It was weird, but she tried not to think about it. Vig had never been a chatty man, from what she could tell. So she couldn’t expect him to suddenly change now that they’d kissed.

Right? She couldn’t expect that?

God, what was happening to her?

Erin parked the car and Leigh finished with, “And that’s how I died!”

Kera nodded, her lips pursed. “Fascinating.”

Leigh and Annalisa got out of the car and Kera looked at Erin.

“Get used to it,” the redhead told her. “Every time you meet a new Crow, whether from the States, Japan, Egypt, wherever, they’re going to tell you how they died.”

“Why?”

“It’s what we do. And other Clans will ask you how you died anyway, so you might as well get used to telling the story.”

“Because it’s so much fun reliving one’s death.”

“You’re not reliving it. You can’t.” Erin smirked. “You died.”

Erin unbuckled her seat belt. “You’re just telling a story about a girl you used to know.”

She stepped out of the SUV and Kera released her seat belt. “Are you going to come in with us?” she asked Jace, who was the only one left in the vehicle. “Or stay out here and bake in the heat?”

There was a pause, then Jace asked, “Will I have to talk? Erin always tries to make me talk.”

“Talk if you want to talk. I just don’t need to know how you died.”

“Okay.” And she sounded rather perky.

Kera got out of the vehicle, closing the door behind her. She met Jace as she slipped out of the backseat.

She was a tall girl, curvy, with curly brown hair that reached to the middle of her back, and dark blue eyes.

“It’s weird,” Kera said as they walked up the stairs to her third-floor apartment. “I think I’m going to miss this place. I don’t know why. There were three shootings down the street the first two weeks I lived here. Some drunk guy tried to break in to my place one night because he thought his girlfriend still lived here. And I’m positive there’s a dogfighting ring in this neighborhood because I found Brodie a couple of blocks over tied to an engine block. But the building manager and his wife are really nice and they watched out for me and Brodie.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah. I’ve always found that no matter how tough the neighborhood, there’s always good people around. You just have to be smart and trust your instincts.”

Kera stopped on the second flight, put her hand to her upper chest. She could feel her heart racing.

“Great. My anxiety is acting up again.”

“Your anxiety?”

“Yeah. I get panic attacks sometimes. I think I’m worried abouttonight. I don’t even know how to fly yet. Do you know how to fly?”

“Well—”

“Of course you know how to fly. I’m the only idiot who doesn’t know how to fly.”

“That doesn’t make you an id—”

“I’m not going to know how to fly and I’m going to die days after being brought back. That’s embarrassing. It’s like being the first kicked off some reality competition show. You don’t want to be the first one kicked off. No one wants that.”

“I . . . I think you’re panicking.”

“You’re right.” Kera briefly closed her eyes, took in a breath, let it out. “You’re absolutely right. I need to calm down. I need to calm down.”

When Kera felt more in control of herself, she continued up to her apartment and found the others waiting outside for her.

“Can we pick this up?” Leigh asked. “I can’t express how bored I am.”

Annalisa smiled. “I just want to get into your apartment and see what it tells me.”

“Personally,” Erin announced, “I’m digging this gang-riddled neighborhood you picked for your home. Were you planning to clean the place up like in Walking Tall?”

“I went where I could afford.”

“That is so sad.”

Kera didn’t have her keys but she kept a spare one under the raggedy hall carpet. “You, of course, mean it’s so sad that as a vet, and someone who fought for my country, I can’t afford decent housing, right?”

Erin shrugged. “Okay. Sure.”

Kera sighed and opened the door. That’s when Mrs. Vallejandro came out of her apartment at the end of the hall. As she rushed down toward Kera, her eyes were filled with tears.

“Kera? Oh Kera!”

“Mrs. Vallejandro? What’s wrong?”

The older woman put her arms around Kera, hugging her. “The police came here. They thought you were kidnapped!”

“What?”

“They found blood outside the coffee shop you work at and the other workers, they heard screams. But when they got outside, you were gone.”

Kera cringed. She’d completely forgotten about . . . everybody.

“Everyone was so worried!”

Kera doubted that. Mrs. Vallejandro and her handyman husband had probably been worried about her. But the wanna-be assholes at the coffee shop? No. Kera doubted they were worried about anyone but themselves. And, of course, their “careers.”

“I’m so sorry you were worried about me. But I’m fine. I’m fine. I just . . . I got hurt. And I went to get my, uh, wounds taken care of. But see? All better now. I promise.”