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Valery for a sec?”
    Charlie looks a little surprised but nods and smiles, anyway. “Just make sure I get the final send-off.” She motions toward some benches along a wall a short distance away. “I’ll be over there.” I want to tell her I know, that I’d sense her there even if she hadn’t told me. But I just walk over to Red, who was trying to give us space.
    “Before I do this—” I begin.
    “You’re not doing me any favors; this is your rear on the line.”
    “Before I do this, I have some questions. For starters, I want to know if we’ve heard any word about Blue’s death, and about whether Big Guy’s going to seek vengeance.”
    I can’t be certain, but I think I detect the corner of Valery’s mouth quirk upward. “It’s been handled.”
    “Yeah?” I say, grinning and throwing punches in the air. “Did we send someone in to tear crap up? Show ’em not to mess with the big dogs?”
    “So you’re a big dog now?”
    “Always have been, girl. Ruff .”
    She shakes her head. “I don’t think he wants war over what happened. But you never know. Things are shaky right now.”
    “This is all from Kraven?”
    Valery purses her lips as a man with a sad toupee nearly barrels into her. “Yes, from Kraven.”
    “He who has all the answers,” I say, tucking my thumbs beneath my belt buckle. “Okay, what about Charlie’s soul? When can I turn it in?”
    The hint of a smile I saw before vanishes. “Charlie’s soul is a special classification. He has to be sure they’re prepared for it.”
    “And in the meantime I’m supposed to carry it around with me? How can that be safer than anywhere up there with Big Guy?”
    “Do you have a problem carrying it?” she asks, stepping closer. “Because if you do, I’d be happy to take the burden.”
    “No,” I snarl. “No one touches it but me.” Glancing up at the harsh lighting, I say, “It’s just that her soul feels different than it should.”
    “You expect it to feel like all the others?” she asks, straightening her spine.
    I know she’s probably right, but I needed someone else to challenge my thought that it should feel the same. Looking over at the benches, I glimpse Charlie on her cell, though I can’t imagine who she’s talking to. Her blond hair falls over one side of her face, and she neatly tucks it behind her ear. She’s right there, so close I could get to her in a heartbeat, but already she feels too far away for comfort.
    “What if something happens to her while I’m gone?” I say. “What if the collectors return to finish what they started?”
    Valery does something out of character. She puts a hand on my shoulder. “If the collectors ascend anytime soon, it’s not Charlie they’ll be coming for.”
    I know what she’s saying. It’s something I’ve thought myself in the last few weeks, but never wanted to accept. “If I have her soul inside me, then it’s me they want.”
    Valery hesitates and nods. Then she drops her hand from my shoulder and glances over at Charlie. “They won’t hurt her. Not yet. Not when they don’t have her soul. Because if they kill her now, her body and soul go to us.”
    I shake my head. “It sounds like you’re talking about cargo.”
    “You know that’s not what I mean.”
    “If you knew they might come for me, why didn’t Big Guy send me on assignment away from Charlie right off the bat? Why wait until now?”
    “Arrangements had to be made first.” Valery pulls a cigarette from her purse and lights it. I’m pretty certain she can’t do that here, but meh, what do I care?
    “What kind of arrangements?” I ask.
    Blowing out a puff of smoke, Valery looks past me. “I can’t discuss them with you.”
    Rage rushes through me. “Then how about I stick around until you do tell me? Screw this assignment.”
    Valery’s eyes connect with mine. “You’ll go. You’ll go because you know you shouldn’t have stayed. Because you know as much as you want to protect her