As I watched him walk away, I couldn’t help but wonder what was so urgent that he needed to discuss it with Cole right then—and why the Creature Notebook had reminded him.

Not that I had long to think about it. Cole had done the reception up right for his students, and had invited more than a few of Chicago’s elite, and I soon found myself chatting with Thomas Claymore, who—under the guise of polite chitchat—made his bid to host the foundation’s gala.

I listened politely, then managed to extricate myself, talking first with a young woman who was one of Cole’s students and then with a short man in a perfectly tailored suit who held out his hand in greeting.

“Ms. Raine,” he said, his face bland face. “So glad to see you here.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Larry,” he said, still holding my hand.

I started to gently tug my hand free, but Larry tightened his grip. I frowned, assuming he was one of those men who just never quite managed the art of the handshake. But then his fingers tightened even more, and even before he spoke, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle in warning.

“Tell your boyfriend and his buddies to back off,” he said, without any particular menace in his voice. And it was his pleasant tone that made the conversation that much creepier. “Tell them that if they don’t there’s going to be trouble. More trouble. Tell them that’s a promise. You understand?”

“I—” I wanted to play it cool. To toss some brilliant comeback at him. To show that I wasn’t scared at all. But it wasn’t true, and I wasn’t that much of an actress. So all I did was gape at him, my mouth open like some frantic, hooked fish.

He stared at my face, his previously bland features now turning menacing. “Yeah, I think you do.”

Then he yanked his hand free, tipped his head, and disappeared into the crowd. I stood there, my blood so chilled I felt frozen to the spot. Evan. I willed myself to move. I needed to find Evan. I needed to warn him. To point this guy Larry out to him. To ask him what the hell was going on. Move, dammit, move.

I did. One step, then another.

And then one more until motion felt normal again.

But it wasn’t Evan I found when I finally made it across the room. It was Kevin.

I forced a smile. “Hello. I didn’t realize you were here.”

“Angie,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”

I smiled again, feeling awkward, because I didn’t say the expected reply—that I missed him, too.

But I didn’t. I didn’t miss him at all. And the truth was, I wished he’d just move on.

Unfortunately, Kevin was not in tune with what I wanted. That, of course, had been one of our problems all along.

“So who was that you were just talking to?” he asked.

That prickly, fearful feeling returned. “I—I’m not sure. Just some guy.”

“I thought perhaps you knew him,” Kevin said, in the kind of voice that suggested he knew exactly who Larry was—and why Larry’d come here. “He seemed very intense.” He took a step closer to me. “I almost came over to ask if I could help you. Should I have? Did you need help, Angie?”

I forced myself to meet his eyes. Forced myself to mask the fear.

I could only hope that I succeeded. “No, it was fine. Just some guy.” I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I think you’re reading too much into things, Kevin.”

“Am I?” His mouth curved down in a frown. “I don’t know.” He paused long enough that I actually thought he was going to say goodbye. But it wasn’t my day for good luck.

“Looks like things have gotten serious between you and Black.”

I said nothing, but inside I was terrified. Because I could read between the lines easily enough. Larry was bad news. Someone from the life that Evan kept hidden. And Kevin worked for the FBI.

“I thought you were moving to Washington,” he pressed.

“I am,” I said warily—was he really letting me off the hook that easily? “My mom is planning a wardrobe shopping spree as soon as I get to town. And my dad emailed listings for about a billion possible condos.”

I was smiling like an idiot, and I was damn sure that I was trying too hard.

“So what’s this with Black?” he asked, destroying my fantasy that he’d dropped the subject. “Just one of those good girl/bad boy flings?”

“What the hell, Kevin?” I’d intended my tone to sound sharp—the perfect fuck off exit point for this conversation. But instead, it came out tired and a little wary.

“I still care about you. More, I worry about you.”

I held up a hand. “This isn’t a conversation we’re having.” I had to move. Had to get out of there. But when I started to walk away, he grabbed my arm. I shook it free. “Jesus, Kev—”

“If you don’t get out, I don’t know that I’ll be able to pull you out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snapped. Not exactly a lie, but not the truth, either.

“You know,” he said. “Because I already told you, and I told you more than I should. He’s bad news, Angie. And so are Cole August and Tyler Sharp. Stay away from them.”

My heart was pounding so hard that I could barely hear my own words through the thrumming in my ears. “You know what, Kevin? I’d like to say it was a pleasure running into you, but that would be a huge lie. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find my date.”

Except I didn’t go find Evan. I moved out of the main room into one of the smaller adjoining rooms, then leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and concentrated on breathing as I tried to get my shit together.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I’d known almost from the beginning that the stuff Kevin said about Evan was probably true. That there was illegal shit going on in the background. And, hell, hadn’t Evan almost—almost—even confessed as much to me? And, damn me, hadn’t the possibility made me hot? The possibility that Evan was pulling one over on the FBI made him larger than life. Exciting. Sensual. Thrilling.

But now—

Now with worms like Larry approaching me and Kevin hounding me—

Oh, god, now it all felt too real. Too scary.

I remembered the twisting, nausea-inducing fear when I’d been arrested. No, not fear. Terror. The knowledge that everything I’d worked for and loved could be ripped away from me in an instant, pulled out from under me and replaced with bars and a cold floor and the eyes of the world looking hard at me and knowing that I screwed up.

I didn’t want that for Evan—not for any of the knights.

Even more, I didn’t want it for me. Didn’t want the risk of being forced to testify. To sit in a small room with questions tossed at me. And didn’t want the risk that someone I loved would be yanked away from me.

Loved.

I squeezed my eyes tight, pushing the thought away. Breathing deep. Trying desperately to keep myself from coming completely undone.

A soft tap on the door frame had me almost jumping out of my skin. I opened my eyes and whipped my head around to face Evan.

“What’s wrong?”

I managed a watery smile. “That obvious?”

He moved to my side. “I know you.”

“So does some guy named Larry.” I watched him as I spoke, saw the tension run through him. “He gave me a message. I’m supposed to tell you to back off.” I sucked in a breath. “Will you tell me who he is?”

He said nothing for a minute, then he lifted his hand, displaying his knuckles. “I mentioned him before,” he said. “He’s one of the assholes who was messing with the girls.”

“Oh.” I thought about that, then decided not to press for more. Whatever was going on under the surface, Evan already knew about it. And I didn’t see even a hint of fear in his eyes. I did, however, see a spark of anger as he reached out and gently stroked my cheek.

“He scared you.”

“He was creepy,” I admitted. “But I’m okay now.” I looked in his eyes and realized it was true. As corny as it sounded, I was okay now because Evan was beside me.