Page 10

Bolin kept his eyes toward the road as he drove us to Sylvan Serenity, me in the passenger seat, Duncan in the back.

Bolin hadn’t mentioned the fire engines or the smoldering house when he’d picked us up, and, after gaping at our nudity, had pointedly avoided looking at us.

That hadn’t kept him from grimacing when we sat our bare butts on the fancy leather of his Mercedes SUV.

We were sooty, bloody, and sweaty, so I couldn’t blame him.

I would have objected to such butts on my weathered vinyl truck seats.

“Thanks for getting us,” I said for the second time. “Even though I’ve lived in the same area for years—decades—and made a number of friends in the years the boys were in school… there are precious few people I can call for a ride when I’ve lost all my clothes.”

“Repressed,” Duncan said again.

“ That’s not why. But I would feel compelled to explain.”

“You didn’t explain anything to your intern,” Duncan said.

I looked at Bolin. Still focused on the road, he did not look back.

“I think he prefers it when I don’t,” I said.

“Correct,” Bolin said.

“Any news on the apartment sale?” I asked to change the subject, though we fortunately did not have a long drive back.

“My mom sent over a list of things that she and Dad would like done in the next week or so, ideally before the inspection that will precede the sale.”

“The sale that’s a ruse and won’t happen?

Send me the list.” I didn’t believe for a second that an actual sale would come out of Abrams and Radomir’s offer, whether on paper or not, but someone would buy the place eventually.

Again, I hoped my wounds healed quickly, especially the throbbing arm and ribs. I refused to ask for any time off work.

Bolin opened his mouth, presumably to continue the conversation, but we’d pulled into the lot and he blurted, “Is that Jasmine’s car?”

“The little hatchback?” I leaned forward, spotting it. “Yes. Maybe her father was able to look up that license plate.”

That probably wasn’t what had brought her. She could have texted me the address if that was all that was up.

“I didn’t think she’d come here so soon.” Bolin sounded excited but also nervous, and he rushed to scrape his fingers through his hair and look at himself in the rearview mirror.

“Did you invite her over?” I asked.

“Yeah. I want to ask her on a date, and I thought it might go better if I do it in person.”

“Because she’ll be less likely to reject you to your face?”

“That’s what I’m hoping. But I said… Uhm, I might have gotten her to come by using… implying… Well, it’s not really a false pretense. It’s true .” On that vague note, Bolin parked and turned off the car.

Jasmine stood by the staff spots and waved at us. Bolin slid out.

I looked into the back seat, wondering how much the car doors blocked Duncan’s nudity from outside viewers. And mine for that matter. I wore his jacket but remained naked from the waist down. And Duncan might as well have been Michelangelo’s David back there.

Jasmine wouldn’t be surprised or perturbed by our states, but numerous tenants were coming and going from the parking lot. We would need an opportune moment to head to my apartment or Duncan’s van.

“Hi, Bolin,” Jasmine said. “How come you couldn’t tell me about the networking opportunity over the phone?”

Ah, that was the false pretense.

“Because of Luna.” Bolin pointed at me.

I rolled down the window, curious how I would play into him asking for a date. Chilly air swept in, curling around my bare legs.

“She may also be interested in going to a networking event,” Bolin said. “In case… Well, the buyers who put in the offer didn’t appear eager to work with her, so she may also be looking for new employment soon.”

“Alas, true,” I murmured.

“You don’t want to work for Radomir anyway,” Duncan said from the back seat. “He’s a tyrant and makes you drink unpalatable potions.”

“I drank an unpalatable potion for you .”

“Not because you work for me and I ordered it. It was voluntary, presumably because you pined for me in my absence and were thus moved to great sacrifice. You had to ensure I would return to your life.”

“I was pining for you,” I said.

“I assumed.”

“I did suggest that Luna and I could go networking together.” Jasmine nodded at me. “Then we could talk each other up.”

“An excellent idea,” Bolin said.

I wanted to gag, more at the idea of networking than going somewhere with Jasmine and talking her up. The thought of job hunting after so many years of not needing to… It filled me with greater anxiety than battling werewolves or facing rifles loaded with silver bullets.

“My parents let me know about an exclusive gathering at the private residence of a real estate mogul in Bellevue this Friday. There will be a lot of well-to-do industry people there, talking about new developments being planned for the area. Even though the market has slowed down, those in the top echelon tend to do well in any environment. I’m sure some of them will have positions in need of filling.

