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As I dropped the locket into ht for a second that it was an aftereffect of her vanishing spell, but then I realized the door had opened I looked up and saen entering the coffee shop I wasn’t the only one gazing at him He looked like a celebrity heartthrob, he was so ridiculously handso to remember what movie they’d seen him in as he spotted me and hurried across the room to fall into the seat Ethelinda had just vacated

On this particularout of a paparazzi photo of a celebrity in his off-hours His nearly black hair was still slightly damp, as if from a shower, and it curled up a little around his ears and at the back of his neck There was a faint shadow on his strong jaw, and his dark blue eyes were hidden behind wire-riht have been put out that he hadn’t made at least some effort on our first official date if he hadn’t appeared so flustered "Sorry I’htly out of breath "There’s been a bit of a crisis"

"What is it?" I asked, i the shop’s logo appeared between his hands, and he picked it up and took a long sip I noticed then that a siot a little caffeine intoout of nowhere were practically norotten used to it

"Ari got away last night," he said at last, sounding like he’d finally caught his breath and settled down some Ari was the wicked fairy--andand sabotaging froic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc, the company where both Owen and I worked We’d exposed her at the coht before, and she’d been taken into custody by the company security forces

"How’d she escape?" I asked

"I don’t know But I’o to the office and see if I can detect any reht have been used I’m sorry to have to bail on you like this"

"Don’t worry about it," I insisted I’d never been the type to stamp my feet and demand that a man make oing to start nohenthe world froic

"I’ll ave reeable even if I had been throwing a hissy fit about his priorities "Care to walk me to the subway?"

"Sure" I picked up o, huh?"

His cheeks went pink "I usually wouldn’t do that, but I didn’t have time to wait in line" We took our cups and headed to the exit, then went up the steps to the street level

Away from the crowded coffee shop, we could talk uy who had to be behind all this "I guess Idris’s cal up his sleeve," I said "He usually wouldn’t give up that easily"

"Maybe But he’s never struck me as the type to care all that et about her and move on to the next person he thinks he can use"

"Unless she knows tooto betray us to him, it stands to reason she could be persuaded to tell us about him"

"Oh, I’m pretty sure that was the case And I’ht word" He sounded so cool about it, practically icy, that it sent shivers downto torture her, were you?" I asked

He choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken, and I had to pat hiht his breath "Torture? No! You didn’t think we’d do that, did you? But there are otherinformation out of people"

"Good I’ot away, does thatfor Idris?"

"That’s what I’ll have to find out Did he pull this from the outside, or was it an inside job?"

"Our work is never done, is it?"

"My work is never done I don’t think you’ll have to worry ot so verification work on the security force, and they’ll be helping with this initial sweep"