Devils & Thieves (Devils & Thieves #1)(27)

I let out a breath of relief—Darek would have been stung to hear the Devils dismiss him like that, I was sure, but it was the safest thing.

Alex arched an eyebrow at me. I tried really hard to keep my face blank, but it felt like I was biting back a smile.

Crowe doled out a few more orders before dismissing everyone. When the tent was empty save for him and Hardy, Hardy said, “You really think they’ll make a move tonight?”

“I don’t know.” A chair groaned as one of them sat down. There was silence for a minute. I couldn’t see him, but I could picture Crowe scrubbing at his face, revealing just a sliver of his worry to the one person he was okay showing it to. Hardy was his best friend, his brother in all things but blood. “Jane doesn’t have anything concrete. She hasn’t had anything concrete in the year or so she’s been advising me. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be vigilant. She’s seemed more on edge lately.”

“You think she’s holding back?”

“Don’t know why she would. She might be a little strange, but she doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. She’s the one who came to me when she got a sense something would happen at the festival.”

“Doesn’t she know exactly what’s going down?”

“She said it’s too big to wrap her head around. It involves too many people at once, too many loose threads as she calls them. And… I think she worries that her predictions might actually shape the future in a bad way.” He muttered something else I couldn’t make out.

“People with omnias magic usually need to be touching someone to see their specific individual future anyway, right?” Hardy grunted. “Would you let her touch you, even if that meant she’d know when you’re going to die?”

Even through the canvas, I could feel the weight of Crowe’s sigh. “She already told me she wouldn’t touch me—said she doesn’t want to know. Honestly, I don’t want to know, either. I have to be able to do whatever’s necessary to keep everyone safe, and if I hesitate or hold back, I won’t be effective.”

“Yeah, brother. I know. We’re all grateful you stepped up after we lost Michael.”

“I can’t let anything distract me from this or slow me down,” said Crowe, his voice steely. “Speaking of—go find Jemmie and keep her out of trouble, will you?”

My eyes were probably the size of dinner plates. What the heck did that mean?

Hardy’s voice was full of laughter as he asked, “Well, is she here yet? You seen her tonight?”

Crowe snorted. “She’s here, all right. Check the beer tent first.”

My face went from cool to blazing in the space of a second.

Crowe’s phone went off. “I gotta take this. I’ll catch up to you later.” He answered the call as he left the tent, headed in the opposite direction of our hiding spot.

We waited a beat for Hardy to clear out, too, before creeping around the tent perimeter and back to the path that would lead to the bonfire. “What a jerk,” I muttered.

“Well, you were headed in there when I found you,” Alex reminded me.

“Screw you. We were going to party, weren’t we? Should we do that in the kiddie tent?” Lori had actually set one up. It was flying a flag with a pink unicorn on it.

“Actually, I am in the mood for some face painting,” she said with a wink.

“Where do you think you two are going?” Hardy said, and Alex and I both shrieked.

“Hardy!” Alex whacked him on the arm. “You scared the shit out of us.”

“How long were you there?” he asked.

I tried acting innocent. “How long were we where?”

“Don’t play me for a fool. I’m a Warwick, remember? Spidey-sense upgrade. I already know how long you were there. I could hear you two mouth breathers for miles. You’re lucky I didn’t tell Crowe.”

Alex and I both cringed. “Then why did you ask?” I said.

“So I could catch you in a lie.” Hardy pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket, selected a number, and hit the Call button. “Hey,” he said when someone picked up on the other end. “If you’re looking for Alex I’m staring at her right now.”

Alex groaned.

“Over by the meeting tent,” Hardy said.

Alex turned to leave, but Hardy stopped her with a strong arm around her midsection, hooking her like a shepherd hooking sheep. Looking relaxed as Alex struggled hopelessly against his iron-muscled arm, Hardy ended the call and said, “Boone is on his way over.”

“And here I am,” Boone said, appearing out of the dim light. Boone was the quintessential biker. Long gray hair tamed into a braid. He wore a blue bandanna around his head and the front of his Devil vest was covered in random patches, everything from a peace sign to a Grateful Dead skull.

“Little banshee,” Boone said, his voice gravelly from smoking far too many cigarettes. “I was just headed for the beer tent. Care to join me?”

“No.”

“She wanted to get her face painted,” I said, not even cracking a smile.

He held his arms out. “Well, that sounds utterly wholesome. After you, then.”

“I don’t even know why I bothered coming tonight,” Alex whined. “This is the least amount of fun I’ve ever had. I don’t need a babysitter, you know.”