“Uh huh.”
He smiled crookedly and opened the door. We headed down the staircase and out across the courtyard. It was chilly outside, cooler than normal, but I wasn’t complaining. Not too long ago I was wishing for a polar vortex to make New Orleans its bitch, but it was unseasonable for this time of year.
The drive into the Quarter wasn’t too bad as it was a pretty decent time in the afternoon. I swore I saw someone in a T-Rex costume mowing grass, though.
Somehow, by some kind of magical happening, Ren nabbed a parking spot in the garage the Order used, which was closer than usual since there was no parking on Phillips. Typically there weren’t spots available, because locals had figured out you could park there without having to give your keys and car over to someone, but Ren was obviously super special.
“You ready to have this talk with David after the meeting?” Ren asked as we started toward headquarters. “We’re going to be dumping some crap on him.”
That was the understatement of the decade. On the way into the Quarter, we’d decided to hold off on mentioning the unproven community of good fae. We would talk to Jerome first, get a read on him, and see what we could get out of him before going to David.
“He’s not going to be happy that we didn’t call him last night, but at least we can butter him up with the good news of one of the knights being gone.”
“That won’t go a long way.”
I nodded and scanned the streets. Ren did the same. He was looking for fae, but I was keeping an eye out for the prince. So far, we weren’t seeing anything other than a whole lot of tourists underdressed for the cold snap. A block from the headquarters, he reached over and tugged on a curl of mine. I looked at him.
He winked. “I just can’t stop myself from playing with them.”
I knocked his hand away and shook my head. “Save that for later.”
“I don’t know about that.” He reached over, sliding a hand down my back. “Gonna be playing with other things then.”
Oh dear.
The building came into view, and I shook it off while Ren chuckled. One of the newer recruits stood guard outside. Mama Lousy was still closed, which meant we were most likely going to have to visit Jerome at his place. It was probably better that way since the gift shop was wired with video.
I smiled at the new guy, and he nodded in my direction.
“Hey Glenn, what’s going on?” Ren asked as he opened the door.
“Nothing much,” he replied. Glenn was tall and dark-skinned, his head bald and smooth. Sunglasses shielded his eyes and he gave off a great “don’t screw with me” vibe. “Got some new people upstairs.”
“Not surprised about that,” Ren said as I headed into the stairwell.
“Yeah, but these guys are different.”
I exchanged a look with Ren, and he shrugged. As we reached the door, it opened for us. Rachel Adams was on the other side. The tall and slender Order member was in her early thirties. I didn’t know her well, and like most members, she kept to herself. Beyond her, I could tell that the room was pretty full.
“Glad to see you’re back up and moving around,” she said, stepping aside.
“Thanks. Glad to see you’re not dead.” My eyes widened as I realized how that sounded. “I meant that you didn’t die in the battle, not that I’m glad anyone else died, but yeah . . .”
She stared at me and arched a brow.
“Nice,” Ren murmured under his breath, and I casually jabbed my elbow out, catching him in the side. He grinned, and the dimple on his left cheek began to appear. I was thinking about hitting him again when David suddenly appeared in front of us.
I hadn’t seen David since I left the hospital, and for a man who usually seemed so ageless, he didn’t right now. The salt and pepper sprinkled at his temples had expanded up the sides of his head. Deeper wrinkles had formed at the corners of his dark skin, around his eyes. He looked tired.
And pissed.
But he always kind of looked pissed.
David nodded at Ren and then looked down at me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “Good to see you finally walking back through that door.”
I blinked once, twice, and then murmured, “Ditto.”
He stepped back, and I felt like I could’ve fallen over, because that was actually nice coming from David, from the man I always felt like I was letting down and who never really seemed to be overly happy with anything I did or said.
I almost wanted to do a little jig.
I looked around the room but didn’t see Miles. Feeling antsy, I glanced over at Ren. That’s when I noticed Ren’s grin starting to fade. Two men I’d never seen before had joined David. One was tall, had dark hair, and was probably in his mid to late forties. The other was shorter with pale, pale skin, and had red hair brighter than mine, and that was saying something. Ren stiffened as the dark-haired man approached him.