Karl tried to relay over the phone what he remembered of the blueprints, but Lucas insisted—quite rightly—that it should be done in person, so Karl could draw them. He agreed, with great reluctance.

“You wanted to dump it on them and walk away, didn’t you?” I said when he hung up.

“What do you want me to do, Hope? Lie to you again?” He turned on his heel and set out toward the rental car. “I suppose if I really cared about you, I’d watch you suffer and do nothing about it. But you’re not suffering, are you? You’re learning.”

“I need to learn to handle it, Karl. You’ve said so yourself. You encouraged me to join the council—”

“—because I knew you needed a safe way to enjoy chaos while doing some good. And, yes, I encourage you to expose yourself to more. In small doses. Like walking across burning coals to toughen your feet. But your idea of learning to withstand burning is to throw yourself onto the pyre and grit your teeth, because by God you’re going to prove you can do it or die trying.”

“Karl, I—”

He threw open the passenger door. “Get in and let’s finish this.”

It was a silent trip to the hotel where Lucas and Paige were staying.

Karl didn’t understand why I had to push so hard, and it was wrong of me to expect him to. He believed I was in danger with this job so, to him, there would be no reason to continue. Why should we care what happened to these people? I’d done my duty, paid my debt, and now I should be free to go home. To protect me, he had to lie, because he knew I’d never walk away otherwise. Wrong-headed, but right-hearted.

WHEN I’D FIRST heard about the council, I pictured a group of gray-haired politician types. There wasn’t a gray head in the bunch, which wasn’t surprising when you considered they had to get out there and resolve problems themselves. The younger, more dynamic council is a fairly recent development, after the council had to face, unprepared, a true and serious threat.

Paige’s mother, the council leader, had died fighting that menace and Paige had been thrust into her position. So even before meeting Paige, I’d seen her as a potential friend. Someone just as young, confused and overwhelmed as I was.

And when I saw her for the first time, that feeling only intensified. Paige had “friend” written all over her.

A cute and zaftig young woman with green eyes that sparkled with good humor—the sweet, unpretentious girl next door.

Paige was sweet and unpretentious. But behind that smile was a razor-sharp mind, and the kind of confidence I could only dream about. Paige knew what she wanted from life, and she was going to get it, by sheer force of will and the sort of energy that would make you a millionaire if you could bottle it.

I’ve known ambitious people, and they’re often driven by the kind of self-interest that would make Karl look altruistic. But what Paige wanted was a better life for others. Lead the council into a new era of reform. Help her husband protect the rights of wronged supernaturals. Open a long-distance spellcasting school for young witches without social support systems. And do it all while making a living, maintaining a household, raising the orphaned teenage daughter of a black witch, and being married to the rebel son of the most powerful Cabal leader. Paige gave new meaning to the superwoman cliché. While we got along fine, I’d been too daunted to pursue that imagined friendship.

Paige had the hotel room door open as I was still rapping. She hugged me, greeted Karl, then ushered us inside. Lucas was on the phone.

When I’d discussed Lucas with Jaz and Sonny, I’d called him a geek. To be brutally honest, that had been my impression when we first met. He was Karl’s height, but maybe half his build. I knew he was more wiry than skinny, but with his usual three-piece suits, he looked scrawny and introspective. He had short black hair, dark eyes and a face that was, well, plain. The glasses didn’t help. Nor did the perpetually somber expression. The only time I ever saw him smile was when Paige was around.

The room was modest and comfortable, which I expected from them. A bed, a city view and a small desk, with Paige’s laptop and stacks of papers, as if they’d been working here for days instead of hours. Taped to the wall was what looked like a list of investigative steps, written in Lucas’s precise hand. Paige had added a few: eat, sleep, compensate for this morning’s untimely awakening by—

Paige untaped the sheet. “Sorry, I was goofing around. You know Lucas and lists.”

Lucas hung up and greeted us with firm handshakes and quiet hellos. His tie was slung over the chair back, and he quickly pulled it off before waving us to the seats and perching on the edge of the bed.

As I sat, I caught Paige’s frown of concern. When she asked whether I’d eaten, I insisted I was fine.

“I could use something,” Karl said. “Let me call down—”

“You two talk to Lucas,” Paige said. “I’ll call room service and get sandwich platters and appetizer trays for all of us.”

A deft way of making sure I ate, and I didn’t miss Karl’s discreet nod of thanks.

Karl mapped out sketches of the blueprints he’d seen, blank in some spots and uncertain in others. He finished as room service arrived.

“This is an office floor at Cortez headquarters,” Lucas said, pointing to one of the drawings as we ate. He picked up another. “And this looks like the executive level. Not to slight the gang’s abilities, but breaking in there would be extremely difficult.”

“He means impossible,” Paige said. “He’s just leaving himself some wiggle room, should the unthinkable happen and he’s wrong. You were on that floor yesterday, Karl. What did you think of the security?”

Most people on the council were wary of Karl, but Paige saw no need to be cagey about his occupation. He seemed to appreciate the candor, and gave a complete evaluation, admitting that he doubted even he could break in without inside help.

“Which you wouldn’t get,” Paige said. “That’s considered treason, punishable by the highest penalty.”

“Execution?” I said.

“Too lenient.”

“With a breach that severe, an example must be made,” Lucas said. “Which isn’t to say that the gang wouldn’t be able to find someone willing to risk it for a high enough reward. We’re already searching for Juan Ortega, who may have committed treason, acting under someone else’s authority and killing Bianca. But no single person outside the family would have enough clearance to bypass all the security required to access the executive level after hours. Finding enough people willing to take that risk?” He shook his head. “That, even I would admit, does approach impossible. Still, I’ll notify my father.”