Wildfire

Chapter 36

36. Bait

I felt strangely calm as Georgina and I approached the doors of Ian's gym. Marco and Diego were stationed in Georgina's car nearby — close enough that they could reach us in seconds if something went wrong, but far enough away that if the conversation with Killian didn't go well, Diego wouldn't hear. Georgina needed the names of the witches and lupi traitors involved but if Killian said something to upset Diego, he was probably going to go charging after him and rip him to shreds before they had that chance.

He had initially been against hiding away in a car, but when Georgina pointed out what was at stake, he reluctantly conceded that it was the best place for him. It helped too that Georgina had armed me with what she called the supernatural equivalent of pepper spray — an immobilisation hex. It wouldn't do much damage but it would slow any attacker down, supernatural or not.

She had taught me how to use it by demonstrating on her unsuspecting bodyguard (whose name I had learned was not 'Frog Spawn', but Slater), who was not amused when he finally unfroze. I had promptly apologized but Georgina just stuck her nose in the air, a stubborn look on her face.

Those two did not get along.

"Are you ready?" Georgina asked me.

"Yes." I nodded once and pushed open the door to the dance studio. Slater, who had been following behind us at a discreet distance, walked by the studio without pausing. If someone was watching the place, all they'd notice was me. When Georgina had been explaining the plan to me earlier, I had wondered why she wouldn't be seen with me, but she had been cagey about her reply.

All I needed to know was that Georgina's 'identity' wasn't something people easily got a hold of. Whatever the hell that meant.

I headed upstairs to the girls' changing room, smiling vaguely at the other girls inside. They smiled back at me, their eyes automatically swerving in Georgina's direction as she followed me inside. I could understand why — Georgina tended to look like she'd just stepped off a runway, even in a pair of sweats.

She ignored them, grabbing a locker at the back of the room and stuffing her bag and coat into the small space. I followed suit, changing into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and stuffing the hex into my pocket.

When we walked into the gym area, most of the guys had already arrived — including Killian. He was stretching by the wall but when he saw me arrive, he glanced up and smiled a little. A nauseated feeling lodged in the pit of my stomach.

I felt a spasm of panic clutch at my chest as I wondered if he knew why Georgina was with me, if he knew why we were here.

"Smile back, you idiot," Georgina muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

I cracked a smile, but it felt brittle. I really wasn't cut out for these stealth missions. My memory flashed back to the night Darren and I tried to get into Crawler and I wanted to pinch myself.

"Now stretch..." Georgina said slowly, like she was talking to a complete idiot.

I glared at her and started to stretch my arms, lifting one up over my head and bending it toward my head. I focused on not looking at Killian, watching Georgina from the corner of my eye as she bent over. My brows rose a little and when my gaze flicked over toward the boys, they were all staring shamelessly at her bottom.

I glanced back at Georgina and she waggled her eyes brows at me, clearly enjoying the attention.

To each her own, I guess.

When Ian walked in, Georgina abruptly rose from her position with what I can only describe as a 'predatory' expression on her face.

I elbowed her not-so-gently. "You can come back for him next week."