Unforgettable (Talented Saga #6) (21 page)

“
Um, well,” I began
hesitantly. “I’ll have to speak with the council. I think your part
in all of this might be over. No offense, but you aren’t trained
for something like this. I’m not really sure you’ll be useful
inside. Maybe you all can be part of the backup?”

Riley shook his head
decisively.

“
Not gonna work, love. I
want to take down these prigs, more than any of you. I’m going in,
there’s no question of that. And I’d like to see you try and stop
me.”

Janelle snorted, nearly sending milk
flying out of her nose. Henri coughed discreetly into his napkin.
Brand was less subtle, openly laughing as Riley questioned my
authority. Catherine, Gina, and the others simply watched the show
with curious expressions, as if they were anxious to see how this
played out. Unfortunately, I didn’t disappoint.

Temper sparking, I sat up straight in
my chair and levelled my gaze at Riley.

“
First of all, don’t make a
promise you can’t keep. Because I’m pretty damned sure that I can
stop you, you have no idea who you’re dealing with
here—”

My rant had started out full-steam
ahead, but abruptly cut off as Riley began to morph. My composure
quickly dissolved. Eyes wide and mouth gaping, I stared in
fascination as Riley Wyld became…me. It was not the first time I’d
seen a human morph. Not by a long shot. But most morphers took
animal form, since it was easier for whatever reason. Shifting to
take on the appearance of another human was rare, and took a great
toll on the morpher.

Everyone was silent as we stared at
Talia 2.0 sitting across the table. The only sound was the sudden
laughter of Erik and Brand, who didn’t even have the decency to
stifle their chuckles.

“
Still think I can’t be
useful, Natalia?” Riley asked smugly.

Whoa. The only thing stranger than
seeing my carbon copy was hearing it speak in a heavily accented,
male voice.

Before my tongue became
unglued from the roof of my mouth, Riley morphed again. This time
taking Erik’s image. Then Henri. Then Frederick. Riley made the
rounds of the table, showing off his impressive skills. Finally,
his normally spikey hair became soft golden waves and his eyes
glimmered gold. I gasped and felt Erik stiffen beside me. The boy
Riley now resembled—correction, the boy Riley had
become
—was one I’d only
seen in my head. Or Erik’s head. Or, technically, Kenly’s head.
Whatever. In any case, Riley was now the spitting image of the guy
from the study where Kenly was taken for questioning.

“
I see you recognize me,”
Riley said, breaking the silence.

“
Yeah. Sort of,” I said. “I
mean, I recognize you, but I don’t know who you are.”

In the blink of an eye, Riley was
himself again.

“
Jaylen Monroe.
Lord
Jaylen Monroe, the
Duke’s son.”

“
The Duke who owns Andrew’s
Rock?” Brand asked.

“
Righto, mate.”

Riley grinned and shoveled a forkful
of spaghetti into his mouth.

“
Um, Tal…maybe we might
have a use for him?” Penny mumbled.

That was like saying people might have
a use for opposable thumbs.

“
I’ll contact Victoria,” I
said.

Naturally, Victoria
chastised me for not realizing that Riley Wyld was a dual-talent
before declaring that we should take him with us. I refrained from
pointing out that her intel hadn’t indicated Riley’s dual-talent
status. As much as I would’ve liked to put this on her, Victoria
was correct. I should have known. I was more adept than most
at
feeling
other
Talents. Simply being in semi-close proximity to another Talent, I
was usually able to determine his strength and pinpoint his exact
gifts. Of course, I
had
felt Riley’s immense power, but I’d naively
attributed it all to his electrical gifts. Stupid
mistake.

A lengthy debate over how best to use
Riley’s morphing abilities followed. Ultimately, it was decided
that impersonating Jaylen Monroe, who was sure to be present at the
auction, was not a good idea. Rather, Riley would take on the image
of one of the Poachers’ guards. One who wasn’t so important that
he’d need to interact with higher-ups, but important enough he’d be
able to gain access to restricted areas. Riley himself provided the
perfect solution.

