Page 67 of Problematic

Never close enough for her to feel me too strongly, though the bond tugged every time she glanced over her shoulder. She did that four times in the first two blocks, fingers brushing the front pocket where my note sat.

Good.

Think about me.

Then she tripped over a cracked seam in the sidewalk and muttered something vicious at the pavement.

My mouth curved.

Also good.

Keep having ankles.

She reached New Abaddon City Coffee at six thirty-two, unlocked the front door, and disappeared inside. The windows glowed to life a minute later, warm gold spilling over the street, soft enough to make the city look less predatory than it was.

A lie, but a pretty one.

I crossed to the building opposite the shop and took the booth near the window of a closed diner, letting the shadow in the glass hide me from anyone who cared to look. No one did. People rarely saw what stood still.

My phone buzzed again.

Vale.

I answered because I was weak today and wanted to be annoyed.

“You’re not in the tower,” he said.

“No.”

“Your nine o’clock meeting?”

“Move it.”

“To when?”

“When I’m done.”

A pause.

“With what exactly?”

I watched Liv tie on her apron through the coffee shop window. She shoved a loose strand of hair behind her ear, frowned at the espresso machine, and said something to it like she had beef with appliances. Kalon stood behind her, shaking an iced coffee like it owed him money.

My chest tightened.

“Important fieldwork,” I said.

Vale’s silence became hostile.

“Lux.”

“Yes.”

“Are you following her?”

“No.”

A man with sense would have stopped there.