Eliot released a grunt when she did not say a thing. “Suit yourself. But if I have to let you drag me through the frostbitten snow, I’m getting a chocolate brew first.”

Kaley did not stop him when he left for the counter. She laid the rusted shotgun against the wall, for it was out of bullets anyway. She patted the metal barrel in thanks, offering a thought to her grandmother who had once taught her how to use it. And there inside the building with the ivory door, she would leave the Trite weapon of her ancestors.

Kaley’s attention travelled the misty room to a place Eliot had not bothered to look, where a rather charming boy in raven-black with a fur hood was flashing his strikingly wide grin all too carelessly. A sigh of disbelief escaped Kaley’s pink lips, for the boy did not seem to have a clue that he made magic with that smile.

Kaley waited until the youthful Patrolman spotted her. The look on his face was confusion at first but turned to candy and stars as he rose from his seat, heating the air with that impossibly, dangerously infectious smile.

Lucas Leutenski sauntered through the tables. The rich topaz of his eyes glowed, but the colour fizzled when he spotted Eliot Gray at the counter. A speck of uncertainty blotted his light as he looked from Eliot to Kaley, then back to Eliot a time again.

“What exactly are you doing here, Trite? Nothing responsible, I imagine,” Lucas said as he approached. He offered that treacherous grin again.

“You’re right, nothing responsible.” Kaley nodded toward Eliot who had gotten comfortable on a stool and was making a selection from the menu. “I’ve brought a prisoner here.”

“Well, that’s juicy. Please, explain that merry muddle to me,” he insisted. “Unless you’d rather I drag him into a brawl on your behalf? I think we could get the rest of the shop to join in; break some perfectly good tables, maybe even shatter a window or three.”

“As much as I’d love to see you two toss punches at each other to ease your inflated egos, I came here for you, actually.”

“Really?” Lucas bit his lip through his smile.

“My job is done with Eliot. I need to ditch him,” Kaley said.

Lucas’s eyes transformed to golden suns. “I was hoping you’d say something like that, you perfect little Trite darling.” His gloved hand came out. “Allow me to sweep you away on my steed.”

They quietly slipped out of the shop and to the alley. Kaley’s forest-green eyes rounded at the sight of that massive beast she had forgotten was so large and sharp. Helen’s plan had seemed like a clever idea until Kaley was before Lucas Leutenski’s reindeer again, and once there, she could not remember why she had agreed to any of it. The spears of its antlers sang a tune of death, slicing the air toward the pale Winter sky.

Lucas mounted the beast with a high leap. Taking a deep breath, Kaley approached on tiptoes, but Lucas snatched her by the arm and hauled her up, setting her in front of him atop the deer. Kaley tried not to react when he wound his arms ‘round her waist to hold the reins at her sides. Though, she did notice that he was rather warm.