I ducked behind the nearest tree and fumbled for my phone, thumbing her number repeatedly.
Come on, pick up.
Pick up.
No answer.
“Delaney.”
My name, in that quiet, controlled voice, made me jump so hard I almost dropped the phone.
I looked up.
Jaxen was right there, close enough that the cold fir scent of him reached me even through the city smells of exhaust and damp concrete.
He held out a box.
“Give this to Scarlett.”
I stared at it, then at him.
“What is it?”
“Something she likes.”
That was all.
No explanation, no threat, just the flat statement.
I took the box because the alternative-, him still standing there when she came down- felt worse.
The second it was in my hands, he turned and walked away without another word.
I watched until he was completely gone, the
