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Until something horrible comes around and ruins everything.

“Hey Cole,” a too-cute voice says, a chair scraping across the ground.

I whip my head up to see Rose settling into it.

“Nope!” I say, pointing a finger right at her and then away – elsewhere – anywhere. “Out of here. Right now.”

She goes still and stares at me for a second before she huffs a laugh and turns back to Cole,utterlyignoring me.

“It’s not a good time, Rose,” Cole murmurs, glancing anxiously between us.

“Well,sorry,” she says, her cutesy mood dropping, immediately replaced with frustration. “I need somewhere to eat, andthisseat is free.”

“There aresixtyempty seats, Rose!” I cry, waving around at the abundance, even as more people start to enter the tent.

“Besides,” Rose says, still keeping her eyes on Cole. “We have business.Realbusiness – military stuff. I talked to your father.”

Cole sighs and looks between us again. I just snarl like an angry, confused little badger – or meerkat – or something equally unintimidating – and sit back in my chair, shoving what’s left of the waffles in my mouth, knowing I have norealway to make Rose leave.

“Elegant,” Rose murmurs, glancing at me and my too-full mouth, her lip curling in disgust.

I just start to chew harder, wishing she was dead.

“As I was saying, I just got off the phone,” Rose says, picking a tiny orange up off of her very scanty tray and starting to peel it with her long, polished nails. I scowl as I swallow, wishing she weren’t so effortlessly chic in the morning. “He wants us to go back to the Children of Solace and document more of what Slaken left in that office, as well as the basement.”

Cole raises an eyebrow, not countering her but obviously unhappy about that. “All right,” he says. “I’ll see when I can get someone to take you.”

“Tonight,” she says, smooth and prim, looking demurely down at her snack. “He says it’s a top priority.”

“Fine,” Cole says, a bit of a growl in the word this time. “I’ll check the list and see who is doubled up on guard shift tonight –“

“You are,” she coos, lifting her gorgeous blue eyes to his. “I checked. Andsheis busy.” Rose nods towards me. “So, it will bejustyou and me – like it was supposed to be.”

Chapter 36 – Rich

Nadia

“All right!” I say, snatching up my tray and jumping to my feet. “Bye!”

Quite suddenly I want to be…absolutely anywhere but here.

“Oh no, are you finished?” Shayne calls, walking over with Grace behind her, both of them looking at me with sad frowns.

“Yup!” I say, my hands tight, sad to abandon my friends with Rosie the demonic she-wolf but needing to getoutof here before I start throwing things at her head. “I’ve got work –“

“Doesn’t start for half an hour,” Grace says softly, her frown deepening.

“I’m going to…prep! Tests! Roll bandages, boil linens! Or whatever!” I turn sharply and stride away.

“Is she preparing to deliver a baby a hundred years ago?” Grace asks, confused about my sudden departure and declaration that I’m going to perform tasks that nobody needs to complete.

But whatever.

I need…time. Time to get Rose out of my mind and find some way to reckon with the fact that Cole Kincaid and I are…friendsnow?

I groan, shoving my tray into the slotted cart for dirty dishes and storming out of the tent.

Cole