Moonlight's Ambassador (Aileen Travers Book 3)(40)

The door stuck as I unlocked it and tried to swing it open. I growled, setting my shoulder against it and shoving it open, stumbling inside and slamming it shut after me.

"Inara, Lowen. Out here, now." I headed for the bedroom, grabbing a backpack, a change of clothes, and my back-up weapon. It didn't have the silver ammo, but it was better than just relying on my fists.

"I see you managed to give your keepers the slip," Inara said, fluttering to take a seat on top of the lamp on my nightstand.

"Did you really think I couldn't?"

She shrugged her delicate shoulders. "I had my doubts about your abilities. You have not proven yourself especially adept up to now."

I shot her a glare, grabbing a disposable cell phone from the back of my dresser. I took the one I'd been carrying and removed the battery before slipping it into the bag. It might be a sign of paranoia to think Liam had the capability to track me through it, but the resources he had at his disposal had surprised me before. I didn't want to chance him interrupting at an unfortunate time. Best to be cautious rather than regretful.

"Ah, you're back," Lowen said as he flew into the room.

"Did neither of you think I'd be able to give them the slip?" I asked, straightening and glaring at the two pint-sized pests. Two blank stares met mine, neither expressing a confidence in my abilities. "Unbelievable." Again, I questioned what had inspired me to allow them to stay here.

"What did you want?" Inara asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I have better things to do than watch you pull things out of your dresser."

"I need to know anything you know about Caroline and where she might have gone." I put the last item in the bag. That should be enough to tide me over for the next few days. I didn't really intend to evade Liam and Brax long-term—to do that, I'd have to leave the city—but I wanted to be prepared in case I was gone longer than I planned.

"What makes you think we know anything?" she asked.

I leveled a knowing gaze on her. I wasn't going to be sidetracked with her questions. "She left a note. I know you were awake when she left, and you're a nosy little pest who likes to keep an eye on things."

Inara gazed at me with narrowed eyes, the jeweled colors in her wings flickering slightly.

"Don't be mean, Inara," Lowen said reproachfully before she could say anything.

Inara met his eyes with a mutinous gaze. He wore a stubborn look of his own. Whatever she saw there must have convinced her because she sighed. "Fine, I won't play any games. Amusing though they might be."

My shoulders relaxed. Good. I didn't think I had time to go round and round with Inara, not before Liam or Brax showed up to tow me back.

"Did she say anything before she left?" I asked.

Inara shrugged. "She left her note and said something about calling in a favor."

I frowned. Who did she know that might owe her a favor that would get the wolves off her back?

"She also said to tell you things aren't as simple as you thought; that something you were involved in before made staying with the wolves impossible. Something about research you'd asked her to do for you," Lowen said, his big eyes concerned.

Of the two pixies, he was a little less hostile and more willing to live in harmony. Inara's mood changed as quickly as the phases of the moon. Sometimes she was cordial and others she rejoiced in making my life as difficult as possible. Her information might not be entirely trustworthy, if not for Lowen's endorsement.

A favor and research. It wasn't much, but it was more than I had a few minutes ago.

"Okay, thanks for the help. You might want to make yourself scarce over the next few hours. Both the vampires and the wolves will come back here, and I don't want either of you caught in the crossfire."

They shared a look and Lowen took off. Inara rose in the air, her wings a blur behind her. "We'll be fine. We have a place we can disappear to for a little bit."

I nodded, throwing my bag over my shoulder and heading for the front door and the bike that waited next to it. Several black Escalades pulled into the parking lot just as I opened the door.

"Shit." I slammed the door and backed away from it. Their reaction time was a lot faster than I’d given them credit for. Who knew that one little yearling could inspire this sort of response?

Inara hovered at my shoulder. "You won't be able to go out that way."

"I see that." My voice sarcastic.

This was bad. If they caught me, they would put me on lockdown, and the chances of escaping a second time were damn near zero.

There was no back way out of my place either. The window in my bedroom was easily seen from the parking lot, and the window in the bathroom was too small for me to fit through, let alone my bike.

"I can get you out of here," Inara offered.

I looked at her with suspicion and more than a little disbelief.

She gave me a dry smile. "Your witches aren't the only ones capable of magic."

Fair enough. I'd seen crazier things in the course of the last two years.

"It'll cost you," she said with a cheeky grin.

"What sort of cost?" I asked. The last time I negotiated with her, I ended up with two unwanted roommates, and this seemed like a much bigger deal.

"A favor."