Without looking at her, Hector closed the remaining distance, reached down, and hauled the guy to his feet, holding him by the scruff of his neck when his knees collapsed. Then he practically dragged the guy to the sedan, stuffing him in the backseat with as little finesse as possible, even letting his head bang into the top of the door.

Three other agents finally appeared on the scene, and they did crowd control, moving everyone back and out of the way, blocking off the pool of blood.

Hector faced her, still unwilling to peer into her eyes. “You want a ride to the station?”

No enthusiasm in his voice. Only dread.

Why do you dislike me so much? What did I ever do to you? Besides throw herself at him, time and time again.

“No, thanks,” she forced herself to reply. “I’ve got people to do, and things to see. Besides, I abandoned my car a few blocks away. Behind our boy’s.” Our. Wrong word. Her heart skipped another beat.

An abrupt nod as his nostrils flared in—anger? “Mia and Dallas were there a few minutes ago, so …”

So get lost, he was saying. Bastard. “Next time put some hustle in your step and you might actually be first on the scene. Or maybe you couldn’t help yourself. Old age is a bitch, I hear.” Grinning as if she’d never been happier, she turned to walk away. One step, two. Three. Every inch farther away caused an ache to intensify in her chest.

“Noelle,” Hector growled, stopping her. “You caught him, so you get to question him. I’ll text you after medical’s cleaned and bandaged him.”

Without looking back, she responded, “Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep my blades to myself during the next round of my interrogation.” She waited a moment, but he said nothing else, so she kicked back into motion. Totally not disappointed.

Soon as she rounded a corner and Hector couldn’t see her, she lost her fake grin and hailed a cab, hauling ass back to the other scene. Mia and Dallas were still there, talking to witnesses. The pale, shaky girl Dallas was chatting up spotted Noelle and pointed.

“That’s her.”

Electric blues found her, and Dallas smiled in greeting. And yet that smile lacked any hint of amusement. Like Hector, he’d been careful to keep his distance from her these past few months. As if there were something toxic about her.

“She’s one of the good ones,” he said.

“Oh,” the girl responded, clearly frustrated that she hadn’t helped nail a suspect. And clearly hating on Noelle. Her eyes narrowed before she returned her attention to Dallas and placed a proprietary hand on his bicep. “As I was saying …”

There was her car, no worse for wear. She’d had the foresight to shut down the engine before diving outside, and someone would have had to know how to bypass her very extensive security system to start it up again.

“Noelle,” a familiar voice called. “Wait up.”

She stopped, and Mia Snow jogged to her side.

“How are the females?” Noelle asked her.

That petite face scrunched in anger. “My source said we’d find three, but we only found two. Not sure where the third is, but the other two were drugged, so they didn’t know anything. They might have been pegged with a tracker, too. We’re looking into it.”

“Either of them speak English?”

“Just one. We sent both to New Chicago General with two agents in each ambulance and lasercuffs on the girls so they couldn’t be teleported away. There will be two agents at their bedsides the entire time. Until they’re well enough and we can move them into AIR HQ, where no one will be able to teleport them elsewhere, no matter what. This time, I will find out what the hell is going on with these abductions.”

So much determination in such a tiny body, which reminded Noelle of Ava. A pang in her chest, razing that hollow place. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Mia nodded, dark bob swinging around her chin. “Hector texted me, told me what happened. You did well.”

Pride unfurled wings and fluttered inside her. How pathetic was she, that she wanted to twirl a strand of hair around her finger and ask what, exactly, Hector had said? “I always do.”

A snort. “Where are you headed now?”

“Home to shower.” And most likely to replay every change in Hector’s expression, his every word, his every glance.

Yep. It was official. She was pathetic.

Mia gifted Noelle with one of her rare smiles. “See you at the wedding tomorrow, then.”

“Don’t remind me,” she muttered.

Tomorrow her life changed forever. And not in a good way.

Thirteen

AVA WAS LEAVING HER!

“Graduate Camp Hellhole—check,” Noelle muttered. “Hired by AIR—check. Complete my first mission successfully—check. Kick Hector’s ass at a foot race—check. Lose my best friend—check, check, f**king check, and scribble and crumble the notepad and slam it into the trash.”

She leaned against the bathroom stall, clutching her two favorite men: a bottle of Jack and a bottle of Jim. She was trying not to cry. She hadn’t felt this vulnerable since that terrible night at camp, when Hector had given her a figurative finger. Had thought she’d prepared herself for this life-changing moment last night, staying up to watch holo-vids of her and Ava.

Well, she wasn’t prepared and never would be! Noelle banged the back of her head against the wall over and over. For once, she wished she could feel physical pain. A terrible, gut-wrenching pain. Anything to distract her.

Ava was about to marry her vampire boyfriend McKell, and Noelle would forever be alone.

At least I look good, she thought with a bitter laugh. As the maid of honor, Noelle wore a gorgeous red sheath dress that conformed to her curves. Spaghetti straps, a scooped neck that revealed ample cle**age. The material flowed to the floor, flirting with her amazing diamond-encrusted red stilettos.

Her hair was curled and now waved down her back, dancing with her every motion. Her makeup, perfectly applied. Her skin, glowing with health and vitality—or was that sickly dread?

Ava, her best friend, her only true friend, had fallen in love. Deep, abiding love.

Today Ava would abandon Noelle to tie herself to a vampire warrior.

Tonight Ava would give up the daylight and become a vampire herself.

Trying not to fall into a spiral of panic, failing, Noelle drained Jack and tossed the bottle in the toilet. Still trying not to fall into a spiral of panic, failing, she drained Jim and tossed the bottle in the toilet. She had to get herself under control. She couldn’t let Ava see her like this.




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