to non-existent. The last thing I’d wanted was to spend the next ten years looking like a teenager. I caught my reflection in the plane window as we took off. Yes, I did look older. I was slimmer, my cheekbones more defined. My eyes, still lacklustre hazel, betrayed having seen more than they should though I didn’t look into them for long.
There was no doubt I was stronger, leaner and had changed in many other ways. I glanced at the reflection of my long dark hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail. It wasn’t practical. And when my life had become about little more than training and hunting, I knew it would be the logical step to chop it off, but … I hadn’t.