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“Hey, you guys talking about Bear?” Orion pops up behind us, dropping his elbows on the table. “I love gossip. Have you heard about his brother’s marriage contract? He’s that rich motherfucker who owns the chalet.”

“Ooh, tell me,” Fitzie demands.

Lysander shoots me a bright, sizzling look as he fidgets with the hem of his shirt. A faint, familiar flush inches up his jaw. Thecorner of my mouth quirks and I tighten my grip on him. This is one thing I don’t mind keeping from Fitzie.

32

LYSANDER

“I’m getting another drink,” Ezra’s friend announces, getting to his feet.

The show is over, and I feel surprisingly… okay. What Bear used to do for me was important, yet I don’t feel the pang of loss I expected. I’ve gained a lot more.

As Felix disappears into the crowd, I pull myself away from Ezra.

“Pardon me,” I murmur, but Ezra and Orion are talking about behind-the-bar business, and Ezra only gives my hand a distracted squeeze as I slip away.

I catch up to Felix on the other side of the club. “Felix! Wait, I need to talk to you, please.”

He turns, his green eyes practically crackling with fire. “If you’re trying to get into my good graces by sucking up —”

“I need your help.”

Felix narrows his eyes. “Listen, fairy prince. I don’t know what your intentions are with Ezra, but he’s been jerked around enough by assholes who wanted to use him. If you can’t even put a label on whatever it is you’re doing with him, I’m not about to help you push your way farther into his life.”

“A label?” I repeat, bewildered.

“Boyfriend. Partner. Hell, get him a ring, for all I care. He deserves someone who plans to stick by him.”

“I — well —” I stumble over my words, caught off guard. Idowant to stick by Ezra. But the fact remains it may not be my choice, and that’s the whole reason for my quest. “I just want to do something for him. Something that’ll last.”

Even if this doesn’t.

“You want to be better than the last guy? Be there for him.”

“That might not be possible,” I admit quietly. “I have enemies who want me dead. Someday, I might have to leave The Sanctum. I want Ezra to be happy, even if I’m not here.”

“That’s some mafia shit.” Felix shakes his head. “It sounds to me like you shouldn’t have gotten involved with Ez in the first place. The last thing he needs is to be dragged into someone else’s mess.”

I reach into my shirt and pull out the stack of human money Maddox gave me. “Please. I can’t ask anyone else.”

“Whoa, put that away!” Felix hisses, covering the money with both hands. “Jesus! I don’t want your money.”

“No, it’s not like that.” I’m messing this up. “I need someone who can go into the city and find a reputable home to rent. The money is for a cash deposit. I don’t understand the criteria — there are too many numbers.” I huff in frustration and fumble for the cellphone Syril gave me. Maddox loaded it with some kind of directory that shows available homes, ones he assured me are in nice areas. Neither the directory nor the stack of papers he sent shed any light on the situation.

“I just can’t —” I jab the numbers on the device, trying to find the thing Maddox showed me, but the little images on the screen just start shaking.

“Wow.” Felix takes the cellphone from me. “You really are not from this century. Okay, what are you trying to show me?”

I point to the icon I recognize. “That thing.”

“Greenriver Rentals?” He taps it and the familiar list pops up.

I sigh with relief. “Yes. It’s all there.”

Felix’s eyebrows go up. “You want to rent a place in Clearbrook Heights? Damn. I guess that’s what the wad of cash is for.”

“Exactly,” I tell him firmly, even though I only understood about two thirds of that. “But I need help.”