“
Monroe’s personal
bodyguard, Benji. I know the bloke,” Riley said. “I can copy him
easy. And since the auction is at the Monroe’s estate, the real
Benji won’t have reason to shadow Jaylen. Unless you want me to,
then I can.”

My communicator was in the middle of
the dinner table, with Victoria’s holographic, life-size image
projecting upwards. The strange candle configuration that served as
the centerpiece appeared to be impaling her.

“
No. We cannot afford
unnecessary risks. Avoid Lord Monroe unless absolutely necessary,”
Victoria counseled. She turned to me. “Our Cryptos are still
working on the invitation codes, we will have the final details for
you shortly. Have your disguises ready and be prepared to leave at
a moment’s notice. Agent Lyons will be leading one of the covert
teams and Agent Canary the other. But you will all be linked via
comm earpieces. Understood?”

“
Yes,” we all chorused in
response.

After dinner, those of us who were
posing as buyers followed Chaz and Viktor to the storage suites to
select outfits. Even though Erik was to be part of the backup team,
I assumed he’d come with us. But as we were exiting the dining
room, he pulled me aside.

“
I’m going to skip dress-up
time, if that’s alright?”
he
sent.

“
Sure, yeah. You
okay?”

Dark circles had formed under Erik’s
beautiful turquoise eyes and his complexion was paler than normal.
Stress was doing a number on my boyfriend. Victoria’s decision to
keep him out of the mix tomorrow was for the best. I hoped she’d
noticed his appearance during our group call and would rethink
using him as the face of the Created.

“
I’m fine, just
tired,”
Erik admitted.
“But I want to talk to Willa. She’s…she’s not handling this
well. Maybe if I talk to her…. I don’t know, maybe I can
help.”

I stood on my tiptoes and placed a
kiss on Erik’s cheek.

“
Go. Talk to her. I’ll meet
you in our room in a little bit.”

Erik gave me a quick
squeeze.

“
Hey, Willa, wait up,” he
called over the top of my head.

Releasing Erik, I headed in the
opposite direction to catch up with the others, who were dutifully
following Viktor and Chaz.

The storage rooms were more like
storage suites, or dressing rooms at some high-end fashion
boutique. Not that I shopped in places like that, but I imagined
they were similar.

Racks of gowns, silk shirts, tailored
pants, tuxedoes, and a colorful array of dress shirts were arranged
around a two-story room with a loft. Shoes lined the walls on floor
to ceiling shelves, with a sliding ladder attached to reach those
at the top. Chaise lounges and privacy screens were set up on the
lower level. A winding metal staircase in the center of the room
led to the second floor, where more clothes, vanities, and
bathrooms were provided.

“
Damn,” Penny whistled,
spinning with her arms out like a pinwheel in the middle of the
room. “This place is awesome.”

“
It is,” I agreed. “But why
does she have it?”

“
UNITED agents often go
undercover. Councilwoman Walburton’s stockroom is one of many such
spaces,” Viktor replied. “These auctions are formal events, so
please choose wisely and do not take too much time. You all need to
rest before tomorrow.”

“
What, is he our babysitter
now?”
I sent Penny.

She smirked.

“
Victoria doesn’t trust
us.”

Too true, I thought.

Despite Viktor’s orders, we took our
time trying on clothes. Well, okay, Penny and I took our time. The
guys went straight for the tuxedos and only tried on garments until
they each found ones that fit. Catherine, Gina, and Ronnie also
seemed disinclined to try on more options than
necessary.

Usually girly things like wearing
pretty dresses wasn’t my thing. But for one hour, slipping into
gowns that weren’t mine, modeling them for Penny’s approval, and
discarding those she vetoed made me feel normal. Though Kenly was
never far from my mind, I was able to push my personal feelings
over the upcoming mission aside. Dare I say, I even had a little
fun.

