Insulted, I looked out over the water. I wondered if Nick asking who had sent it to kill me would be considered a small question or a large one, necessitating further payment. Pushing myself away from the railing, I decided I’d walk over to the museum and find out.

“So?” Trent prompted.

I shook my head. “I’ll have your information after sundown,” I said, and he blinked.

“You’re going to call it?” His sudden, unguarded surprise caught at me, and I kept my face impassive, thinking that managing to startle him was an ego boost I badly needed. How quickly he hid it made the feeling twice as satisfying. “You just said—”

“You’re paying for results, not a play-by-play. I’ll let you know when I find something.”

His expression shifted to what might be respect. “I’ve misjudged you, Ms. Morgan.”

“Yeah, I’m just full of surprises,” I muttered, reaching up to keep the hair out of my eyes as the wind gusted. Trent’s hat threatened to blow off into the water, and I stretched to catch it before it left his head. My fingers brushed his hat, then nothing.

Trent leapt backward. I stared, blinking at where he had been. He was gone.

I found him a good four feet away, entirely off the bridge. I’d seen cats move like that. He looked frightened as he straightened, then angry that I’d seen the emotion on him. The sun glinted on his wispy hair; his hat was in the water, turning a sickly green.

I stiffened as Quen dropped out of the nearby tree to land softly before him. The man stood with his arms hanging loose, looking like a modern-day samurai in his black jeans and shirt. I didn’t move as a whoosh of water came from behind me. I could smell copper sulfate and scum. I felt, more than saw, Sharps loom behind me, cold, wet, and almost as big as the bridge he lived under, having sucked in a huge amount of water to give himself more mass. A faint clatter from the nearby bathroom told me Glenn was on his way.

My heart pounded as no one moved. I shouldn’t have touched him. I should not have touched him. Licking my lips, I tugged my jacket straight, glad Quen had the sense to know I hadn’t been trying to hurt Trent. “I’ll call you when I have a name,” I said, my voice sounding thin. Giving Quen an apologetic look, I turned on a heel and strode quickly to the street, my heels thumping soundlessly up through my spine.

And you are afraid of me, I thought silently. Why?

Twenty-Four

“For the third time, Rachel. Would you like another piece of bread?”