Jed’s was out of the question because I was still spooked by the unknown person asking about troll bile. I did not want to take the chance that someone would see me there with Malloy again and connect the dots. The fact that Malloy didn’t argue when I rejected that location told me I wasn’t the only one thinking about it. After much back and forth, we settled on a place and I started planning how to sneak away to complete the deal.

When the final bell rang on Wednesday, I stuffed my backpack into my locker. Instead of heading for the exit where I knew my friends were waiting for me again, I surreptitiously made my way to the faculty entrance near the teacher’s lounge. There was no one around to see me when I opened the door and slipped outside to the back parking lot the school shared with the church next door. Hidden from the street and conveniently located next to the cemetery, this spot was perfect for my getaway. I sprinted across the half empty lot, past the church and hopped over the waist-high iron fence surrounding the cemetery. Ducking down, I swiftly navigated between the headstones and exited by the small gate on the far side. It was so easy I almost laughed out loud. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it until now.

I knew it would not take long for my watchers to figure out that I’d given them the slip, so I set out at a fast walk, trying not to run and draw attention to myself. I skirted the waterfront, giving home a width berth, and took a slightly longer route to my destination. Last night, Malloy and I had agreed to do our business on a boat belonging to an acquaintance of his. The boat, called the Mary’s Hope, was docked in a slip at the Bayside Marina and Malloy said it was highly unlikely that anyone would connect it to either of us. I had a feeling it was just one of many places where Malloy handled his business.

As I approached the marina, I couldn’t help but feel rather pleased with myself. I’d managed to evade my growing posse of protectors and in a short while I’d have the means to keep Nate safe if more monsters came to call. It was the least I could do for attracting them to us in the first place.

“Going for a spin on your sailboat, are you?”

I whirled to face Roland. “How…?”

He jogged toward me on silent feet, his expression serious. “You didn’t really think you could give us the slip did you?” He stopped in front of me. “I knew you were up to something as soon as I saw you this morning.”

I looked behind him, expecting to see Peter and one of the Mohiri appear any second.

“It’s just me. Pete and I split up; he took the front door and I got the back. The blond fellow is probably just realizing you are no longer at school.”

Poor Chris. He didn’t seem like a bad sort and he was going to develop a complex if he kept losing me.

“You’re going to meet that guy, aren’t you?” Roland said in an accusing tone.

For a second I thought he knew about Malloy but then it hit me that he was talking about NightWatcher. “No. This has nothing to do with that. I swear.”

He gave me look that said he didn’t believe me. The loss of trust sent a small stab of hurt through me but I had only myself to blame.

“So what is so important that you had to sneak away like this?”

“It’s just something I have to take care of and I’m tired of having someone watching my every move, okay?”

“Maybe I can help you,” he pushed.

I sighed loudly. I planned to tell him everything – just not yet. “Roland, there are some things I keep to myself, just like I don’t know what werewolves do half the time.”

His mouth formed a stubborn line. “Werewolves can protect themselves if they go off alone. And none of us are being hunted by an obsessed vampire.” He crossed his arms. “Go ahead and do what you have to but I’m coming with you.”

Damn it. I had to meet with Malloy and I was pretty certain it would be a hell of a lot harder to get away after my stunt today. Too much was riding on this to turn back now.

“You can come with me but you have to do what I tell you to.” His eyes narrowed and I said, “I’ll explain if you promise to do what I say.”

“I promise to do it if I don’t think you are in any danger.”

I chewed the inside of my lip as I wondered how much to tell him without actually saying who I was going to see. Rule number one in this business was to never reveal your contacts and Malloy held that rule close to his vest. He might never do business with me again if he thought he could not trust my discretion. Troll bile and diamonds meant nothing to him if he got killed acquiring them.

“I’m going to buy something to keep Nate safe in case something tries to hurt him because of me.”

Roland’s eyes widened and I could tell that whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. “Keep him safe? How?”

“Have you ever heard of the Ptellon flower?” He shook his head so I explained where it came from and how it could be used to repel vampires and other like creatures. “I warded our building but that won’t help Nate when he’s away from home. The Ptellon nectar is all I need now.”

He looked at me like I’d sprouted a third eye. “You warded the whole building by yourself? How do you know how to do that? And how do you know all this protection stuff.”

There was so much I wanted to tell him but this was neither the time nor the place. “There are some things about me you don’t know and I promise I’ll tell you soon – just not now. All I can say is that I have this friend Remy who taught me and he really knows more about this stuff than anyone I know. I have a guy who can get things and I’m going to get the Ptellon from him.”