Flare of Promise (Asylums for Magical Threats 3)

Reaching the lobby, Petra swept the room with her eyes for anyone who looked calm or who was heading against the crowds. That was something a bodyguard would do. But everyone was rushing out of the building, even the staff. If they were lucky, they’d lost the man following Will earlier, on their escape from the restaurant.

Still, she wasn’t about to take any chances. Petra moved away from the worst of the rushing crowd and Will maneuvered his way next to her. She whispered, “Follow my lead.”

She faintly heard a, “I’m already bloody

doing that,” from Will’s direction, but she was already heading toward the thickest part of the fleeing clientele. Ducking down, she clung to a woman and pretended to sob. The upright woman would shield Petra’s face from anyone studying the crush of people fleeing the hotel.

Will came in next to her and stooped down. Instead of sobbing, he kept saying, “Help me, please.”

Her former lover played quite the convincing coward.

With no time to think about where he’d picked up that trick over the last two years, Petra kept up her act. Eventually, they were outside and she heard Millie’s whisper in her ear. “At the end of the street, turn left. I’ll wait behind the second set of bin bags on the left side.”

Not wanting to break her cover, Petra kept up her cries and continued to cling to the woman. When they finally reached the end of the street, she took Will’s hand and tugged him away from the crowd. While a few people were heading down this street, it was emptier than the main thoroughfare.

Since she and Millie had been headquartering their operations in this part of town, the dirty, dilapidated buildings didn’t faze her. After all, she and Millie had already challenged and defeated the small-time gang in the neighborhood. No one would mess with her unless they were much bigger fish, such as an AMT enforcer squad.

Of course, there was little tying Petra to the Sichuan AMT research facility. She doubted the enforcers would waste their time on her. Will, on the other hand, was a different story. At the earliest opportunity, she needed to perform a sweep for tracking devices. For all she knew, someone had slipped one into a pocket or hid it in his shoe.

They approached the second set of garbage bags and Petra tugged Will down to squat next to Millie. Petra didn’t waste any time and asked, “Did you see anyone follow us?”

Millie shook her head. “No. Beyond the few scared individuals racing down this street, I haven’t seen anyone else. To be honest, I haven’t seen the big, bulky man who followed you and Will after leaving the restaurant since you two entered that dodgy hotel.”

Petra nodded. “Good. Then we need to focus on getting Will out of here.”

Will spoke up. “Not so fast.”

She turned her head toward him. “Now is not the time to have regrets or back out. You’re coming with us and we need to leave as soon as possible.”

Will raised his brows. “If we do, you’ll lose a valuable resource.”

Petra growled out, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Will nodded to each of them. “You and this woman promise me a favor each later, and I’ll tell you.”

Grabbing Will’s shirt, Petra leaned in close. “I’m not going to negotiate with you or waste any more time talking. We need to haul ass.”

Millie spoke up. “What’s the resource?”

Petra opened her mouth, but Will covered it with his hand and answered, “Does the name Giovanni Sinclair ring a bell?”

Millie’s eyes flashed with interest. “What about him?”

Petra bit his hand, but Will’s skin glowed a warm, faint green and he ignored her. “I’m supposed to meet him at a secret location. Agree to my favors and I’ll take you to him.”

Petra growled at the same time as Millie bobbed her head. “Done.”

He met Petra’s gaze again. “Well?”

She was tempted to bite him hard enough to draw blood. But since he’d probably just heal himself, it was a waste of energy.

Besides, as much as she wanted to leave the town, Giovanni Sinclair would be quite the catch from a professional point of view. The blackmail possibilities were endless.

Recognizing Sinclair’s worth, Petra nodded.

Will released her mouth. “Right, then we need to head to the west side of town.”

“That’s on the other fucking side. Giovanni might be valuable, but he’s worth nothing if we’re all dead. The area is probably already crawling with AMT enforcers,” Petra bit out.