Page 140 of Neon Flux

I took another drink. Maddox’s apartment wasn’t really meant for entertaining. It barely fit his junk, our equipment, and the three of us—but much like Eon, I’d suffered worse.

“Guess it’s a party then,” Maddox said flatly. I didn’t like the spark I saw in Eon’s eyes.

“Good, because I might’ve mentioned it to a few people.”

“What?!” Maddox and I cried in unison, but she just grinned. Perfectly timed, there was a knock at the door. She hopped up and opened it before Maddox or I could pick our jaws up off the floor.

Outside stood three gorgeous women, all very different.

“Maddox, I think you know Mercy already?” Eon said, her expression absolutely delinquent.

Mercy gave Maddox a coy wave and the poor guy turned a deep shade of maroon. She shook out her bright pink curls and stepped into the apartment. She was followed by a woman who was stick-skinny and at least 6’3”. Her pale skin mimickedher ice-blonde hair, tied up into two tight buns at the crown of her head. She was all angles and hard lines, and I heard a faint mechanical whirring that told me under her low-rise baggy pants, she was likely sporting an artificial limb.

“This is Vesper,” said Eon. “And this is Akiko.”

Now it was my turn to go a bit red as the face I knew stepped into the apartment. In full light, she still looked good—a round, smooth face with sharp almond eyes that locked onto mine immediately. In the few seconds our gazes met, we came to an agreement—her nodding slightly before turning back to Eon.

“You’re all off tonight?” Eon asked.

“Didn’t you hear? The club’s been shut down! Rook’s been missing, and things are in chaos,” Mercy chirped as she brazenly walked over to Maddox.

I saw Eon’s eyebrows shoot up. “Rook’s missing?”

“Yeah, no one’s seen him in days. Rumor is the Kitsune were after him,” Akiko added.

Eon’s gaze shot to me, and I took another sip. Something swirled between us, a question she wouldn’t ask, and I wouldn’t answer. At least not honestly.

She turned to Mercy. “What are you guys gonna do?”

“We always land on our feet, don’t we? We’ll chat about it later. I was told this was a party!”

At that, Maddox let out a grunt. “I didn’t know…there are some beers in the fridge.”

“Great!” Akiko was already rummaging through it.

Maddox was still struggling with what to do when Mercy plopped herself down into his lap.

“Missed you, handsome. You never called!”

“Didn’t leave me a contact,” I heard Maddox mumble, not looking at her.

“Shouldn’t have stopped you, E’s here, isn’t she?”

I chuckled at that. If only she knew the steps involved in Eon being here. Maddox looked at me, throwing a look that screamedhelp me, but he was on his own. I had my own manipulator to deal with.

Akiko returned with more beers for the women, and Vesper joined her and Mercy in sitting around Maddox on the couch.

I heard Eon chuckle beside me. “Mercy never could keep a secret.”

I watched as the three girls leaned in around Maddox, and the guy looked like he was trying to vanish into the couch cushions. “What kind of secret are we talking about here, doll?”

She looked at me, a sly smile on her lips. “Just some girl talk.”

I was going to press her when Mercy reached into her cropped jacket and my instincts instantly went into fight mode, my Flux flaring. But then I felt Eon’s hand on my shoulder.

“Relax. She’s going to torture him, not kill him.”

I raised an eyebrow, but saw that Mercy had pulled out a deck of cards.