turned around to look at Drew and, to her surprise, he winked.
She grinned. The guy could be prickly sometimes, but he could also be a sweetie. Even though he wasn’t Cayne’s biggest fan, he always had Julia’s best interest at heart; he had from the moment they met, and Julia knew he always would.
Meredith and Carlin swooped into a bathroom near the lobby, and Julia thought about their little group. It felt ‘off’ without Edan. Despite his shadiness, the guy had at least provided some badly-needed levity. Other than the concerns harbored by Drew and Cayne, everyone’s skepticism had lessened with time. It was true that if he was with The Three’s Chosen—distinguishable from the Swiss Chosen, or Swosen, as Edan had named them—he would have helped Adam and Co. catch Julia. Now that he’d run off with some snow bunny, Julia figured they should be lowering their suspicions rather than raising them.
Drew went into the guys’ room, and she sat down on a bench, pulling Cayne with her.
He narrowed his eyes. “Your head okay?”
She forced a smile that made her feel like a horrible liar. “Doing just fine. I have a question, though.”
“Toss.”
She grinned. “It’s ‘shoot,’ but ‘A’ for effort. And my question is about Edan. I know you said you had doubts, but I kind of thought you guys had become friends. I mean, he freed you from the compound and you said he peeped in on you when you first got there. If he really is just an innocent man-whore, that was nice of him, right?”
Cayne shook his head. “I don’t have friends. And I want you to know the only reason he’s still with us is I know that I could kick his ass.”
Julia covered her mouth. “Cayne! You sound like…well, a teenage guy.”
He rubbed his face. “If that’s the case, I’ll have to pay more attention to the way I speak.”
“No, it’s cool. I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all. But it does bother me that you said you don’t have friends. What about me? And Meredith? And Edan, too. You do friendish stuff with him. Like Velcro-board chess, right after we got to Zurich.”
Hilariously, the security guard named Henry picked that moment to strut up with his hand outstretched for Cayne’s. Striking a very good impression of a friend, he smiled and said, “Hey, man. You still up for the WoW tonight?”
Cayne’s smiled, and it looked genuine. Drew walked out of the guys’ room, and Henry welcomed him into the conversation, too.
Julia had played WoW before, and it was…interesting; but settling into a quiet nook with a good book… That would be relaxing. Maybe she could hang out with the girls, hit the bookstore, and go to bed early.
She stood and mouthed “be right back” to Cayne, then turned and headed for the desk, where she hoped they could tell her the bookstore’s hours.
She thought about what Mer had said and she opened her Sight, wondering about the nature of the desk workers. Curly was on duty again, wearing a crisp white resort shirt and sitting backwards on a fancy-looking wooden chair. The young-Norm-MacDonald look alike smiled his dimpled smile at a flatscreen that peeked out from behind a plant. His aura was pinkish red with a side of deep purple. Ouch—that didn’t look good. At some point, probably recently, he’d lost someone. She wondered who.
His smile stretched into something more intense. Much more. Suddenly he jumped up, pumping his fist, and Julia froze, Cayne’s name a breath away from being screamed.
“Come on, you little bitch! Fall, fall!” Curly cried. The girl beside him, a pretty redhead in an identical white shirt, started jumping up and down.
“Go, go, you can do it,” she chanted she was from the United States. Somewhere in the Midwest. “Come on come on!”
Julia glanced back toward Cayne, thankful none of the guys appeared to have seen her freak out, and then peeked at the girl’s aura—high-strung, sunshine colors overlaying more shallow tones.
“This is
She grinned. The guy could be prickly sometimes, but he could also be a sweetie. Even though he wasn’t Cayne’s biggest fan, he always had Julia’s best interest at heart; he had from the moment they met, and Julia knew he always would.
Meredith and Carlin swooped into a bathroom near the lobby, and Julia thought about their little group. It felt ‘off’ without Edan. Despite his shadiness, the guy had at least provided some badly-needed levity. Other than the concerns harbored by Drew and Cayne, everyone’s skepticism had lessened with time. It was true that if he was with The Three’s Chosen—distinguishable from the Swiss Chosen, or Swosen, as Edan had named them—he would have helped Adam and Co. catch Julia. Now that he’d run off with some snow bunny, Julia figured they should be lowering their suspicions rather than raising them.
Drew went into the guys’ room, and she sat down on a bench, pulling Cayne with her.
He narrowed his eyes. “Your head okay?”
She forced a smile that made her feel like a horrible liar. “Doing just fine. I have a question, though.”
“Toss.”
She grinned. “It’s ‘shoot,’ but ‘A’ for effort. And my question is about Edan. I know you said you had doubts, but I kind of thought you guys had become friends. I mean, he freed you from the compound and you said he peeped in on you when you first got there. If he really is just an innocent man-whore, that was nice of him, right?”
Cayne shook his head. “I don’t have friends. And I want you to know the only reason he’s still with us is I know that I could kick his ass.”
Julia covered her mouth. “Cayne! You sound like…well, a teenage guy.”
He rubbed his face. “If that’s the case, I’ll have to pay more attention to the way I speak.”
“No, it’s cool. I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all. But it does bother me that you said you don’t have friends. What about me? And Meredith? And Edan, too. You do friendish stuff with him. Like Velcro-board chess, right after we got to Zurich.”
Hilariously, the security guard named Henry picked that moment to strut up with his hand outstretched for Cayne’s. Striking a very good impression of a friend, he smiled and said, “Hey, man. You still up for the WoW tonight?”
Cayne’s smiled, and it looked genuine. Drew walked out of the guys’ room, and Henry welcomed him into the conversation, too.
Julia had played WoW before, and it was…interesting; but settling into a quiet nook with a good book… That would be relaxing. Maybe she could hang out with the girls, hit the bookstore, and go to bed early.
She stood and mouthed “be right back” to Cayne, then turned and headed for the desk, where she hoped they could tell her the bookstore’s hours.
She thought about what Mer had said and she opened her Sight, wondering about the nature of the desk workers. Curly was on duty again, wearing a crisp white resort shirt and sitting backwards on a fancy-looking wooden chair. The young-Norm-MacDonald look alike smiled his dimpled smile at a flatscreen that peeked out from behind a plant. His aura was pinkish red with a side of deep purple. Ouch—that didn’t look good. At some point, probably recently, he’d lost someone. She wondered who.
His smile stretched into something more intense. Much more. Suddenly he jumped up, pumping his fist, and Julia froze, Cayne’s name a breath away from being screamed.
“Come on, you little bitch! Fall, fall!” Curly cried. The girl beside him, a pretty redhead in an identical white shirt, started jumping up and down.
“Go, go, you can do it,” she chanted she was from the United States. Somewhere in the Midwest. “Come on come on!”
Julia glanced back toward Cayne, thankful none of the guys appeared to have seen her freak out, and then peeked at the girl’s aura—high-strung, sunshine colors overlaying more shallow tones.
“This is
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