Marcus stood, brushing dust from his jeans. "I'll contact you about the eting with Catherine. Three days, you said?"
"Three days."
"Good luck, fallen one. You're going to need it."
He left, moving with that vampiric speed that made him nearly impossible to track. Within seconds, he'd disappeared from the cetery entirely.
I sat there for a while longer, processing everything.
Three days until I'd be sitting across from a Covenant investigator, trying to convince her I wasn't a threat worth eliminating.
anwhile, I needed to advance my position with Selene, manage the growing tension with Sarah, complete jobs for the Jackals, and sohow find ti to corrupt more targets and collect fragnts.
My phone buzzed.
Vivienne: Dinner tomorrow? I miss you. Plus I need to vent about coven politics.
: Tomorrow works. Your place?
Vivienne: Perfect. 7 PM. I'll cook.
At least that was sothing straightforward. Vivienne was uncomplicated – she knew what we had, what it wasn't, and she was fine with that.
No gas, no hidden agendas. Just good conversation, good food, and good sex.
I could use so uncomplicated.
Another ssage appeared.
Sarah: We need to talk. When you have ti.
Or maybe not so uncomplicated after all.
I headed back to the safehouse, my mind churning through scenarios and contingencies. The eting with Catherine Morse would be crucial. I needed to present myself as useful but not dangerous. Powerful but not threatening. Independent but willing to cooperate.
It was a narrow path to walk.
But I'd walked narrower ones before.
Back at the safehouse, Marco was waiting with news.
"Got three new job offers," he said, gesturing to files on the table. "All high-profile, all paying well. Plus Victor Castellano called – apparently he's been recomnding us to other clients. Word's spreading that we can handle difficult retrievals."
"That's good."
"It is. But it also ans more attention. More exposure." Marco looked at seriously. "I know you've got your own things going on. I'm not asking what they are. But I need to know – are we going to have problems? Heat that's going to co back on the Jackals?"
"I'm handling it."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the answer I can give right now." I t his eyes. "I've brought in successful jobs, haven't I? Completed impossible retrievals? Made us money?"
"You have."
"Then trust that I know what I'm doing. If my personal business ever threatens the team, I'll handle it before it becos your problem."
Marco considered this, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But I'm holding you to that. The Jackals are a family. We protect each other. That goes both ways."
"Understood."
I spent the rest of the day reviewing the new job offers and planning for the Covenant eting. Elena helped prepare – teaching how to mask my power signature, how to present as less threatening while still demonstrating capability.
"The key is control," she explained, having practice channeling my energy in small, asured amounts. "Show them you can use your power precisely. That you're not so rogue elent throwing around celestial fire without thought."
"I can control it."
"After what happened at the Vault, I doubt that."
She had a point.
We practiced for hours. Small manifestations of power. Precise applications. Demonstrating skill rather than raw strength.
By the evening, I felt more confident. I could show the Covenant I was capable without seeming dangerous. Probably.
That night, I lay in bed thinking about the web I'd woven.
Selene was processing her feelings, which ant our next encounter would be crucial. I'd pushed her boundaries, and now I needed to give her space to co to terms with that before pushing further.
Sarah wanted to talk about "us," which suggested she was having second thoughts about keeping things purely professional. That conversation would need to be handled carefully.
Vivienne was uncomplicated but also observant. If she sensed sothing was off with , she'd ask questions I might not want to answer.
The Covenant was closing in, and I had three days to prepare for a eting that could determine whether I lived or died.
And sowhere in all of this, I needed to continue collecting fragnts, building power, preparing for whatever ca next.
It was too much. Too many variables. Too many ways for it all to fall apart.
But I'd chosen this path. Made these choices. Now I had to see them through.
My phone lit up with one final ssage for the night.
Unknown: Heard interesting things about you, fallen one. We should et. I have a proposition that might interest you. -A
I stared at the ssage. Unknown number. Signed with just an initial.
Who the hell was A?
I was too tired to care. I'd deal with it in the morning.
Tomorrow: dinner with Vivienne. The day after: whatever conversation Sarah wanted to have. The day after that: eting with Catherine Morse from the Covenant.
And sowhere in between, I'd find ti to not completely lose my mind.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
In my dreams, I saw golden light and silver hair, heard warnings whispered in ancient languages, and felt the weight of too many secrets pressing down.
Three days.
That's all I had to get my affairs in order before everything changed.
Again.
---
The next morning, I woke to find Tommy at my door, looking worried.
"We've got a problem," he said.
"What kind of problem?"
"Soone's been asking questions about the Jackals. Specifically about you. They've been hitting our contacts, our informants, anyone who might know about our operations."
"Who?"
"Don't know yet. But they're good. Professional. And they're getting closer." He showed his tablet, displaying a map with marked locations. "They started on the outskirts of our network three days ago. Now they're two degrees of separation from the safehouse."
Three days ago. Right after the vault job.
The Covenant? Or soone else?
"Keep monitoring," I said. "Let know if they get any closer."
"Will do. Whoever this is, they're not fucking around. This is serious investigative work, not just casual curiosity."
After Tommy left, I checked my ssages.
Vivienne: Still on for tonight?
: Absolutely. Looking forward to it.
Unknown (A): No response? I'm disappointed. My offer stands. When you're ready to hear it, you know how to reach .
I still had no idea who 'A' was, and frankly, I had enough to deal with without adding another mysterious player to the mix.
At 2 PM, I t Sarah in one of the safehouse's private rooms. She looked nervous, which was unusual for her. Sarah was normally confident, controlled, professional.
"Thanks for making ti," she said, gesturing for to sit.
"What did you want to talk about?"
She paced for a mont, clearly trying to organize her thoughts. "The other night. At The Scarlet Room. I said it was just the job."
"And I agreed."
"I know. And I ant it at the ti. But..." She stopped pacing, looking at directly. "I can't stop thinking about it. About you. About what it felt like."
"Sarah – "
"Let finish. I know this is stupid. I know we work together and it complicates everything. I know you've got other things going on – other won, other complications. But I need to be honest with you, and with myself." She took a breath. "I want more."
There it was. The complication I'd been expecting.
"More as in...?"
"More as in I want to do that again. Without a job. Not because we have to maintain cover. Just because I want to." She moved closer.
I studied her. Sarah was being honest, vulnerable in a way that probably made her uncomfortable. She deserved honesty in return.
"I sotis do too," I admitted.
"So where does that leave us?"
"Complicated. I have other entanglents, other situations I can't explain. Getting involved with right now is probably a bad idea."
"Probably." She sat beside . "I'm not asking for exclusivity. I know what you have with that witch – Vivienne, right? I'm not trying to compete with that or replace it. I just want... sothing."
"Sothing," I repeated.
"Yeah. I want you to touch , and be inside on days where I can't stop thinking about how it felt when you were." She looked at .
Sarah was attractive, skilled, and now apparently interested in continuing what we'd started. It would add another layer of complexity to an already complex situation, but it would also provide sothing I needed – fragnts, if we took things further than we had at The Scarlet Room.
"Yes," I said. "I can give you that."
"Good." She leaned in, kissing . It was different from the performative kiss at the club – more genuine, more exploratory.
When she pulled back, she was smiling. "So. When?"
"How about tonight, after I get back from dinner with Vivienne?"
"You're going to have dinner with another woman and then co sleep with ?" She laughed. "You really do like to complicate your life."
"Apparently I do."
"Just promise one thing."
"What?"
"Don't lie to . If this stops working for you, if you need to end it, just tell ."
"Deal. Sa goes for you."
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