"She's sleeping. We'll just--"
"I'm awake." Roni rose on her elbows. "What's this about True News? And someone named Hope?"
"I was just saying I hope they carry--"
"Hope Adams?" she said. "Is that who you were talking to on the phone? Oh, my God. Do you know Hope Adams? Seriously? I read all her--I mean, I've read her work. I know it's a tabloid, but her stuff is so good and . . ." She continued on in that vein for a few minutes, alternating between fan girl gushing and trying--less successfully--to play it cool.
"Yes, we know Hope," Adam cut in finally. "Witches like Savannah have to be careful about humans like her, who might latch onto some bit of truth. The best way to control them is to befriend them, so we get a heads-up on any exposure threats."
"Was that who Savannah was talking to, then? I heard something about getting me to a safe place. Am I going to meet Hope Adams? Oh, my God, that is so--" She cleared her throat. "It would be a pleasure."
"No." The edge in Adam's voice warned that she was trying his patience. "Savannah was talking to a friend of ours, who's arranging your stay in a safe house, and it has nothing to do with Hope. She's not a supernatural. That's why we befriended her. Because she's not one of us. She could expose us."
"Oh." She slumped back onto the pillow.
Adam gave me a look that warned we needed to be a lot more careful what we said in front of her, even if we thought she was asleep. I nodded and went downstairs.
Night posed a dilemma. Roni wasn't the strongest soul I'd met. What was to stop her from waking up and saying, "Screw this," then calling her relatives to offer me up in return for immunity?
We took shifts sleeping. When Adam had trouble waking me the second time, he didn't tickle me. Didn't tease and cajole me. Didn't put ice down my back. He just let me sleep and I knew that, like giving me the last slice of pizza, this wasn't Adam being considerate. It was Adam disengaging.
When I finally did get up, it wasn't Adam waking me, but a knock at the door.
"That'd be the babysitter," Adam said, rising from the desk where he'd been working. "Paige said someone would be here by breakfast."
He walked over, checked the peephole, then opened the door.
A woman walked in. She was slender and tall--only a couple of inches shorter than me. Dark blue eyes. Silver blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Jeans, sneakers, T-shirt, and a worn denim jacket completed a look that was the height of fashion . . . in a lumber camp. With her natural good looks, I'm sure she would have been very welcome there, too, until one of the sex-starved lumberjacks tried laying a hand on her and lost it. Literally.
"Elena," I said, scrambling up.
She greeted me with an embrace. Elena is usually not the hugging type. Werewolves are very physically affectionate, but only within the Pack. Having spent summers with them since I was twelve, though, I rated hugs, and when she embraced me, I wanted to hug her back, as tight as I could, then sit down on the bed and spill my guts, tell her everything that happened and how I'd screwed up. I couldn't, though, not with Roni right there. So I just gave her a squeeze then stepped back.
"Are you here to escort Veronica?" I said.
"I am." She turned to the second bed. "I take it that's you."
Roni was staring at Elena. Probably wondering how someone who looked like that could possibly protect her. Hopefully, she'd never find out.
"Roni, this is Elena."
Elena extended her hand. It was a moment before Roni took it.
"You aren't a witch," she said.
"Nope, but I think I can handle bodyguard duty." Elena lifted a spoon from the room service tray and bent it around her finger. "Very handy in a fight, but I'm hoping we don't run into any."
"I'm surprised they can spare you," I said.
"Lucas arranged for Veronica to go to a safe house in Michigan. I'm heading home, so I offered to take her."
So Elena wouldn't be in Miami? Damn. That made sense, I guess, sending her back to Clay and the kids, leaving Jeremy to represent the Pack. Still, I'd hoped she'd be there. Really hoped.
Adam booked a flight for us. It left in three hours, which meant we had time for breakfast. I was thrilled about that--time to spend with Elena before she left--until I realized we had to take Roni along. That made for a very long and awkward meal. Adam's mood didn't help. He was polite enough, but quiet. Elena knew something was wrong, but there was no way of talking about it in front of Roni.
After breakfast, we split up. Elena planned to do some sniffing around before they left. If Roni's cousin was still close by, Elena hoped to convince her that following them further really wasn't a wise idea.
But Elena couldn't "sniff around" with Roni on her heels. Nor could she fully devote herself to a fight while protec