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He was the only one I had any hope for.
All of them were freshly eighteen and excited to start their first term in college. If they didn’t make it through the trials, according to them, they’d be transferred to another local college.
Not that I cared.
The walk from East Harlem to South Harlem was a straight shot and part of my weekly travel. However, walking with a small parade of small-town ducklings forced me to slow my pace and weave cautiously between people.
They’d add a precious four minutes to my travel time.
Nevertheless, the further I got away from that stranger and that dumpster with cheerful chatter of teenagers filling my thoughts, the lighter I felt. All I had to do was step into the cafe, and the day would be almost saved.
The road sloped, and we took a turn downhill toward the cafe just beyond the crosswalk—
I stopped in my tracks.
Ember bumped into my back, yelping.
Maddox played with one of his feathers. He asked, “Did we take a wrong turn?”
“So much for locals,” Sawyer mumbled, which instantly took him off my favorites list.
There, at the end of the block, leaning against the traffic light pole, was the stranger.
Chapter Two
He wasn’t looking at me. He ignored the throngs of glaring people swerving around him.
He was waiting.
He’d known I’d come this way.
This was too much of a coincidence to actually be one.
I had to think, and quickly.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” I said, surprised at my calm tone. “That tall man in the super-suspicious trench coat right there has been following me today.”
Ember’s green eyes darkened. “What a dick. We’ll help you get around him. Sawyer, put some shadow around her. I’ll fuck with the plants and distract him.”
They really are nice people, aren’t they?
I nodded, “Very heroic. But no, thanks. We’ll do something even more devious.”
Maddox leaned in, intrigued despite himself. Ember’s brows dropped down with focused determination.
The girl was scary, I’d give her that.
I pointed to the other side of the street. “We’ll just cross that way.”
I hid a smile at the disappointment on their faces. The way their adrenaline seemed to droop with their shoulders. They really wanted to go on an adventure, didn’t they? Maybe they would make it through those trials.
Maddox and Marcus were the two biggest guys. They walked ahead and beside me, shielding my form from the stranger. We passed him across the street and walked toward the cafe without any trouble.
Sometimes the simplest solution was the best one.
Marcus, now walking behind me, glanced over his shoulder. “He’s not looking this way. Still standing at that pole. I think we’re good.”
“Awesome. Now, welcome, fair touristy people, to Azra’s Delight.” I skipped up the concrete steps of the cafe and pushed open the doors.
