Jacqueline smiled, finally turning to face Grace. “That’s kind of you. Basel and I were a political match, and we made a good one. It has been difficult without him, but time moves on, and so do people.”

A political match? What did that mean? Was the woman trying to tell Adare something? Not that it mattered. Adare hadn’t mated Grace for political reasons. It was a favor to her sister’s mate, actually. She tried to watch Adare’s reaction from the corner of her eye, but he was giving nothing away. No expression, no emotion.

Which meant there was a whole lot of emotion. Well, probably. It wasn’t like she really knew him.

Benny watched the exchange and edged a mite closer to Grace. Was he actually offering support? For Pete’s sake. She didn’t need Benny’s pity.

The massive hybrid brushed snow off his long black hair. “I told Jacqueline we couldn’t take anybody with us on this mission, but she wouldn’t sell me the goods unless I brought her to you.”

Well. That wasn’t obvious or anything. Grace shook herself. The only thing she’d ever blown up was a microwave, one of the memories she still had after her coma. What had she been like before? Would she have challenged the shifter?

Why? It wasn’t as if she and Adare were together. What little claim she had on him was rapidly disappearing if the fading of her mark told her anything, and if he’d truly loved this chick, didn’t he deserve happiness? Well, if he and Benny didn’t die on the next mission. Although he could probably do better. If they stood in the snow any longer, the woman would start rubbing herself all over him. Grace bit back a smile. This catty side was new to her. Or maybe it was the old her coming back.

“Grace?” Adare said.

She blinked. “Oh. Sorry. I was in my head again. Did you say something?”

Jacqueline looked down from her impressive height, her brow furrowing and her eyes gleaming. “I asked you why you weren’t going on the mission.”

Direct hit. Everyone knew that fragile humans didn’t go blow things up.

Adare frowned. “You obviously don’t remember me well if you think I’d allow my mate on a mission that involved explosives from the Ledoni shifters.”

So he’d known the explosives were coming from his ex-fiancée? He hadn’t said a word. Wait a minute. Allow? He’d said allow. In front of his ex-love.

Benny groaned.

“Now wait a minute—” Grace started.

“No,” Adare countered immediately. “Even if you’d learned how to heal yourself by now, I wouldn’t let you go on a mission like this.”

Heat blasted into Grace’s face.

Benny peered down, his jaw going slack. “You can’t heal yourself yet?”

Grace whirled on Adare. “Would you just shut up?”