Another text arrived on the heels of that one. By the way, I noticed your new tattoos. They are lovely. But I thought you were going to wait until I could go with you?

Uh-oh.

Sorry. My bad. An opportunity arose & I took it.

As distracted as I was, I almost collided with a wall.

Another A+ for me.

Cole grabbed my shoulders and steered me in the right direction.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” His phone beeped. He checked the screen, brightened, then scowled. “My dad says he and your grandmother are safe. He also says he’s going to run down some contacts he has and see if they know anything about Anima’s future plans, and that I’m to remember that just because he isn’t around doesn’t mean I can ride the carnal carousel with my girlfriend.”

I gasped. “He did not say that.”

Cole showed me the text.

My cheeks heated.

We strode into Mr. Ankh’s office, where everyone else was already situated. Mr. Ankh gave a speech about eating properly and resting. We needed to stay strong. Then, he said, we’d put a strategy together in the morning. He talked about making time for our home-studies program and always turning in our schoolwork. This war didn’t mean our responsibilities ended.

Cole explained what Jaclyn had witnessed, leaving out the part about a fourth victim. I knew why. Distraction was the number one cause of death among slayers. Well, that and zombie toxin, Anima plots and not asking for help when it was needed. But that was beside the point.

After a little debate, we decided—in the nicest way possible—screw Mr. Ankh’s wait-for-tomorrow plan. We’d raid the warehouse now. Time wasn’t our friend, and it just might be Justin’s...or Collins’s...worst enemy.

Cole, Frosty, Bronx, Veronica and I loaded up with weapons. I packed my new, awesome axes! Ready, eager, we settled in Mr. Ankh’s SUV. (The one we’d stolen...I mean, valeted...had already been wiped and moved.)

As Frosty gunned the engine, Jaclyn came rushing out of the house.

I sighed.

“I’m coming,” she said, claiming the only available seat in back, glaring at me, all try to stop me.

Why do I bother?

Great. Now I sounded like Mr. Ankh.

Kat, Reeve and Juliana watched us speed from the driveway, each radiating a different emotion. Kat: concern. Reeve: determination. Juliana, a slayer-in-training: anger.

They were staying behind to help Mr. Ankh with Mackenzie and Gavin. At least, that was the story they’d been fed. Only Juliana had complained.

“I can help. I’m ready!” she’d shouted.

But how could she be ready when I was pretty sure we weren’t?

* * *

Frosty parked in an abandoned alley several blocks from our target destination. We stepped into the daylight, barely noticing the cold air blustering around us. We looked like six normal teenagers, easily overlooked and forgotten. Hoods hid our identities, and jackets covered our weapons.

“We’re splitting up and hitting the warehouse from three sides,” Cole said, taking charge. That’s what he did best. “Stay in pairs. Jaclyn and Bronx, you take the north. Frosty and Veronica, you take south. Ali and I will take the west.”

Everyone nodded and branched off.

Cole and I rounded the alleyway corner, entering the flow of pedestrian traffic. He twined his fingers with mine and kept a laid-back pace to avoid unwanted notice. The warehouse was in the middle of industrial workplaces, clothing shops, restaurants and apartments. Some of the buildings were old and crumbling, and some were brand-new, the chrome sparkling in the sunlight.

Why would Anima have a warehouse in such a public place?

What would happen when we got inside it?

Best-case scenario: revenge.

Worst: we’d lose more slayers.

Not on my watch. “I’m bringing my A game tonight,” I announced. I thought about the “gift” the woman had given me. What was it? Something...nothing? Right now, I could use any possible advantage.

“You aren’t the only one.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I smiled. “The thought of Anima’s destruction is my new happy place.”

“Not my bed? I’ve been usurped?”

Was that a pout I heard in his voice? “You aren’t interested in going all the way. So yes, you’ve been usurped.”

“Ali Bell.” His free hand fluttered over his heart. “Are you pressuring me to have sex with you?”

“Yes!”

He tsked. “And here I thought you were having fun with me anyway. I guess we’ll have to practice more often.”

Oh, sweet glory. He better not be kidding! I was about to reply—was “we will start tonight” too demanding?—when he swung me to the side and pinned me to the side of a building.

Suddenly tense, I whispered, “What’s wrong?”

“I see the warehouse, and I need a moment to study it without letting anyone know that’s what I’m doing.” He leaned down and nuzzled my cheek, the angle of his head allowing his gaze to focus on the warehouse.

The tension left me...and with its absence, I couldn’t stop my riotous reaction to the boy in front of me. I began to tingle, burn. Ignore! Focus!

“I don’t see any cameras,” he said, “or any shadows over the windows to indicate movement inside.” He paused. How could he act so calm? “There’s a For Lease sign in the window.”

“Maybe they used the building for the attacks, but it’s not really theirs?”