I eyed him as we walked and he talked, hands in my pockets, tongue tangled in knots.

He didn’t say anything those final few steps to the car, but when we reached it, he took hold of my upper arms and backed me against the driver’s side. “I might be fragile compared to you, and I might come with a definite expiration date,” he said, leaning into me, our bodies touching from knees to chest. “But I’m not weak, Kat, and I’m not backing down from whatever this is that’s developing between us.”

I raised my chin, my eyes locked with his. “Which would be what, exactly?”

His dimples appeared as he smiled, just a little. “I don’t know yet, but I sure as hell plan to find out.” He angled his head downward and leaned in, claiming my lips for a few blissful seconds.

I probably shouldn’t have let him kiss me, considering that, unlike Garth, I had no intention of indulging in our reckless relationship any further. I could already feel my heart hardening, closing him out. Which is maybe why I savored that last kiss so much.

Palm to his sternum, I pushed him back a few inches and slipped out from between him and his car. I dug his phone out of my coat pocket and handed it to him. “Use the West Seattle Ferry Terminal,” I said, licking my lips. I could still taste him there, vanilla and coffee. I started across the street. “My people will be expecting you, so if you don’t show up at their gates on Bainbridge in a couple hours, I’ll come after you myself.”

“Promises, promises . . .”

I glanced at him over my shoulder. Didn’t say anything. Just looked at him.

Garth nodded, and a second later, he opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. The engine rumbled to life before I’d reached the sidewalk, and I felt a little of the tension tightening my shoulders ease as he roared away. He was out of this, for now.

I rubbed my hands together and broke into a jog. It was time for the real work to begin.

“Do you have a plan yet?” Dom asked me as I neared the eastern gate.

“Parts of one,” I told him, slowing to a walk. “And yes, it still involves Nik.”

I passed through the gate, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Planting my hands on my hips, I stopped and looked around. The first hundred feet or so within the eastern gate was a smaller version of the northern gate’s bazaar, only focused solely on ready-to-eat food. It had been bustling with people when Garth and I were on our way out, barely ten minutes ago. Now it was all but abandoned. “Where is everyone?”

“Was Dorman planning any kind of an assembly or a gathering?”

I shook my head. “Don’t know,” I said as I targeted the nearest person, an elderly Chinese guy manning a fried noodle bar. He was one of the few people still hanging around. “Hey,” I said to him as I approached. “Where’d everyone go?” I pointed to the rest of the thoroughfare with my chin.