Replica(11)

“Hoping.”

I paced the room while we waited, and Ivan was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Rachel should already be here.

I was about to go looking for her when the doorknob rattled. I raised a palm to Ivan, keeping him where he was. Just in case.

The door whooshed open and Rachel stepped in. Her eyes were on me in a flash and her hand went to the small of her back. I grinned. “Like the new clothes?”

“Holy fuck, Lea. You scared the shit out of me.” Her eyes flicked to Ivan. “Who’s that?”

“Ivan, meet Rachel,” I said.

He stood and held a hand out to her. I batted it down. “No, you are not making friends. Time to go home like a good doggy.”

“You’re going to need me again.” He swatted my ass as he went past, then slid out the door without another word.

“What the fuck was that?” Rachel shook her head. “I feel like I just walked into one of those weird dreams after eating too much spicy food at the market.”

“Long story.”

Rachel moved further into the room and slumped into a chair. “Okay, I know this goes without saying, but obviously you aren’t on a plane.”

“Obviously.”

“Why not? And what’s with the dress?”

I sat on the edge of the bed, letting the crinoline skirt bunch up. Feeling exposed in more ways than one. “I couldn’t leave you here to face the fallout on your own. Not when I was the one who pushed you to do it. And the dress is courtesy of the suits downstairs.”

“You didn’t make me do anything, Lea. And I saw the suits. Waved a finger at them.” Rachel grabbed her ponytail and absently tugged on it. “I will admit this is probably one of the worse days I’ve had in a long time.”

“Worse than last week?” I raised an eyebrow.

She laughed, but it was forced. “Okay, the worst normal bad day I’ve had in a long time.”

We sat in silence for a minute before I sucked it up. “I knew the fallout was going to be bad.”

“Yeah, so did I.”

I rubbed a hand over my face, wincing at a couple of burned patches on my skin. “No, I knew it was going to go south... I...”

“Spit it out, vamp,” Rachel snapped.

I stood up. “Fuck, Rachel. I used you as bait. How many people saw the report? Someone who knows about Stravinsky’s work will reach out to you. I was banking on it.”

Her blue eyes flicked downward. Just a heartbeat, but there it was.

“Someone already has, haven’t they?”

She stood, putting us nose to nose. “You threw me under the bus?”

“Yes.”

“You bitch.”

I grinned. “Isn’t that why we work so well together?” Ivan really was a bad influence on me.

Her mouth dropped open and she burst out laughing. “Shit. I want to hate you, I really do. But I would have done the report even if you’d told me I was being baited.”

I couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. A soft knock turned us toward the door. I took a sniff and frowned. “Ivan, go away!”

“I have your clothes and I think you’re going to need them.”

Rachel went to the door and grinned over her shoulder at me. “He’s cute. I like him.”

“He’s a werewolf,” I said as she opened the door. Ivan strolled in like he owned the place and handed me my clothes all rolled up. I grabbed the edge of my dress and yanked it over my head as soon as Rachel shut the door.

Ivan spun his back to me. “Give a guy some warning, would you?”

“Don’t expect me to be shy—” I whipped on my top and pants and bent at the waist to pull on my boots. The position put me eye level with the window.

Three sets of eyes stared back in at me. I moved with care. “Rachel, you remember those things that attacked us outside of the bakery?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Don’t move, but we’ve got the same monsters.” I finished dressing, put my weapons in their places, and pulled the cowl over my head.

Ivan let out a low growl. “What the hell are those things?”

“Personally,” Rachel said, “I like the name demon dogs. They climb walls, have no fur, and are generally a pain in the ass.”

Her calm delivery was a cover for the stress that spiked in the room. “The door, Ivan.” I stepped back as the dogs started to claw at the glass, shattering it within seconds.

Ivan yanked the door open, and I grabbed Rachel and leapt into the hallway. Ivan tried to wrestle the door shut, but the demon dogs’ pale legs jutted out around the edges, digging into the wood. “They’ve got their claws between the door and frame. I can’t shut it.”