“
This one is totally me,”
Penny squealed from behind one of the privacy screens.

Henri and Frederick had given up on us
and left for some alone time. Catherine and her team, along with
Angus, also weren’t interested in watching Penny and I indulge our
girly sides. They left shortly before the two guys. Only Brand
remained to watch the Talia and Penny fashion show. Oh, and Viktor
and Chaz, since apparently leaving us unsupervised went against
their better judgment.

“
Ta-da!” Penny exclaimed,
rounding the privacy screen with her arms held wide, in an
invitation to tell her how gorgeous she looked.

Brand caught my eye and gave a
dramatic eye roll to indicate how he felt about his girlfriend’s
theatrics. I smiled instinctively. Wait. Had Brand and I just
bonded? Hellions the underworld over must have been busting out
their fur coats.

“
I love it,” I declared
honestly.

“
You look amazing,” Brand
told her, standing for a better look. He took her hand and twirled
her under his arm. “Really, amazing.”

Blushing prettily, Penny smiled up at
him.

“
Thanks,” she said shyly,
then turned her attention to me. “Tal? Is this a
winner?”

The gown was lemon-yellow, and not
something I would’ve chosen for her, between Penny’s flame-colored
hair and pale skin. But it suited her.

“
It’s nice,” Chaz said,
from his perch by the door. “It is also the twelfth dress you’ve
tried on. This is not your wedding gown, this is not a princess
fantasy. This decision is not that difficult.”

Wishing that my eyes would turn into
death rays, I glared at him. Maybe we were being silly and
childish. But why was it any of his business? Penny needed this
levity in her life and so did I. Things had been so crazy for so
long, we deserved a break.

Undaunted by my mean face, Chaz stared
straight ahead and ignored me.

“
You look stunning, Penny,”
I said, turning back to my best friend. “And what do you think of
this one? Good?”

Plucking at the bodice of the
turquoise gown I was wearing, I moved to stand next to Penny in
front of the mirror. Erik liked me in purple, since it brought out
my eyes, and I usually kept that in mind when choosing clothing.
But the jewel tone of my current dress reminded me of him, and
wearing it made me feel like he was with me. Since he wouldn’t be
in the auction house tomorrow, I liked the idea of having him in
spirit. Sentimental, I know.

“
You are simply ravishing,
darling,” Penny drawled in a decent imitation of a southern accent.
Her cover story was something about being an oil man’s exotic wife.
Brand was playing her husband.

“
It’s late,” Chaz
called.

I rolled my eyes.

“
Okay, we get it. It’s past
our bedtime. Are you going to make sure we brush our teeth, too?
Maybe tuck us into bed?”

Penny laughed. Even Brand cracked a
smile.

“
Agent Lyons—” Chaz began
what was sure to be a great speech about acting my age and
responsibility.

“
We’ll be finished in a
minute,” I cut in. “Stand down until then.”

Apologizing for my snarky attitude was
the right thing to do, particularly since Chaz and his
partner-in-babysitting were going to report my every move to
Victoria. Sadly, it wasn’t going to happen. I resented being
treated like a child when I was supposedly in charge of this
mission. It was bad enough that Victoria made me bring Brand along,
without my opinion being asked, but having these clowns as her eyes
and ears was downright insulting. Unable to take out my frustration
on the real culprit, I was working with what I had—Chaz and
Viktor.

Still, I hadn’t intended my comment to
carry a little something extra. Rude, I was okay with. Manipulating
Victoria’s lackeys…yeah, she’d freak out if she found out. But Chaz
stepped backwards until his spine was flush with the wall, with
Viktor mirroring his position on the other side of the
door.

“
Yes, Ma’am,” they said in
unison.

Brand tsked.

“
Manipulating the help,
Talia? Really?”

“
Whatever,” I waved off his
comment. “You hate being watched by them, too.”

Slipping behind a privacy screen, I
changed out of the turquoise gown and back into the jeans and tee
I’d thrown on for dinner.