” Bolin extended his hand toward Jasmine.

“I could get you on the guest list if you would be interested in going.” After only a slight pause, he remembered me and waved in my direction. “Both of you.”

I wondered when in his plans came the part where he would ask Jasmine on a date.

“That does sound like the kind of event my mom would like me to go to.” The face Jasmine made suggested she felt the same about networking as I did.

“It’s in a penthouse with a big balcony and a view of the lake,” Bolin said. “I understand you can see all the way to the Olympic Mountains. There’ll be a private chef handling the refreshments and a bartender too.”

“Are people more likely to hire you after their stomachs are full and they’re tipsy?” I asked.

“If they’re in a jovial mood, I would think so.” Bolin nodded.

Jasmine bit her lip.

Bolin leaned forward, watching her face. Hoping she would go to the party, get a job, and thus be grateful to him? Or was it more than that?

“Are you going to the event, Bolin?” I asked on a hunch. Maybe this was the date he had in mind.

“Most likely, yes. My parents are going, and they want me to meet some of their colleagues. I’ve met a lot of them already, of course, but less in a work-colleague capacity and more as…”

“Your parents’ goofy kid?” I guessed.

Bolin grimaced. “One of their colleagues hasn’t seen me since she stepped on my LEGOs at a summer barbecue my parents hosted several years back.

Anyway, there’s no pressure. You don’t have to come.

” He’d turned back to Jasmine. “It’s just that I heard you were looking for a job in the industry, and this could be a good opportunity to meet people who might be hiring.

For both of you.” Only slightly belatedly, he waved toward me again.

“Am I invited too?” Duncan asked dryly.

Bolin blinked at him. “You’re… naked.”

“I guess I’m not invited,” Duncan told me.

“Nudity isn’t considered highbrow in America,” I said.

“Repressed,” he said again.

Jasmine looked toward Duncan’s window, but, as I’d expected, didn’t bat an eye at his nudity. She could probably tell I wasn’t wearing anything under the jacket either.

“You said it’s Friday night?” Jasmine asked Bolin.

“Yes. Do you want me to pick you both up?” He pointed to include me.

“I’ll pass on networking events until I know for sure if I’m out of a job.” I figured Bolin would appreciate it if I gave him an excuse to take Jasmine without a chaperone.

But he looked at me without relief. In fact, his eyes were oddly intent. “You might want to reconsider, Luna.”

“A night of making small-talk with rich real estate developers?” I wrinkled my nose.

“I’d rather spend the next week hugging my heating pad, eating chocolates, and remembering how to breathe without pain.

” I touched my tender ribs, doubting I would have the opportunity to live that fantasy.

My arm twinged. I needed to end this chat and find my first-aid kit—if not a number for a doctor.

“Ivan MacGregor is hosting the event.”

I tried to remember the name and why it would be significant.

“The guy the newspaper mentioned,” Bolin added.

“Oh, because he was robbed of a wolf bracelet?”

He nodded.

I had debated on trying to find a way to question that man. I scratched my jaw and looked back at Duncan. He hadn’t been there when I’d read that article, and he merely raised his eyebrows.

It wasn’t as if I had any better leads. The thug who might have known where my sword was had gotten away, Radomir and Abrams moved hideouts more often than gophers avoiding red-tailed hawks, and I would need a few days of sedate activities while my battered body healed.

“Maybe I will go,” I told Bolin. “Who can pass up a shindig with an open bar?”

“Shindig,” he mouthed.

Presumably, it wasn’t a word Gen-Zers used with any frequency.

“Yeah, do you know the origins and how to spell it?”

“I can spell it. I… may need to research the origins. That was used less often than you might think in spelling bees.”

“I finally stymied my young intern,” I told Duncan.

“It’s from the Scottish game shinty , I believe,” he said.

“I’ll research it,” Bolin said firmly.

“That means he doesn’t trust you as a resource,” I said to Duncan.

Duncan touched a hand to his bare chest. “I’ve traveled the world and read thousands of books.”

“Yeah, but you’re naked. That invalidates a lot.”

“Why would my dress state subtract from my wisdom? This is such a strange country.”

“Are you going to call it repressed again?”

“Hourly, yes.”