I settled onto one end of the sofa with a sigh. “There are worse places to wait things out.”
His grin was borderline wicked. “Yeah, and that’s where the others are.” He sat on the other end of the sofa and leaned his head back against the cushions.
I scooted over to lean on him. He put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. “That’s what they get for not scoping things out ahead of time,” I said.
“Preparation is key. So is information gathering.”
“Does that mean you approve of my first plan as a resistance leader?”
“You’re doing a great job.”
I lifted my head to look up at him. “You really think so? I mean, isn’t it kind of a joke that I’m a resistance leader? That was just the elves messing with Mac.”
“Actually, I think it was a wise choice. You are more or less neutral since you don’t have a particular axe to grind here. You just want to get home, and you don’t care whether that makes anyone look good or bad. Since that’s what I want, too, that’s the leader I want. And you’ve always come up with plans and solved problems. Now you’ve been elected to do it officially.”
I lay my head back again, resting it against his chest. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. But I will run things by you.”
He settled his arms around me. “Nope, don’t do that. Do what you think is best, and then we’ll all discuss it. I’m not going to be the power behind the throne.”
His tone was light, like he was joking, but when I turned to look at him, his face seemed serious. The light was bad, so his face was mostly in shadow, and I thought maybe that was what made him seem so serious, but I sensed a real tension in him. “Mac could really make it rough on you back home, huh?”
“If he gives a bad report, yeah. I should have kept my mouth shut earlier. Showing signs of a temper probably wasn’t the best idea.”
“A saint would be losing patience by now.”
“I’ve looked up what my parents did, and I don’t blame people for being nervous.”
I rested my hands on his where he had them clasped at my waist. “There is something to be said for nurture over nature. You’re exactly like James, even with no biology in common. I’d have to think that the lessons you learned growing up have a bigger role in shaping the kind of person you are than a quirk or two of genetics. If anything, the Council’s practically driving you to get frustrated and lose your temper by treating you this way.”
“That may be their plan. My plan is to wait them out.”
“Just don’t go sacrificing yourself to save the world again. I’m not sure I could take it.”
Instead of replying, he craned his neck to look out the window behind the sofa. “I’m not seeing any gray guys. And there go Mac and McClusky. Let’s give it another half hour.”
It ended up being more like two hours because both of us fell asleep snuggled together. It meant we had to creep home in the wee hours, but on the upside, anyone who’d been watching the building had long since given up by the time we left via our respective entrances.
*
Exhaustion from the late night made it a lot easier to play “normal” the next day, in spite of a higher-than-usual number of gray guys in and around the store. Mac and McClusky were in their usual spot in the park, and Earl was at work, so it looked like everyone had made it out okay.
The subsequent morning, as I passed the science fiction section on my way to the stairs, Earl stepped into the aisle and whispered, “We’re starting recon tonight.”
I nodded, then out of the corner of my eye I noticed a gray guy watching us, so I said, “I think the flavor of the day is snickerdoodle spice, but I’m not sure.”
Earl replied, “Oh, I was hoping for pumpkin.”
“That one may be tomorrow. See you!” I fought not to let my eyes focus on the gray guy as I brushed right past him.
If the elves were starting on their part of the plan, then we needed to get going on ours. We had to be on the lookout for anyone who might have been taken after us who might know more about what was going on. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anyone who looked familiar come through the coffee shop. Dan was the only MSI person I was sure of, and he’d only come the once.
I went to Perdita’s café for lunch to find out if she’d discovered anyone else. She leaned on the counter and ticked off her revivals on her fingers. “Let’s see, there were two ex-boyfriends, but neither of them knew anything—about any plots or about anything else, if you know what I mean. My next-door neighbor here is my cousin, but I think they got him when they got me. I dated the guy who runs the grocery store on the corner. I also dated the guy at the cleaners. Not quite to boyfriend status, but the kiss still worked. Who knew that would be my superpower? Anyway, they seemed to get here just for working for MSI.” She smiled and added, “And I think my future ex-boyfriend is part of your group. He stopped by to introduce himself.”
“Your future ex?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“My relationships never work out, but I want this guy.”
“Yeah, I guess Brad is pretty hot,” I said.