Wicked(31)

"You don't happen to guard the gate, do you?" he asked. "Because that would make my job so much easier, because I have a feeling the ancients are also looking for the gates."

I snorted. Yep. I snorted like a little piglet. "Uh, no. And I have no idea where it is either."

A burst of laughter came from the table the two girls sat at, drawing my attention. Their faces were flushed, and one looked like she was laughing so hard she was about to pee herself. Two guys had joined them. One of them had an arm draped along the red cushioned booth, his arm behind the girl who was laughing the loudest.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be one of them?" Ren asked.

My attention snapped back to him. The question ricocheted through me. I slipped my hands off the table and I leaned against the seat, as if I could somehow put distance between the question and me. "No."

Glancing over at the happyland table, Ren propped his forearms up and leaned toward me like he was about to share the biggest secret. "Sometimes I do. Can't help it. Those four people over there? They can't even comprehend some of the shit we've seen and have had to do. They're lucky. We never had a chance to be them. We were born into this."

"But . . . but our job is so important. We're making a difference . . ." I stopped myself because I sounded like a recruitment video.

"I'm not saying that we aren't. Just pointing out the fact that those four over there will probably live long, happy lives," he replied, meeting my gaze. "Doubtful that any of us will."

That was a damn sad truth I didn't want to dwell on. "So you're here to find the gate?"

"And to figure out what the fae are up to." Ren tapped his hands off the table. "You know what's coming up, right?"

Of course I did. "The fall equinox."

"The gates are always weaker during the equinox and the solstice," he said, saying what I already knew. "They could be gearing up for something to do with them."

"This can't be the first time that they're planning something," I pointed out.

"It's not. We've just always been able to stop them."

I stared at him blankly as his words floated around in my head. Here I thought I was in the know, being that I was in a secret organization, but apparently, I didn't know everything.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked, reaching for the plate my bacon was on.

Snapping forward, I caught his hand around the wrist before he got a hold of my bacon. "I might believe you, but that doesn't mean you can steal my bacon."

Those full lips split in a grin. Our gazes locked, and the tumbling sensation in my belly resurfaced. I could see how easy it would be to fall into the green depths of those gorgeous eyes or be wooed by the charm he seemed to wear like a second skin. His grin spread into a smile, revealing his dimples. And that dipping feeling in my stomach turned into something richer, fiercer.

I dropped his hand, grabbed a slice of bacon, and shoved it in my mouth. I didn't have any use for swoon-inducing guys.

Ren sat back, his eyes seeming to glimmer as he watched me. "When you get done eating, I want to show you something I think you need to see."

My brain so went in the wrong direction with that, because for some reason I thought about seeing more of those abs, and I so didn't need that. Not at all. Nope.

I shoved another slice of bacon in my mouth.

~

It was a little before one in the morning, and the party was just getting started in the city. People were everywhere despite the fact we weren't even in the Quarter but near the business district, and my patience with walking around the tools that simply stopped in the middle of the sidewalk was already wearing thin.

Whatever I needed to see was in the warehouse district, and as I walked beside Ren, I couldn't help but notice he got a lot of attention. Women of all ages checked him out. So did a lot of men. He had that angelic face but was rocking a grin that had bad written all over it. I was beginning to hate that grin, because . . . well, because of reasons.

The buildings were more formidable and the modern mixed well with the traditional. Bars and clubs were different than the ones found in the Quarter; this was a place locals seemed to favor over the crazytown that went down on Bourbon.

"So . . . what are you trying to show me?" I asked, starting to tire out. "The traffic here sucks just as bad as it does during the day."

Ren chuckled. "You should see Denver."

I opened my mouth to respond, but he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me back against him. Immediately, I dug my feet in, but his strength was impressive. One second I was walking along and the next we were against the brick front of a hotel, my back pressed against the front of his body. He curled an arm around my stomach like he had in my bedroom.