“Probably because I did.” She pocketed the cash. “Sucker.”

A throat cleared behind me, and Dell shifted her weight. “The night’s not getting any younger.”

“Sorry,” they said in unison.

“We don’t get much girl time these days,” Mai explained. “Our mates are overprotective, and we had to bribe them to sit this one out.” She slung an arm around Thierry’s waist. “Breaking the law is more fun with a girlfriend, am I right?”

“Right,” I said at the same time as Dell murmured, “Sure.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Thierry clapped her hands. “Dell, we’re holding down the fort.”

“Camille, you’re with me.” Mai jingled her keys. “We need to get moving, though. I have to cover my tracks once I leave here to keep the conclave off my back, and I need time to make that happen.”

“Hold up.” Dell gripped my elbow when I stepped forward, and held on tight. “Cam’s not going anywhere without me.”

“Getting in one extra person is hard enough.” Mai glanced between us. “I won’t risk two.”

“You’re not fae,” Thierry pointed out. “If you walk in there without ID and a damn good excuse, you’ll all three be detained. Camille works for the conclave, and she consults. It makes more sense to let her go with Mai.”

“I don’t like this,” Dell growled. “Cord wanted me to stick by you. He’ll be pissed when he finds out I let you go alone.”

“He’ll get over it.” I walked to the passenger side of the coupe. “What will you two be doing?”

“Playing damsels in distress.” Thierry opened the driver door, leaned in, and the hazard lights started flashing. “Not much traffic comes out this way. We should be able to twiddle our thumbs in relative peace. Should anyone ask, Mai and I stopped to offer assistance. Cell reception out here is crap. Her car is a two-seater. We’ll stretch the truth and say she drove you up the road to make a call while I waited with your friend.”

With our lies rehearsed, Mai and I climbed into her car.

A whisper of unease slid over me as I noticed Dell sizing up Thierry. A distinctly predatory gleam lit her eyes, and Mai’s headlights reflected gold back at us. Apparently Dell had no trouble drawing on her inner she-wolf when there were no other wargs around to temper her instincts.

“Here’s the deal.” Mai shifted into reverse and stomped the pedal. “There’s a paper trail a mile long linking you to the Charybdis file.”

That answered the question of how much Mai knew about our mission. All of it.